When I tried to start the vehicle on 10/14/24, it did not start, however it started showing various messages on the electronic dashboard. The vehicle was towed to John Eagle Honda Of Dallas (Honda Dealer) on 10/14/24 around 11:15 AM. I am enclosing the diagnostic report run on the vehicle by the John Eagle Honda of Dallas on 10/15/24 which shows some of the messages I had seen on the dashboard. My dashboard never showed me low battery at any time but the car did not start and the message of lane departure, brake failure messages came on the dashboard. I have LoJack App service on my phone which tracks everything on my vehicle.I used the vehicle on 10/11/24 and 10/12/24 and there was no issue in the vehicle nor did I see any dashboard warnings. The dealer kept the car overnight stating that they were too busy on 10/14/24 and promised me that they will provide alternate vehicle on 10/15/24 morning as per my phone call. I went to the dealership on the 15th at 8:50 AM to pick up the alternate vehicle, the service advisor said I can take my vehicle since he had changed the battery and it was safe to drive and did not provide me the invoice for the replaced battery. I asked the service advisor for the diagnostic report and he informed me that everything was okay in the report. I insisted on taking the print out of the diagnostic report and had to wait to collect it. Seeing the time on the report I am able to understand that they ran the diagnostic report while I was waiting. After driving my vehicle from the dealership and not having new battery invoice in my hand I called Honda motor company customer service and narrated my dealership visit details along with being uncomfortable on the safety of the vehicle. I didn't get any help from them as well. They created a case number for me. They said that someone will reach out to me and no one has till date. If you need any other information please feel free to contact me.
Honda Civic brake failure problems
154 of the 16,054 owner complaints about the Honda Civic describe brake failure, most of them for the 1996 model year.
- owner complaints
- 154
- worst model year
- 1996
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,300
- typical mileage
- 30,000
By model year
Often reported together
No deployment 11ABS 11Sudden acceleration 6Won't start 5Adaptive cruise 5Steering lock-up 4Stalling 4Power steering loss 4
What owners say
I turn my car on To go to work realized I didn’t have my phone. Car was in park. I hadn’t touch the gearshift at all I get out of the car. Approximate 20 seconds after I walk away from the car, my home security camera shows the car creeping extremely slowly backwards up into my driveway going up across the crown of the road… across the street and falls into a 10 foot deep ditch. I am 100% certain that Car was in Park… There were no sounds when I open the door to alert me that it would be anything other than park.. The back up camera was not engaged, so it was definitely not in Reverse… When the tow truck pulled it out of the ditch, it was Still running It had stopped vertically before it hit the bottom of the ditch, and rear tire got stuck in muddy water…. There were no ruts from tire, spinning from the front end at all in the ditch or the grass above the ditch… There is a recall of some 2020 civics for brake failure, parking brake failure…. I strongly believe my car needs to be part of this recall, because obviously something is wrong… My road is 55 mph and a car had to stop to avoid hitting my car… I have video from my home camera That shows a clear delay between when I get out of my car and shut the door and the car starts crawling. I tested it after he pulled it out of the ditch just to see if I had it in reverse from the same exact spot wouldn’t move and it immediately moved so I’m certain something is wrong… Right now the body shop can’t even duplicated can’t even get it to get caught between Park and reverse. Please investigate And this could’ve easily been a fatality. I need to send more photos and videos, but it won’t allow me to do it but there’s definitely more for me to send If someone can give me an email
braking system warnings and possibility of brake failure warning. Dealership thought it was sensor issue and replaced sensors but it happened again and I’m also experiencing a phenomenon referred to as “phantom braking” as my car will stop as if an object is directly in front of me while I’m driving, which has happened a few times on the interstate now and I’m afraid to drive. This is a serious safety risk for all involved.
Each time I applied brakes I would hear a scraping sound in sync with a point or span of tire rotation. Then as I was attempting to stop at a red light the brakes failed. The nearest place was OR automotive and they rebuilt rear braking system yet I could hear the same scraping sound. So I carried the car to Honda dealership. They adjusted brakes $237.00 and replaced $341.00 the two rear drums. The sound remains and is magnified. They are claiming it is because e brake cables stretch. Somehow the stretching can cause entire rear brake on that side to catastrophically fail.
Brakes failed on vehicle almost causing me to collide with vehicle in front of me. Brakes Plus in Tempe checked Brakes and found them to be good. All the lights on the dash flash when attempting to start the vehicle. Vehicle will not start sometimes. The vehicle also leaves the lane when going over potholes and bumps on the road and handles badly.
Car accelerated into a garage door unintentionally. The brakes did not work. The problem has not been reproduced. The car was taken to a honda dealer twice before the accident for the same reasons of sudden unintentional acceleration. The vehicle has been totaled and has not been inspected by anyone. There were no warning indicators that I am aware of.
Emergency brake failed and gives following code in the dash: Red blinking light- BRAKE Yellow light: Brake System There was a recall back in 2016 because of this same problem. More than 300,000 cars affected.
All the car has problems all dash warning coming up from nowhere it’s no safety the other day I was driving 55 mph power steering lock brake failure very un safety and if you Google the problem I’m not the only customer with this issue it’s a loooot of people having this issues
My brakes stopped working, resulting in a car crash. My airbags never went off and I sustained injuries to my head, neck,and, back.
Started my car in neutral with the parking brake engaged. The car took off by itself up a curb over a hill and struck another vehicle. I managed to get back in the vehicle and applied the brakes but the brakes did not respond. And my car was serviced at Freeway Honda in Santa Ana three days prior to the accident. I reported the problem with the brakes, they did a brake service, but they did not properly diagnose the issue and fix it. They told me they couldn’t find any problems and release the car back to me. Three days later it was in an accident and the brakes failed. Now freeway Honda has stated that they finally diagnosed the issue with the brakes, but they are refusing to fix it free of charge even though they have been deemed liable for the accident. My rear shocks were also damaged due to the impact of going up the curb and State Farm is investigating that to see if they will be paying for the repair and replacement of the shocks.
Related recalls
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: master cylinder
- What is wrong
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Civic, 2020-2023 Ridgeline, 2021-2023 Passport, 2021-2022 Pilot, and 2020 Acura MDX vehicles. The tie rod fastener that connects the brake booster and the brake master cylinder may have been improperly assembled during manufacturing, which can cause the brake master cylinder to separate from the booster assembly.
- Risk
- Brake master cylinder separation can cause a loss of brake function and increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and repair the brake booster assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 7, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1‑888‑234‑2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are VEU, AEV, and ZET.
Recall number 23V458000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip: control unit/module
- What is wrong
- Honda (America Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2023 Civic, Acura RDX, Acura Integra, and 2022 Honda Accord vehicles. A ball valve in the vehicle stability assist (VSA) modulator may leak brake fluid, which can result in unintended vehicle movement when the brake hold feature is engaged or an unexpected increase in brake pedal travel.
- Risk
- Unintended vehicle movement or an unexpected increase in brake pedal travel can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the VSA modulator, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 24, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1‑888‑234‑2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are OEJ, XEK, AEY, XEX and OEW.
Recall number 23V430000 · Recall details
Parking brake
- What is wrong
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Civic two door and four door 1.5L turbo and 2.0L vehicles. The electric parking brake (EPB) may not engage if it is applied immediately after turning the ignition off.
- Risk
- If the EPB is not applied, the vehicle may roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the vehicle's software to allow the EPB to engage immediately after the ignition is turned off, free of charge. The recall began on November 8, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1‑888‑234‑2138. Honda's number for this recall is KC6.
Recall number 16V725000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip: wheel speed sensor/tone ring
- What is wrong
- On certain vehicles, the wheel speed sensor housing uses an o-ring seal to prevent leakage to or from the wheel bearing. If assembled improperly, the o-ring may not seal properly allowing water to enter the wheel bearing and eventually cause damage to the bearing, especially in areas where use of road salt is prevalent. If the driver continues to drive with this condition it is possible for the wheel bearing to become loose, which could cause the bearing to fail.
- Risk
- This could cause a wheel to fall off of the vehicle, possibly resulting in a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the rear ABS sensors and wheel bearings for damaged parts and replace them free of charge. The recall began on september 25, 2007. Owners may contact honda at 1‑800‑999‑1009.
Recall number 07V399000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: power assist: vacuum: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
- What is wrong
- A soapy lubricant was used to insert the check valve into the vacuum hose which causes the brake booster check valve to stick.
- Risk
- This condition can cause a loss of the brake's power assist resulting in a reduction in braking performance increasing the potential for a vehicle accident.
- Remedy
- Dealers will clean the check valve by washing the vacuum hose with hot water.
Recall number 96V106000 · Recall details
Questions about the Honda Civic brake failure
Which Honda Civic years have brake failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1996 (27 complaints), 2016 (15 complaints) and 2008 (8 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix brake failure on the Honda Civic?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,300 (median of 5 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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