Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2011 Honda Civic owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, when attempting to depress on the brake pedal but the vehicle failed to stop and crashed into multiple vehicles. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained a fractured spine and chest. The contact did seek medical attention for her injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not drivable and was towed to a different location. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.
At approximately 35 to 40 MPH when applying the brakes lately due to traffic slowing down in front I had absolutely no brake pedal at all. The pedal went immediately down to the floor and the vehicle had failed to slow or stop. To avoid accident I veered to the dirt shoulder and begin to spin out of control ending up back on the road and crashing into another vehicle. The seatbelts had failed to lock as if the brake pedal was never depressed and it appeared that as soon as the tires hit the dirt shoulder the vehicle gain speed. In addition airbags were never deflated.
I was stopped in a parking garage and intended to pull into an open space on my left. I turned the steering wheel all the way to the left and my car suddenly accelerated on its own. It crashed into the car to the right of the open space and continued to accelerate, pushing the other car into the car to its right. I was pressing the brakes during the entire incident but they were not functional. My car finally pushed the other car out of the way and my car slammed into the concrete block in front of the open space and stopped. Had the concrete block not been there, I would have flown over the side of the third level of this parking garage. My foot was in no way on the accelerator. It was on the brake the entire time. Also, a non-Honda mechanic experienced the same revving issue when he inspected the car after the incident. …
Purchased a brand new 2011 Honda Civic 4d lxs model car in March. Within a month the car head computer issue that caused all of the electronic display control to break, speedometer, engine temperature, gas indicator, odometer, etc. All went dead. The car was taken in for service, but no root-causes were found for the issue. After the car had the battery discharged an recharged the issue simply went away. On 6/12/11 the car was involved in an accident where the car accelerated uncontrollably while attempting to park, brakes weren't functional and it jumped a curb a and ran through a fence before finally coming to a stop. The airbag also didn't deploy, we feel it should have due to the nature of the accident. We feel these could be all related a manufacturer defect that's an underlying electronics issue.
My daughter drove on freeway 60 and needed to change lane to freeway 57. While she changed lanes, she found the traffic on freeway 57 started to slow down. So, she started to brake, but for some odd reason the brake did not work properly. The car did not slow down well enough, so she started to brake harder, and suddenly she heard a very loud bumping noise. She thought some parts of car hit the ground. So she decided to pull the emergency brake, but by the time I pulled it up, she was not able to make a stop immediately and hit the car in front of her. Claim number: [redacted] my car is currently located at sk auto body in rowland heights.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Honda Civic. While the vehicle was in a drive thru line, it accelerated on its own while stopped. The contact had to apply extreme pressure to the brake pedal and place the vehicle into park to completely stop. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired; however, a diagnostic appointment was scheduled. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 75,600.
Operating my vehicle on 2 lane street in ashburn virginia, applied brakes on car lightly and brakes seem to lock up, auto spun out of control and I landed into pond. I am filing complaint so that NHTSA will have this on file. I have read many complaints of failure of braking systems Honda Civic 2005-2011 thank you
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving 61 MPH, the driver applied the brakes but the brakes failed to respond. As a result, the contact crashed into another vehicle. The contact's vehicle was destroyed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was not inspected for the cause of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 13,968.
On 03-16-2013 I was driving on I-5 freeway north through orange county ca. When I tried to slow down, my car`s brakes were not working at all. Brake pedal went all the way to the floor without any resistance and the car didn't slow down. I was able to stop the car by hitting the curb. There were no dashboard warning lights lit at any time indicating total brake failure. I had car towed to nearest Honda dealership. They told me I must have driven over a piece of rubber debris. This piece of rubber damaged right wheel emergency brake cable, causing right rear wheel to drag and boil the brake fluid, thus causing total brake failure without any warning at all.I found out both rear brakes were damaged, even though only the right emergency brake cable was damaged. I had to pay$1300 for repairs even though the car was under full factory warranty. …
Brake complaints in other Civic years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2011 Honda Civic?
NHTSA has 33 complaints about the brakes of the 2011 Honda Civic, 20% of the model year's 169 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2011 Honda Civic brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2011 Honda Civic, though it has 9 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2011 Honda Civic brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 18,000 miles, and 69% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 7 crashes, 0 fires and 4 injuries to brakes 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.