2016 Honda Civic UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
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Chronological view of owner reports
The inside of the car smells like coolant and the air is making the front dashboard foggy. One area of the Central ac is blowing cooler than the other.
The air conditioning system is a failure. First my condenser went out and they replaced it with the extended warranty they provided. Now my evaporator is leaking and they do not have an extended warranty on it. Cost to replace is $2,100.00. This is a safety concern in California because of the smog. I could no longer keep my windows up when driving because of the heat and a/c not working.
The rearview camera image may not appear. This does not happen constantly, but it will happen from time to time when reversing. Sometimes the problem will not correct itself until the vehicle is restarted. I did not know that a safety recall might be needed until I just saw the recall for the same issue in the Honda Pilots
The A/C hasn't fully worked since car was purchased in 2016. Driver side blows hot air and passenger side cool (not cold) air in summer and in winter/cold months it stays warm on driver side and cool (doesn't get warm enough) on passenger side. Car has been taken to dealership and issue has still not been fixed. No recall by Honda regarding this issue, but lots of forums and complaints online about the same issue. Car was not used for more than 3 months of summer heat last year after being "fixed" and once the hot weather started this year it is back to 100+ degrees inside the car with no A/C cooling the car. Even set to Lo, fan at full speed, parked inside garage for a day, and started in the morning, the air blows hot. Having to drive in a hot car is a heat stroke/exhaustion waiting to happen and a hazard to be on the road.
The A/C began to take longer and longer to cool the car. After not driving the car for a year due to illness, I drove it again and the A/C blew nothing but hot air. After an initial Google search I discovered Honda had extended a warranty to 10 years for defective A/C condensers. However, I cannot find a recall for this repair anywhere. I've taken the car to a mechanic and was quoted a price of $1200 repair the condenser.
On 4/16/23, I noticed that the paint surrounding my rear window is peeling from the body of the car. There have been no dings nor accidents; the paint just started peeling. Obviously, this is not a safety issue, but I have read that Honda has had issues with defective paint with other models.
Air conditioner not working
The transmission failed in the middle of a busy boulevard. I was waiting, then attempting to drive forward to make a u-turn. The speed limit was 55 mph, cars were honking and had to change lanes not to hit me - and it was raining. The car was towed to our local dealer where we purchased and seek all maintenance on the car (and 3 previous Hondas). We were told a belt may have broken and that it had to be replaced; the cost $6400. There were no warning lamps or messages. Probably not relevant but the dealer could not replace the transmission as none are available currently and there is no available estimation of when one would come available. We had to choose between trading the car in without a transmission or (what we chose) have the dealer install a used transmission.
Air conditioner leaking Freon at 40k miles and it’s a known problem $2000 repair. Known problem with Honda civics
The back up camera does not work if the car is put into reverse immediately after starting the car. The Honda logo appears on the screen and the car still reverses. If you put the car back in park and then move it back to reverse, usually the camera will come on. Sometimes, the car has to be restarted for the backup camera to work. I did not know this was something that needed to be reported until I saw that Ford recalled several of their vehicles for this same issue.
I have had multiple problems with the vehicles air conditioning system leaking and adding harmful HFC chemicals to the atmosphere and making driving uncomfortable on warm days. There are known issues with Honda years 2016-2018 air conditioning systems and they should be fixing these problems under warranty or recalls. My first issue of the A/C blowing warm air was 8/10/2021 and cars mileage was 49,760 miles. I brought it into a Honda dealer and they stated they found high side and low side O rings leaking . They replaced them, recharged system and charged me $425.00. The next issue with blowing warm air was May 2023 and 56,311 miles. I brought the vehicle to an independent repair garage . They found a leak in the evaporator and a defective expansion valve. They replaced the evaporator core and expansion valve. This cost me another $2008.43. These year 2016-2018, Honda's have many issues with the air conditioning system and all major components compressor, condenser, evaporator and the expensive refrigerant should be covered under warranty for these system leaks in multiple components. I understand Honda has a 10 year warranty extension on the A/C condenser. Honda needs to step up and take responsibility and fix all of the issues with the air conditioning systems and quit adding all these refrigerants to the atmosphere .
EXPLODING SUNROOF: (editing from an email to Honda on June 13, 2022) I have had numerous Hondas (and Civics) over the years and bought a 2016 Honda Civic (with extended warranty (just expired I think). While driving from Oregon to California (for a conference in Asilomar) June 13, 2022 on Hwy 680, I heard a noise and thought someone had hit me - but didn't see any car. I pulled off the freeway and pulled over and examined the car and see that the sunroof had exploded. I stopped at Envision Honda (Milpitas) to ask them about it and see what it would take to repair (they had mentioned they had heard that happening to several others), then proceeded to ValStrough Honda (Seaside) closer to my conference - I asked them to order the part ($541.72 + labor (they didn't have anyone there at the time to quote (the previous dealer thought ~$146). The dealer in Seaside thinks the part should be in on Wed and I hope to have it replaced. I have not had time to see how much of the roof or trunk has been scratched (one of the employees at Envison pointed it out to me) Had I not had the visor closed the glass presumably would have come into the car, and likely causing me to have an accident - this is a HUGE safety issue. The glass did stream behind my car, but luckily did not cause an accident as far as I know. I have started googling the issue and see others such as the person below had a nearly identical experience. I think that Honda should pay for the repairs to my vehicle; as well as put out a warning. I believe that this could easily led to deaths of some drivers in the future. Update: I was charged $541.72 + 245.00= $786.72 for the repair Richard Sniezko 541-954-6793 https://www.wesh.com/article/hundreds-of-sunroofs-spontaneously-exploding/30970599 https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/exploding-sunroof-cases-head-to-court/
AC compressor is leaking causing damage to the rest of the system and in the winter frost to build up on the inside of the car and during the summer the humidity in the car become so much your windows fog up to dangerous conditions.
A/C Compressor had to be replaced after 3.5 years of purchased. After 2.5 years, AC is blowing hot air again.
structure --- : 2016-2019 Civic C-Pillar Paint Peel in rear window area
Although my car runs fine and the Check Engine Light (or any other warning light) did not illuminate, my car suddenly went into Limp Mode. I was on the I-90 East Freeway out of Seattle, just heading into a tunnel plus a bridge. Everyone was going about 65 (as was I), and suddenly I'm cut down to about 20 mph with no shoulder to turn onto. I'm surprised I didn't cause a huge pile-up - as cars curved toward the tunnel and into relative darkness, they had to suddenly slam on their breaks. I guess it would be one thing if Limp Mode engaged because my engine was about to blow up. But my mechanic found no error codes, nothing wrong. I am reading similar stories all over the Internet and never have I once seen a case in which an engine had a catastrophic problem that justified Limp Mode. Is Honda waiting around for a fatality before they'll issue a recall? They came very close to having one on the day this happened to me, and there have surely been many other near-misses. I'm afraid to drive on the freeway now!
While driving on the freeway on 1/6/2022, the sunroof suddenly exploded above my head. It was as if something was dropped from the sky and glass fell down on my head and into the exterior of the car. I was able to maintain control of the vehicle and maintain safety but it was absolutely terrifying. This car is brand new to me as of 12/11/21. Nothing was visibly wrong with the sunroof and I wasn’t driving under an underpass, so nothing could have been thrown at me from above. What is left of the tempered glass sunroof is spiderwebbed and continues to fall into the car and it is not drivable until repair.
THE A/C was not functioning. It was not blowing cold air. The A/C suction hose was leaking. The A/C suction hose was replaced and refrigerant was added. After the repair, the A/C functioned normally.
The Condensor on my 2016 Honda Civic Sedan is not working AGAIN. The condenser was replace by recall 2 years ago, I went on a trip to Nebraska last year from Utah, and a rock punctured the system. I go to use my car this spring and the AC doesn't work again. I took it into Ken Garff Riverdale of Utah, and I was just informed the condenser has seized yet again, and they are hoping that none of the motor fragments are in the system. Or the call it the "Black Death" and the whole internal system of the vehicle has to be replaced. I was sold a lemon of a car from Larry H Miller Murray of Utah. I am now close to $15,000 in repairs on this stupid car.
AC Compressor failed resulting in all refrigerant to leaking out of system. By law automotive refrigerant is required to be recycled as to not pollute the environment, Honda replaced the AC condenser because a lawsuit found that holes in the AC condenser tubes resulted in refrigerant leaking from the system and inevitable the failure of the AC system. AC system was inspected and found that the AC compressor had leaked and is defective. From doing some research it turns out that the AC compressor on Hondas is a common issue a lot of Honda owners have, spending thousands to replace the defective part. Also from all these defective compressors so much of the refrigerant ends up leaking and polluting the environment.
I have been giving the run around on my car ac problem. At first dealer they said it was a part that was on recall from Honda corporate that was on recall that was giving intermittent ac problem. They said it was the condenser. It ended up not fixing my issue. So after a while the AC completely stop working had a mechanic check it out and turned out it was the compressor. Seems online people are having issues on all components of the ac system because it was not designed to handle the new refrigerant they use on this car. It’s to the point there’s a lawsuit please have them recall the entire ac system.
Air conditioning unit slowly quit blowing out cold air. Actually it happened in 2020. I read there was a problem with the unit holding Freon.
Both Honda Fit 2012 and Honda Civic 2016 door actuators do not work properly not allowing the door to unlock or lock consistently
I own a 2016 Honda Civic EX, that had the condenser issue. My condenser has failed for the 3rd time in 6 years. I faced the first issue in 2018, but was re-imbursed for the damages in 2021. The second issue was in 2019 and it was covered under the condenser warranty extension The third issue is in 2022 and the American Honda representative told me that I might have to pay out of pocket since the warranty extension was covered only for condensers installed in the factory. In short, I'm having to come to the dealer every 1-2 years for a condensor replacement. If the warranty does not cover my repair, then I'll have to shell out a high sum of money for replacement. This can't be done at a local garage due to a unique refrigerant used in the vehicles. All in all, I'm sick of the repeated repairs with my condensor.
Air conditioner suddenly not functioning. The dealership confirmed that the AC condenser and evaporator core were leaking and needed to be replaced. The condenser was covered under an extended 10 year warranty issued by Honda because of manufacture defect. However, the evaporator core is not and had to pay out of pocket for it to be repaired. I’ve have done research and have discovered that the evaporator core malfunctions just as mush as the condenser. That is why I feel Honda needs to also establish an extended warranty for that part as well since they are both related. There were no indicators telling me the parts were failing.
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Quick Summary
The 2016 Honda Civic has 177 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.