Ranked by the record, the Honda Civic comes first, the Honda Fit second and the Honda HR-V third, and the HR-V is third only because of one year: the 2023, with 685 complaints, 228.3 per year on the road and a score of 37, the worst figure any of the three has produced. The Civic years to buy are 2013 and 2014 (84 and 82); the one to be careful with is the 2012, at 454 complaints and a CAUTION at 68. The Fit years to buy are 2016 and 2020 (86 each), and the years to avoid are the 2015 (52) and 2019 (60). The HR-V is a BUY every year from 2016 to 2022 with the 2019 (56) as the exception, and an AVOID in 2023 and 2024. The Honda Civic Hybrid has a record that mirrors the petrol Civic's almost line for line, and I treat the two together.
The Civic, 2011 to 2015
The site holds the Civic from 2011 to 2015, five years and 1,605 complaints, and the two halves of that record complain about different things. The 2011 to 2013 cars are air bag cars: Air Bags is 51, 149 and 112, the top component in all three years. The 2011 carries nine recall campaigns and every one is safety-critical; eight are passenger-side frontal inflator module campaigns issued between 2016 and 2019, and the ninth, 11V176000, is for a fuel pump rollover valve. The 2012 adds Steering at 74, Electrical System at 59 and Power Train at 49, and its 454 complaints are the most of any Civic year; its campaigns are 12V548000 for cars assembled with the wrong steering column, 11V288000 for a misaligned fuel line O-ring, and 12V256000 for a driveshaft retaining clip. The 2013 has no recalls at all and scores 84, the best Civic year, on 316 complaints.
The 2014 and 2015 are transmission cars. Power Train is 98 on the 2014 and 175 on the 2015, and campaign 15V574000 (15/09/2015) covers both years for the software that controls the transmission. The 2015's 377 complaints and 34.3 per year on the road pull its score down to 72, still a BUY but the weakest of the five apart from the 2012. The Civic Hybrid's numbers are within a few complaints of the petrol car's every year — 166 against 168 in 2011, 455 against 454 in 2012 — and its components match too, so its record is best read as the Civic's rather than as a separate hybrid story. Combined fuel economy is 29 to 32 mpg for the petrol car and 41 to 44 for the Hybrid.
Honda Civic: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 72 | BUY | 380 | 1 |
| 2014 | 83 | BUY | 291 | 2 |
| 2013 | 84 | BUY | 319 | 0 |
| 2012 | 68 | CAUTION | 455 | 3 |
| 2011 | 75 | BUY | 168 | 9 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Honda Civic model page.
The Fit
The Fit's record runs from 2011 to 2020, with no 2014 and no complaints on the 2017, and it has three CAUTION years. The 2011 and 2012 are air bag years: 64 and 41 Air Bags complaints, with 11 recall campaigns on each, of which 10 and 9 are safety-critical — the same run of driver and passenger inflator module campaigns that cover the Civic, plus 13V157000 for the stability control on 2012 and 2013 cars and 20V770000 for a driveshaft on manual cars in the salt states. Both score 74 or 75. The 2013 has Air Bags at 92 and scores 63.
The 2015 is the year to avoid. It is the first year of the third generation and it has 282 complaints, Electrical System 115, Fuel/Propulsion System 41, Engine 40 and Power Train 38. The safety-critical campaign 15V559000 (03/09/2015) is for ignition coils whose internal wires may be damaged, and 15V574000 is the same transmission software campaign as the Civic's. Score 52. The 2016 drops to 119 complaints and scores 86 with a single recall; the 2018 is similar at 116 and 75. The 2019 is the other CAUTION: Electrical System 47, Fuel/Propulsion System 40, and three separate fuel pump campaigns — 20V314000, 21V215000 and 23V858000 — of which the last also covers the 2018. The 2020, the last year, has 35 complaints and scores 86. Every Fit from 2018 to 2020 is inside 23V046000 and its follow-up 24V384000 for a rearview camera that may not display, and 26V332000 for the occupant classification sensor.
Honda Fit: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 86 | BUY | 36 | 4 |
| 2019 | 60 | CAUTION | 136 | 6 |
| 2018 | 75 | BUY | 116 | 4 |
| 2017 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 86 | BUY | 120 | 1 |
| 2015 | 52 | CAUTION | 282 | 4 |
| 2013 | 63 | CAUTION | 176 | 10 |
| 2012 | 74 | BUY | 113 | 11 |
| 2011 | 75 | BUY | 113 | 11 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Honda Fit model page.
The HR-V, 2016 to 2022
The first-generation HR-V is a good record. The 2016 has 238 complaints with Power Train 74 and Electrical System 56, and scores 79; the 2017 has 121 and scores 92, the best year of any nameplate in this guide, with no recalls. The 2018 scores 79 on 156 with Electrical System 47 and Fuel System 27. The 2019 is the CAUTION: 230 complaints, Electrical System 66, Fuel System 35, Forward Collision Avoidance 32, and seven recalls, five safety-critical, including the three fuel pump campaigns 20V314000, 21V215000 and 23V858000 and the rear brake caliper campaign 18V777000 (01/11/2018), which covers 2016 and 2018 to 2019 cars for pistons with an insufficient coating. The 2020 to 2022 cars have 83, 63 and 85 complaints and score 81, 85 and 81. Air Bags leads the 2021 at 21, and the occupant classification campaigns 24V064000 and 26V332000 cover 2019 to 2022.
The HR-V, 2023 onward
The second generation launched for 2023 and the record is bad. The 2023 has 685 complaints — nearly three times the 2016's 238 — and 228.3 per year on the road, a rate nearly seven times the 2019's 32.9. Visibility/Wiper is the top component at 319, Unknown Or Other second at 214, Visibility third at 78 and Steering fourth at 77. There is no campaign on file for the visibility complaints. Steering does have one: 24V744000 (03/10/2024), safety-critical, covering 2023 to 2025 HR-Vs among other Hondas. The other two campaigns are 23V782000 for front seat belt pretensioners and the 23V858000 fuel pump. Score 37, AVOID, evidence high. The 2024 has 107 complaints and Steering is top at 51, with two seat cushion frame campaigns, 24V859000 and 26V054000; it scores 47, also AVOID. The 2025 has 42 complaints, Steering top at 13, and a CAUTION at 68 with low evidence. The record shows the steering pattern easing and says nothing yet about whether the visibility pattern has.
Honda HR-V: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 68 | CAUTION | 42 | 1 |
| 2024 | 47 | AVOID | 107 | 4 |
| 2023 | 37 | AVOID | 685 | 3 |
| 2022 | 81 | BUY | 85 | 3 |
| 2021 | 85 | BUY | 63 | 4 |
| 2020 | 81 | BUY | 83 | 5 |
| 2019 | 56 | CAUTION | 230 | 7 |
| 2018 | 79 | BUY | 156 | 3 |
| 2017 | 92 | BUY | 121 | 0 |
| 2016 | 79 | BUY | 238 | 2 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Honda HR-V model page.
What to check before you buy
- On any 2011 to 2013 Civic or Fit, get the dealer to run the VIN for every inflator module campaign and print the result. The 2011 Civic has nine safety-critical campaigns, the 2011 Fit ten.
- On a 2014 or 2015 Civic or a 2015 Fit, confirm 15V574000 for the transmission software and drive the car for hesitation at low speed. Power Train is 175 complaints on the 2015 Civic.
- On a 2015 Fit, confirm 15V559000 for the ignition coils.
- On a 2018 or 2019 Fit or HR-V, confirm every fuel pump campaign — 20V314000, 21V215000, 23V858000 — and on a 2016 or 2018 to 2019 HR-V, 18V777000 for the rear brake calipers.
- On a 2023 to 2025 HR-V, confirm 24V744000 for the steering and 23V782000 for the seat belts, and inspect the windscreen closely in daylight. Visibility/Wiper is 319 complaints on the 2023 with no campaign behind it.
- On a 2018 to 2022 Fit or HR-V, check that the rearview camera displays on a key start; 23V046000 and 24V384000 cover it.
Summary
Buy a 2013 or 2014 Civic, or the Civic Hybrid of the same years; treat the 2012 as a CAUTION with its steering, fuel line and air bag campaigns documented. Buy a 2016, 2018 or 2020 Fit and avoid the 2015 and 2019. Buy a 2017, 2020 or 2021 HR-V, check the 2019 carefully, and leave the 2023 and 2024 alone until the record explains its 319 visibility complaints.