"How reliable is the 1990 Honda Civic?"

"Based on 110 NHTSA complaints, the 1990 Honda Civic has a median complaint mileage of 168862 miles. The most common issue is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION."

"What are common problems with the 1990 Honda Civic?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1990 Honda Civic is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION, accounting for a significant portion of the 110 total complaints filed."

1990 Honda Civic: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 110 complaints

110

Total Complaints

168,862mi

Median Mileage

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

145,000 25th Percentile

168,862 Median Mileage

170,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION

SEAT BELTS

SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY

SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE

SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"TRANSMISSION FAILED. *SKD"

"ALL SEATBELTS DO NOT PROPERLY RETAIN CARSEAT ALLOWING TOO MUCH SLACK. TT"

"CONSUMER IS NOT OWNER WAS SITTING IN THE BACK SEAT OF CAR WIFE WAS IN FRONT THE SEAT BELT DIDN'T HOLD THE TWO PASSENGER. TT"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28