Research · Midsize Cars · 5 NHTSA variants

2020 Honda CivicRecalls, problems, MPG & safety

NHTSA lists 5 safety recalls and 240 owner complaints for the 2020 Honda Civic. Most complaints involve electrical system (38) and power train (33). The EPA rates it 29–36 mpg combined, and NHTSA gives it 5 stars overall.

Combined MPG
29–36mpg
EPA · 12 versions
NHTSA overall
5of 5 stars
NCAP crash tests
Safety recalls
5campaigns
Latest May 2026
Owner complaints
240
Top: electrical system
Fuel cost / yr
$1,800est.
EPA estimate, best version
01 —Recalls

Safety recalls

5 NHTSA campaigns · applies to some vehicles, check your VIN

Air bags: front passenger

Free remedy

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.

Air bagsReported May 22, 2026NHTSA 26V332000

Air bags: front passenger

Free remedy

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.

Air bagsReported Feb 1, 2024NHTSA 24V064000

Fuel system

Free remedy

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

Fuel system, gasolineReported Dec 19, 2023NHTSA 23V858000
Data from NHTSA Recalls API · synced Nov 2, 2026 · All recall detailsNHTSA vehicle page
02 —Complaints

Owner complaints by component

240 complaints filed with NHTSA · Dec 2019 – Oct 2026
  1. Electrical system38
  2. Power train33
  3. Steering32
  4. Air bags31
  5. Forward collision avoidance24
  6. Fuel/propulsion system24
  7. Engine13
  8. Service brakes13
  9. Fuel system, gasoline9

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

By model year

Complaints for each Civic model year we’ve synced.

View as table
Model yearNHTSA complaints
1996314
1997383
1998450
1999348
2000297
20011,089
2002717
2003525
2004351
2005316
20061,411
20071,212
2008923
2009398
2010400
2011170
2012462
2013320
2014293
2015389
20161,083
2017608
2018602
2019460
2020240
2021162
2022962
2023338
2024144
202588
202632
Crashes reported
15
Fires reported
1
Injuries reported
14
Deaths reported
0
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 2, 2026 · Full problem breakdownNHTSA vehicle page
03 —Common problems

What owners report most

Verbatim excerpts from NHTSA complaints, by component

Electrical system

38 reports3 crashes
“On September 27, 2026, at approximately 90,800 miles, the body control module (BCM) in my 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback failed. Symptoms included the alarm sounding on its own, warning lights illuminating on the dash, the vehicle turning its accessories on unprompted while parked (key fob was present), the battery draining, and the key fob intermittently not being recognized.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 9, 2026Electrical systemODI 11770226

Power train

33 reports1 crash
“I own a 2020 Civic Si. At about 29,000 the clutch started slipping in higher heats and going up hills. Once I noticed this the clutch degraded very quickly to the point it was unsafe to drive. By very quickly I mean in about 100 miles worth of travel. I notified Honda Corporate and opened a case with them. There is a TSB 22-017 out about the faulty clutches stating the friction material was faulty in some 19-20 models and to replace the clutch and included all parts associated to be replaced. However my car was just one year outside of the warranty even tho it was within the mileage. Since they were going to replace with the same parts that failed, I decided to do the replacement myself with an OEM clutch made for the Type R which is more appropriately matched to the torque of the vehicle and a different flywheel as the factory one increases the wear due to being dual mass. I took pictures of the process for documentation. When the transmission was opened up the friction material had basically disintegrated into chuncks. The pressure plate also seemed to be putting unnecessary amount of pressure on the bearing. Almost like the clamping force was far too much…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 26, 2026Power trainODI 11773881

Steering

32 reports2 crashes
“The wheel becomes sticky/ jerky when driving at speeds over 40 mph and causes overcorrecting. It is worse around bends and makes holding the wheel straight difficult. The stickness is consistently present when on the highways making it incredibly dangerous to drive at these higher speeds as I am constantly having to overcorrect the wheel. The dealer and an independent service center have both said they have been able to reproduce the sticky steering and that it is the steering rack. There is not any warning on my dashboard to indicate this part is failing which is also problematic as I should be made aware before my steering wheel completely freezes when driving at high speeds.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 21, 2026SteeringODI 11772734
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 2, 2026
04 —Key specs

Engines, transmissions & drive

12 versions rated by the EPA
EPA class
Midsize Cars, Compact Cars
Engines
1.5L 4-cyl turbo · 2.0L 4-cyl
Transmissions
Automatic (variable gear ratios) · Automatic (AV-S7) · Manual 6-spd
Drive
Front-Wheel Drive
Fuel
Regular Gasoline · Premium Gasoline

Towing, payload and dimensions aren’t in the EPA or NHTSA data, so we don’t list them.

Data from EPA fueleconomy.gov · synced Nov 2, 2026EPA listing
05 —Fuel economy

EPA fuel economy by version

City / highway / combined, annual fuel cost and CO₂
EPA
VersionCityHwyComb.Fuel / yrCO₂ g/mi
Civic 4Dr
Auto (variable gear ratios), 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Turbo · Front-Wheel Drive
324236$1,800248
Civic 2Dr
Auto (variable gear ratios), 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Turbo · Front-Wheel Drive
314035$1,850256
Civic 2Dr
Auto (AV-S7), 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Turbo · Front-Wheel Drive
303733$1,950269
Civic 2Dr
Auto (variable gear ratios), 4 cyl, 2.0 L · Front-Wheel Drive
303833$1,950264
Civic 4Dr
Auto (AV-S7), 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Turbo · Front-Wheel Drive
303833$1,950266
Civic 4Dr
Auto (variable gear ratios), 4 cyl, 2.0 L · Front-Wheel Drive
303833$1,950268
Civic 2Dr
Auto (AV-S7), 4 cyl, 2.0 L · Front-Wheel Drive
293632$2,000280
Civic 4Dr
Auto (AV-S7), 4 cyl, 2.0 L · Front-Wheel Drive
293732$2,000276
Civic 2Dr
Man 6-spd, 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Turbo · Front-Wheel Drive
263630$2,650294
Civic 4Dr
Man 6-spd, 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Turbo · Front-Wheel Drive
263630$2,650294
Civic 2Dr
Man 6-spd, 4 cyl, 2.0 L · Front-Wheel Drive
253529$2,200304
Civic 4Dr
Man 6-spd, 4 cyl, 2.0 L · Front-Wheel Drive
253629$2,200300
  • Civic 4Dr
    Auto (variable gear ratios), 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Turbo
    32 city · 42 hwy · $1,800/yr
    36
    mpg comb.
  • Civic 2Dr
    Auto (variable gear ratios), 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Turbo
    31 city · 40 hwy · $1,850/yr
    35
    mpg comb.
  • Civic 2Dr
    Auto (AV-S7), 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Turbo
    30 city · 37 hwy · $1,950/yr
    33
    mpg comb.
  • Civic 2Dr
    Auto (variable gear ratios), 4 cyl, 2.0 L
    30 city · 38 hwy · $1,950/yr
    33
    mpg comb.
  • Civic 4Dr
    Auto (AV-S7), 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Turbo
    30 city · 38 hwy · $1,950/yr
    33
    mpg comb.
  • Civic 4Dr
    Auto (variable gear ratios), 4 cyl, 2.0 L
    30 city · 38 hwy · $1,950/yr
    33
    mpg comb.
  • Civic 2Dr
    Auto (AV-S7), 4 cyl, 2.0 L
    29 city · 36 hwy · $2,000/yr
    32
    mpg comb.
  • Civic 4Dr
    Auto (AV-S7), 4 cyl, 2.0 L
    29 city · 37 hwy · $2,000/yr
    32
    mpg comb.
  • Civic 2Dr
    Man 6-spd, 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Turbo
    26 city · 36 hwy · $2,650/yr
    30
    mpg comb.
  • Civic 4Dr
    Man 6-spd, 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Turbo
    26 city · 36 hwy · $2,650/yr
    30
    mpg comb.
  • Civic 2Dr
    Man 6-spd, 4 cyl, 2.0 L
    25 city · 35 hwy · $2,200/yr
    29
    mpg comb.
  • Civic 4Dr
    Man 6-spd, 4 cyl, 2.0 L
    25 city · 36 hwy · $2,200/yr
    29
    mpg comb.
Data from EPA fueleconomy.gov · synced Nov 2, 2026 · Fuel cost is EPA’s annual estimate (15,000 mi, 55% city)
06 —Safety

NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings

6 tested variants
Overall rating
5/ 5
5 of 5
Honda CIVIC 2 DR FWD
Frontal crash
4 of 5
Side crash
5 of 5
Side pole
5 of 5
Rollover
5 of 5
Rollover risk
9.3%
Overall
5 / 5
Honda CIVIC 4 DR FWD
Frontal crash
5 of 5
Side crash
5 of 5
Side pole
5 of 5
Rollover
5 of 5
Rollover risk
9.5%
Overall
5 / 5
Honda CIVIC HATCH 5 HB FWD
Frontal crash
5 of 5
Side crash
5 of 5
Side pole
5 of 5
Rollover
5 of 5
Rollover risk
9.5%
Overall
— / 5
Honda CIVIC HATCH Type-R 5 HB FWD
Frontal crash
Not rated
Side crash
5 of 5
Side pole
5 of 5
Rollover
5 of 5
Rollover risk
9.5%
Data from NHTSA NCAP Safety Ratings API · synced Nov 2, 2026Vehicle 14819Vehicle 14483Vehicle 14482
07 —Maintenance

Maintenance basics

General guidance, not the OEM schedule. Check your owner’s manual.
General guidance
ItemMilesTimeNote
Engine oil & filter5,000–10,000 mi6–12 monthsFollow the oil-life monitor if fitted
Tire rotation5,000–7,500 miEvery oil changeCheck pressure monthly
Engine air filter15,000–30,000 mi1–2 yearsSooner in dusty areas
Cabin air filter15,000–25,000 mi1–2 years
Brake fluid—2–3 yearsAbsorbs moisture over time
Coolant60,000–100,000 mi5–10 yearsLong-life coolants last longer
Spark plugs60,000–100,000 mi—Iridium/platinum plugs at the long end
12V battery—3–5 yearsHeat shortens battery life
  • Engine oil & filter5,000–10,000 mi
    6–12 months
  • Tire rotation5,000–7,500 mi
    Every oil change
  • Engine air filter15,000–30,000 mi
    1–2 years
  • Cabin air filter15,000–25,000 mi
    1–2 years
  • Brake fluid—
    2–3 years
  • Coolant60,000–100,000 mi
    5–10 years
  • Spark plugs60,000–100,000 mi
    —
  • 12V battery—
    3–5 years
Typical intervals for modern cars. Severe service (towing, short trips, extreme heat or cold) shortens them.
09 —FAQ

2020 Civic questions

How many recalls does the 2020 Honda Civic have?

5 safety recalls as of Nov 2, 2026, according to NHTSA. Recall repairs are free at a dealer. Check your VIN to see whether your car is included and whether the repair was done.

What are the most common 2020 Honda Civic problems?

Owners filed 240 complaints with NHTSA. The most-cited components are electrical system (38), power train (33), steering (32). Complaints are unverified owner reports and aren't adjusted for how many cars were sold.

What MPG does the 2020 Honda Civic get?

The EPA rates the 2020 Honda Civic at 29–36 mpg combined, depending on engine and drivetrain (12 versions rated).

How safe is the 2020 Honda Civic?

NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gives the 2020 Honda Civic 5 out of 5 stars overall.

Data from NHTSA & EPA · synced Nov 2, 2026