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2020 Honda Civic

Gas Midsize car

20262025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Specs & fuel economyRecallsComplaintsCrash ratingsCompare
D
Safety Signal
60 / 100
DSafety Signal · 60 / 100
5Recalls · NHTSA campaigns
229Complaints · owner reports
5★Crash rating · NHTSA overall
36 mpgFuel economy · best combined

The 2020 Honda Civic is sold in the U.S. as a gas midsize car with 16 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Civic 4Dr, is EPA-rated at 36 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of D. Owners have filed 229 complaints, most often about electrical system. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy (EPA)

ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
Civic 4DrGasFWD1.5L 4-cyl turbo324236$1,750
Civic 2DrGasFWD1.5L 4-cyl turbo314035$1,800
Civic 5DrGasFWD1.5L 4-cyl turbo314034$1,850
Civic 2DrGasFWD1.5L 4-cyl turbo303733$1,900
Civic 2DrGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl303833$1,900
Civic 4DrGasFWD1.5L 4-cyl turbo303833$1,900
Civic 4DrGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl303833$1,900
Civic 2DrGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl293632$1,950
Civic 4DrGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl293732$1,950
Civic 5DrGasFWD1.5L 4-cyl turbo293732$2,400
Civic 5DrGasFWD1.5L 4-cyl turbo293532$2,400
Civic 2DrGasFWD1.5L 4-cyl turbo263630$2,600
Civic 4DrGasFWD1.5L 4-cyl turbo263630$2,600
Civic 2DrGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl253529$2,150
Civic 4DrGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl253629$2,150
Civic 5DrGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo222825$3,100

*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

high
98,892 vehicles

Problem: 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.

NHTSA campaign 26V332000 · reported May 21, 2026 · Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Air Bags

high
750,114 vehicles

Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.

Risk: An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.

Fix: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.

NHTSA campaign 24V064000 · reported Feb 1, 2024 · Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Fuel System, Gasoline

high
2,490,460 vehicles

Problem: 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.

NHTSA campaign 23V858000 · reported Dec 18, 2023 · Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

high
124,077 vehicles

Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Civic, 2020-2023 Ridgeline, 2021-2023 Passport, 2021-2022 Pilot, and 2020 Acura MDX vehicles. The tie rod fastener that connects the brake booster and the brake master cylinder may have been improperly assembled during manufacturing, which can cause the brake master cylinder to separate from the booster assembly.

Risk: Brake master cylinder separation can cause a loss of brake function and increase the risk of a crash.

Fix: Dealers will inspect and repair the brake booster assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 7, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are VEU, AEV, and ZET.

NHTSA campaign 23V458000 · reported Jun 29, 2023 · Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Fuel System, Gasoline

high
624,552 vehicles

Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Acura MDX, MDX Sport Hybrid, RDX, TLX, Honda Accord, Civic Hatchback, Insight, 2019 Acura ILX, Honda Accord Hybrid, Civic Coupe, Civic Coupe Si, Civic Sedan, Civic Sedan Si, Civic Type R, Fit, HR-V, Odyssey, Passport, Pilot and Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 CR-V vehicles. The low-pressure 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: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed May 18, 2021. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 20V-314.

NHTSA campaign 21V215000 · reported Mar 25, 2021 · Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Owner complaints

229 complaints filed

15 involved a crash, 1 a fire, 11 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.

Filed by year — 2019: 1 · 2020: 13 · 2021: 29 · 2022: 28 · 2023: 30 · 2024: 51 · 2025: 51 · 2026: 26

Most-cited components

  • Electrical System — 37
  • Unknown Or Other — 36
  • Power Train — 32
  • Air Bags — 31
  • Forward Collision Avoidance — 30
“The navigation on the civic would reset and cut out for no reason and sometimes takes a long time to come back on or it never reboots and the screen stays black until you have to turn off the car and wait and then turn it back on. My experience was I was on a trip 2 hours away and I had my family in the car. We were tr…”Nov 23, 2025 · Electrical System · NHTSA owner report
“The contact owns a 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power and was unable to accelerate above 30 MPH. After arriving to the destination, the vehicle stalled and was unable to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The v…”May 6, 2025 · Fuel System, Gasoline · NHTSA owner report
“The contact owns a 2020 Honda Civic Si. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the clutch became inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the clutch failed, and transmission slipped out of gear. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the clutch assembly had…”Apr 30, 2025 · Power Train · NHTSA owner report

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

ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
2 DR FWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★★9%
2 DR FWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★★9%
4 DR FWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★10%
4 DR FWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★10%
5 HB FWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★10%
5 HB FWDnot ratednot rated★★★★★★★★★★10%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: forward collision warning, lane departure warning.

Compare the 2020 Civic with

2020 Toyota Camry2020 Tesla Model 32020 Hyundai Elantra2020 Nissan Sentra2020 Nissan Altima2020 Lexus ES

Other Civic model years

A

2026 Civic

1 recalls · 27 complaints

C

2025 Civic

2 recalls · 94 complaints

C

2024 Civic

3 recalls · 139 complaints

D

2023 Civic

5 recalls · 326 complaints

D

2022 Civic

4 recalls · 957 complaints

D

2021 Civic

4 recalls · 156 complaints

D

2019 Civic

4 recalls · 442 complaints

F

2018 Civic

6 recalls · 746 complaints

F

2017 Civic

6 recalls · 596 complaints

F

2016 Civic

5 recalls · 1,080 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 42150, 42141, 41748, 42140, 42144, 42149, 42153, 42143, 42152, 41747, 41749, 41884). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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