Visor Falling Down? Civic Owners Now Have a Settlement
- The 8th generation Civic has sun visors that routinely fall apart.
- Honda settled a lawsuit in 2011 without admitting there was a design defect.
- Instead, nearly 2 million owners were offered an extended warranty and potential reimbursements.
The Civic's falling apart, defective sun visors have led to a settlement from Honda.
A federal court has approved a class action lawsuit settlement against Honda after the popular automaker failed to fix or warn owners about defective sun visors. The settlement affects over 2 million Honda Civic and Civic Hybrid owners and lessees. There have been nearly 150 complaints for this problem by 2006, 2007 and 2008 Civic owners on CarComplaints.com.
The Class Action Lawsuit ∞
Cooper v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., alleges that sun visors in some Civics are defective. In essence they were defective, fall apart and eventually become useless. The lawsuit goes on to say that Honda should have corrected the defective visors, or at the very least they should have disclosed information about the defect at the time of the sale. Honda continues to deny any wrongdoing, but ultimately settled the lawsuit to avoid the cost of a trial.
About the Settlement ∞
As part of the settlement, which became effective on September 16th, 2011, Honda has agreed to:
- Extend the warranty on sun visors on Class Vehicles to 7 years / 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first
- Reimburse Class Members for out-of-pocket expenses incurred prior to the settlement date for the repair or replacement of their sun visors
If you are a member of this class action lawsuit, you are eligible to get a cash reimbursement if:
- You have paid out-of-pocket to repair or replace one or more sun visors in your vehicle prior to September 16th, 2011;
- The cost of the repair or replacement was not previously reimbursed by insurance, warranty, or goodwill; and
- You mail a claim form within two years from the date of the sun visor repair or replacement, or within 90 days of the September 16th, 2011, whichever period of time is longer.
So, Which Civics Are Affected? ∞
Members of this class action settlement are all USA residents, including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the territories of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Saipan, who are current of former owners / lessees of one of the following models:
Years | Model | VIN Range |
---|---|---|
2006-2008 | Civic | All |
2006-2008 | Civic Hybrid | All |
2009 | Civic (2-Door) | 2HGFG1…9H500001 — 2HGFG1…9H523805 |
2009 | Civic (4-Door) | 19XFA1…9E000061 — 19XFA1…9E007094 2HGFA16…9H500001 — 2HGFA16…9H511509 1HGFA1… 9L000008 — 1HGFA1… 9L025282 JHMFA1…9S200024 — JHMFA1…9S200060 |
2009 | Civic SI (2-Door) | 2HGFG2…9H700001 — 2HGFG2…9H702924 |
2009 | Civic SI (4-Door) | 2HGFA5…9H700001 — 2HGFA5…9H704687 |
2009 | Civic GX | 1HGFA4…9L00000l — 1HGFA4…9H001442 |
2009 | Civic Hybrid | JHMFA3…9S000002 — JHMFA3…9S009285 |
What To Do If Your Vehicle is Part of the Settlement ∞
If you've been affected you can read about out your legal rights and options in this lawsuit, find deadline information and download claim forms at the official visor settlement page.
If you have additional questions you can contact Honda by calling 1-888-888-3082.
Generations Where This Problem Has Been Reported
This problem has popped up in the following Honda generations.
Most years within a generation share the same parts and manufacturing process. You can also expect them to share the same problems. So while it may not be a problem in every year yet, it's worth looking out for.
8th Generation Civic
- Years
- 2006–2011
- Reliability
- 55th out of 58
- PainRank™
- 51.64
- Complaints
- 2948