The 2003 Honda Civic is a compact car that came with a choice of 1.3L 4-cyl, 1.7L 4-cyl and 2.0L 4-cyl engines. At 23 years old, many are reaching the point where repairs cost more than the car is worth. Running or not, we'll make you an offer and tow it away for free.
| Body style | Compact Cars |
|---|---|
| Engines | 1.3L 4-cyl, 1.7L 4-cyl, 2.0L 4-cyl |
| Transmissions | Automatic (variable gear ratios), Automatic 4-spd, Manual 5-spd |
| Drive | Front-Wheel Drive |
| Fuel | Regular Gasoline, Natural Gas |
| Fuel economy | 22–40 city / 28–45 highway / 25–41 combined MPG |
| EPA annual fuel cost | $1,650–$2,700 a year (EPA estimate at current fuel prices, 15,000 miles) |
| Tailpipe CO₂ | 217–355 grams per mile |
| Versions tested by EPA | 12 configurations: Civic, Civic Hybrid, Civic CNG |
| Age | 23 years |
Specs, fuel cost and emissions from the EPA's fueleconomy.gov data. Your car's exact equipment may differ.
NHTSA lists 11 safety recalls covering the 2003 Honda Civic. Open recalls don't stop you from selling or junking the car, but check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which apply to yours.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2003-2006 MDX, 2001-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot and 2006 Ridgeline vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with driver…
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2012 RL, 2003-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with…
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling specific 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2013-2016 ILX, 2013-2014 ILX Hybrid, 2003-2006 MDX, 2007-2016 RDX, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 TL, 2010-2013 ZDX and 2001-2007 and 2009 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2007 and 2010-2011 CR-V…
Risk: An explosion of an inflator within the driver frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver, front seat passenger or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003-2012 Honda Accord and Pilot, 2010 Accord Crosstour, 2001-2011 Civic, 2002-2011 CR-V, 2003-2004, 2006-2008 and 2011 Element, 2007 and 2009-2013 Fit, 2010-2012 Insight, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2012 Ridgeline vehicles. The front passenger air bag may have been installed…
Risk: An incorrectly installed air bag may deploy improperly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 Honda Civic vehicles manufactured March 21, 2000, to January 20, 2005, 2001-2004 Honda Civic GX vehicles manufactured June 14, 2000, to August 19, 2004, 2003-2005 Honda Civic Hybrid vehicles manufactured February 24, 2002, to January 18, 2005, 2003-2007 Honda…
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the passenger seat occupant or other occupants possibly causing serious injury or death.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2007 Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2001-2004 Honda Civic GX, 2003-2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2006 Ridgeline, 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2003-2006 Acura MDX, and 2002-2003 Acura 3.2TL vehicles. The affected…
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 Honda Civic, 2003-2004 Civic CNG and Element, 2002-2005 CR-V, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2005 Accord, Pilot, Civic Hybrid, and Acura MDX, 2005 Acura RL and 2006 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in geographic locations associated with…
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
American Honda Motor Company, Inc.'s (Honda) is conducting a limited regional recall for certain model year 2003-2005 Accord, Civic, CR-V, Pilot and Acura MDX, model year 2003-2004 Odyssey and Element, and model year 2005 Acura RL, and 2006 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in California, and equipped with…
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda is recalling certain model year 2002 through 2004 cr-v; model year 2003 through 2005 pilot; and model year 2002 and 2003 Civic vehicles. In march 2012, Honda filed a defect report to recall certain model year 2002 through 2004 cr-v and certain model year 2003 pilot vehicles. In august 2012, Honda informed the agency that it was…
Risk: If the terminal ends melt within the wiring harness connector, the low beam headlights may become inoperative, reducing driver visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.
Honda is recalling certain model year 2003 Honda accord, Civic two and four door, and model year 2003-2004 Honda element vehicles. The interlock lever of the ignition switch may unexpectedly deform, which can allow the interlock function of a vehicle with an automatic transmission to be defeated.
Risk: Removal of the ignition key when the gear selector of a vehicle with an automatic transmission has not been shifted to the park position can allow the vehicle to roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.
On certain compressed natural gas (cng) vehicles, in the event of a severe interior fire in the area of the rear seat, the cng tank may be heated unevenly, preventing the pressure relief device from venting the contents of the tank as designed.
Risk: This could result in a tank rupture, explosion, and ejection of the tank from the vehicle.
Owners have filed 550 complaints about the 2003 Honda Civic with NHTSA. 95 reports involved a crash and 5 reports involved a fire. Owners reported 68 injuries.
Complaints are reports from owners and aren't verified by NHTSA. One complaint can list several components. Mileage is the median odometer reading owners reported for that component.
Manufacturers have filed 310 technical service bulletins and communications with NHTSA covering the 2003 Honda Civic. These are repair instructions for known issues, not recalls.
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warra
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warra
Service bulletin - Emission certification labels that were replaced on a small number of vehicles may have been replaced with a label listing incorrect information. The a
Dealer message - Today, American Honda is notifying dealers of a voluntary noncompliance recall for a small number of Honda vehicles due to an error on the replacement (s
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warra
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warra
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications (technical service bulletins).
NHTSA opened 7 defect investigations covering the 2003 Honda Civic.
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pe
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were
Low Beam Headlights Stop Illuminating
This investigation was prompted by Preliminary Evaluation (PE) 11-017, and was based on reports from consumers alleging that both low beam headlights stopped illuminating simultaneously.Some complainants also reported that the combination switch (switch) that controls the headlights and turn signals, and/or its electri
Ignition Shift Interlock
On August 4, 2010, American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA regarding a ignition interlock defect in approximately 384,220 model year (MY) 2003 Honda Accord and Civic and MY 2003 and 2004 Honda Element vehicles with automatic transmissions (Recall 10V-364).In a September 22,
Cng tank exploding in a fire
In mid-april 2007, Honda informed odi of a cng tank explosion incident that occurred on a subject vehicle.the incident occurred after an arsonist broke into a lot where multiple vehicles, including a subject vehicle, were stored and set the vehicles on fire.during the fire, the pressure relief device (prd) on the subje
It depends on its condition, whether major parts like the engine, transmission and catalytic converter are still there, and current scrap and parts prices where you live. Its parts make up much of its value. Enter your ZIP code above for a free offer on your specific car.
Yes. We buy 2003 Civics that don't start, were in an accident, failed inspection or have a blown engine or transmission. Towing is always free.
Yes. Open recalls don't prevent a junk sale. NHTSA lists 11 recalls for the 2003 Honda Civic; you can check whether any are still open on yours with the VIN lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Usually the title and a photo ID. Rules differ by state, including what to do with your plates and whether to file a notice of sale. Check our state-by-state car title guides for the official forms.
Data retrieved October 2026.
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