The Honda Civic has a reputation for reliability, and the 2011 is no exception. But the popular compact car does have notable airbag recalls, and there are reports of electrical issues developing after the car passes the 10-year mark.
Key Points
- The 2011 Honda Civic’s biggest issue comes down to its airbags. It took them eight recalls to address faulty airbags with complaints still popping up now and then.
- Electrical issues are among the 2011 Civic’s leading concerns, but nothing outside of what’s to be expected with a decade-old compact.
- Despite perfect ratings with the IIHS, the NHTSA awarded the 2011 just three out of five stars owing to a bad showing in side-impact testing.
Eight Recalls and 46 Complaints are on the Books for Airbag Issues, Including Incidents that have Reportedly Led to Injuries
The 2011 Honda Civic’s biggest problem area by far is in the airbags. In the decade or so since the car’s debut, it has been hit with no fewer than eight recalls for the airbags, and forty-six complaints for same.
The earliest complaints started rolling in almost immediately, with a Riverside, California driver reporting in late 2010 that their rear door side curtain airbag deployed, as well as the driver front and door airbags, leading to injury. Although this first complaint would prove to be an outlier, because most drivers were experiencing the airbags failing to deploy when they should, rather than deploying when they shouldn’t. You could call it a bad omen.
A driver reporting in early 2011 saw their airbags fail to deploy in an accident. A Staten Island driver saw their airbags fail to deploy after a front impact. A North Carolina driver experienced a rollover in 2013, only for the airbags to not deploy.
The first recall addressing this issue was launched in early 2016, covering nearly three million Honda vehicles. A follow-up recall was issued in early 2017, then again for incorrectly installed replacements a few months later, then in 2018 there were recalls for potential airbag explosion, improperly installed airbags, and problematic airbag inflators.
The main issue was largely mechanical. One of the chemical components used in the airbag propellant had a tendency to degrade the bag, causing rupture. So the system would try to deploy the bag, but a tear in the material would have the air simply passing through rather than inflating the bag.
The most recent recall was in June, 2019, to correct an issue with the airbag inflator. But, the most recent complaint was in early 2021. So the matter may not be entirely settled.
Melting Battery Terminals are Among Random Assortment of 2011 Honda Civic’s Electrical Issues
You have to expect more and more electrical issues to pop up in a decade-old car, and the Civic, as reliable as it may be, is no exception, with thirteen electrical complaints on file with the NHTSA.
A Colorado driver reported in 2019 that their driver’s seat adjusted independently, and another driver in Connecticut driver reported that their dash began flickering and preventing them from seeing how fast they were driving.
A Georgia driver reported in 2018 that their Civic’s low beam headlights failed to illuminate, and smoke emerged from the steering column, likely caused by a melting battery terminal.
So, in general, the electrical issues are all over the place, but the patterns point to the wiring going bad after years on the road, not a buggy computer module issue or any one specific faulty component.
In a 10-year-old car, you have to expect some electrical problems sooner or later. The Civic is known to be one of the most reliable compacts on the road, but no car is immune to the ravages of time, and some units will give out sooner than others.
These issues are infrequent, considering that Honda sold nearly a quarter-million Civics in 2011 and there are just 13 of these complaints on record, but as the car gets older we should expect the list to get a little longer.
2011 Civic Holds Mediocre NHTSA Safety Rating of Three out of Five Stars, which for a Honda is Pretty Low
Not exactly a major issue, but something worth consideration before you buy a 2011 Civic: The car holds a mediocre safety rating of just three out of five stars with the NHTSA. For a Honda, and especially for a Civic, that’s pretty low.
The main issue here is side impact. In the NHTSA’s crash tests, the car earned an overall side-impact rating of just two stars. The car earned typical four and five-star ratings in every other category, but came up short in an intersection test, simulating a collision with the Civic at a standstill and a car or similar object hitting the side at 38.5 mph.
But, the 2011 Civic earned a Top Safety Pick award from the IIHS, with a perfect score for side impact.
Is the 2011 Honda Civic a Recommended Ride Despite Some Reported Problems and Questionable Crash Tests?
Both the NHTSA and IIHS serve as a gold standard for measuring automotive safety on American highways. But a crash test is just like what you see on TV. They are intended to simulate the chaos of a real traffic accident, so there will be instances where the results of one test don’t perfectly match the results of another.
That being said, the 2012 Civic did earn a perfect score with both the IIHS and the NHTSA. So, if you can’t decide between a 2011 and a 2012, those extra stars are as good a tiebreaker as anything.
Photos: Honda
