"How reliable is the 1999 Honda Civic?"

"Based on 404 NHTSA complaints, the 1999 Honda Civic has a median complaint mileage of 127000 miles. The most common issue is Electrical System."

"What are common problems with the 1999 Honda Civic?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1999 Honda Civic is Electrical System, accounting for a significant portion of the 404 total complaints filed."

1999 Honda Civic: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 404 complaints

404

Total Complaints

127,000mi

Median Mileage

Electrical System

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

76,625 25th Percentile

127,000 Median Mileage

161,500 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Electrical System

Switch

Frontal

Air Bags

Automatic Transmission

Engine

Unknown Or Other

Ignition

Tires

Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"SPOILER DESIGN WHICH IS ABOUT 4 INCH ABOVE THE TRUCK OBSTRUCTS THE VIEW IN THE REAR WHICH MAY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK"

"WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 5 TO 15 MPH CONSUMER TRIED TO MAKE A TURN TO LEFT OR RIGHT, TIRES WOULD TOUCH THE VEHICLE'S BODY ON EITHER SIDE. CONSUMER HAD TAKEN VEHICLE TO DEALER THREE TIMES FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. *AK"

"AT 3:30 P.M. ON 1/19/99 MY DAUGHTER STOPPED AT A FRIENDS HOUSE AND PARKED THE 99 HONDA CIVIC EX JUST OUTSIDE HER FRIEND'S GARAGE. SHE LEFT THE SUNROOF OPEN SLIGHTLY AND REMOVED THE IGNITION KEYS. AT 4:15 P.M WHEN SHE CAME OUT TO GET INTO THE CAR TO LEAVE, SHE NOTICED SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE SUN..."

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Electrical System 63 complaints

25th: 131,250 mi Median: 153,750 mi 75th: 188,803 mi

Switch 42 complaints

25th: 62,650 mi Median: 104,000 mi 75th: 161,000 mi

Frontal 33 complaints

25th: 45,000 mi Median: 56,813 mi 75th: 68,264 mi

Air Bags 26 complaints

25th: 94,250 mi Median: 114,000 mi 75th: 140,250 mi

Automatic Transmission 24 complaints

25th: 48,750 mi Median: 72,500 mi 75th: 76,875 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 76 NY: 31 FL: 29 TX: 24 NJ: 19 IL: 17 AZ: 16 PA: 15 GA: 15 OH: 14

Who Files Complaints?

31.4%

Original Owners

68.6%

Second+ Owners

Honda Civic — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	110	168,862	Ignition	22
1991	143	140,000	Seat Belts	13
1992	113	116,754	Ignition	29
1993	178	140,000	Frontal	48
1994	171	116,100	Frontal	79
1995	252	140,500	Frontal	103
1996	383	98,000	Frontal	96
1997	452	77,400	Air Bags	78
1998	502	96,702	Frontal	92
2000	350	76,650	Frontal	91
2001	1357	90,500	Automatic Transmission	206
2002	876	90,000	Air Bags	144
2003	618	80,000	Air Bags	127
2004	424	83,033	Air Bags	59
2005	396	75,000	Air Bags	91
2006	1708	60,000	Engine	108
2007	1464	45,000	Engine	64
2008	1078	50,000	Air Bags	89
2009	497	30,000	Air Bags	63
2010	485	39,880	Air Bags	48
2011	220	35,000	Air Bags	33
2012	618	28,523	Air Bags	91
2013	430	22,000	Air Bags	41
2014	377	29,000	Power Train	47
2015	480	45,726	Power Train	58
2016	1301	29,000	Steering	53
2017	726	21,998	Unknown Or Other	31
2018	807	30,000	Steering	41
2019	492	13,000	Steering	34
2020	281	11,522	Electrical System	22
2021	181	21,240	Steering	9
2022	1136	25,527	Steering	66
2023	318	9,776	Steering	32
2024	159	11,000	Steering	17
2025	80	1,567	Steering	8

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