23 complaints reported

2018 Honda Civic Electrical System

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
23
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
1

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Jan 2025

Car battery died 3 times. Bought new battery after it being towed 2 times. 500. Door handle had to be replaced labor and costs over one thousand dollars. September 2024 bought used. This should be a recall.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2025
Jun 2024

Body control module constantly fails and begins to parasitically drain the battery of the vehicle. I've had to swap the body control module twice now after it has failed shortly after the warranty period. This is not as serious as other issue but having the battery drained at unexpected times can cause safety issues.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Mar 2024
Apr 2024

Water leaks in trunk every time it rains and stays in spare tire wheel well causing rust on spare tire, tools, etc. Also mold has presented in trunk which is another problematic issue. Honda Service Technician found wire/cable on wire harness that is not routed properly, damage to trunk seal is present from rubbing, recommended replace trunk seal and reroute cable. After checking online there are several complaints with the same issue. Honda is placing the responsibility of repair on the customer even though the customer did not perform the wiring. The water leak and the mold it causes needs to be addressed and recalled for repair ASAP. THANK YOU

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Apr 2024
Feb 2024 Injury

The contact is an attorney who represented the owner of a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the client had taken pain medication and fell asleep in the driver's seat with the seat heater activated. The client slept for approximately seven hours and sustained severe burns the his lumbar region. The client was later admitted to the local hospital and treated for third-degree burns. The contact was concerned that the seat heater may have failed and became too hot causing injuries to the client. The vehicle was not yet examined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not contacted. The failure mileage was unknown.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2024
Oct 2023

Last week my body control module (bcm) malfunctioned in my car. I was first alerted to this from a car alarm going off. I tried my key fob and nothing happened. Despite nothing happening I walk outside to find it is actually coming from my car and none of the key fob buttons are working.(I have 2 I tried) I was completely locked out of my car and even the physical key was not opening the door. Yet for some reason the trunk was unlocked.(not able to enter car through here.) Looking inside the care to my amazement it was turned on in accessory mode despite me having absolutely no contact with the key except hours prior but the vehicle was properly shut off at that time. The safety concerns posed by this is that this could happen at any point potentially locking a pet, a child, or myself into my car with no means of escape. The car was only in accessory mode, but that means it’s fully capable of turning itself on by itself. Had I parked my car in the garage and it turned over, I’d probably be laying in my house dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. Upon looking online, there were countless occurrences of this happening in Honda’s newer vehicles 2016+. Even to the point where Honda recalled the same body control module issue in their accord and insight models. But why not the civic in their line which suffers from the same issue as their flagship vehicles? I am still unable to get into my car at the moment so I have the part but I’m looking to get it fixed asap as it’s my only vehicle.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2023
Sep 2023

I am the original owner of the above listed vehicle. The AC is not circulating cold air. I brought it in to get inspected and was told that the AC went out and has to be replaced. It is retaining freon, but it’s not circulating.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2023
Jul 2023

The car makes loud noise in back near gas cap. The Honda dealer states there's a electrical gas locking mechanism gone bad and needs to be replaced. They were out of part for the fuel door latch actuator. Seems like lots of people having this problem.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jul 2023
Jan 2023

The computer board is out and on back order. I have to boost my care EVERYTIME I attempt to drive it. It has been out since January and won't be in until March 8th. They won't give me a loaner car at all. Nothing showed on the dash. The car automatically stays on but won't crank up but that is why the battery is being ran down.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Mar 2023
May 2021

THE BATTERY THAT CAME WITH THIS NEW CAR DIES EVERY 2 WEEKS FOR NO RHYME OR REASON! THIS BATTERY NEEDS TO BE RECALLED IT’S NOT RIGHT. HONDA REFUSES TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM AND PRETENDS THAT IT PASSES THE BATTERY TEST WHEN IT SHOULD BE FAILING THE BATTERY TEST. PLEASE HELP.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2020
Apr 2021

AIR CONDITIONER STOPPED WORKING, BLOWS OUT HOT AIR. DEALER SAID CONDENSER WAS LEAKING. HEARD THERE WAS RECALL ON SOME HONDA CIVICS FOR THIS ISSUE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Mar 2021
Jan 2021

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LOW-PRESSURE TIRE WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DEALER HONDA OF NEWNAN (391 NEWNAN CROSSING BYPASS, NEWNAN, GA 30265: (678) 552-2071) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH NEEDING ALL 4 TIRES TO BE REPLACED AND AN ALIGNMENT PERFORMED. THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN REPAIRED BUT CONTINUED TO EXPERIENCE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 20,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2020
Jun 2020

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, WHEN WARM AIR WAS ENTERING THE CAB OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO LOCAL DEALER HONDA OF VALLEY STREAM SERVICE LOCATED AT 396 W MERRICK RD, VALLEY STREAM, NY 11580, (516) 285-6655, AND WAS INFORMED WITH NEEDING AC COMPRESSOR TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED AS OF YET. THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN INFORMED OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 39,948.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2020
Nov 2019

SEVERAL ISSUES WITH THE TOUCH SCREEN, WHEN COLD OUT THE SCREEN WILL NOT COME ON, ONLY DISPLAYS A BLANK WHITE SCREEN. THIS REQUIRES SEVERAL RESTARTS, SCREEN GOES BLANK (BLACK) LOSE ALL CONTROLS AND RADIO. EVEN AFTER PULLING OVER AND RESTARTING THE VEHICLE SEVERAL TIMES, SOMETIMES IT WILL NOT COME BACK ON FOR MILES AND THEN COMES IN AND OUT UNTIL IT FULLY REBOOTS. WILL MAKE A TONE AND SHUT DOWN THE ENTIRE SCREEN DURING NAVIGATION AND AFTER PULLING OVER AND RESTARTING THE VEHICLE SEVERAL TIMES, WILL SOMETIMES NOT RE-ENGAGE NAVIGATION AT ALL, UNTIL NEXT DAY.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Nov 2019
Jun 2019

BACK UP CAMERA IS FUZZY WITH VERY LOW RESOLUTION ESPECIALLY DURING THE EVENING OR LOWER DAYLIGHT. THIS MAY CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY SINCE RESOLUTION IS VERY POOR. CAMERA LENS IS NOT DIRTY OR SCRATCHED

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jun 2019
May 2019

TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM COMES ON. TIRE PRESSURE IS EXACTLY 34/35 PSI AS DOOR PANEL ADVISES. RESET THE TPMS SYSTEM TO FIX THE WARNING. ALSO, AFTER DRIVING 100 MILES, THE CRUISE CONTROL, LANE KEEP, & COLLISON MITIGATION SYSTEM FAILED. HAD TO STOP CAR, TURN IT OFF, AND RESTART TO GET WARNINGS TO DISAPPEAR.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: May 2019
May 2019

KEYFOB RANGE REDUCED DRASTICALLY USED TO BE ABLE TO REMOTE START MY CAR FROM OVER 200FT. NOW I CAN'T EVEN DO IT OVER 30FT. EVEN ONE OF THE SALE MEN SAID IT WAS A PROBLEM BECAUSE HE WAS ABLE TO START HIS OWN CIVIC FROM OVER A 100FT. THE SERVICE MANAGE TOLD ME THE LAST TIME I CAME IN TO CHECK IF THERE WAS ANY NEW (BECAUSE THEY NEVER CALL OR RETURNED MY CALL) SAID THAT CORPORATE HONDA DIDN'T HAVE A FIX AND THAT MULTIPLE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. HE THEN GAVE ME A BUNCH OF RIDICULOUS REASONS (SO MUCH ELECTRICAL SYSTEM THAT IT CAN DRAIN THE BATTERY EVEN WITH THE CAR OFF AND THAT THE CAR IS PROTECTING ITSELF FROM DRAINING COMPLETELY BY "SHUTTING DOWN SOME SYSTEM" WHEN THE CAR IS OFF. OTHER EXCUSES THEY TOLD ME WAS THAT MY WINDOWS WERE TINTED (THEY ARE CERAMIC TINTED WHICH DOES NOT INTERFERE WITH SIGNAL LOSS) IT COULD BE MY DASHCAM, OR MY SUBWOOFER. I WOULD HAVE CONSIDERED IT IF IT HAPPENED AFTER I JUST HAD THEM INSTALLED. BUT I HAD EVERYTHING INSTALLED 3 MONTHS AFTER I BOUGHT THE CAR WHICH WAS OVER A YEAR AGO AND THE PROBLEM JUST SHOWED UP A COUPLE MONTHS AGO. GOES TO SHOW YOU THAT NOT JUST HONDA BUT CAR DEALERSHIPS WILL DO ALL THEY CAN TO NOT FIX YOUR CAR. I EVEN SENT CORPORATE HONDA A MESSAGE AND ALL THEY SAID WAS GO TO A DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP... SERIOUSLY? YOU'D THINK THEY'D TRAIN TECHS TO BE ADEQUATE ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH AN ISSUE LIKE THIS. I AM NOT GOING TO DRIVE 45MIN (CLOSEST LOCATION) TO BE TOLD THE SAME THING. AFTER I ASKED THE DEALERSHIP TO SEE IS THE RECEIVER IN THE CAR COULD BE THE PROBLEM THEY TOLD ME THEY WOULD HAVE TO CHARGE ME A LABOR FEE TO DO THAT. WAS A HONDA FAMILY BUT WILL NOT BE PURCHASING ANOTHER HONDA IN THE FUTURE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2019
May 2019 Fire

ELECTRICAL FIRE WITHIN THE DRIVER DOOR. A FIRE STARTED WHILE VEHICLE WAS PARKED OUTSIDE AND OFF AT MALL IN TOLEDO, OHIO. WEATHER HAD BEEN RAINY. CAME OUT TO VEHICLE AND THE INSIDE WAS FILLED WITH SMOKE. AFTER FIRE DEPARTMENT AND TOWING AGENCY MANAGED TO GET THE PASSENGER DOOR OPEN TO GET INSIDE, IT WAS REVEALED THAT THE DRIVE DOOR HAD BEEN ON FIRE AND MELTED. THE FIRE HAD ALSO DESTROYED THE HEADLINER, DRIVE SEAT AND LEFT THE SMOKE DAMAGED INTERIOR COVERED IN SOOT. THERE WAS ALSO A HOLE IN THE DRIVER FLOOR, REVEALING POSSIBLE FRAME DAMAGE. HONDA SAYS THAT THEY ARE INVESTIGATING TO SEE WHICH COMPONENT CAUSED THE FIRE. DURING A PREVIOUS OIL CHANGE IN FEBRUARY, I HAD MENTIONED TO THE MECHANICS THAT THE CAR HAD BEEN BEEPING RAPIDLY WHILE IT WAS OFF AND THE KEY FOB WAS OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE. IT IS ONLY SUPPOSED TO DO THIS IF THE VEHICLE IS STILL RUNNING. I WAS TOLD THAT THIS WAS NORMAL WHEN THE WEATHER WAS COLD, BUT IT ALSO HAPPENED WHEN IT WAS WARM OUTSIDE, AND BECOMING MORE FREQUENTLY AS TIME WENT ON. THIS CONCERN WAS BRUSHED OFF BY BROWN HONDA, WHO ALSO REFUSED TO PROVIDE A LOANER VEHICLE WHILE HONDA WAS INVESTIGATING THE ISSUE. HONDA CORPORATE SAID THAT THE BEEPING SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING IF THE CAR IS OFF. I AM CURRENTLY WAITING ON HONDA FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Nov 2019
Jan 2019

2018 HONDA CIVIC - EX-L INFOTAINMENT SCREEN (RADIO, HEAT, NAVIGATION SYSTEM, A/C, ETC CONTROLS TOUCHSCREEN) WILL FLASH OFF AND ON WHILE DRIVING INCLUDING DURING BACKUP CAMERA AND NAVIGATION SYSTEM USE. ISSUE IS INTERMITTENT AND NOT PREDICTABLE. HONDA DEALERSHIP HAS ATTEMPTED TWO RE-FLASHES OF THE SOFTWARE TO CORRECT THE ISSUE WITH NO POSITIVE RESULT. HONDA REPRESENTATIVE STATES THAT THE ISSUE HAS NO RESOLUTION AND WILL DO NOTHING FURTHER TO CORRECT THE ISSUE ON MY VEHICLE AND MAY HAVE A FIX AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Aug 2018
Jan 2019

ON THE 1ST OF JULY 2019. AFTER I START THE CAR IN THE MORNING, THEN I PUT IT INTO REVERSE GEAR TO BACK UP FROM THE PARKING SPACE. BUT THE BACKUP CAMERA TURNS THE PURPLE SCREEN.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2019
Dec 2018

HONDA CIVIC 2018 MANUAL TRANSMISSION. BUMPING THE KEYCHAIN WITH MY KNEE CAN ROTATE THE KEY IN THE IGNITION TURNING OFF THE CAR WHILE DRIVING. I HAVE A STANDARD SIZE KEY RING WITH A COUPLE CAR KEYS AND WORK/HOME KEYS. THEY DON'T HANG DOWN VERY FAR BUT DO SO FAR ENOUGH TO CONTACT MY KNEE WHEN DRIVING. WHEN IN MOTION, AS I SHIFT AND TAKE MY FOOT OFF THE GAS MY KNEE PUSHES ON THE KEYS. ON THREE OCCASIONS, ALL ON CITY STREETS SO FAR, THIS PUSH HAS BEEN ENOUGH TO ROTATE THE KEY IN THE IGNITION AND TURN OFF THE CAR.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2018
Nov 2018

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 HONDA CIVIC. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE SPUTTERED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO LUNDGREN HONDA OF AUBURN (163 WASHINGTON ST, AUBURN, MA 01501) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT A MOUSE CHEWED THROUGH THE WIRE HARNESS. THE DEALER ALSO STATED THAT THERE WERE NO WARRANTIES ON THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 7,300. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Nov 2018
Nov 2018

(4 COMPLAINTS, ALL POSSIBLY ELECTRICAL) 1) KEY NOT DETECTED IN VEH ERROR, WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE, I HAVE THE KEY NOT CONNECTED TO ANYTHING AND NO LONGER IN A POUCH, MY CAR BEEPS AND SAYS "KEY NOT DETECTED IN THE VEHICLE) THIS HAS HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING ON THE STREET AND FREEWAY. IT IS A RANDOM OCCURRENCE BUT HAPPENS ON A DAILY BASIS. 2) BLUETOOTH IS NOT CLEAR ON THE PERSON SPEAKING TO ME'S SIDE. OTHER PERSON STATES AS WELL AS HONDA TECH LINE STATES IT IS UNCLEAR, MUFFLED, AND LOUD INTERFERENCE WITH MY VOICE HAPPENS WHILE USING BLUTOOTH. 3) CAR PLAY: DUE TO BLUETOOTH ISSUE I STARTED ONLY TAKING CALLS WHILE USING CAR PLAY. ONCE I STARTED USING I STARTED HAVING THE ISSUE OF IT STATING RANDOMLY AFTER BEING SUCCESSFULLY CONNECTED"CAR PLAY NOT SUPPORTED" WHILE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CALL IT WILL DISCONNECT AND I WILL HAVE TO PULL OVER TO ATTEMPT TO RECONNECT. RIGHT AFTER CAR PLAY WILL CONNECT AGAIN AND WORK UNTIL IT RANDOMLY DISCONNECTS AGAIN SAYING CAR PLAY NOT SUPPORTED. NOTE: WITH CAR PLAY AND BLUETOOTH ISSUE I HAVE TAKEN CAR INTO DLR MULTIPLE TIMES STARTING WITH THE DAY AFTER THE VEH WAS PURCHASED IN 1/29/2018 NO RESOLUTION SO FAR TO DATE. DLR HAS REPLACED MICROPHONE, AND STILL NO RESOLUTION AS OF YET 4) DRIVER WINDOW MAKES WEIRD SOUND LIKE IT IS COMING OFF THE TRACK, TOOK INTO DLR AND THEY REPLACED THE MOTOR FOR THE WINDOW, THE WINDOW STILL HAS ISSUE. ** I HAVE MORE PHOTOS OF RECORDS FROM TAKING VEH INTO DLRSHIP. BUT THIS FORM ONLY ALLOWS ME TO UPLOAD 5

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2018
Jul 2018

THE ENGINE WIRING HARNESS COVER COMPOSITION IS ATTRACTIVE TO RODENTS. SQUIRRELS CHEWED INTO THE HARNESS LEADING TO LOSS OF ACCELERATION. THE ENTIRE HARNESS NEEDS REPLACING DUE TO THE SOY BASED WIRE COATING. THE FAILURE WAS FIRST NOTICED WHILE AT SPEED (APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH IN CITY TRAFFIC. SUBSEQUENT ATTEMPTS AT STARTING THE VEHICLE RESULTED IN ROUGH IDLE AND DANGEROUS HESITATION WHEN MERGING. LOCAL DEALER ADVISES THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE AFFECTING THE UK ASSEMBLED CIVIC HATCH BACK. ESTIMATE FOR REPLACEMENT IS $900.00 AS THIS IS NOT COVERED BY HONDA.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Feb 2018

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2018 Honda Civic has 23 Electrical System complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.