106 complaints reported

2012 Honda Civic Air Bags

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
106
Crashes
20
Fires
0
Injuries
11

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Sep 2025

I have had this 2012 for a little over a year, within the past 6 months periodically the check air bag system warning lamp comes on if I make a sharp turn or move the steering wheel very fast. On the guage it says that the passenger side air bag is off..This issue just came out of no where, but generally the car runs great

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Mar 2025
Oct 2024

I was 3 hrs away from home and I started my vehicle and the air bag light began flashing and beeping. The light was on the message board that indicates my speed, clock, fuel, etc. it basically is the information center for the car. I pushed the information button on the steering wheel to clear it but it kept blinking and flashing the entire way home. I also turned off the engine and restarted it but no luck with that either. It was a very distracting experience having to drive 3 hours like this. I made an appointment with my mechanic and he diagnosed it as the Occupant Passenger Detection Sensor. This will cost $800.00 to repair. The car is not drive able in this condition because of the safety of the air bag. I looked up recalls but it seems my car has none.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2024
May 2024 Crash Injury

We were making a left turn, and a SUV ran the red light across the street and ran through the intersection hitting us broadside at about 45 mph. We were traveling at about. 20-30 mph as we were going to the freeway onramp and had to get to speed. The SUV impact was by the front passenger side tire or just after. The impact was hard enough to bend the subframe to the left. The side air bags did not inflate. We have always had issues with the child safety sensor in the front passenger seat, could that have been the reason? The passenger in the seat was about 105 -110 lbs. and hit the door panel and glass as a result of the air bags no deploying. The hit was bad enough it killed the engine and the frame damage further disabled it.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2024
Feb 2024

My airbag warning light comes on intermittently. When the light is on, the airbags are non-functional. It comes on at various times while driving, and at various speeds. The official diagnosis is a flaw in the "internal resistance in driver's airbag inflator." This is a well-established problem in this model, and Honda offers extended warranty coverage for the passenger side airbag for this problem. Yet Honda refuses to take any responsibility or action for the drivers side with the same issue. Numerous other manufacturers have issued recalls or other corrective action for the same part.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2022
Jan 2024

Like others, I have had an airbag warning light appear intermittently. Apparently, my VIN is affected by this even though this and Honda's website indicates there are 0 recalls for my car. Dealership informed me that this indeed is a recall issue.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Nov 2023
Jan 2024

Airbag system appears

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2024
Nov 2023

Light for Air Bag System fault keeps intermittingly coming on. I know it was a problem in the civic until 2011 but I have a 2012 and it may have been an issue or this year as well.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Nov 2023
Oct 2023 Crash Injury

The contact owns a 2012 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at approximately 55 mph, his vehicle crashed into a stopped Ford F-150. The driver was sore where x-rays were performed and medical attention was provided. There was no fire. A police report was filed. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to an unknown location. The air bag warning light illuminated after the impact. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 196,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Nov 2023
Aug 2023

Air bag light came on sometime back. Took it to dealer from where we purchased the car and we were told a specific part had failed which came up during Airbag Diagnostics - 77900-TR0-A11 (Reel). Had it replaced per Dealer suggestion. Dealer 'OPEN ROAD HONDA, Edison, NJ'. However the light came back up again. Now the Dealer is saying the Airbag Control Unit is malfunctioning and now I have to replace this part. Please check if there are recalls associated with this model Honda Airbags.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2023
Oct 2022 Crash

I braked unexpectedly and only my license plate was curved, but the driver passenger bag component popped open. The airbag didn't deploy properly. So if I was in an actual accident, I would have died.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2022
Jun 2022 Injury

The contact's girlfriend owns a 2012 Honda Civic. The contact stated that upon his girlfriend placing the vehicle into drive(D) while in her garage; the air bags deployed without warning. Black smoke emitted from the vehicle as his girlfriend exited the vehicle; the air bag hit his girlfriend in the face which resulted in a headache, she did not seek medical attention. She called the dealer and they informed her to bring in the vehicle for an inspection. The contact's girlfriend took the vehicle to the dealer on two occasions where they discovered that the air bag light had illuminated on the instrument panel but quickly disappeared prior to failure. His girlfriend was given an estimate for repair. The contact called Performance Kings Honda(9131 Fields Ertel Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45249) where he was given an appointment to have a second diagnostic performed on the vehicle. The contact attempted to reach the manufacturer but was unsuccessful. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: May 2022
Dec 2021

My light for airbag inspection came on shortly after purchase. When we asked about it during a routine service we were told that shouldn't be happening. We were told the airbags are still working and they do not know why that is happening but, they were not interested in taking care of the issue even tho the car was under warranty at the time and several recalls were being issued for other cars with the Takata Airbags in them. Because of this poor service we decided to stop using your service. Now, several years later I have become aware of all the problems others are having with your airbags and requested a call back from a supervisor because no one answering your phones has offered any responsible response to this problem. No one is able to get a hold of a supervisor. I was finally given a case # thru an email from an unknown person with no contact information. I am very upset that I was not notified about this safety concern sooner and do not accept the system that you are using to get out of fixing a problem you pretended to know nothing about. Every time I try to find out which airbags are in my car I am referred to Takata Lawsuit over dysfunctional exploding bags are going off in older vehicles. I simply do not trust your process after many attempts to contact a responsible party and told they will get to it but, no one gets back and they have show no concern at all on their part. I do not wish to wait any longer for a correct response. it is long past due.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Dec 2021
Oct 2021

The contact owns a 2012 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to multiple local dealers and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2012
Jun 2021

Check Airbag System light will turn on as soon as I start driving. SRS Code 11-10 open in the driver's airbag first inflator.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jul 2020
May 2021

CHECK AIR BAG SYSTEM WARNING MESSAGE POPS UP WHILE CAR IS TRAVELING DOWN THE ROAD A SHORT SHORT DISTANCE. THE CAR HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Mar 2019
Apr 2021 Crash

COLLISION LEFT FRONT OF CAR, PASSENGER AIR BAG DEPLOYED, DRIVERS DID NOT. CAR WAS DRIVING ON A PARKING LOT STEERING TO THE LEFT AND I STRUCK CONCRETE PILLER PROTECTING LAMP POST

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Apr 2021
Feb 2021

WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION, THE CAR SLID A BIT. THE VEHICLE PASSENGER REAR TIRE HIT THE SIDE OF THE SIDEWALK, CAUSING THE AIRBAG TO POP.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Feb 2021
Aug 2020

AIR BAG LIGHT COMES ON. HAVE THERE BEEN SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON HONDA VEHICLES? THE LIGHT STAYS ON. WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREETS THE LIGHT STAYS ON.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Feb 2020
Aug 2020

PASSENGER AIRBAG INFLATOR SENSOR STARTED SHOWING UP IN MY 2012 HONDA CIVIC. I'M WORRIED THE AIRBAGS MIGHT ACTIVATE. I WANTED TO KNOW IF IS A RECALL

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Aug 2020
Aug 2020

SRS TROUBLE LIGHT COMES ON AND GOES OFF RANDOMLY. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Aug 2020
Jul 2020

THE CHECK AIR BAG SYSTEM COMES ON AND STAYS ON!

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Apr 2020
Mar 2020

EVERY SINCE I GOT THIS CAR (ABOUT 3 OR 4 YEARS AGO) DRIVING THE CAR ANYTIME IF I EVEN JUST PLACED MY PURSE ON THE SEAT I WOULD GET MULTIPLE AIR BAG WARNINGS THAT MY PASSENGER AIR BAG WOULD BE TURNED OFF. IF ANYONE WOULD SIT ON THE SEAT IT WOULD GIVE ME EVEN MORE WARNINGS AND TURN OFF THE AIR BAGS. WHEN I WOULD GO GET IT CHECKED EVERYONE WOULD TELL ME THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO SINCE THEY SAW NO WARNING SINCE IT WOULD DISAPPEAR ONCE NO ONE WAS IN MY PASSENGER SEAT. MY CAR NOW CONSTANTLY HAS THE AIR BAG WARNING SIGN ON

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jul 2017
Feb 2020

DRIVER AIRBAG ALERT LIGHT ON ALL THE TIME THE PASSENGER AIR BAG LIGHT GOES OFF AND ON ALL THE TIME

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Mar 2019
Jan 2020

"CHECK AIRBAG SYSTEM" - PASSENGER AIRBAG INFLATOR INSIDE THE PASSENGER SEAT IS NO LONGER WORKING, DISABLING THE AIRBAG SYSTEM

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2019
Dec 2019

THE SIDE CURTAIN AIRBAG ON THE PASSENGER DEPLOYED WHEN THE CAR SLIGHTLY GRAZED A SNOWBANK. THERE WASN'T AN "IMPACT" BETWEEN THE CAR AND THE SNOWBANK. THE CAR SPEED WAS LESS THAN 10 MPH TURNING A CORNER ON A RESIDENTIAL STREET. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO DAMAGE AT ALL TO THE CAR. NOT A NICK OR A SCRATCH. THE DIRT DIDN'T EVEN MOVE ON THE CAR. THERE WAS NO REASON FOR THE AIRBAG TO DEPLOY.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HONDA CIVIC, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2019

Trend Over Time

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Quick Summary

The 2012 Honda Civic has 106 Air Bags complaints on file. 20 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.