KnownCarProblems2009 Honda Civic Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 396 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Honda Civic, most often about the air bags (24% of complaints, typically around 75,000 miles). It is 14th of 27 Civic model years by number of complaints and has 8 recalls.
Most common 2009 Honda Civic problems
Air bags
95 complaints · 24%Half of these problems showed up before 75,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window.
The contact owned a 2009 Honda Civic. While at a stop light, another vehicle crashed into the front of the contact's vehicle. The front passenger air bag did not fully deploy. No other air bag deployed. There was no warning indicator illuminated. A police report was filed. The driver and the front passenger received…
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…
Brakes
47 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 23,000 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components.
My 2009 Honda Civic lx needed to have the front brake pads replaced (worn to minimum) at 11k miles and now again at 23k. Normal usage, previous 5 vehicles serviced at ~50k miles under same conditions. Appears to be defect in brake pad life time.
I purchased a 2009 Civic in august of 2009. My car is now in the shop with less than 24k miles on the car in need of new brake pads and rotors. After researching the issues it seems that many '08 and '09 Honda owners, especially Civic owners, are having the same issue. The repair is not covered under any warranty and…
Body and structure
45 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 54,500 miles. Parts named most often: body, interior panels.
My Honda Civic was hit on the drivers side door by a ford ranger pickup truck. I was driving northbound on a city street in san luis obispo, ca and the truck was heading southbound and attempted to make a left hand turn across the lane that I was occupying when I was hit. The driver airbag in the truck deployed, but…
The driver-side door handle on my 2009 Honda Civic lx broke. I am the original owner, the car has been well-maintained and there is no reason for the door handle to break at such an early stage.
Engine
39 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 44,500 miles. Parts named most often: engine, cooling system.
While driving a chatter started under the hood. Drove it to our mechanic (1 to 2 miles away) and he said the steel bolt broke that holds the belt tensioner to the aluminum engine. Had it fixed and the same thing happened on august 8, 2013 while driving. This time the car shut down completely and I was able to safely…
I was driving my 2009 manual Honda Civic with a 55k on it and the temp outside was -20 f, on the high way at about 75 MPH, nothing was abnormal on my dashboard and the car was on the 5 th transmission the car suddenly stopped responding to my acceleration and the engine light blinked three times before my engine…
Electrical
36 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 13,500 miles. Parts named most often: 12v/24v/48v battery, horn, wiring, instrument panel.
2009 Honda Civic hybrid ima and engine light on, service recoded the ecu and gas mileage has gone down to 24. Battery was replaced and engine was recoded twice again and still the mileage is down to 24. I have found service bulletins on the car for batteries and excessive high temperatures. Car has been to the service…
1. The car would not turn over when you turn the key after the car had been driving for a while. 2. Came out one morning and car would not turn over called aaa and dealer, checked the battery green light was bright got car to start and went to dealer, 3. They said starter was bad and replaced with a new one under…
Other or unspecified
36 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 60,000 miles.
I own a 2009 4 door Honda Civic. I bought it in december 2009. Among some other problems, including the airbags, in 2012 the driver side sun visor developed a crack and then felt apart. I took it to Honda dealer and they replaced it free of charge, but now the same replacement have developed the same identical crack…
Leak in interior of the automobile which Honda service department (braman Honda) was unable to find after 7 hours of investigation. Leak is on both passenger and driver side. I have seen many videos on youutube describing interior leaks on hondas. I would like to know if this is a commonly reported problem and if the…
Suspension
31 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 26,000 miles. Parts named most often: rear, front.
We have had to replace an incredible number of tires, including michelins, due to very irregular wear and extreme vibration, beginning with our first set of tires in 2009. The rear end has been the worst, where one wouldn't think great tire wear and flat spots etc. Would be normal -- as we are very busy people and…
This is happening right now, again.. 2012, not just in 2010 tires are abnormally wearing extremely fast. About every year someone is telling me I need new tires because they are 'chopped' and wearing really fast. This lead me to the internet to do research and found it is common with the 2006-2009 civics. Something…
Wheels and tires
31 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 20,500 miles. Parts named most often: rim.
On my 2009 Honda Civic that is only five months old right around 20,000 miles I noticed a vibration in the rear end. This vibration got worse quickly. At 20,560 I had the tires looked at and both tires have good tread left but have excessive cupping in a diagonal pattern the same as the 06/07 tsb. I took the car to…
Broken belt with only 20k miles makes the tire susceptible to blow-out and unsafe to drive. Dealer says bridgestone attributes it to driver striking a hard object. So sad, this is the first broken belt I've had in my 40 years of driving.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2009 Honda Civic 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 passenger 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 f5f and q5e.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2009-2014 acura tsx, 2011-2014 tsx sport wagon, 2010-2013 zdx, 2008-2012 honda accord, 2010-2011 accord crosstour, 2006-2011 civic and civic hybrid, 2008-2010 civic gx ngv, 2012-2015 crosstour, 2007-2011 cr-v, 2009-2013 fit, 2014 fit EV, 2010-2014 insight, and 2009-2015 pilot 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 incorrectly installed air bag inflator may not properly deploy the passenger frontal air bag in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the inflator installation and, if necessary, replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began july 5, 2019. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are m4o, p4r, t4q, and w4p.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2009-2014 acura tsx, 2011-2013 tsx sport wagon, and 2010-2012 zdx and 2008-2012 honda accord, 2010-2011 accord crosstour, 2006-2011 civic, civic hybrid and civic ngv, 2012-2014 crosstour, 2007-2011 cr-v, 2009-2013 fit, 2010-2013 insight, and 2009-2015 pilot vehicles. The front passenger air bag inflator may have been installed incorrectly during replacement.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An incorrectly installed air bag may deploy improperly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began june 22, 2018. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are k1p, and m1o.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2003-2012 honda accord and pilot, 2010 accord crosstour, 2001-2011 civic, 2002-2011 cr-v, 2003-2004, 2006-2008 and 2011 element, 2007 and 2009-2013 fit, 2010-2012 insight, 2002-2004 odyssey, and 2012 ridgeline vehicles. The front passenger air bag may have been installed incorrectly during replacement.
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 air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began february 16, 2018. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are b0k and l0j.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2010-2013 acura tsx, zdx, honda accord crosstour, fit, insight and pilot vehicles, 2011-13 acura tsx sportswagon, 2010-2012 honda accord,, 2010-2011 honda civic, civic ngv, civic hybrid and cr-v vehicles and 2013 honda fcx clarity and fit EV vehicles ever registered in the states of alabama, california, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands (saipan), and the u.s. Virgin islands or "zone a." additionally, honda is recalling certain 2010-2012 acura tsx, honda accord, accord crosstour, fit and pilot, 2010-2011 honda civic, civic ngv, civic hybrid and cr-v, and 2010 acura zdx and honda insight vehicles ever registered in the states of arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missouri,
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: In the event of a crash, an incorrectly installed passenger frontal air bag inflator may deploy the air bag improperly, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began october 30, 2017. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are o07, y0a, n06, g05, m04, y01, and o09.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2008-2012 accord, 2010-2012 accord crosstour, 2006-2011 civic, 2007-2011 cr-v, 2009-2012 fit and pilot, 2010-2012 insight, and 2009-2012 acura tsx vehicles that received replacement passenger frontal air bag inflators. One dealership may have incorrectly installed the replacement air bag inflators.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger side air bag inflator, free of charge. The manufacturer has mailed an interim notification, and will send a second notification when parts are available. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are ke1 and ke2.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2009-2012 acura tsx, 2011-2012 acura tsx wagon, 2010-2012 acura zdx, 2008-2012 honda accord, 2010-2012 honda accord crosstour and honda insight, 2009-2012 honda fit, 2009-2012 pilot, 2007-2011 honda cr-v, 2012 honda fcx clarity and 2006-2011 honda civic, civic hybrid, civic ngv vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in alabama, california, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands (saipan), and the u.s. Virgin islands, or "zone a." additionally, if not included in "zone a" above, honda is recalling certain 2009 acura tsx, honda fit and pilot, 2008-2009 honda accord, 2006-2009 civic, civic hybrid and civic ngv, and 2007-2009 honda cr-v vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, i
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inflator, free of charge. The recall began march 2017. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall is ka4, ka5, ka6, and ka7.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain model year 2009-2011 acura tsx, 2011 tsx wagon, 2010-2011 acura zdx, 2008-2011 honda accord, 2010-2011 accord crosstour, 2006-2011 civic, civic hybrid, and civic gx, 2007-2011 cr-v, 2010-2011 fcx clarity and insight, and 2009-2011 fit, and pilot vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in alabama, california, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands (saipan), and the u.s. Virgin islands, or "zone a." additionally, unless already included in "zone a" above, honda is recalling certain model year 2008 honda accord, 2006-2008 civic, civic hybrid and civic gx, and 2007-2008 cr-v vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in arizona, arkansas, delaware, the district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missouri, neb
Fuel system: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
Risk: In the event of a crash, the bracket may become loose which could result in damage to the fuel hose connector. A damaged connector could lead to a fuel leak and increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will install a nut on the fuel feed hose bracket. The recall began on october 13, 2008. Owners may contact honda at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
Honda is recalling 128 my 2008-2009 civic sedans. A bracket that covers the fuel hose connector is secured with a bolt and nut, but during assembly the nut was not installed.
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.
Questions about the 2009 Honda Civic
- What are the most common problems with the 2009 Honda Civic?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (95 complaints, typically around 75,000 miles); brakes (47 complaints, typically around 23,000 miles); body and structure (45 complaints, typically around 54,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2009 Honda Civic have?
- 8 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 2009 a bad year for the Honda Civic?
- It is 14th of 27 Civic model years by number of complaints, with 396 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.