Complaint volume
603 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2018 Honda Civic Complaints
603 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Honda Civic, grouped by component category.
603 Total complaints
26 Crash reports
4 Fire reports
15 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are steering, fuel system, gasoline, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 26 crash reports, 4 fire reports, 15 injury reports, and 1 fatality report. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 194 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 43,735 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to steering, fuel system, gasoline, unknown or other?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2018 Honda Civic?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2018 Honda Civic
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2018 Honda Civic complaints?
26 Crash
4 Fire
15 Injury
1 Fatality
22 Towed
10 Medical attention
What are the most common 2018 Honda Civic complaint categories?
STEERING 193
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 82
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 72
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 50
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 23
ENGINE 21
AIR BAGS 15
STRUCTURE 10
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 8
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 7
603 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2023 | STEERING | I am writing to bring to your attention a serious safety concern related to the steering system of my 2018 Honda Civic. I believe there is a significant defect in the vehicle's steering rack, resulting in hazardous driving conditions that could potentially lead to accidents and injuries. Description of the Incident: While turning the steering wheel in either direction, regardless of the speed, the steering rack becomes "sticky" and unresponsive. This issue forces the driver to exert additional force to correct the steering, leading to a sudden overcorrection once the resistance is overcome. The erratic behavior of the steering rack has put me in numerous situations where I narrowly avoided accidents. Impact and Concern: The erratic steering behavior has caused a severe safety hazard. The sudden overcorrection of the steering rack greatly compromises the stability and control of the vehicle, making it extremely difficult to maintain a steady course during turns. This defect creates an unpredictable driving experience that is highly dangerous not only for the driver but also for passengers and other road users. Attempts to Resolve the Issue: I have made an attempt to address this issue by taking my vehicle to authorized Honda dealerships. What is particularly concerning is that the dealerships have been unresponsive to admitting that this is a safety issue. Request for Investigation and Action: I kindly request the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to conduct a thorough investigation into the "sticky" steering rack issue affecting the 2018 Honda Civic. It is crucial to determine the root cause of this defect and take appropriate actions to ensure the safety of all affected vehicles. I urge you to initiate a recall if necessary, to prevent further accidents and injuries associated with this steering defect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | STEERING | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the steering wheel was seized. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with an electronic steering gearbox failure; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 129,443. | Crash: No Fire: No | 129,443 |
| Jun 2023 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud popping sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. Upon visual inspection, the contact observed a baseball-sized hole in the lower right corner of the rear windshield. As a result of the failure, the entire passenger’s side half of the rear windshield later collapsed. The contact stated that there was no impact on the windshield to cause the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic however, the windshield was not replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 59,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 59,000 |
| Jun 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My A/C does not work. It has blown out warm or hot air since I bought it used in June 2022. Only the passenger side blew out cold air for a few months but now it's completely warm as well. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | Every so often, quite a few lights will come on my dash. These lights include and relate to problems with power steering, hill start assist, emissions system, traction control tire pressure, and brake system. It does not allow me to use my brake hold when this happens. Also, unsure if it has anything to do with it, it has caused a problem with my first cylinder and is reading that the fuel system is too rich. But the original few lights that come on, will come and go randomly when the car is shut off overnight and will typically stay gone until the car sits with the parking break on for a few minutes. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | STEERING | While driving at > 40 mph, the steering wheel constantly gets stuck and is jerky. There is a recall issued by Honda for the exact same issue, however, the recall is vin locked and only includes 54 cars. Looking online, this looks to be a widespread problem. I took it to a Honda dealership for a diagnostic and the service department diagnosed it to the TSB about the recall, however, my car doesn't fall under the recall even though it is doing just that. The repair charge is listed at over $4,000. That's a pretty major system failure for such a young car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | STEERING | At approximately 45k miles, the steering wheel started to "stick" when at highway speed. Instead of the steering being continually smooth, like it used to be, it seems like the wheel gets stuck or tight and you have to make a quick, almost jerky adjustment. It's not a one time occurrence, but happens over and over. It had been taken to the dealer and had an alignment but the problem consisted. Upon researching, this is a common problem since the 2016 Civic. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | STEERING | Electrical power steering is causing the steering to "stick" when trying to maintain lane. Steering sticks and when trying to correct and straighten steering to maintain lane, the power steering suddenly overcorrects. This makes it difficult to maintain lane at highway speeds. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | STEERING | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at speeds over 50 MPH, the steering wheel was ceasing while turning in either direction. While driving in a straight line the vehicle was pulling to either side and the vehicle was difficult to control. The contact stated that the failure occurred after driving for more than thirty minutes at speeds over 50 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the steering gear box was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 94,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 94,000 |
| Jun 2023 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Strong smell of fuel in the cabin due to known Honda oil dilution associated with the 1.5 turbo engine. Honda has a “fix” for issue but states only cold weather states are affected. Our 2018 Honda Civic has had this issue for over 2 years now. Strong smell of fuel in the oil, along with oil above normal mark on dipstick. On oil change, oil is filled to the normal mark (3.7 quarts) and upon oil change, 4.5 quarts will come out (likely fuel in the oil). The major safety issue is that the smell of fuel in the cabin is strong to the point of causing driver and passengers to have burning eyes, and in some occasions, dizziness. No warning lights have come on as a result of this issue. Vehicle was taken to dealership over a year ago and dealership stated this is a problem in cold weather states and not in California. Dealership could not replicate issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | STEERING | i have been experiencing issues with the rack for well over a year, it could be two honestly i cant remember. but unlike most reports mine isnt as noticeable at highway speeds. Mine is an issue at low speed or while parked. like the video of the guy with the 2016 civic, if you've been following the issue, mine is notchy and kind of delayed reaction to the steering input. in other words as you turn it slowly while it jerks in the direction you're turning slightly after you begin to turn the wheel. it also makes audible clunk/click noises at very low speed particularly while doing something like turning into a parking space. it also makes a noise at low speed while going straight and feels like the steering gear is hung up and then jerks past the hump from left to right or right to left; it just depends, it has a mind of its own. it is not my suspension as ive gone through it over and over. uninstalled, reinstalled, adjusted ride height etc etc, serviced my coil overs-still get the noise and jerkiness. I say this because the honda tech said "well its because your car is lowered, it sounds like the bushings or struts to me" as if we are all some kind of idiots that cant tell a tire from a brake pad and dont spend miles upon miles in our vehicles. we know when something isnt right. My car made zero noises and had zero issues until one day it did. all while having the same suspension set up for quite some time before. so no its not the suspension. also, mine is very climate sensitive. on hotter days it is extremely noisy and the jerky/notchy steering is very bad. in winter when it is much cooler, under 50F you have to try to notice it upon initial start up, if at all, until the car has been driven for a prolonged period and warms up the rack which sits right under the front pipe as im sure you all know. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The AC has failed 3 times on my car. I have had the car since 2017 (73,000 miles) and today marks my 3rd time taking the car in for an AC issue (blowing warm, unable to cool cabin). This has been frustrating since Honda has been known to be reliable. It is very unfortunate that they cannot place a recall on this car due it it lacking a "safety" issue. I live in Southern California and during the summer, I definitely consider not having AC a safety issue. Taking my car to the dealer is inconvenient and takes away from my life. Not only does dealer not have loaner cars until the issue is considered a warranty, but I have to take Personal Time Off so that I can take care of this manufacture problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | STEERING | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH in a rain storm and while making a right turn the steering had malfunctioned and the vehicle did not properly turn causing the driver to nearly loose control of the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure would occur while making both right and left turns and while driving straight the steering wheel was off centered. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who realigned the steering assembly. The contact indicated that the failure was temperately resolved but eventually had reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the NHTSA Recall Campaign number: 18V663000(steering). The failure mileage was 55,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 55,000 |
| Jun 2023 | STEERING | The steering rack in my 2018 Honda Civic has failed. The steering becomes notchy after 15-30 minutes of driving in temperature's above 73 degrees. When making a turn, the steering will not auto-center. Also, when driving in a straight line the steering will initially resist any correction and will sometimes cause me to over correct the steering. This is the same exact issue that is being investigated on the 22-23 model year civics. This needs to be investigated. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | Last July I had to have my AC condenser and compressor replaced due to one side of the air conditioner working. Bad part was i had to pay to have a recall fixed after the fact and now im trying to get American Honda to reimburse me my money. After 1 year the problem came back and now they are saying it's my evaporate coil. Honda is not taking this seriously and expecting people to pay several thousands of dollars to fix an issue that is their problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | While driving on a highway my sunroof randomly shattered. There were barely any cars around me. Nothing his my sunroof it just shattered randomly. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | STEERING | Steering starts to get sticky over approximately 45 mph. Hard to stay straight and is difficult to correct without over correcting. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | STEERING | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the steering wheel started jerking to the left and the right. The contact stated that while turning the steering wheel to correct the movement, the steering felt loosened and non-responsive. The contact stated that the TPMS warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled off the roadway but observed no issues with the tires. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V663000 (Steering). The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 62,000 |
| May 2023 | STEERING | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact stated while turning the steering wheel in either direction, the steering wheel would hold and pull in the opposite direction without warning. Additionally, an abnormal, clicking sound would emit from the steering wheel after driving for an extended period. The vehicle was taken to two separate independent mechanics where one found no issue with the vehicle and the other stated that there was an issue with the axle. The contact had a repair performed on the axle; however, the failure returned. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V663000 (Steering) which he linked to his failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 80,000 |
| May 2023 | STEERING | The steering is sticky. When this issue is happening, the car will not drive in a straight line without the driver actively trying to hold it in place but in trying to hold it in place, the steering sticks and you have to give it a slight jerk of the wheel to get it out of the correction. It's a constant battle with the steering. Any lengthy turning (on-ramps, etc) results in the steering holding itself in that position and requires the driver to make a slight jerk to release the position of the wheel. It's been happening for over a year, it started sporadically. In the past three months, it has increased in frequency and 'stickiness' to where it's now happening almost daily. Frustrated not to see a recall on this as it is difficult to replicate at a dealership during a short test drive. Currently at 51, 069 miles | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | STEERING | When driving my steering has "sticking" issues to where it takes both of my hands to keep my steering wheel in line or straight. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | I am the original owner of the above listed vehicle. The AC is not circulating cold air. I brought it in to get inspected and was told that the AC went out and has to be replaced. It is retaining freon, but it’s not circulating. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My driver side mirror is very loose and wiggles/shimmys while the car is loving causing me to not be able to use the side view mirror. It’s not the entire mirror housing, just the reflective glass part. This is a serious safety issue! I have seen the recalls in other Honda models for this very reason but not mine. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | STEERING | This vehicle has what sounds like the "Honda Civic Sticky Steering" issue that I've read about. I thought I was imagining the problem. At times, after the vehicle is warmed up and has been driven for 30 to 60 minutes, when small corrections are made to the steering wheel the wheel resists a little and additional force must be applied to the wheel to get the car to respond. This can cause the car to jerk slightly in the direction that the force is being applied by the steering wheel. The car will travel a bit too much and require a small amount of force to be applied to the steering wheel in the opposite direction. This causes the car to jerk back and forth a small amount. All appears to be good till the next change in the direction of travel is required and the same response occurs. I read last week about a lawsuit involving 2022 and 2023 Civics for this same type of issue. Online searches over the weekend turned up numerous complaints on 2016 - 2023 Honda Civic vehicles for this type of problem. Appreciate any feedback related to this issue from a safety standpoint. In my car this has been going on for quite some time, but, I thought I was imagining it till I noticed that other people have a similar problem. No warning lamps light up in the car at this point. Once it starts happening this happens repeatedly at speeds over 30 mph. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | STEERING | Failed component/system: Some portion of the steering system. Vehicle is available for inspection. When the vehicle warms up and is driven 20 to 40 mins, power steering becomes "sticky," requiring additional effort for driver input in order to overcome, which causes excessive oversteer (in either direction). At highway speeds, while making "micro-corrections" to the vehicle's trajectory, driving becomes unsafe as the unintended oversteer can get quite pronounced and often results in oversteer both in directions, in rapid succession. This issue has not been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center and would require a service tech to drive the automobile for up to 40 mins to confirm. The issue has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police insurance representatives or others. No warning lamps, messages or other symptoms associated with this issue have occurred. This issue occurs 100% of the time it's driven more than 20-40 minutes. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |