Overview & Reviews

Since its launch in 1973, the Honda Civic has been one of the most popular compact cars sold in America. Its success can be attributed in large part to its consistently high level of quality inside and out and its long-standing reputation for reliability and low running costs. Impressive fuel economy and engaging performance have also played a role in making the Civic a top choice for many Americans.

The competition has largely caught up with Honda, though, and there are now many excellent small cars vying for your attention. Still, we continue to recommend the Civic due to its ergonomic interior layout, wide range of models and high resale value. For small-car shoppers in search of a solid used vehicle, the Honda Civic is certainly a smart choice, as its long production run and many variants make it easy to find what you want.

User Reviews:

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  Alternator Issue - 2012 Honda Civic
  By Kiran Mehta - January 18 - 11:16 am

  I had to replace the battery because it went dead. When I got replaced the battery at battery + I was told that I need to get Alternator checked out because it not charging the battery the way it should. So I called dealer they wanted $80 to run diagnostic on vehicle instead of spending $80 I went to my mechanic who is working on foreign cars for a while. He checked to see if battery is being charge while car is running and it wasnt, it was showing battery was holding at 12.4 V and it should have been 14 V. He tried various method to see if it charges the battery and finally when he turn the head lights on while car is running battery started charging and showing 14 v. He told me that it is weird and never saw anything like this. He thought probably the alternator was made that way. So I called to confirm with Honda company to see if they have any thing on this issue I was told they dont have information or recall on it. Rep at Honda company was pushing me to take it to dealer and pay $80 for diagnostic.

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  Eh - Couldve done more with my money - 2010 Honda Civic
  By Urme - January 13 - 9:02 am

  I bought the 2010 Civic LX - 4 door sedan new off the lot in July 2010. It was my first car purchase and, to be honest, Im regretting purchasing this (or any) car brand new. I paid $16,500 for it. Over five years later its valued around $7500-$9000, which is not bad. I was attracted to this car because its sleek body style. It looks just great in Taffeta White! As a 59" woman, the interior is a tad cramped. Its not the easiest to get in and out of and the drivers side door does not stay open/in place. When youre toting belongings, its quite annoying. The car handles well in the city, though Im not thrilled about the gas tank capacity (13.5) - I feel like Im constantly fueling up! The interior dash is as sleek looking as the body, which was a major bonus for me. The only real issue Ive had is that I had replace the brake pads (~$400) about 2.5-3 years into purchase. About a year later I was notified of a recall, but for some reason my vehicle did not qualify. Another annoying, but not insignificant issue I had immediately was the quality of the factory windshield wipers. Useless, actually dangerous, in any sort of precipitation. Even after having Honda give me new ones immediately after my purchase, I had to fork over $50 at AutoTire to get some decent ones. Highway driving is atrocious in this car. Acceleration is not great and you can feel too much of the highway. Also, the seats just arent comfortable enough for long trips. This is a good starter car, no doubt, but I would not recommend it for much else. After 5 years with this car, I cant wait to upgrade.

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  Careful! - 1996 Honda Civic
  By Juliet - December 23 - 5:57 pm

  Ok so i was here looking at reviews to purchase my 1996 honda civic and was amazed by all the good reviews. Anyways i bought my honda and turns out to be a total nightmare. First problem door locks broke then the driver door lock broke not opening from the inside or outside. Second i started having inflated water hoses. I changed the radiator and the hoses and the thermostat and water pump. I still continue with pressure in the hoses i have combustion gas going into my coolant system. I took to a mechanic turns out that apparently the timing belt broke and since these cars have an interference engine it caused the piston to bent the exhaust valves. Dont buy a car with interference engine buy with none interference engine this repair cost more then $1000.00 dollars beware there is no oil mixing with coolant nor engine noise or any white smoke and it runs like has no problems when u go buy this car take a combustion tester because i bought this car with bent valves and it seemed perfect also young kids burn out these cars beware. Test hoses for pressure and make sure they are not inflated also open radiator coolant for combustion gas make sure to do this with engine COLD. Check for bubbles in water or if u see weird glitter on radiator Stay away thats a Stop leak head cover or blue could be bluedevil STAY AWAY.

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  Lock actuator - 2013 Honda Civic
  By Miguel V - December 22 - 1:29 pm

  I bought my 2013 Honda Civic new. Its a good car, the only proble that I have is the lock actuator. I all ready replace all 4. Does any body have the same probles with the look actuators?

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  Even Honda knows they screwed up - 2012 Honda Civic
  By MLark - December 15 - 8:04 pm

  What more evidence do you need that the 2012 Civic was a half-baked effort than Honda refreshing the car every year following 2012? Their only performance-driven model during this MY neutered the fun of the previous generation, put in the boring engine from the CR-V, and eliminated the light and nimble experience in favor of unconfident bodyroll and numb steering. The exterior is odd AND impractical. By extending the windshield angle and adding small quarter-panel glass to the side windows, the front pillar creates a front blind spot during turning of any kind. The car feels heavier than it should. Thanks Honda for destroying the resale value of the 2012s by immediately updating the interior/exterior the very next year. Worst of all these cars come with a faulty clutch plate with defective springs that loosen and make a horrible grinding noise at 30K mi. I was lucky enough to get it changed under warranty, but many owners werent so lucky. Dont bother with this model, especially the 2012 version.

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  Do the research before buying - 2007 Honda Civic
  By Christian - December 4 - 4:00 pm

  This is my first car. Bought it all on my own and was fairly proud of it. But right after buying it, things started going down hill. Bought it in December, and whenever it is very cold, the engine makes this rattling sound. It is the most irritating thing on the planet. Makes me feel like I bought a junker. It makes this puttering sound too when every you turn the wheels when its cold too. Asked my dad about this problem and he said maybe the heat shields are faulty. Looked it up and saw other people are have the same problem. Then my motor mounts completely broke. Bought a warranty with the car, so that took care of it, but I was without a car for a week. This car cannot idle properly. This thing will idle at less than about 850rpm, and then slowly drift down to 500rpm. It makes the entire car shake. It will do this ALL the time. I just turn the steering wheel to make it rev up a little bit. Then recently my engine block cracked. I read reviews saying this happened to cars, but of course I had the attitude that it wouldnt happen to me. Sure enough, the engine block cracked and leaked all of my coolant. And an important note, if you car smells like maple syrup PAY ATTENTION TO IT AND CHECK YOU ENGINE COOLANT!!!! My car reeked of it days before this happened and couldnt figure out why. Sure enough it was my engine coolant. Fortunately Honda replaced it for free. It was still under the extended warranty they were forced to give. Hopefully this will help out some people. This could be a decent car for some, but having to do these types of repairs on a car whose brand is recognized for excellent quality is a little ridiculous. My parents have owned other Hondas, and those cars refused to die or get repaired. Maybe this model and year was just a hiccup for Honda. Just hoping this will be the last of major repairs. If not Im either selling it or sending it to a scrap yard. Other than these complaints it drives well, and gets great mileage. Was getting 35mpg+ on the highway. I love the sunroof and the navigation is kind of nice when I need it. And I can fit in it comfortably (Im 63), just no one can sit comfortable behind me. Just be aware of these problems before you buy it.

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  Honda Civic Hybrid Discontinued for 2016! - 2015 Honda Civic
  By Paul Contos - November 10 - 8:50 am

  I was poised to buy a 2015 Honda Civic Hybrid, and almost signed the paperwork on a late Sunday afternoon in Oct. 15. A tiny glitch in the negotiation w/the dealer stalled the process momentarily, and I put on hold the process for later in the week. That Sunday evening, through my own research, I discovered that Honda is discontinuing the Civic Hybrid for 2016. No one of the group of dealers I had been in touch with mentioned that fact to me (understandably so) and, as everyone knows now, the 2016 Honda Civic is a complete redesign from bottom to top, offering the 2 engine choices, a bit more internal room, etc., and many upgrades. That gave me a slight bit of pause as to, "Do I want to get something that is going to be the end of the line?" Tho I was for the most part impressed with the 15 Civic Hybrid, intelligent and discerning shopping behooves one to take time to research, if possible. There was a press embargo until Oct. 19th, when, after that time, much more info on the 16 Civic has become available. While not absolutely doing cartwheels over the external body design of the 2016 Civic, the new engine choices/specs, mileage specs, internal design, pricing, and recent reviews, etc. seem to be enough for myself to wait for the 2016 Civic to become available to check out. *Note: as this review does not allow me to press "submit" without making a choice for "Overall Rating" - though I did not purchase a 2015 Honda Civic Hybrid, Ill enter a 3 stars, for the test drive I took.

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  210,000 miles - 2008 Honda Civic
  By D - October 25 - 7:24 pm

  210,000 miles and still going strong, BUT mileage is down to 39 mpg and I have to keep replacing the rear tires do to a recall of the rear control arms years ago. The Honda tire warranty is horrible. I would not buy another one!!

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  1st Honda, a bit of a disappointment - 2013 Honda Civic
  By Paul H - October 21 - 7:48 pm

  I bought my civic after quite a few Nissans and Toyotas, wanted a Toyota but could not get a stripped down Corolla with a manual transmission. My Civic started out good, but like other reviews the paint chips off quickly, after 2-1/2 years it looks like my Black Corolla did after about 8 years. Im on my third battery, I think there are plenty of reviews on here and the web about issues with batteries that the dealers just deny any issue, they run a load test on a known dead battery at the dealer and replace under warranty so I guess I am stuck buying a new battery every 8-10 months, and I drive 40 miles a day minimum. The car has developed numerous rattles that my Toyotas never had and a nice knocking sound out of the right rear strut, my Nissans had plenty of rattles and knocks but they were cheap. My brakes have developed a heavier pulsation and fade that the dealer says is normal, finding a good Honda dealer for service has been a challenge, I have found one but its a drive but they at least try to fix my problems. My steering wheel has rubbed and made a grinding sound since I got it, things have been replaced but it comes back after a few months so hopefully it doesnt end up being something that gets worse and causes an accident, the dealers dont seem to be to bothered they just tell me it should be fine until the warranty runs out. All in all the car is good out of the dealership but Im not sure it is going to hold up over time, I feel like a bought a VW, my car has been in the dealership more than my 10 year old Corolla in only 2-1/2 years. This may be the first car I get rid of, before it goes out of warranty, but I wanted a Civic and I liked the look of the car, I was planning to get an SI or an accord but I think I will look elsewhere for my next car. The 2012 received some bad reviews and I should have known better than to believe it was all related to the design of the car, I think Honda just doesnt build their cars like they used to and from my viewpoint they dont back them up very well through their dealerships either. One last thing, the fuel economy is all lies, the best I have got on mine is 33 highway, this car needs a 6th gear for a manual transmission, and my 27 mpg is real world driving in Southern California where you accelerate from one light to the next and idle for 45 seconds at each light.

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  Engine Vibrates - 2015 Honda Civic
  By Junsuk Oh - October 19 - 11:32 am

  I have leased 2015 civic SE. From the very beginning, I noticed engine vibration with clear noise. It usually happens during reverse mode and frequently on drive mode. I dont understand the dealer keep saying this is normal. I wonder if this is true or not but obviously this civic has built poorly regardless of its reputation. I am quite disappointed by Honda as this is my first car from Honda and it gives me bad impression.