10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
26,061 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #16

Dec 152010

Civic

  • 44,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Honda Civic hybrid. The contact was attempting to accelerate from a traffic stop but the vehicle was unresponsive. There was an abnormal burning odor coming from the vehicle and the vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that they were aware of the failure but there was no repair available. The technician burnished the start clutch and replaced the transmission fluid. The contact continued to experience the failure. The vehicle was not further repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 44,000.

- Mill Valley, CA, USA

problem #15

Sep 262010

Civic

  • miles
Since my 2006 Honda Civic hybrid received the battery system software upgrade in late 2010, the car has had greatly reduced available power and acceleration. The fuel efficiency has reduced by ~10 mpg, which is infuriating, but there is a larger safety issue because of the limited battery power available for acceleration. Intermittently, but repeatedly, when accelerating, especially from a stop to turn left through a gap in traffic or to merge on a freeway from the entrance ramp, a dangerous situation has occurred because the engine-battery combination does not supply adequate power and acceleration. I was nearly side-swiped the first time after the battery update when I was caught by surprise at the utter lack of power as I tried to turn into traffic. My Honda dealership has been unresponsive my complaints and requests to revert the software to the old version, with which my car worked fine.

- Buffalo, NY, USA

problem #14

Apr 092010

Civic

  • 26,500 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the vehicle would not shift out of park unless the unlock button was depressed on the shift lever. Also, the brake lights did not function. A local mechanic stated that the vehicle was not included in recall 07V402000 (exterior lighting:brake lights:switch) the contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. The contact planned to have the vehicle repair. The failure mileage was approximately 26,500. The current mileage was approximately 27,000.

- Brandon, MS, USA

problem #13

Jan 072010

Civic

  • 100 miles
We have a 2006 Honda Civic hybrid that we would like to report a defect on. When the vehicle is shifted to either drive or reverse, the vehicle would suddenly lurch even though the foot is on the brake pedal. A few times where my wife was driving the vehicle she didn't exert enough force on the brake pedal and caused for the vehicle to move even though it was not intended. Luckily the only incident have been minor with regards to the bumper hitting the wall or another vehicle. We believe this issue needs to be fix especially in the event that the vehicle is parked in a steep slope that will cause the vehicle to accelerate and potentially cause a major accident.

- Porter Ranch, CA, USA

problem #12

Dec 172009

Civic

  • 78,000 miles
Going up steep hill behind traffic going 10 TO15 mph. The car just lacks power and rolls back. Almost hit car behind. Had to roll down hill. It has happened 3 times and the dealer says nothing is wrong.

- American Canyon, CA, USA

problem #11

Oct 032009

Civic

  • 22,000 miles
I have been having problems with my 2006 Honda Civic LX unexpectedly accelerating while braked. One incident occurred while stopped at a stop sign. The car began to accelerate by itself while my foot was on the brake. In an attempt to stop the car from proceeding into the intersection, I had to apply both feet heavily on the brake pedal. Luckily, no one was crossing the street in front of my car at the time. After this incident, I brought the car to my Honda dealer to investigate this problem. Since the acceleration problem did not occur anytime during the service test drive, the dealer was unable to find anything wrong that would cause the car to accelerate unexpectedly. In a second similar incident, I was stopped waiting to exit a commercial parking lot onto a major thoroughfare. Again, the car began to accelerate fiercely. This time I was unable to hold back the car with both feet on the brake. In a panic, fearing I would hit someone crossing in front of my path, I attempted to shift the car into park or reverse just to stop it from continuing forward. The latest incident occurred on 10/3/09 while braked at a corner intersection waiting for traffic to clear down the block where I wanted to make a right turn. This time while my foot was on the brake and I proceeded slowly to turn the corner, the car began to accelerate unexpectedly. This occurred while another car was proceeding down the block towards me. With both feet on the brake, I was unable to hold back the car as I proceed around the corner. As my car continued to race forward, I was fortunate to be able to maneuver around the other car without striking it head on. These unexpected accelerations have been very terrifying experiences and it is even more upsetting to learn from the dealer that this problem cannot be explained or repaired. This problem is truly a safety hazard and warrants further investigation by the Honda corporation.

- Flushing, NY, USA

problem #10

Aug 102007

Civic

  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Honda Civic hybrid which was purchased in November 2005. She noticed a significant decrease in the gas mileage between 10 to 15 mpg. She also stated that while driving uphill or accelerating the vehicle would lose power. There were no recalls pertaining to the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 100,000. Updated 10/26/09. The consumer stated since the vehicle passed the 50,000 mile mark, it looses power when traveling up hill and/or acceleration. The dealer performed computer upgrades but to no avail. Updated 10/26/09.

- Shingle Springs , CA, USA

problem #9

Apr 152009

Civic

  • 86,500 miles
Last year I had to have the catalytic converter replaced due to failure and at that time I informed the Honda dealer service technician hat the RPM's on the car were staying high even when the car was idle. The service tech said they checked the vehicle and could not replicate the issue and said they found nothing wrong with it. Now here we are 16000 miles later and I have a transmission failure. The car makes a clicking noise while in gear no other symptoms at this point. I have taken it to the dealer and they are aware of the failure, but are only willing to help me with 25% of the bill because I performed my own transmission fluid change and the warranty is up. This is the third problem I have had with the car in the three years I have had it.

- San Marino, CA, USA

problem #8

Aug 302007

Civic 4-cyl

  • 31,000 miles
I have a Honda Civic 2006 (lease) this car has 2 recall one on 8/30/07 and on 11/07 but the dealer never sent me any warning, note, letter or call to notify this situation, I read that by fed law they should contact me and let me know the ricks that this issue can cause me. I called because I had a problem with my car keys code and they told about this and they said sorry because they do not know why I was not notify about this I very disappointed because that is very dangerous and I do not get notify at all, I had 3 cars with the Honda all 3 are lease cars so it is not excuse that they cannot contact me also I am living T the same place for more than one year and I got my Honda bill every month.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #7

Jan 272008

Civic

  • 28,000 miles
I took my car in at the end of Dec.2007 because it was revving high. Dealer was unable to duplicate. Problem occurred again on 01/27/08 and I immediately contacted dealer morning of 01/28. I currently have a rental. The engine was revving very high when stopped. I thought putting the car into neutral would help, but it only made it rev even higher to even as high as six. They said that they have not had any other complaints of this. It just does not seem safe. I really felt like I needed to hold my foot down on the brake hard to keep the car from charging forward.

- Odenton, MD, USA

problem #6

Jan 022008

Civic 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
When shifting from D to R, engine begins to rev up rapidly. Shifting to N, does not help-only shifting into park-stops the engine/transmission from rapidly accelerating.

- Key West, FL, USA

problem #5

Nov 142007

Civic 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Honda Civic hybrid 2006 problem with random surging: I was driving on hwy 50 eastbound to sacramento, when traffic came to a standstill, then started to move again slowly. Other cars would fill up the space in front of me-I could not keep a car-lengths distance between myself and the car ahead of me. I was stopped and then as traffic started moving forward, I tapped on the accelerator of my Honda Civic hybrid 2006, and instead of slightly moving forward, my car surged into the car in front of me at a high acceleration-I did not see the exact degree on my dash, but heard the engine revving loudly. I noticed this (to greater or lesser degrees) a handful of times after owning the car for a year and a half, but in those instances, the acceleration may not have been as great and/or I had a much safer distance between cars and I had time to put on the brakes. When this happened I thought, I bought a hybrid-lemon and Honda would have to address this-but I found similar complaints online and other reports that Honda would not address the issue. This may be in part as the events cannot be readily reproduced to have the issue fixed. www.hybridcars.com/forums/hybrid-diesel-T436P10.html I have owned 2 Honda Civics (non-hybrid), and I have been a satisfied Honda customer until I bought this hybrid. My car is currently at the Honda dealer with the damage being assessed (cannot check mileage on the car and other information to fill out all the info you want), and no one yet has called me back from Honda. I am concerned about the safety issue above, and whether or not Honda will address the problem. Although the random acceleration-surges are uncommon occurrences, they may be deadly occurrences. However, these occurrences should be preventable, if the government would investigate. Sincerely, G. melendres,

- Davis, CA, USA

problem #4

Oct 112006

Civic 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 900 miles
After driving 10 miles and parking, the vehicle was put into reverse. Upon backing out the steering wheel locked. After this, the car was put into drive to go back into the parking space. With the vehicle in drive the car continued in reverse. The engine was then turned off and restarted 1 minute later. Everything was back to normal. This occurred 11-Oct-2006 and 1 previous time last month. Honda has no record of this on 2006 Civic.

- Willis, TX, USA

problem #3

Feb 132006

Civic 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 0 miles
: the contact stated the vehicle consistently rolled backwards at red lights, in between the time it took to switch pedals from braking to accelerating. The vehicle had an automatic transmission. The vehicle was not taken to a service dealer. The dealer expressed due to the lighter transmission, this was a regular problem with these vehicles. Updated 9/15/2006 -

- Fort Washington, MD, USA

problem #2

Apr 092006

Civic

  • Automatic transmission
  • 100 miles
: the contact stated the vehicle's automatic transmission shifted too easily while driving various speeds on normal road conditions. The vehicle also rolled backwards before moving forward during acceleration on a level-driving surface.

- Orinda, CA, USA

problem #1

May 052006

Civic 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 49,876 miles
Purchased a 2003 Honda certified Civic LX on January 28, 2006 from heritage Honda of towson, 9213 harford road, baltimore, md 21234. Took vehicle in for 50,000 mile service and asked service manager about automatic transmission slipping while in "drive" on an incline, causing vehicle to roll backwards. He informed me that he had a similar vehicle which also did this, that other customers had complained to him of the same condition, and that there was nothing that could be done about it. My complaint is that: The automatic transmission will not hold the vehicle on an incline when in the "drive" position. Driver must engage the "park" position to hold the vehicle, or put the vehicle in "neutral" and engage the parking brake. Leaving the vehicle transmission in "drive" while on a hill results in slippage (this vehicle rolls backwards while in "drive", as if in "neutral"), which presents danger of impact to the driver of this vehicle and to those drivers behind them. I strongly believe that this condition of transmission and vehicle slippage when the automatic transmission is in the "drive" position, while on an incline, constitutes a serious safety hazard to drivers of this vehicle and to other drivers directly behind it. I seek to have the transmission problem corrected, if possible. If not, I would attempt to have the manufacturer buy back the vehicle as a lemon, or to get the vehicle recalled. Please advise.

- Nottingham, MD, USA