2009 Honda Civic Problems

What owners report

Complaints on this model year cluster around a few recurring themes rather than one dominant failure: sun visors that split and hang down into the driver's view, front brakes wearing out early, clear-coat paint peeling on horizontal panels, and airbag concerns tied to the large passenger-inflator recalls. Many reports come in well below 60,000 miles, and a notable share involve the hybrid version's battery-assist and software updates.

1. 1
   Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)

   Sun visor splits and hangs down into view

   • 32 complaints (8%)
   • median 47,500 mi at 4.9 yrs old (26 state mileage)
   • filed 2009–2026

   Owners describe the driver or passenger sun visor cracking at the seam and dropping into the forward view, sometimes splitting into two pieces while driving. Complaints say the visor will not stay in the stowed position and that dealers either replaced it once, declined because the vehicle was out of warranty, or said the VIN was not covered by an extended-warranty program. Several owners mention the same part failing again after a replacement. Reported from a few thousand miles up to well over 100,000, with many in the 40,000-80,000 mile range.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Fold both visors down and up and look for cracks along the back seam; ask whether either visor has already been replaced under a warranty extension.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “2009 Honda Civic driver side sun visor broke while driving at 70 MPH in interstate. The sun visor literally 'exploded . Pieces of plastic from the back seam fell and the visor drop right in my view almost causing me to have an accident. Had to pull over to keep it together as out of nowhere this thing crack and fell on my face. Really glad it wasn't my wife driving.”

   NHTSA complaint #10291431, filed 2009-11, 12,000 miles

   “The driver side visor on my 2009 Honda broke out of no where and now obscures my vision while driving because it wont go up anymore. Unable to get the dealer to fix it because its not under warranty anymore but clearly a safety issue.”

   NHTSA complaint #10547110, filed 2013-10, 40,000 miles
2. 2
   Air bags

   Airbags not deploying or inflating in a crash

   • 81 complaints (20%)
   • median 72,779 mi at 6.7 yrs old (36 state mileage)
   • 29 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2008–2024

   Several complaints describe collisions in which the front or side airbags either did not deploy or deployed without inflating, and in some cases the seat belt did not hold the occupant. Other owners report the airbag warning light staying on with a curtain-airbag circuit code. These accounts are separate from, though often mentioned alongside, the Takata passenger-inflator recalls. Spread across the range, from about 16,000 to 140,000 miles, in both low- and higher-speed impacts.

   Recall 19V502000Recall 19V378000Recall 18V268000Recall 18V042000Recall 17V545000Recall 17V030000Recall 16V3460004 related service bulletins

   What to check: Check the VIN against open recalls and confirm the passenger inflator was replaced; also check that the airbag light goes out after the bulb-check at startup.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Got hit in the side from making a u turn, moderate speed. Concern is that my son, who was driving, reported that the airbags deployed but did not inflate. He bumped his head (no personal injury reported), which is how he knows the bags never inflated.”

   NHTSA complaint #11328172, filed 2020-06, 140,000 miles

   “The contact owns a 2009 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle was crashed against a concrete divider. The contact stated that although the air bags deployed, they did not inflate. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 76,000.”

   NHTSA complaint #10488972, filed 2012-12, 76,000 miles
3. 3
   Brakes

   Early front brake pad and rotor wear

   • 50 complaints (13%)
   • median 22,526 mi at 2.5 yrs old (41 state mileage)
   • 9 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2009–2023

   Owners report grinding or metal-on-metal noise from the front brakes at low mileage, often with one pad worn far faster than the other. Complaints say dealers described the wear as a common complaint but not a warranty item, and quoted new pads and resurfaced or replaced rotors. A few also describe the ABS engaging unexpectedly or the brake warning light coming on. Mostly reported between roughly 12,000 and 60,000 miles, with several under 25,000.

   What to check: Have the front pads and rotors measured rather than just glanced at, and ask for service records showing when they were last replaced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I was driving on hwy at abut 65 MPH on cruise control ,I applied the brake to disengage the cruise control to reduce speed to exit, but the brake didn't work and the cruise control didn't disengage, couldn't exit and kept on going and kept on hitting on the cruise button till it finally disengage and was able to exit. The cruise button stopped working since then.”

   NHTSA complaint #10660839, filed 2014-11, 20,000 miles

   “While braking, the car starts to regenerate (charge the hybrid battery) and then a short burst of assist (electrical drive from the hybrid battery) while my foot is on the brake. This happens about twice a week and is extremely dangerous since I sometimes get into stop-and-go traffic. This means that I could be braking and the car will accelerate, possibly hitting the car in front of mine.”

   NHTSA complaint #10348634, filed 2010-08, 11,785 miles
4. 4
   Suspension

   Rear tire cupping and uneven wear

   • 41 complaints (10%)
   • median 22,500 mi at 2.0 yrs old (39 state mileage)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $600 (median of 5 quotes)
   • filed 2009–2016

   Owners report humming or roaring from the rear, with tires found cupped or out of round and in one case worn to the cords at under 12,000 miles. Complaints say alignment and struts checked out, and that a dealer or tire shop described a wedge kit as the usual remedy but not a covered repair. Others describe vibration at highway speed and a broken suspension bushing. Usually noted between about 10,000 and 40,000 miles, sometimes on original tires.

   What to check: Run a hand over the inner and outer edges of the rear tires for scalloping, and ask about rotation history and whether a rear camber/wedge kit was installed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I purchased a 2009 Honda Civic sedan and it start to shake at highway speeds I have advised Honda of this and also the dealer. I advised them that it cant be the tires since it had the problem since new. They said it was the tires that are worn I advised them it cant cause it had this problem since it was new.”

   NHTSA complaint #10322873, filed 2010-03, 26 miles

   “Affected parts on the online form does not list tires . Like many other complaints I detected extreme uneven wear on the rear tires. When I took my vehicle to a tire center the guy said that this is a known issue with this car. He said that there is no recall and that I could go to a Honda service center and have a wedge installed that would prevent this wear. Since this is not a recall item I would have to pay out of pocket. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10641038, filed 2014-10, 20,000 miles
5. 5
   Body and structure

   Clear-coat peeling and paint fading

   Mentioned in 4 of 60 sampled complaints

   Owners describe clear coat lifting, cracking or peeling on the roof, hood, trunk lid and quarter panels, sometimes within a few years of new. Some say the trunk and roof were refinished under a warranty extension while other panels were refused. One complaint also mentions a gap between the A-pillar trim and headliner. Reported from about 17,000 miles upward, often on cars only a few years old at the time.

   4 related service bulletins

   What to check: Inspect horizontal panels in daylight for dull, chalky or lifting clear coat, and ask whether the hood/roof/trunk refinish program was already applied.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “My 2009 Honda Civic ex, polished metal metallic, has paint that has been fading on the roof and trunk. The spots affected are: between the windshield and sunroof, above the back window, and the top of the trunk lid. I purchased the car brand new from the dealer in february of 2009. The car is only four years old and now has 22,800 miles. I should not be having these issues!”

   NHTSA complaint #10473989, filed 2012-09, 19,965 miles

   “2009 Honda Civic hybrid. Consumer states air condition failure and problem with indicator lights the dealer informed the consumer that rodents eating acorns had dropped the shells into the air conditioner intake. The consumer also stated the park and drive light illuminated. The park light was steady, while the drive light blinked on and off. The consumer shut the vehicle off. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, where they determined a rodent had damaged a cable. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10424809, filed 2011-09, 25,448 miles

Buying note. Have a shop check the rear tires and front brakes before purchase, and confirm on the NHTSA site that the passenger airbag inflator recall has been completed. A pre-purchase inspection that includes the visors and paint condition matters more than mileage alone here.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.