KnownCarProblemsHome › Honda › Civic Hybrid › 2003
2003 Honda Civic Hybrid Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 51 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid, most often about the transmission (51% of complaints, typically around 130,000 miles). It is 4th of 14 Civic Hybrid model years by number of complaints and has 6 recalls.
Most common 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid problems
Transmission
26 complaints · 51%Half of these problems showed up before 130,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission.
We were driving along the freeway around 8:30 at night at about 70mph in the fast lane when the transmission suddenly stopped working. We had to coast over 3 lanes of traffic to pull into the emergency lane. My husband was driving, I was the passenger, and our 4 month old newborn was in the backseat. It took an hour…
For no reason whatsoever the transmission is no longer working and apparently there is "shrapnel" everywhere- according to the mechanic. A total loss in that it costs twice as much as the car is worth to find a new transmission. We are out $800.00 for the mechanic to tell US this news- for he had to take the…
Engine
9 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 121,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid. The contact stated that while accelerating from a stop, the vehicle lunged forward violently and stalled. The failure recurred several times before operating as designed. The contact applied the brakes and again the failure recurred but the vehicle would not accelerate…
I drove my car to Honda of san angelo dealership for a recall, a software update campaign was done, I picked up the car and upon driving off the dealership lot, I noticed immediately that the electric part of the hybrid was not working, at all, it was working when I dropped it off and getting 47 mpg. Upon returning to…
Air bags
9 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 91,000 miles.
My teen aged child was driving on the interstate 5 freeway going 65 MPH and traffic came to a sudden stop and he immediatly stepped on his brake pedal to try to avoid hitting the car in front of him but the car in front of him hit the car ahead and then my child hit the second car in a chain reaction. When the police…
The SRS (supplemental restraint system) warning light came on my dashboard. This is a known design/quality defect. Honda provided extended warranty coverage for this item for 150,000 miles/10 years. I took the car in for service on 7/16/2013, 3 months and 5 days beyond 10 years. Given the mileage of the vehicle and…
Electrical
6 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 57,500 miles.
Key can be easily removed from the ignition when the vehicle is turned off and transmission is in drive. Honda has safety recalls for this condition but will not replace my vehicle at their cost, as it is not specifically part of the recall.d
I bought this car off of a private seller few months ago when the car was around 99000 miles, used it to commute from and to work (6 miles drive), and couple of road trips from boston to rhode island. The car was working perfectly fine, I was really happy with it, until last week when the car started to startle when I…
Lights
4 complaints · 8%Parts named most often: headlights.
The contact owns a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid. The contact stated that the plastic that covered the headlight became foggy, preventing the light from illuminating. The contact stated that he believed that the failure was a safety hazard since it prevented him from seeing when driving the vehicle at night time. The…
While driving the low beam sputter and then when out my husband replaced the bulb and after a day it just went out. He replaced again for it was to be inspected the following week. Honda preformed our state inspection and to our dismay they let US know that we needed a new bulb. 3 bulbs in under two weeks. I noticed…
Speed control
4 complaints · 8%We were driving along the freeway around 8:30 at night at about 70mph in the fast lane when the transmission suddenly stopped working. We had to coast over 3 lanes of traffic to pull into the emergency lane. My husband was driving, I was the passenger, and our 4 month old newborn was in the backseat. It took an hour…
I bought this car off of a private seller few months ago when the car was around 99000 miles, used it to commute from and to work (6 miles drive), and couple of road trips from boston to rhode island. The car was working perfectly fine, I was really happy with it, until last week when the car started to startle when I…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2003 Honda Civic Hybrid recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began august 12, 2019. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are q5a and y58.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2003 acura 3.2cl, 2002-2003 3.2tl, 2003-2006 mdx, 2001-2007 honda accord, 2001-2005 civic, 2003-2005 civic hybrid, 2001-2005 civic gx ngv, 2002-2006 cr-v, 2003-2011 element, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2008 pilot and 2006 ridgeline vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with driver frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal airbag inflator, free of charge. The recall began august 12, 2019. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are e5d and x5c.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2003-2006 acura mdx, 2005-2012 rl, 2003-2007 honda accord, 2001-2005 civic, 2003-2005 civic hybrid, 2001-2005 civic gx ngv, 2002-2006 cr-v, 2003-2011 element, 2007-2008 fit, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2008 pilot, and 2006-2014 ridgeline vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with passenger frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An explosion of an inflator within the driver frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver, front seat passenger or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began april 10, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is o41. Acura owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is u40.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling specific 2003 acura 3.2cl, 2013-2016 ilx, 2013-2014 ilx hybrid, 2003-2006 mdx, 2007-2016 rdx, 2002-2003 3.2tl, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 tl, 2010-2013 zdx and 2001-2007 and 2009 honda accord, 2001-2005 civic, 2003-2005 civic hybrid, 2001-2005 civic gx ngv, 2002-2007 and 2010-2011 cr-v, 2003-2011 element, 2007 fit, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2008 pilot, and 2006-2014 ridgeline vehicles. The affected vehicles received a replacement driver air bag inflator as part of a previous takata inflator recall remedy or a replacement driver air bag module containing the same inflator type as a service part. Due to a manufacturing error, in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver frontal air bag, these inflators may explode.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the passenger seat occupant or other occupants possibly causing serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on july 1, 2015. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are ju4, ju5, ju6, and ju7. Note: vehicles that have already received a replacement passenger air bag inflator as part of the recall remedy for an earlier campaign such as 14v353 or 14v700 (honda recall numbers s95, jh6, jh7, jh8, jh9, jj0, jj1, jj2, jj6, jm5 and jm6) are not included in this recall. However, this recall does supersede 13v132 and 14v349. Note: on december
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 honda civic vehicles manufactured march 21, 2000, to january 20, 2005, 2001-2004 honda civic gx vehicles manufactured june 14, 2000, to august 19, 2004, 2003-2005 honda civic hybrid vehicles manufactured february 24, 2002, to january 18, 2005, 2003-2007 honda accord vehicles manufactured february 21, 2002, to august 28, 2007, 2002-2004 honda cr-v vehicles, 2002-2003 honda odyssey vehicles manufactured june 19, 2001, to july 12, 2003, 2003 acura mdx vehicles manufactured september 19, 2002, to june 19, 2003, 2003 honda element vehicles manufactured june 25, 2002, to july 31, 2003, and 2003 honda pilot vehicles manufactured november 26, 2001, to august 21, 2003. The affected vehicles have a passenger side frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupt
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on july 1, 2015. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Owners may contact acura customer service at 1-800-382-2238, select option 4. Note: vehicles that have had their driver frontal air bag replaced previously as part of a recall remedy prior to september 12, 2014 need to have their air bag replaced under this recall as well. Vehicles that, on or after september 12, 2014, received a remedy for a prior driver frontal air bag inflator recall already rec
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2007 accord, 2001-2005 civic, 2001-2004 honda civic gx, 2003-2005 honda civic hybrid, 2002-2006 cr-v, 2003-2011 element, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2008 pilot, 2006 ridgeline, 2003 acura 3.2cl, 2003-2006 acura mdx, and 2002-2003 acura 3.2tl vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion and other factors, including manufacturing variability that, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Air bags
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passengerâs frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger side air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began january 26, 2015. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
American honda motor co. (honda) is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 honda civic, 2003-2004 civic cng and element, 2002-2005 cr-v, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2005 accord, pilot, civic hybrid, and acura mdx, 2005 acura rl and 2006 honda ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in geographic locations associated with high absolute humidity. Specifically, vehicles sold, or ever registered, in alabama, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, u.s. Virgin islands, saipan, guam, and american samoa are addressed by this recall. Upon deployment of the passenger side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Pedestrian alert sounds
Summary
Nhtsa received a petition on or about july 18, 2022, requesting that federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the united states. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under odi number 11486072. Fmvss 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kg or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after march 1, 2021.on january 27, 2023, NHTSA opened defect petition (dp) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
From 2000 through 2017, takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("psan") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004l. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Questions about the 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid
- What are the most common problems with the 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: transmission (26 complaints, typically around 130,000 miles); engine (9 complaints, typically around 121,500 miles); air bags (9 complaints, typically around 91,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid have?
- 6 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from June 27, 2019 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2003 a bad year for the Honda Civic Hybrid?
- It is 4th of 14 Civic Hybrid model years by number of complaints, with 51 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.