2016 Honda Civic reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2016 Honda Civic has 1,080 complaints with NHTSA after 11 years, or 81 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Civic years here — over the median of the other years, which is 35. NHTSA has 5 recalls on file, including Front passenger seat weight sensor, Fuel pump, and Parking brake.

Honda Civic sedan, 2016–2021 body — Photo by Dinkun Chen, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Complaints

1,080

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Steering (444 of 1,080), then Electrical system (119) and Engine (95). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 30,000 miles, and the middle half falls between 7,500 and 48,643 miles. Those filings include 36 that report a crash, 4 that report a fire, and 13 that report an injury.

Next to 2015 and 2017

The 2015 Civic has 380 complaints, 25 per year, and the 2017 has 592 complaints, 45 per year. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2017.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2016 Honda Civic. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (5)

Recall Front passenger seat weight sensor 2026-05-21 · NHTSA campaign 26V332000

Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.

Remedy Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.

Vehicles affected 98,892

Recall Fuel pump 2023-12-18 · NHTSA campaign 23V858000

Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

Remedy Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.

Vehicles affected 2,490,460

Recall Parking brake 2016-10-11 · NHTSA campaign 16V725000

Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Civic two door and four door 1.5L turbo and 2.0L vehicles. The electric parking brake (EPB) may not engage if it is applied immediately after turning the ignition off.

Remedy Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the vehicle's software to allow the EPB to engage immediately after the ignition is turned off, free of charge. The recall began on November 8, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KC6.

Vehicles affected 350,083

Recall Exterior lighting 2016-07-11 · NHTSA campaign 16V526000

Summary American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic 2-Door vehicles manufactured February 23, 2016, through May 20, 2016. The affected vehicles may have a damaged LED side marker light circuit board inside the taillight assembly, making the marker light inoperable. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Assoc. Equipment."

Remedy Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect both the taillight assemblies, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on August 31, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KB8.

Vehicles affected 11,846

Recall Engine 2016-02-09 · NHTSA campaign 16V074000

Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic vehicles manufactured September 22, 2015, to February 3, 2016 and equipped with 2.0L engines. The affected vehicles have engines with piston assemblies that may have been manufactured without a piston wrist pin circlip or with an incorrectly installed piston wrist pin circlip.

Remedy Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the piston assemblies and damaged engine components, as necessary, free of charge. Parts are expected to be available in the Summer of 2016. Owners were mailed an interim notification beginning March 31, 2016, and will be mailed a second notice when parts are available. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is JX9.

Vehicles affected 42,129

NHTSA's count is every vehicle in that campaign. A campaign can cover other model years and other models.

Complaints by component (1080 total)

Steering

444

Electrical system

119

Engine

Service brakes

Structure

Visibility and wipers

Powertrain

Exterior lighting

Air bags

Fuel and propulsion system

Electronic stability control (ESC)

Visibility

Wheels

Speed control

Equipment

Forward collision avoidance

Tires

Lane departure

Suspension

Engine and engine cooling

Seat belts

Seats

Parking brake

Air brakes

Fuel system, gasoline

Back-over prevention

Hydraulic brakes

Show 19 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Of the 494 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 30,000 miles. The middle half fall between 7,500 and 48,643 miles.

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"When the Honda Civic has been driven long enough for the steering to get warm, at highway speeds, the steering wheel will stick in position instead of centering itself. Manual adjustment has to be done to straighten the…"
Steering · filed 2026-09-10
"Mostly during warm weather and driving over 45MPH the steering gets sticky. When attempting to use a little pressure to make a slight correction to keep the care centered in the lane the steering "jumps" and over steers…"
Steering · filed 2026-09-08
"The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the steering wheel jerked, and the steering wheel was sticking. The contact stated that the failure was a known failure with the vehicle. The…"
Steering · filed 2026-09-02
"The check engine light came on the car had no power. The head gasket was blown."
Engine · filed 2026-09-01
"My 2016 Honda Civic has developed a steering problem in which the steering feels sticky or notchy while driving. The steering wheel does not move smoothly when making small corrections and can feel like it catches or…"
Steering · filed 2026-08-31

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2016 Honda Civic 2 DR FWD	5 stars	4 stars	5 stars	5 stars
2016 Honda Civic 4 DR FWD	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Annual fuel cost
Civic 2-door	1.5L, 4-cyl	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	31	41	35 MPG	$1850
Civic 2-door	2L, 4-cyl	Manual 6-speed	Front-wheel drive	26	37	30 MPG	$2150
Civic 2-door	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	30	39	34 MPG	$1900
Civic 4-door	1.5L, 4-cyl	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	31	42	35 MPG	$1850
Civic 4-door	2L, 4-cyl	Manual 6-speed	Front-wheel drive	27	38	31 MPG	$2100
Civic 4-door	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	30	40	34 MPG	$1900

Specs and fitment

10th generation, 2016–2021

Body styles Sedan, Coupe, Hatchback

Oil 0W-20 , 3.7 qt capacity

Tire size 215/55R16 (LX), 215/50R17 (EX/EX-L), 235/40R18 (Sport/Touring)

Known issues for this generation

The 1.5L turbocharged engine used in 2016-2018 Civics is affected by a well-documented oil dilution issue: unburned fuel from cold-start direct injection washes down the cylinder walls into the crankcase and mixes with the engine oil, most often on short trips in cold weather. Honda responded with engine control software updates (transmission and fuel injection modifications to warm the engine faster), a drain plug washer replacement, and extended the powertrain warranty to six years from original purchase with no mileage limit. Honda Canada issued the campaign as Service Campaign N60 in November 2018, and American Honda extended the update and the six-year warranty coverage nationwide in the US in May 2019.

Compare

Previous year 2015 Honda Civic Next year 2017 Honda Civic See every Honda Civic model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2016 Honda Civic reliable?

What are common problems with a 2016 Honda Civic?

Is the 2016 Honda Civic more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2015 Civic has 380 complaints, 25 per year, and the 2017 has 592 complaints, 45 per year. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2017.

Has the 2016 Honda Civic been recalled?

The 2016 Honda Civic has 5 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2016 Honda Civic?

Owners have filed 1080 complaints about the 2016 Honda Civic with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2016 Honda Civic get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2016 Honda Civic is 33.2 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What generation is the 2020 Honda Civic?

10th generation (2016-2021).

Does the Honda Civic have oil dilution problems?

1.5L turbo engines in 2016-2018 Civics were affected; Honda issued a software fix and extended the powertrain warranty to six years.