Every recall campaign and owner complaint the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration holds for the 1988 Honda Civic. Nothing on this page is written from memory — it is all imported from NHTSA's public database.
3 recall campaigns filed by Honda for the 1988 Civic, newest first.
| Campaign | Component | What the recall says |
|---|---|---|
| 95V103001 1995-05-24 |
Seat Belts Front Buckle Assembly |
THE FRONT SAFETY BELT BUCKLE RELEASE BUTTONS CAN BREAK. THESE RED PLASTIC RELEASE BUTTONS ARE MARKED "PRESS." IF A BUTTON BREAKS, PIECES CAN FALL INTO THE BUCKLE ASSEMBLY CAUSING THE BUCKLE TO OPERATE IMPROPERLY.
Risk: THE SAFETY BELTS WOULD NOT PROVIDE ADEQUATE PROTECTION TO AN OCCUPANT IN A VEHICLE CRASH. Fix: OWNERS SHOULD PROMPTLY CHECK THE CONDITION AND OPERATION OF BOTH FRONT SAFETY BELT BUCKLES. CAREFULLY INSPECT THE RED RELEASE BUTTON FOR ANY BREAKS OR CRACKS. CHECK THAT BOTH BUCKLES ARE OPERATING PROPERLY BY INSERTING EACH LATCH PLATE INTO ITS BUCKLE, TUG ON THE BELT TO MAKE SURE THE LATCH IS… |
| 87V173000 1987-11-13 |
Vehicle Speed Control Cruise Control |
ELECTRONIC FUEL INJECTION CONTROL UNIT MAY CAUSE IDLE SPEED TO INCREASE BY ABOUT 550 RPM WHILE CAR IS STOPPED IN GEAR.
Risk: HIGHER THAN NORMAL IDLE COULD CREATE POTENTIAL FOR LOSSOF VEHICLE CONTROL. Fix: REPLACE ELECTRONIC FUEL INJECTION CONTROL UNIT. |
| 87V171000 1987-10-29 |
Equipment Other Owners/Service/Other Manual |
OWNERS MANUAL INFORMATION REQUIRED BY FMVSS 210, SECTIONS 6A AND 6B WAS OMITTED FROM THE MANUAL.
Risk: VEHICLES MANUAL INFORMATION DOES NOT COMPLY WITH FMVSS210. Fix: UPGRADE EXISTING MANUALS BY INSERTING ADHESIVE BACKED CORRECTION PAGES. |
Summaries are quoted verbatim from NHTSA's official campaign records. A single campaign often covers dozens of model years and several nameplates, so a summary may name vehicles other than the 1988 Civic — that is normal. Every record listed here carries this vehicle's own make, model and model year in NHTSA's database. Whether a recall is still open on a particular car can only be determined by VIN.
51 owner complaints on file with NHTSA for the 1988 Civic, grouped by the component owners reported. Counts reflect how many owners complained, not how often the fault actually occurs.
| Reported component | Complaints | |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle Speed Control 2 crash, 1 injured |
14 | |
| Seat Belts 3 crash, 8 injured |
9 | |
| Fuel System, Gasoline 1 fire |
7 | |
| Electrical System | 5 | |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 5 | |
| Seats 1 injured |
3 | |
| Structure | 2 | |
| Electrical System,Seat Belts | 1 | |
| Engine And Engine Cooling,Power Train,Electrical System | 1 | |
| Unknown Or Other | 1 | |
| Suspension | 1 | |
| Latches/Locks/Linkages | 1 |
A complaint is an unverified owner report. It is a signal about where to look, not proof of a defect.
Verbatim excerpts from NHTSA complaint filings on this model year. These are the owners' own words, not our diagnosis, and each one is a single unverified report.
ENGINE "REVS" WHILE STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN OR STOP LIGHT. CAR ACCELERATES BY ITSELF WITHOUT APPLYING THE ACCELERATOR. CAR JOLTS FORWARD UNEXPECTEDLY FOR NO REASON. PROBLEM SEEMS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS BECAUSE OF LACK OF CONTROL OF THE CAR'S ACCELERATION. MECHANIC HAS SAID THAT THE CAR NEEDS A NEW THROTTLE, A VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR. ALSO, CAR HAS TROUBLE STARTING, ESPECIALLY IN DAMP WEATHER. SPARK PLUGS AND BATTERY WERE REPLACED, BUT PROBLEM CONTINUED. DISTRIBUTOR WAS REPLACED, AND THE CAR STARTS BETTER, BUT ONCE IN A WHILE IT STILL HAS TROUBLE STARTING. ALSO, THE FUEL LINES LEAK GAS. THE
filed 10/28/2003 · ODI 10043809
THE ENGINE SUDDENLY LURCHES FORWARD AND THE RPMS INCREASE UNEXPECTEDLY TO AN UNCONTROLLABLE LEVEL. THE PROBLEM BEGAN IN EARLY 1996. HONDA SAYS THE RECALL OF A SIMILAR PART DOES NOT COVER MY CAR. IT IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE. IS MINE THE ONLY SUCH REPORT AND WHAT RECOURSE DO I HAVE AS FAR AS NHTSA IS CONCERNED.
filed 08/16/1999 · ODI 710036
CONSUMER WAS IN TWO DIFFERENT ACCIDENTS AND THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR LOCKED UP AND SNAPPED HER CHEST . *AK VEHICLE WAS HIT ON RIGHT FRONT WHEEL, WHILE COMING OUT OF A PARKING LOT, ALSO ON ANOTHER OCCASION A CAR STOPPED IN FRONT OF CONSUMER AND CONSUMER HIT VEHICLE FROM THE REAR, AND SEAT BELT LOCKED CONSUMER SUFFERED INJURIES.*JB Crash reported
filed 10/01/1996 · ODI 803066
DRIVER'S SEAT BELT DID NOT LOCK UP WHEN DRIVER DROVE INTO A CONCRETE BASE NO BRAKING WAS DONE. PLEASE DESCRIBE DETAILS. TT Crash reported
filed 12/13/1995 · ODI 976543
PIPE THAT IS LOCATED ON OUTSIDE OF THE FUEL TANK HAS CORRODED THROUGH AND FUEL LEAKS WHEN PUTTING FUEL INTO TANK. CONTACTED DEALER, AND DEALER WAS NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING.*AK
filed 09/12/2002 · ODI 8018520
NHTSA CAMPAIGN#:87V173000 ORIGINAL PART FAILURE-LOCAL DEALERSHIP WON'T HONOR RECALL. *AK
filed 03/28/2001 · ODI 743196
THE SPEEDOMETER NEVER WORKED SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR NEITHER DOES THE MILEAGE INDICATOR WORK. SO I COULDN'T PUT AN ANSWER FOR THAT VALUE. *TR
filed 06/13/2009 · ODI 10273716
CAR STALLED IN TRAFFIC. ALL THE ELECTRICAL POWER WAS LOST. THE CAR WOULD NOT START. THE CAR ONLY STARTS WHEN JUMPED. THIS HAPPENED BEFORE THE BATTERY, ALTERNATOR AND STARTER WERE REPLACED. IT WAS OK FOR A WHILE, THEN IT HAPPEN AGAIN. I HAVE TALKED WITH FOUR OWNERS OF 1988 - 1991 HONDA CIVIC'S AND ALL HAVE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH THEIR IGNITION SYSTEM. ONE OF THE PERSONS WORK WITH MY WIFE. HE TOLD US THAT THE PROBLEM IS IN THE IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS. HE TRIED TO FIX HIS CAR WITH THE SAME REPAIRS THAT WE DID, BUT THE PROBLEM WAS NOT RESOLVED UNTIL HE CHANGED THE IGNITION HARNESS. WE
filed 07/13/2006 · ODI 10162325
A recall only matters if it is open on your car. The lists above are for the model year as a whole; the free official lookup below tells you what applies to your specific 17-character VIN.
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Yes. NHTSA records 3 recall campaigns filed by Honda for the 1988 Civic. The most recent is campaign 95V103001, filed 1995-05-24, covering Seat Belts › Front › Buckle Assembly.
The most-reported component is Vehicle Speed Control with 14 of the 51 owner complaints on file, including 2 reports involving a crash. Complaint counts show where owners report trouble; they are not proof of a defect.
51 complaints with NHTSA for the 1988 Civic, spread across 13 reported component groups.
Enter your 17-character VIN at NHTSA's free recall lookup. Recalls are applied per vehicle, so the model-year lists above cannot tell you whether your particular car is covered.