2020 Honda Civic: key fob or push-button start problems

Filed Oct 9, 2026 · Electrical · CA

On September 27, 2026, at approximately 90,800 miles, the body control module (BCM) in my 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback failed. Symptoms included the alarm sounding on its own, warning lights illuminating on the dash, the vehicle turning its accessories on unprompted while parked (key fob was present), the battery draining, and the key fob intermittently not being recognized.

Filed May 9, 2024 · Electrical · WA

The body control module is failing, read multiple posts online and Honda is not fixing it. My alarm goes off and I cannot turn it off, have to use my key. The vehicle powers up on its own into accessory mode when parked, vehicle off and no key fob in the car. This causes the alarm to activate, drains the battery and causes temporary safety features- collision warning, lane assist, cruise control etc to not work. As well as drains the battery. Honda has recalled this part on other models but not the 10th generation Civic.

Filed Nov 5, 2023 · TX

Purchased the vehicle on 3/5/2022 with less than 10k miles on it. Within the first 2 months of driving the vehicle, the infotainment screen would freeze while driving and reset. One of these occurrences happened while driving on the highway at which time when the screen froze, turned a different color, and all the lights on the dashboard turned on simultaneously resulting in me not having control of the vehicle mechanics. This lasted for a few seconds, however, driving at a speed of 65 mph without control of the vehicle mechanics was and is extremely dangerous which could have resulted in an accident causing damage, injury, and death. This occurrence happened a total of three times. After a few months owning the vehicle on the first attempt utilized the key fob to lower my windows which resulted in the battery draining and the vehicle inoprable. Since my vehicle is my kids and my only mode or transportation I had to go to the nearest open Autozone to purchase a new battery. Mind you this was on a Sunday night about 9:00 pm so I had to catch an Uber to the nearest open store about 25 miles away. Once I returned home I replaced the battery and the car started at which time I called it a night. The next morning when leaving home for work and taking kids to school the Infotainment Screen was frozen with a black Honda logo as well as a manlfunction with the reverse and side camera. I have taken my vehicle to the local Honda dealer twice on a Saturday since this is the only available free time I have, however, on both occasions both Service Associates conveyed they had not heard of this malfunction previously and that the vehicle would need a diagnostic test I could not afford. The incident occurred on 5/24/23.

Filed Mar 28, 2023 · Electrical · 28,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Civic. The contact stated while pressing the key fob to unlock the doors, the doors remained locked. The contact had to manually unlock the doors. The contact attempted to lock the vehicle with the key fob however, the doors failed to lock as needed. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 28,000.

Filed Jan 20, 2020 · Electrical · 600 miles · CA

My car was broken into while parked in a public parking lot. The 2020 civic has a feature where all windows roll down if you put the key into the driver's door lock and turn it to the right. According to honda of oakland service center, someone used a screwdriver to activate this feature, which in turn rolled the windows down and they were able to access the trunk latch near the driver's seat and steal items from my trunk. They were then able to roll the windows back up using the same feature (turning to the left) and I was not aware that there was a break in until late the next day when I went to retrieve items from the trunk. A related feature is that the key fob allows you to roll down all windows simultaneously by holding down the unlock button. This feature is very sensitive and can be activated in a pocket or purse. I tested out the range of the feature and was able to roll my windows down remotely from over 200 feet away while inside a building when my car was parked outside across the street. I twice came back to my car with the windows rolled down due to this feature without my knowledge. These remote window features pose a serious safety threat for consumers in urban areas, especially since the door feature can evidently be activated with just a screwdriver, and the key can be activated from hundreds of feet away. Not only can people break into my car without any equipment, but it is not evident from the outset that a break-in occurred because the feature also allows you to roll all the windows back up remotely. This makes the model an easy target for future theft, and I have already had to file a claim with my insurance to repair the mechanical damage to the lock/door resulting from this break in.