"How reliable is the 2003 Honda Civic?"

"Based on 618 NHTSA complaints, the 2003 Honda Civic has a median complaint mileage of 80000 miles. The most common issue is AIR BAGS."

"What are common problems with the 2003 Honda Civic?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2003 Honda Civic is AIR BAGS, accounting for a significant portion of the 618 total complaints filed."

2003 Honda Civic: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 618 complaints

618

Total Complaints

80,000mi

Median Mileage

AIR BAGS

Top Issue

127

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

36,000 25th Percentile

80,000 Median Mileage

127,027 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS

120

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

STRUCTURE:BODY

POWER TRAIN

SEAT BELTS

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Severity Assessment

127

Crashes

Fires

109

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHEN COMING TO A SLOW STOP, WITH BRAKE LIGHTLY APPLIED, THE VEHICLE IS DESIGNED TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE AND DISENGAGE THE TRANSMISSION WHILE THE VEHICLE IS STILL MOVING. DUE TO USE OF THE ENGINE AS A GENERATOR TO CHARGE THE PROPULSION BATTERY AT THIS POINT, THE FRICTION IS SUBSTANTIAL AND CONTRIBUTE..."

"CONSUMER STATED UPON ENTERING THE DRIVEWAY OF HER HOME, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AND COULD NOT BE STOPPED BY APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE VEHICLE HIT THE REAR WALL OF THE GARAGE CAUSING DAMAGE TO BOTH THE AUTOMOBILE AND HER HOME.*JB"

"HONDA CIVIC HYBRID: WHEN OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE IS VERY LOW AND CAR IS COLD, THE DRIVERS SIDE ELECTRIC WINDOW DOES NOT ROLL BACK UP AFTER IT HAS BEEN ROLLED DOWN. ONCE THE CAR HAS WARMED THE WINDOW WILL ROLL UP BUT THIS CAN TAKE SEVERAL MINUTES. JANUARY IS VERY COLD TO BE DRIVING WITH THE WINDOW DOWN. ..."

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.

AIR BAGS 120 complaints

25th: 82,000 mi Median: 120,000 mi 75th: 154,311 mi

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 72 complaints

25th: 44,000 mi Median: 74,000 mi 75th: 90,000 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 36 complaints

25th: 39,778 mi Median: 116,735 mi 75th: 144,000 mi

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 28 complaints

25th: 7,393 mi Median: 64,000 mi 75th: 125,803 mi

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20 complaints

25th: 70,540 mi Median: 122,000 mi 75th: 170,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 115 NY: 50 FL: 43 VA: 39 TX: 39 MD: 30 NJ: 27 PA: 26 OH: 26 NC: 21

Who Files Complaints?

24.3%

Original Owners

75.7%

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	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION	22
1991	143	140,000	SEAT BELTS	13
1992	113	116,754	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION	29
1993	178	140,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	48
1994	171	116,100	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	79
1995	252	140,500	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	103
1996	383	98,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	96
1997	452	77,400	AIR BAGS	78
1998	502	96,702	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	92
1999	404	127,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	75
2000	350	76,650	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	91
2001	1357	90,500	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	206
2002	876	90,000	AIR BAGS	144
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