Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accessories, trailer hitches and other equipment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Honda Civic owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My dad has died from injuries sustained from a car accident, he told me his car 2006 Honda Civic accelerated on its own! The car accelerated at high RPM when he just went to accelerate. To enter the road making a left, instead the car went so fast within seconds, he lost control and his Honda plowed threw a stop sign, then was finally stopped by a steel pole holding up a quick check sign! He sustained extensive chest injuries! 3 broken ribs, 2 dropped lungs, fractured sternum, fractured c4 and c7 spine injuries! He died due to a defect in the accerlaertion of the vehicle racing on its own! My dad has always kept up with recalls and has car logs and maintenance logs, etc. I hope other people never have to experience this tragic sudden death, due to a defect in manufacturer acceleration, or whatever equipment is responsible for this accident! It's a mfg defect! …
On November 19th, 2007 I was coming home from work alone in my 2006 Honda Civic ex on a dirt road. I was not speeding and I was wearing my seatbelt. I chose a different route from my normal route and missed the s curve in the road. My car went to the ditch roughly 3 feet deep on the drivers side, hitting the drivers front, rolling the car one time, landing on the wheels and I put the brakes on, put the car in park and turned off the car. I then got out of the passenger side of the car because the driver side was smashed completely down not allowing me to get out of the car or the window. I could not find my cell phone and went and looked into the field and found where my car rolled and found the phone with the glass from my window. I then called 911 and waited for assistance. I was transported to sidney, ne where after a catscan they found that I had a broken neck in 2 places c6 and c7. …
History from odi # 10572660: 6-18-09 Honda dealership did feb 2009 recall (replaced auto-tensioner pivot bolt & reroute belt) at 28,324 mi. 9-15-12 engine failed (48144 mi.) approaching stop intersection. Subsequently would not crank to start. Towed car to service station. 9-18-12 vehicle repaired -- due to broken pivot bolt, a new Honda recall belt kit, including new bolt, belt, belt tensioner assembly & water pump pulley had to be installed. Approximately 20,000 mi. After recall kit & new bolt was installed to prevent the pivot bolt from breaking, the bolt broke and stopped the car from functioning completely. Had I been in higher speed traffic the results May have been disastrous. ----------------------------------------------------------- 12-20-13 car died approaching intersection -- towed for service. …
I bought my 2006 Honda Civic lx in November 2005. In August 2008 the wear sensor on the front brakes were squealing and I had to have the brake pads replaced and the rotors machined at 8976 miles. I was told that because I live in a geographically hilly area that my brakes would wear sooner than other areas. I find this unusual, other cars that I have driven in the same area did not have this problem. Since then I have had the front pads replaced and the rotors machined on 8/13/07 at 19,093 miles, on 6/2/08 at 27,878 miles and on 12/8/08 at 33,831 miles the pads had to be replaced again and I needed new rotors. I went to a different mechanic this time and they put on different pads which are still doing fine. I wrote to Honda and spoke to a manager there and was told that this is a wear issue and there would be nothing they could do about it. …
The air conditioner on my 2006 Honda Civic failed. Since I have a 10-yr extended warranty, I had my Honda dealer diagnose the problem (cost $75). They told me that the ac condenser was damaged due to a rock/pebble impacting the condenser and that the warranty would not cover the problem. I had them replace the condenser (cost: $782). It turns out that there are hundreds of similar complaints about this defect for this Honda and others going back to 2003. There is absolutely no protection in the front grille that would prevent this from happening again. The design of this Honda welcomes debris to come through the grille! A simple $5.00 screen attached to the grille would have saved me $856. Something has to be done. I now have to look for my own custom grille to stop this from happening again. It's not if, it's when.
6-18-09 Honda dealership did feb 2009 recall (replaced auto-tensioner pivot bolt & reroute belt) at 28,324 mi. 9-15-12 engine failed (48144 mi.) approaching stop intersection. Subsequently would not crank to start.towed car to service station. 9-18-12 vehicle repaired -- due to broken pivot bolt, a new Honda recall belt kit, including new bolt, belt, belt tensioner assembly & water pump pulley had to be installed. Approximately 20,000 mi. After recall kit & new bolt was installed to prevent the pivot bolt from breaking, the bolt broke and stopped the car from functioning completely. Had I been in higher speed traffic the results May have been disastrous.
I bought a 2006 Honda Civic with 50K miles on it one month ago. The air conditioning did not blow cold air from the very first time I turned it on. When I took it back to the Honda dealership (it has a bumper-to-bumper warranty for a year), they said a pebble hit the condenser and it would cost $700 to replace and is not covered by warranty because it is considered a road hazard. After reading this website: http://www.topix.com/forum/autos/Honda/tq02nf40877b57gf6 and talking to the dealership, I found that this is a very common problem. I feel that Honda should be responsible for this part.
The radio antenna (located in the rear window defroster) is nothing but static. I live in a major metropolitan area and can not get one radio station to come in clearly. I've had the radio replaced and by the dealer when the car was under warranty with no luck. There is no static with cd's - only radio (fm mostly). Wiring in rear defroster/radio is compromised. Honda service dealerships have not been helpful in resolving this issue or informing me of what the issue was.
The sun visors begin separating, dangling and intefere with field of vision during normal traffic conditions. Dealership replaced my visors three times prior to warranty expiration and now they are no longer willing to do it. It is a safety issue because is blocks my field of vision.
Vehicle's audio/radio not working. 65, 000 miles, one owner. Radio switches to and from different outputs. Only way to stop this from occurring is to shut radio off. Once problem starts, it will happen more and more frequently until screen dims out and radio shuts down.
Related recalls
Equipment › Other › Owners/service/other manual
On certain passenger vehicles and motorcycles, the owner's manuals contain incorrect contact information for the national highway traffic safety administration's (NHTSA) vehicle safety hotline.
Remedy: Honda will send a postcard to dealers and owners with the correct NHTSA vehicle safety hotline information and with instructions to insert the card into the "reporting safety defects" section of the owner's manual.
Equipment complaints in other Civic years
Frequently asked questions
How common are equipment problems on the 2006 Honda Civic?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the equipment & accessories of the 2006 Honda Civic, 1% of the model year's 1,403 complaints. The component named most often is electrical › radio/tape deck/cd etc. (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Honda Civic equipment problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 06V-270 (owners/service/other manual, Jul 26, 2006). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2006 Honda Civic equipment problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 48,000 miles, and 25% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries and 1 death to equipment & accessories problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.