2009 Honda Civic Electrical system Problems
- Complaints
- 36about this part
- Share
- 9%of 396 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 13,300miles
- Trend
- RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 36 complaints about the electrical system of the 2009 Honda Civic, 9% of the 396 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 13,300 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved and 2 a fire, according to the filers.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“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“I own a 2009 Honda Civic hybrid. I've had issues with low power and halting acceleration due to low battery conditions accompanied with the dash engine light coming on. Honda dealership has applied software updates to my vehicle to address this twice, but those simply trade mileage for battery life, degrading the value of a hybrid. I believe that the ima battery has known problems and that Honda is not addressing the issue. I'm afraid to merge onto highways with a low battery due to the lack of power and acceleration.”
NHTSA complaint #10408903, filed 2011-06, 40,000 miles“I have owned a 2009 Honda Civic hybrid since 12/8/08 and have had numerous problems with the battery and the hybrid system. On october 5, 2009, as I was entering an on-ramp in arlington, va, the ima system completely failed and the regular internal combustible engine (ice) revved to over 4500 RPM to provide power on the on-ramp due to there being no ima assistance. Without the hybrid power assist, I was nearly hit by other traffic. At that time, the ima warning light and check engine light illuminated. …”
NHTSA complaint #10318005, filed 2010-03, 7,065 miles“I was hit on the passenger side of the car by an SUV. The repairs were with genuine Honda parts but ever since then the front controls where the radio is has been extremely hot. Almost to the point I think I burn my hands to change the radio station. I think it may be hot enough to start a fire with melting the controls in the back. I have been told there is nothing that can be done or it will cost me a lot of money to diagnose it. I just see it as a safety issue to have the dash so hot it burns people. The passenger airbag did not deploy in the crash and possibly should have.”
NHTSA complaint #10593100, filed 2014-05, 45,000 miles“I currently am the lessee of a 2009 Honda Civic hybrid starting this january, the hybrid battery charge level goes from almost full (8-10 out of 10 bars) to virtually zero (1 bar) every other week (the technical term for this is a recall or recalibrating). This summer, it started happening every 3-4 days, and whenever I had the A/C on. Then, it started to happen every 100 miles (which made it very predictable). The problem is that when in the 'recall' state, the car is almost unresponsive and does not accelerate much, if at all. …”
NHTSA complaint #10348354, filed 2010-08, 6,750 milesRelated service bulletins
- 10237952Jun 13, 2023Service News - The navigation clock and date are incorrect. This is due to a limited GPS receiver Capacity resulting in a rollover of the internal chip memory; the rollover…
- 10206994Jan 29, 2022ServiceNews Article - The clock shows the incorrect time. This issue is due to a limited GPS receiver capacity resulting in "rollover" of the internal chip memory; the "rollover"…
- 10038364Feb 12, 2013Honda: the vehicle may have low power when accelerating from a stop and the batter light is on. 2009 civic hybrid. *rm updated 8/2/11. *pe updated 04/02/2013 *js updated 4/19/2013.
- 10040487Apr 24, 2012Honda: hybrid vehicle battery exchange information. *rm updated 5/2/12
- 10043248Jan 12, 2012Honda: on some model vehicles, there is an alternator/starter tester (ast) module capable of testing alternators, installed on gr8 diagnostic battery station.
- 10039525Jul 19, 2011Honda: the horn intermittently sounds when driving or while turning the steering wheel. There is metal contamination inside the horn, that conducts electricity and sounds the horn.
- 10026884Aug 6, 2008Honda: hybrid batteries can be affected and damaged by excessively high temperatures.
Electrical system: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 | 16% |
| 2025 | 6 | 8% |
| 2024 | 8 | 6% |
| 2023 | 17 | 7% |
| 2022 | 38 | 4% |
| 2021 | 18 | 12% |
| 2020 | 37 | 16% |
| 2019 | 37 | 8% |
| 2018 | 61 | 8% |
| 2017 | 103 | 17% |
| 2016 | 119 | 11% |
| 2015 | 28 | 7% |
| 2014 | 39 | 13% |
| 2013 | 39 | 12% |
| 2012 | 60 | 13% |
| 2011 | 16 | 9% |
| 2010 | 23 | 6% |
| 2009 | 36 | 9% |
| 2008 | 51 | 6% |
| 2007 | 67 | 6% |
| 2006 | 100 | 7% |
| 2005 | 26 | 8% |
| 2004 | 32 | 9% |
| 2003 | 51 | 10% |
| 2002 | 49 | 7% |
| 2001 | 59 | 5% |
| 2000 | 38 | 13% |
| 1999 | 118 | 35% |
| 1998 | 88 | 20% |
| 1997 | 30 | 8% |
| 1996 | 17 | 6% |
| 1995 | 12 | 6% |
| 1994 | 2 | 1% |
| 1993 | 25 | 17% |
| 1992 | 28 | 29% |
| 1991 | 22 | 20% |
| 1990 | 18 | 20% |
| 1989 | 11 | 16% |
| 1988 | 7 | 15% |
| 1986 | 4 | 11% |
Other parts of the 2009 Honda Civic
95 complaintsBrakes
51 complaintsBody and structure
45 complaintsOther or unknown
36 complaintsSuspension
31 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
29 complaintsEngine
27 complaintsTires
25 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
23 complaintsVehicle speed control
17 complaintsSteering
13 complaintsEngine cooling
12 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2009 Honda Civic
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 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