Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | |||
| 12/11/2012 | 1 | ||
| Factory brakes are defective, wearing out the rotor with only 36,000 miles on the car. *tr | |||
| 12/11/2012 | |||
| Factory brakes are defective, wearing out the rotor with only 36,000 miles on the car. | |||
| 11/24/2012 | 63000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2009 honda civic. the contact stated that the front brake pads were wearing out prematurely. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure could not be replicated. the brakes were replaced. the manufacturer was contacted about the issue. the failure and current mileage was 63,000. | |||
| 11/24/2012 | 63000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2009 honda civic. the contact stated that the front brake pads were wearing out prematurely. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure could not be replicated. the brakes were replaced. the manufacturer was contacted about the issue. the failure and current mileage was 63,000. pmb | |||
| 11/24/2012 | 63000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2009 honda civic. the contact stated that the front brake pads wear prematurely. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure could not be replicated. the brakes were replaced. the manfucturer was contacted about the issue. the failure and current mileages were 63,000. mh | |||
| 03/07/2011 | 20000 | 1 | |
| When applying the brakes and the vehicle hits a bump or rough patch on the road, the brakes fail almost entirely. as a reactionary measure, i usually release and re-apply the brakes and then it works but there have been times where i apply the brakes as hard as i can without letting up because i'm about to read end the vehicle in front of me. in total since purchasing the car brand new, i'd say this happend over 30 times since september 2009. *tr | |||
| 03/07/2011 | 20000 | ||
| When applying the brakes and the vehicle hits a bump or rough patch on the road, the brakes fail almost entirely. as a reactionary measure, i usually release and re-apply the brakes and then it works but there have been times where i apply the brakes as hard as i can without letting up because i'm about to read end the vehicle in front of me. in total since purchasing the car brand new, i'd say this happend over 30 times since september 2009. | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, AIR | |||
| 03/21/2011 | 34189 | ||
| After putting 19,111 highway mileage on my 2009 honda civic dx, i was told by my honda dealer that i needed new front brakes. i did as i was told, and purchased my brakes for $226.39. this repair was done in august of 2010. 8 months later at 34,189 miles, i was told that i needed new front brakes again. i was furious and upset, because i recently got my brakes replaced. i made a complain to the store manager, and he was not helpful at all. i ended up paying another $229 to replace the front brakes. i was also told that my front rotors were worn out as a result of my bad brake pads. i did some research to see if other people had problems with their front honda civic brakes, and it seems like this has been a reoccurring problem with 2009 - 2011 honda civics. i am afraid of the safety of this vehicles, and something needs to be done before someone gets hurt because of this issue, that honda is not willing to rectify. | |||
| 03/22/2011 | 23500 | ||
| I purchased a 2009 civic in august of 2009. my car is now in the shop with less than 24k miles on the car in need of new brake pads and rotors. after researching the issues it seems that many '08 and '09 honda owners, especially civic owners, are having the same issue. the repair is not covered under any warranty and is a huge safety concern as well as a disappointment in the quality of manufacturing. i was told that this was a normal problem and not much concern was given over the safety of bad breaks at such an early age of a car. | |||
| 12/09/2010 | 28085 | ||
| 2009 honda civic lx - 28,085.00 miles. front driver's inside brake pad worn down to 1 millimeter. i noticed the squealing sound last week and it has progressively gotten worse. the inside piston on the driver caliper is not recovering after brake is applied therefore causing pad to wear out prematurely. this is an ongoing issue with honda accords but after researching this, it is an ongoing problem for honda civics as well. honda dealership said brakes/tires are not under warranty so they will not replace them for free or even discount the price and said they were not aware of a problem with the civic's brakes. | |||
| 10/22/2010 | 24000 | ||
| We have a 2009 honda civic with 24,000 miles on it. recently we noticed that there is a very high pitched sound when the car is in reverse and you brake. we called the dealer and was told that it was probably brakes. we explained we had a 2004 civic and didn't have to replace brakes for 113,000 miles and this didn't make sense. then we went online and found there is a huge problem with honda's braking system in the 2008-2009 models. | |||
| 05/08/2010 | 15854 | ||
| 2009 honda civic was in for 15,854 oil change (new car) end technician reported brakes were wearing on 2 front btakes and would probably need rplacement at 20,000 miles or sooner. squeeliong noise at times when brakes applied. this is too soon for brakes to be replaced and have problems on a new car | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRIC | |||
| 12/18/2009 | 22526 | ||
| Purchased car dec 18/2009 upon driving it home noticed that there was a vibration. did not think too much about it as there was alot of snow, assumed that there was snow in the rims, drove the car very little at first. busy life continued to drive in the spring assuming that maybe the vibration was due to the mud on the country roads. june 10/10 . had the wheels balanced at 5505 km because of the vibration. at 9842 km had oil changed note says tires do not need rotation front @ 8.5/32 and back at 8/32. at 22,526 km front 2 and left rear tires all at 7/32 but rr rear tire at 5/32 premature wear,was told that problem due to mud inpacted in tire. repalced rr rear tire with used one , date june 25/10. odometer now reads 32,606 and it is sept 15/10- time for winter tires. replace summer tires for winter ones. keep summer tires for 2011 summer. drive approx. 10,000 km and take to tire shop for rotation only to be told does not need rotation. bring back car at 52,547 km for rotation only to find out rr rear tire has a flat spot . took to honda who told us that the tire needed replacement and they checked the rear and front suspension., adjusting the rear suspension to the max. at the same time they mentioned that the front and rear rotors needed machining- premature wear on these as well. they said that they could tear the right rear suspension apart but that would take awhile, i said go ahead. they then decided not to do it. so we took the car home after the alignment and told the tire shop that they needed to provide us with a new tire. the tire shop manager was very , very angry. he prorated the old tire and we had to paid for the used portion. drove the car just under 10,000 km with new tire, so no wear to report at that time, odometer now 61915. changed over new tires to original summer ones. odometer now apprx. 64,000km , right rear tire upped and inside worn. currently trying to get in contact with honda dealership once again..... | |||
| 09/08/2010 | 21605 | ||
| My 2009 (automatic) honda civic ex slipped into neutral four during the night. for the first three times, the driver would allow the rpm's to drop causing us to sit in traffic for an undefined period of time before returning the car to the drive position. on the fourth time this happened, driver and i were in a large parking lot making a right turn with a building about a football field away. about halfway through the turn, the car was placed back into drive from neutral and it began to drive itself. as the car accellerated faster and faster the driver tried to slam on the brakes many times without the pedal even budging or the car slowing down in the slightest way. when we tried to turn the steering wheel it locked up in a straight away position, causing the car to hit at least two large curbed medians and go airborne each time. driver and i braced ourselves as the building came closer. we then hit the third and final curb, the car went airborne again slamming into the building at about six feet high on the wall. all airbags deployed, the passenger window shattered and windshield cracked. immediately after the crash i proceeded to place the car into park when the shifter itself came out. the car was still trying to drive itself through the building when we crashed. the civic was considered totaled and the insurance company is further investigating why this happened. | |||
| 03/17/2010 | |||
| When hitting a small pothole, or even a small bump in the road, and the brakes at the same time, the car will lurch forward several feet, and the brakes seems weak. | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 11/29/2011 | 26526 | ||
| The vehicle purchased new from a honda dealership in waukesha wis. on 11-28-2008. one yr. after purchase we noticed the engine would suddenly accelerate, when backing up, braking. the engine would suddenly accelerated for no apparent reason. the driver would need to depress the brake pedal with greater force, and then shift auto. trans into neutral. we took it back to the dealer 3 separate times, and they indicated they were unable to find the problem. on one occasion per their suggestion we purchased the rubber all weather honda floor mats at a cost of $110.00. i doubted this would fix the problem. in november 2011 the same problem was experienced a fourth time in a parking lot. while waiting in a parking lot the engine accelerated suddenly, and more pressure was applied to the brake pedal and shift into neutral. i notified the dealership of the continuing problem. on 11-29-2011 we left the civic at the dealer, and wayne nicklas the (ahm) would also examine the car with a mechanic. the mileage was 26,526. mr. nicklas met with us. he explained how they checked the tire depth, pressure, and the overall condition of the car. i then asked for specifics about the sudden acceleration, and he indicated they were unable to find the problem. according to mr. nicklas, there was no abnormal engine code, and it was possible that the problem did not occur long enough for the computer to record it. he denied other similar problems reported with civics. we found similar consumer complaints filed on web sites with civics involved in accidents. it was suggested we trade in the vehicle. we felt unsafe in continuing to operate the vehicle. the honda dealer left us hanging, and offered us no further help with trading in the vehicle. we incurred a substantial loss when we traded in the civic at another dealership. research found this is not an isolated issue by any means, | |||
| 10/04/2011 | |||
| Front tires make a loud grinding noise and wear down the brakes on both sides of the vehicle. very dangerous if not taken care of. this problem has happend to all honda vehicles from 2008 to present. dealerships are all saying it is normal but the sound the car makes is not. the grinding can be heard from inside and outside the car. the government should look into this problem for the american people since honda is not willing to make it a safety recall. | |||
| 10/08/2011 | 23000 | ||
| Front brake pads wore out at 23,000 miles. pads wore unevenly. | |||
| 06/01/2010 | 7000 | ||
| When the car is shut off, all assist to the brake pedal is lost within 30 minutes. the si models are manual transmissions. when the clutch is depressed to start the engine with normal foot pressure on the brake pedal, the car will roll if on an incline. very heavy pressure is required to prevent rolling. the dealer agrees the problem exists but says that is how it is designed. i have 30 years of experience with manual transmissions; no other vehicles i have driven exhibit this trait. the risk for pedestrian and property damage in parking areas on an incline seems significant. | |||
| 06/07/2011 | 28970 | ||
| Brake booster, booster hose/check valve failures. nineteen occurances of hard brake pedal and low performance of the brake system on 2009 honda civic 4 door sedan. the 1st honda 2009 civic sedan had the same brake issues as the 2nd one that i own now. i had an accident on june 7, 2011, the car did not brake normally. my problems with the current car started on may 19, 2010. i purchased the car on april 27, 2010. i continually have a hard brake pedal on application of the brakes on the first 3 or 4 applications of the brakes after starting to drive. the dealer continually claims they can find nothing wrong with the brakes and can't duplicate the problem on test drives. an independant honda garage inspected the brakes 1 week ago and did the honda booster brake test procedure, they found that the booster hose/check valve assy failed the test. it took them 45 minutes to complete the inspection with the test. i took it to the dealer the same afternoon and they only spent 19 minutes on the clock, having the car for 5 days. the dealer still claimed they could find nothing wrong with the car again. i drove the car the 2 blocks too my truck and the applications of the brakes were all hard pedal, requiring harder pressure on the pedal to stop the car. the next morning the car did the same thing coming down the hill to the freeway. the brakes seem to recover after the 4th application of the brakes. i have contiually complained about this to the dealer service dept. they replaced the booster hose/check valve on the 1st car and then just as i was reaching the end of the warranty, they replaced the booster on the car. by that time i was done with the car and traded it in on another one, same model, same year. i figured it couldn't happen with another one. same thing happened 3 weeks later on this one and so far 19 instances have been logged with dates, time and locations. this info is in the police report and a certified letter of complaint sent to the dealer. | |||
| 12/28/2010 | 19916 | ||
| A rubbing, grinding, metal on metal noise from the front brakes after a little over 19, 916 miles. i had the dealership perform an inspection of the brake system and was told that it was not under warranty. the pads have worn down to the point where metal-to-metal contact is occurring, my vehicle may not be able to stop safely, and damage may occur where the brake rotors or drums need to be replaced. | |||
| 07/22/2010 | 12978 | ||
| Front brakes were worn down over a very short duration. the car did not have many miles on it, nor had the car been driven erratically, but the brakes needed to be replaced. | |||
| 10/20/2010 | 21640 | ||
| Brakes fail on rough or bumpy roads.it feels very unsafe. this happens every time the road is rough, bumpy or is lined as in new paving. the brakes will not stop car appropriately. today i went 4 feet past the stop sign on a new lined road. | |||
| 10/01/2010 | 10500 | ||
| I was backing up and my brakes failed. i had to use the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. | |||
| 09/01/2010 | 23333 | ||
| My 2009 honda civic lx needed to have the front brake pads replaced (worn to minimum) at 11k miles and now again at 23k. normal usage, previous 5 vehicles serviced at ~50k miles under same conditions. appears to be defect in brake pad life time. | |||
| 11/26/2008 | 38 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2009 honda civic. while traveling 20 mph the contact applied the brakes and noticed a squeaking sound coming from the front end of the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the dealership where the contact was informed that the vehicle was performing normal. the vehicle has not been repaired and the failure has occurred since purchase. the failure mileage was 38 and the current mileage was 30000. bml | |||
| 06/08/2010 | 17994 | ||
| At 17,000 mile service on my 2009 honda civic, front brakes had to be replaced. front right brake was at zero. i paid to have new brake pads installed and called honda america for explanation and reimbursement. honda america refuses to take any responsibility. it says 17,00 miles falls within normal wear and tear. | |||
| 03/07/2010 | 5500 | 1 | |
| I drive a 2009 honda civic lx 5 speed automatic transmission two problems need to be addressed and the dealership says they are completely normal, and i know they are not normal. problem 1: transmission: when coming to a stop, usually under 10mph the transmission shifts very hard into first gear. so hard that it shifts hard and i have my foot on the brake pedal the car wants to launch me a little further.twice now i have almost hit somebody because when it shifts hard into first it wants to keep going, i have to sometimes pull emergency brake to make sure i don't hit anybody. it doesn't happen all the time but when it does it scares me. second problem: brakes: the brakes in this car are horrible even with my foot completely down the car still has a hard time slowing down and again i seem to have to rely on the emergency brake to help me stop. i have a 4 year old son i bought this car because it was rated safe, but i'm terrified to take him anywhere because i don't know if i can stop or not. i talk to the dealership and they say both problems are completely normal. its brand new with only 5500 miles on it so i know this isn't normal. *tr | |||
| 01/10/2010 | 7451 | 3 | |
| When braking hard on rough ground or slippery surfaces, abs seems to take extra long ( 3 times further than other cars with abs ) to stop car. *tr | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - ROTOR | |||
| 10/21/2009 | 18 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2009 honda accord. during brake application between 25-40 mph she experiences pulsation. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. the technician resurfaced the front and rear brake rotors because they were out of round. the failure mileage was 18. the current mileage was 120. | |||