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BrakesPart report

2003 Honda Civic Brakes Problems

Complaints
34about this part
Share
7%of 499 total for the year
Median mileage
55,500miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 34 complaints about the brakes of the 2003 Honda Civic, 7% of the 499 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 55,500 miles. 15 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“I just pulled out of parking lot onto road knowing that within the next 200 ft I was approaching stop light I was doing about 15-20 MPH. I saw the car stopped for light and stepped on my brakes my car never attempted to slow down or stop until it impacted with rear of vehicle stopped at light. …”

NHTSA complaint #10625946, filed 2014-08, 30 miles

“Braking while on a bumpy road occasionally results in a delay of the braking action. We thought this was part of the ABS system, but there was no ABS feel in the brake pedal. With the toyota problem description, we now feel it may be a similar problem. Only occurs while braking on rough pavement.”

NHTSA complaint #10315534, filed 2010-03, 1,000 miles

“I was driving on 695 west high way baltimore, maryland on june 1st in the afternoon as usual, all of sudden my car was out of control. I was trying to slow down the speed a bit, however my break was hardly to push down. I felt like something got stuck there. At the meantime, the accelerator seems not stop while I was pushing down the break, on the opposite it was increasing the speed... In general, the speed was slowing down but it was super slow. I could tell my car was in a super bad situation. …”

NHTSA complaint #10723535, filed 2015-06, 126,738 miles

“Takata inflators, while driving or sitting still, engine light comes on & stays on, brakes faulty while driving loud noise, and I have to press down hard on the brakes for it to slow down, driving/stabilized low visibility due to lights, it's very hard to tell if the lights are on our not inside & outside the vehicle, while driving noticed the brakes are unstable. Air bag sensor is always on, open door indicators don't work, drove car and door wasn't fully closed although I knew I closed the door fully, driving on the highway, and driver side door opened unexpectedly. …”

NHTSA complaint #11079970, filed 2018-03, 184,000 miles

“When driving down the road, the vehicles stopped . I applied my brakes and nothing happened. I then hit the vehicle in front of me. And my air bags on my vehicle did not deploy.”

NHTSA complaint #10512256, filed 2013-05, 100,500 miles

Related service bulletins

Brakes: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026516%
2025912%
202476%
2023145%
2022233%
20211812%
2020177%
2019327%
2018253%
2017386%
2016969%
2015154%
2014186%
20133912%
2012409%
20113320%
20109023%
20095113%
2008425%
2007434%
2006624%
2005165%
2004113%
2003347%
2002243%
2001474%
2000145%
1999185%
1998113%
1997236%
19966120%
1995137%
19941713%
1993128%
199277%
199187%
199067%
198934%
198725%
198626%
198517%
1984120%

Other parts of the 2003 Honda Civic

Air bags
140 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
101 complaints
Electrical system
51 complaints
Engine cooling
37 complaints
Vehicle speed control
34 complaints
Body and structure
26 complaints
Exterior lighting
23 complaints
Other or unknown
21 complaints
Fuel system
20 complaints
Seat belts
20 complaints
Tires
17 complaints
Steering
15 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2003 Honda Civic

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology