Problems · by component
2012 Honda Civic service brakes problems
35 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2012 Honda Civic cite service brakes, 8% of all 462 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
35
8% of all complaints
Crashes
11
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
6
Reported by owners
What owners say about the service brakes
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“Failed braking after repairing 9/14/26, Sun Auto did not bleed my brakes after installing front pads and rear shoes. When I brought this to the Service writer's attention on 9/18/26 his response was that I did not purchase the brake fluid service. Yes an independent Brake shop inspected and resolved the issue.”
“Driving around town, I stopped our 2012 Honda Civic at a stoplight. The brake pedal vibrated from the ABS modulator, then went all the way to the floor. I had the brake system checked at a workshop, bled the brake lines, and the same situation repeated. It was recommended I replace the brake modulator and brake pump. I called our Honda dealer and the brake pump is on hard backorder with no indication of when or if it will be available. A check of junkyards showed very few of these pumps potentially available, indicating demand is very strong. Many of the Civics in the junkyards we saw were totalled due to front end collissions. Perhaps they discovered the brake issue too late? The car is not driveable. After reviewing forums and [XXX] there were many reports of brake problems with 2012 - 13 Honda Civics. I believe this warrants a close look. Brakes are the most important part of any motor vehicle in my opinion, and until there is a remedy my car will sit as a 3,000 lb paperweight.”
“ABS Control Module leads fell off. The 2012 Honda Civic has a sealed ABS/VSA control module. This module has leads connected with rigid solid core cables that are known to disconnect and fall off due to natural heat and vibration. This happened with my vehicle. The vehicle lost acceleration, power steering, dash lights, and power breaking on the highway. When I attempted to restart it all of my lights came on: charging system, VSA, ABS, Power Steering, and Power Breaking. For more information see [XXX]”
“While driving at about 40 mph the car suddenly started to pull toward the left. I pressed on the brake pedal as I steered to the right to try to bring the car back to my lane but I noticed the brake pedal was already very hard. In a second the car skidded out of control toward the right side of the road and it slammed its left side against some big rocks. The driver's door window broke and the side airbags deployed. The big rocks kept us from going into the water of a lake that the road runs next to. The passengers in the car were myself and my wife and were not injured but it was a very terrifying incident and the consequences could have been a lot worse. The vehicle has been released to Progressive, the Insurance Company.”
“The parking brake control knob has broken off and parking brake can not be released without inserting a long object into release button. If I engage the parking brake it is stuck in that position and car will not move. If I don't engage the parking brake then there is no parking brake. If parking on an incline, it is a struggle to move out of park. An independent service center has tried to order a replacement part. Honda says there is not replacement part. There are no warning lights.”
“CHECK VSA CHECK POWER STEERING SYSTEM MALFUNCTION DURING DRIVING! VEHICLE BREAKING ON ITS ON RANDOMLY! I COULD HAVE BEEN IN A FATAL ACCIDENT! VEHICLE IS NOT FUNCTIONAL DUE TO THESE ELECTRICAL ERRORS!”
Showing 6 of 35 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 2, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.