2022 Honda Civic Engine Problems

The 2022 Honda Civic (Sport) with approx. 13,000 miles had been driving fine for the previous 10 minutes, on and off the highway, when I was almost home and on a more residential 25-30mph road. All of a sudden all of the warning lights went off on the dashboard at once, so I went to brake to slow down and pull over. But the brakes were completely failing - the pedal would just hit the back of the foot well. The emergency brake is electronic, so that wouldn't work either. I was lucky to be immediately next to a grocery store parking lot, so I roll into that. As soon as I make the turn flames began shooting out from under the hood, reaching maybe 6" up the windshield. This is only 5 or 6 seconds after the warning lights had started, and it was clear that the fire inside of the engine bay was substantial. I managed to coast to the back of the parking lot, away from other cars and people, and found a curb "island" that I could run into in order to stop the vehicle. I effectively crashed the car, and at this point the flames had increased. I ran out of the vehicle and shouted for people to call 911. Within a minute the entire front half of the car was engulfed in 10+ foot flames. The fire department showed up a minute later and put out the fire, and after only maybe 3 minutes maximum the only things left in the car were metal and wires. The dashboard was entirely gone, seats were just their metal frames, etc. If the door had been jammed I would have burned alive.

NHTSA ID

11720872

Incident

Feb 25, 2026

Civic developed a misfire. Diagnosis at the Honda service center revealed a leaking #2 fuel injector causing fuel wash-down into cylinder #2. This led to fouled & broken spark plugs in cylinders 2 and 3, blown head gasket, scored cylinder wall in cylinder #2, hairline crack in cylinder head and valve damage. Engine and head have been deemed unsalvageable by the Honda service center. Honda has indicated this vehicle will not be covered under TSB A18-025 and Warranty Extension 21-010 despite being the same engine family (L15B7/L15CA) used in 2016-2021 Civics that were completely covered.

NHTSA ID

11712280

Incident

Oct 27, 2025

I was driving on a very busy road and the car completely died and would not go into park. It was like the battery was not even there. The steering wheel locked up, hazards would not come on and all the doors locked and would not unlock. There was no power to the car whatsoever. The drivers side door had to be pried open from the outside so I could get out of the car. We had the battery tested and is tested completely fine. The car has done this three times now.

NHTSA ID

11704793

Incident

Dec 12, 2025

Came to a stop at a stoplight, auto idle stop was in use and the engine failed to start again. The car acted like the battery was dead and everything turned off.

NHTSA ID

11652306

Incident

Mar 30, 2025

Few months afyer i bought this car brand new it started leaking oil from valve cover gasket. Took the car u to dealer i was told its normal to leak out which surprised me to hear from service that ots normal to leak oil from calve cover gasket. It was replaced. At 70k miles i syarted seeing oil seeping through bell housing but it wasn't alot so i though it might have spilled during oil change. At 110k miles it is leaking alot and after taking it to repair shop im told that its leaking from rear main seal and its leaking onto hot exhaust. Unfortunately honda wont cover this because of the mileage. Hondas used to be reliable but not anymore.

NHTSA ID

11642106

Incident

Jan 24, 2025

While driving steam started to appear from the engine bay. I pulled over to inspect, lifted up the hood and could hear the fuel line popping and gasoline hissing out. The engine bay spontaneously caught fire. As it ignited all of the gasoline in the air combusted and created a ball of fire in my face as I was looking in the engine bay. The fire was put out by the fire department. An incident report was created. The potential for safety risk was high and could have been worse if I was not on a road where I was able to stop or if it caught fire while I was inside the car. The vehicle has been inspected by Insurance and confirmed to be a total loss. Since nothing was left to visually inspect of the car their investigation came back nonconclusive as to the cause. There were no indication lights that there was anything wrong with the engine.

NHTSA ID

11583954

Incident

Apr 11, 2024

I purchased a 2022 Civic Sports brand new, in 11/21, and it recently broke down; it is less than two years old and has 14,216 miles. The engine failed, and it broke down in the middle of the highway, and luckily I was able to pull over to safety before being hit by a car. Oil and anti-freeze were leaking out of the vehicle. I called Honda roadside assistance, and the tow driver stated that this was a brand-new car, and it sounded like the rods and engine were knocking. It was towed to a dealership, and they told me it was a metal piece in the machine the technician found. It was a manufacturing defect, and then when I inquired more because I felt replacing an engine on a new car was insufficient because of component issues that could be affected due to the damage. I purchased a new vehicle for the peace of mind. I also purchased during the time of covid and the car shortage. The car was fresh from the manufacturer, and I had to pay extra due to the need. The car was maintained with oil and maintenance from the Honda dealership I purchased the car from. I did not see a recall for my vehicle, and there were no warnings. I had to car services a month and a half before. I have asked for something in writing to see the metal piece, but the dealership is refusing, and they are trying to cover this issue up by issuing a quick fix with an engine.

NHTSA ID

11523538

Incident

May 12, 2023

I have been having issues where the 2022 Honda Civic Sport car will die intermittently at lights. The technician who looked at my car said there was no problem and that I was good to go. The issue has been when stopping at a light, the car engine shuts off and a battery signal light shows up. The other electronics in the car appear to work. Right before the car dies, during breaking it feels like ABS is turning on. The car has to be put into park, turned off, and restarted to get going again. This happens approximately weekly, and it is particularly bad when I am in the middle of an intersection. Component suspected of failing is the engine on off auto at stop. This is a safety issue because car dies in the middle of intersections. The dealer was unable to reproduce; however, it happens on an approximately weekly basis. I took it to Honda and they said they could not reproduce it, the car was “good to go”. Only indication is the battery light indicating

NHTSA ID

11519308

Incident

Oct 24, 2022

I had waited several months for a 2022 Honda Civic EX. I had requested either White or Morning Mist. I finally got a call than "it" was in. "It" turned out to be a dark grey. My old lease was running out, so I took the car. I never had a chance to drive any of the 2022 Honda Civic EX models. I did not know anything about the idle stop "feature." I went to the dealership and a product specialist told me it could not be disabled except for the button on the console. After I had the car about 10 days, when it would restart after stopping, the engine would sound like it was choking or not starting well. This "feature" is driving me crazy. I'm 75 years old and usually don't remember to hit the turn-off button when I start the car; then when I do stop, it goes through the re-start process again. That's when I finally remember to hit the button. But I wonder if and when the engine won't start up since it sometimes sounds like it's stalling before it starts. Thank you.

NHTSA ID

11483081

Incident

Aug 8, 2022

I traded in my 2022 civic in November because the car would randomly shut down because of the faulty denso fuel pump. I told Norm Reeves Cerritos that once I put fuel cleaner the car will shut down 3-5 times the same day and will reoccur again in eight months. Replicated same problem with the sports model after car was in shop 3 months because of an accident and while doing Uber this week with witnesses. Filed numerous complaints with BBB and Honda Corporate all were ignored and they blamed me for putting a third party device in the cigarette lighter.

NHTSA ID

11465238

Incident

May 18, 2022

Once stopped by a light or a stop sign for a minute the car will randomly shut down engine and the car will lose all power. The vehicle randomly shuts down and does it after 3-5 hours of driving. The car has to be put in park and the ignition needs to be started again.

NHTSA ID

11432628

Incident

Sep 5, 2021