4 Annoying Things About the 9th Gen Civic

I've got a bone to pick with these designs.

Although the 2013 and later Civics have noticeable improvements on the exterior and major upgrades for the interior, no car is perfect, and the 9th generation Honda Civic is no exception. Here are four irritating things about this model Civic I hope Honda will pay attention to in hindsight.

1. The Visor Gap

For some reason, Honda manufactured the sun visors to be about two inches too short width-wise, and there’s a dip in the corner that’s too large. And the sun loves to creep into that empty space like it’s its job. Nothing is more irritating when driving than having the sun in your eyes while realizing that there is clearly room for a larger visor. There is a workaround here—to angle the visor upward and toward you to block the sun—but this means more light coming in from the front. My recommendation is to get a visor extender to deal with this inconvenience.

2. The Windshield Wipers

Likewise, the windshield wipers leave much to be desired when it comes to effective coverage. The wipers fail to reach two inches of glass on each side of the windshield and are generally too small and of poor quality, leaving a giant untouched gap in the middle of the windshield as well as the bottom corners. This is especially noticeable if the windshield is extremely dirty, leaving you with dirt-tinged views no matter how much solution you expel. This oversight means you have to manually clean the rest of the windshield, and at that point you may as well clean the entire thing. Thanks for nothing, windshield wipers.

3. The TPMS Sensors

The TPMS sensors on the 9th generation Civic are so sensitive, they’re faulty.  In fact, many Honda-Tech.com forum users have reported that these sensors are sensitive to everything BUT a low tire, like extra weight in the passenger seats, temperature, and small differences in tread depths. Other owners have claimed that the TPMS light goes on intermittently even when all four tires are exactly where they need to be, pressure-wise. There was a Technical Service Bulletin issued to investigate the TPMS light issue, which also applies to other Honda models, so hopefully they’ll have this issue fixed in the next generation.  

4. The Trunk Release

When you open your trunk, it’s usually to place something larger in it that you likely need to be carrying with both hands. The irritating thing about the trunk release in the 9th gen Civic is that while it opens, it only slightly pops up about an inch at most, and since it houses a portion of the tail lights (2013+ models), the weight just leans it back down. Good luck maneuvering a big moving box into the trunk or bags of groceries when you have to simultaneously lift the heavy trunk to fully open it. It’s also easy to forget that the trunk is open since it looks like it’s close to being fully shut. Tip to Honda: have the trunk pop open fully, or at least halfway, when the trunk release is pressed.

For information on maintenance and repairs, check out our do-it-yourself technical articles at Honda-Tech.com/how-tos/.