2016 Honda Civic
Gas Compact car
The 2016 Honda Civic is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact car with 6 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Civic 2Dr, is EPA-rated at 35 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for this model year, 1 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 1080 complaints, most often about steering. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civic 2Dr | Gas | FWD | 1.5L 4-cyl turbo | 31 | 41 | 35 | $1,800 |
| Civic 4Dr | Gas | FWD | 1.5L 4-cyl turbo | 31 | 42 | 35 | $1,800 |
| Civic 2Dr | Gas | FWD | 2.0L 4-cyl | 30 | 39 | 34 | $1,850 |
| Civic 4Dr | Gas | FWD | 2.0L 4-cyl | 30 | 40 | 34 | $1,850 |
| Civic 4Dr | Gas | FWD | 2.0L 4-cyl | 27 | 38 | 31 | $2,000 |
| Civic 2Dr | Gas | FWD | 2.0L 4-cyl | 26 | 37 | 30 | $2,100 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.
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Recalls (5)
Air Bags
highProblem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Risk: Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
Fuel System, Gasoline
highProblem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
Parking Brake
highProblem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Civic two door and four door 1.5L turbo and 2.0L vehicles. The electric parking brake (EPB) may not engage if it is applied immediately after turning the ignition off.
Risk: If the EPB is not applied, the vehicle may roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the vehicle's software to allow the EPB to engage immediately after the ignition is turned off, free of charge. The recall began on November 8, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KC6.
Exterior Lighting
highProblem: American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic 2-Door vehicles manufactured February 23, 2016, through May 20, 2016. The affected vehicles may have a damaged LED side marker light circuit board inside the taillight assembly, making the marker light inoperable. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Assoc. Equipment."
Risk: If a side marker light does not function, vehicle visibility can be decreased to other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect both the taillight assemblies, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on August 31, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KB8.
Engine And Engine Cooling
criticalProblem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic vehicles manufactured September 22, 2015, to February 3, 2016 and equipped with 2.0L engines. The affected vehicles have engines with piston assemblies that may have been manufactured without a piston wrist pin circlip or with an incorrectly installed piston wrist pin circlip.
Risk: If a circlip is missing or incorrectly installed, the piston wrist pin may not be secure and may drift and damage the engine cylinder causing the engine to seize, and increasing the risk of a crash or a fire.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the piston assemblies and damaged engine components, as necessary, free of charge. Parts are expected to be available in the Summer of 2016. Owners were mailed an interim notification beginning March 31, 2016, and will be mailed a second notice when parts are available. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is JX9.
Owner complaints
1080 complaints filed
36 involved a crash, 4 a fire, 16 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2015: 2 · 2016: 116 · 2017: 64 · 2018: 63 · 2019: 144 · 2020: 141 · 2021: 86 · 2022: 78 · 2023: 108 · 2024: 103 · 2025: 101 · 2026: 74
Most-cited components
- Steering — 443
- Unknown Or Other — 253
- Electrical System — 120
- Engine — 95
- Service Brakes — 92
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
| Configuration | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 DR FWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | 9% |
| 4 DR FWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | 10% |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.
Compare the 2016 Civic with
Other Civic model years
2026 Civic
1 recalls · 27 complaints
C2025 Civic
2 recalls · 94 complaints
C2024 Civic
3 recalls · 139 complaints
D2023 Civic
5 recalls · 326 complaints
D2022 Civic
4 recalls · 957 complaints
D2021 Civic
4 recalls · 156 complaints
D2020 Civic
5 recalls · 229 complaints
D2019 Civic
4 recalls · 442 complaints
F2018 Civic
6 recalls · 746 complaints
F2017 Civic
6 recalls · 596 complaints
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 37284, 37075, 37286, 37077, 37076, 37285). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.