Phantom braking, has occurred over a dozen times. Caused me to spill hot coffee all over my face and neck causing mild burns.
2020 Honda Civic
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2020 Honda Civic do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 183.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Civic years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 53 of 224 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Electrical System. Review the 36 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 31 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 29 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Forward Collision Avoidance complaints
24 reportsWas T bones September 3rd 2023 exiting the freeway by a Ford F-350. Injury to left side of vehicle mainly . Airbags not side airbags deployed. Went through insurance and was told to report it to the manufacturer. Due to this I now need double knee surgery as I have tears and fluid and now have spinal injury .
WHEN RIDING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT THE SPEED OF 70 MPH THE CAR SLAMMED ON BRAKES ALL BY ITSELF, ALMOST CAME TO A STOP AND THEN EVERYTHING WENT BACK TO NORMAL . i AM AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION OF THE CAR. MY GRANDAUGHTER AND I WERE IN THE CAR AND IT WAS A VERY SCARY ORDEAL AS THE CAR WAS TRYING TO OR DID SLAM ON BRAKES. THE PROBLM H…
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WHEN RIDING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT THE SPEED OF 70 MPH THE CAR SLAMMED ON BRAKES ALL BY ITSELF, ALMOST CAME TO A STOP AND THEN EVERYTHING WENT BACK TO NORMAL . i AM AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION OF THE CAR. MY GRANDAUGHTER AND I WERE IN THE CAR AND IT WAS A VERY SCARY ORDEAL AS THE CAR WAS TRYING TO OR DID SLAM ON BRAKES. THE PROBLM HAS NOT BEEN REPRODUCED OR CONFIRMED BY A DEALER, HOW COULD IT? HAS NOT BEEN INSPECTED NO WARNING LAMPS, MESSAGES, SYMPTOMS, NOTHING OF THE SORT
A lot of times the warning collision on dash will flash to “BRAKE” when going through caution lights usually around fire stations and also approaching steel bridges… I don’t know if it sees the steel deck and thinks it’s a car, but whenever I get in my car, I deactivate the automatic emergency braking system because I don’t want…
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A lot of times the warning collision on dash will flash to “BRAKE” when going through caution lights usually around fire stations and also approaching steel bridges… I don’t know if it sees the steel deck and thinks it’s a car, but whenever I get in my car, I deactivate the automatic emergency braking system because I don’t want it to automatically brake for me like it’s done in the past.
Bought my 2020 Honda Civic si at 48 k miles. Noticed mild clutch slip and vibration on the shift knob. Dealership states I don't know how to drive manual transmission. I've driven manual transmission for 18 years. I'm not stupid. Dealership states it's wear and tear and not part of the warranty. My window motor auto feature doe…
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Bought my 2020 Honda Civic si at 48 k miles. Noticed mild clutch slip and vibration on the shift knob. Dealership states I don't know how to drive manual transmission. I've driven manual transmission for 18 years. I'm not stupid. Dealership states it's wear and tear and not part of the warranty. My window motor auto feature does not work. Bluetooth connectivity issues. Collision braking system activated with no vehicle in front of me while I was going 40 miles an hour. Could have been rear ended. I'm at 50k miles not a good buy and bad service from the dealership. Mossy Honda lemon grove ca
I was driving getting ready to switch lanes and all of a sudden my car made the beeping noise and slammed on the brakes on its own
When driving at highway speeds with adaptive cruise control, vehicle will slow down or brake without any object/vehicle ahead. This usually occurs at curves, with no vehicles in current lane. I would then need to immediately step on the acceleration in order to continue highway speeds. This may cause unnecessary stress on the v…
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When driving at highway speeds with adaptive cruise control, vehicle will slow down or brake without any object/vehicle ahead. This usually occurs at curves, with no vehicles in current lane. I would then need to immediately step on the acceleration in order to continue highway speeds. This may cause unnecessary stress on the vehicle due to constant issue occurrence. At times, a blinking warning message from the emergency braking system will appear on the dashboard during these conditions. This causes a safety issue because cars in the back will not expect braking/slowing down when there isn't any obstruction from all perspectives. This is dangerous on the highway due to the increased driving speeds of surrounding vehicles. I have not taken it to the dealer due to the vehicle being out of warranty, however it has always had this issue. Vehicle was bought new at dealership.
The automated emergency braking system activated bringing me to a sudden and complete stop. I was traveling at a lower speed (<20mph) with sufficient space both in front and behind my vehicle which prevented this incident from becoming an accident. This occurred at night. The braking system automatically engaged as I was releasi…
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The automated emergency braking system activated bringing me to a sudden and complete stop. I was traveling at a lower speed (<20mph) with sufficient space both in front and behind my vehicle which prevented this incident from becoming an accident. This occurred at night. The braking system automatically engaged as I was releasing my foot from the gas pedal to coast. Should this happen at higher speeds or with traffic closer behind me, an accident could have happened. The system has not been inspected as of now and has not been reproduced or occurred a second time. There have not been any warning lights, messages, or other issues with the car since I bought it brand new.
On multiple occasions, the collision mitigation braking system has had false-positive detections. There is one section of road where this occurs extremely frequently (maybe 20% of the time I drive through). On this section of road, it will not activate the brakes, it only beeps and displays "BRAKE" on the instrument cluster, bu…
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On multiple occasions, the collision mitigation braking system has had false-positive detections. There is one section of road where this occurs extremely frequently (maybe 20% of the time I drive through). On this section of road, it will not activate the brakes, it only beeps and displays "BRAKE" on the instrument cluster, but is extremely disconcerting and distracting. On another occasion on a different road, there was clear road ahead of me when the collision mitigation braking system had a false detection, and did activate the brakes and was incredibly close to causing a collision with a car driving behind me. On this same stretch of road, Ive had this occur two other times (out of hundreds I've driven on it), but no one was behind me and would not have caused an accident. In both of these spots, the road is fairly straight and the speed limit is 40 MPH. This hasn't been inspected by a dealer. This hasn't been inspected by Honda, the police, or insurance. There were no prior warnings to this issue occurring.
The automatic braking system for my car went off in the middle lane of a 3 lane highway. luckily there was no cars driving around me so i was not hit. It sensed something and dropped my speed from 55 to 20 in a couple seconds throwing me forward. If not for my seatbelt and my arms my face could have hit the steering wheel. This …
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The automatic braking system for my car went off in the middle lane of a 3 lane highway. luckily there was no cars driving around me so i was not hit. It sensed something and dropped my speed from 55 to 20 in a couple seconds throwing me forward. If not for my seatbelt and my arms my face could have hit the steering wheel. This happened multiple times.
Official recalls
526V332000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger
May 21, 2026
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: 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.
24V064000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger
Feb 1, 2024
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: 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.
23V858000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump
Dec 18, 2023
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: 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.
23V458000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:master Cylinder
Jun 29, 2023
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Brake master cylinder separation can cause a loss of brake function and increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: 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.
21V215000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump
Mar 25, 2021
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: 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.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
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