Problems · by component
1997 Honda Civic visibility problems
33 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 1997 Honda Civic cite visibility, 9% of all 383 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
33
9% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the visibility
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“BOTH WINDOWS DO NOT OPEN ALL THE WAY. IN 2000 DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW CAME OFF THE RUBBER TRACK. REPLACED CHANNEL AND REGULATOR IN 2000. 11/18/04 DRIVER SIDE WINDOW CAME OFF THE RUBBER TRACK AGAIN. *AK”
“I OWN A 1997 HONDA CIVIC DX COUPE AND FEW WEEKS AGO THE DRIVER WINDOW COLLAPSED WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON A FREEWAY. THE ONLY WARNING WAS FEW DAYS BEFORE THAT THE HANDLE WAS SLIGHTLY HARDER THEN USUAL. I GOT REALLY SCARED AND ALMOST CRASHED HEARING THIS LOUD NOISE AND NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS HAPPENING.*AK”
“THE POWER WINDOWS HAVE FAILED AT LEAST SEVEN TIMES IN THE FIVE YEARS I HAVE OWNED THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER PERSISTS TO PUT A DEFECTIVE WINDOW MOTOR INTO THE VEHICLE. EVEN THOUGH THE WINDOW HAS FAILED SO MANY TIMES, HONDA NOR THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVES HAS CORRECTED THIS PROBLEM.”
“THIS VEHICLE IS A LEMON -- DEFECTIVE THROUGHOUT. MAJOR PROBLEM IS A TRANSMISSION THAT HAS FAILED TWICE -- ONCE BEING REPLACED BY THE MANUFACTURER ONLY AFTER TWO YEARS OF COMPLAINING ABOUT THE PROBLEM, BEING UNABLE TO DRIVE ANY DISTANCES, AND AFTER NUMEROUS TIMES I PAID TO HAVE THE PROBLEM UNRESOLVED. SINCE IT WAS REPLACED IN JULY 2001, I BEGAN COMPLAINING AGAIN ABOUT PROBLEMS IN MAY OF 2002, ONLY TO GET THE SAME RUN AROUND AGAIN. COSTING ME MONEY OUT OF MY POCKET FOR THEIR DEFECTIVE CVT TRANSMISSION FOR WHICH THEY REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR DEFECT. FINALLY GOT IT FIXED AND THE WARRANTY EXTENDED FOR THE SECOND TIME, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, CHECK OUT THE VIN NUMBERS ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE AND YOU'LL MANY OTHER HONDA OWNERS WITH TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AND VERY SIMILAR VIN NUMBERS. LATE FALL 2002 TO WINTER 2003 DRIVER SIDE DOOR LOCK FAILED AND ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER THAT WAS FIXED THE DRIVER SIDE WINDOW FAILED. I HAD TO DRIVE DOWN THE FREEWAY IN THE RAIN TO GET HOME WITH A WINDOW I COULD ONLY PULL UP HALF WAY. BUT TO TOP THINGS OFF, I HAVE TO REPLACE THE ALTERNATOR THIS MONTH. WORSE OF ALL, MY CAR WAS EXPERIENCE SYMPTOMS THAT WERE APPARENTLY ATTRIBUTED TO THE…”
“THE POWER WINDOW REGULATOR FAILED EARLY UPON, WITHIN WARRANTY. IT WAS REPAIRED BY WARRANTY. MY POWER SUNROOF / MOONROOF HAS QUIT WORKING, I HAVE CHECKED THE FUSES. I HAVE ALWAYS HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE FRONT BRAKE ROTORS WARPING, PART BECAUSE OF MY FAULT I WOULD ASSUME AND APPLYING THE BRAKES HARD. DOESN\\'T HELP DRIVING ON HIGHWAY 401 IN TORONTO THOUGH. ALL IN ALL, IT HAS BEEN A GREAT CAR. I HAVE 362,000 KM ON IT NOW AND SHE STILL DRIVES LIKE NEW.”
“POWER WINDOWS FAIL. THE INCIDENT HAS OCCURRED AT LEAST 7 TIMES IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS. SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES SAY THAT ONE MUST LUBRICATE THE WINDOW RUNNERS. THE OWNER'S MANUAL EITHER FAILS TO MENTION THIS MAINTENANCE OR THE EXISTENCE OF SUCH MAINTENANCE. THE PART IS ALWAYS REPLACED AND ALWAYS FAILS. *JB”
Showing 6 of 33 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 6, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.