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Federal filingsHome›Recalls› 16V074000
NHTSA campaign 16V074000 · manufacturer recall JX9

2016 Honda Civic: engine and engine cooling recall

If a circlip is missing or incorrectly installed, the piston wrist pin may not be secure and may drift and damage the engine cylinder causing the engine to seize, and increasing the risk of a crash or a fire.

high 42,129 vehicles affected 97% reported repaired

What was reported

Source: manufacturer filing, 49 CFR Part 573
Problem Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic vehicles manufactured September 22, 2015, to February 3, 2016 and equipped with 2.0L engines. The affected vehicles have engines with piston assemblies that may have been manufactured without a piston wrist pin circlip or with an incorrectly installed piston wrist pin circlip. Risk If a circlip is missing or incorrectly installed, the piston wrist pin may not be secure and may drift and damage the engine cylinder causing the engine to seize, and increasing the risk of a crash or a fire. Fix Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the piston assemblies and damaged engine components, as necessary, free of charge. Parts are expected to be available in the Summer of 2016. Owners were mailed an interim notification beginning March 31, 2016, and will be mailed a second notice when parts are available. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is JX9.

Reported to NHTSA Feb 9, 2016 by Honda (American Honda Motor Co.), owners notified Mar 25, 2016.

What that means, in plain English

Source: WhichTrim's reading of the filing above — not NHTSA's wording

A missing circlip can cause the engine to seize, which would result in sudden loss of drive power in traffic and risk of crash, but the filing is hedged ('may drift,' 'may have been manufactured') and no stop-drive order was issued, placing this below critical.

Written for us by a language model from the manufacturer's filed text, which is quoted in full above. Where the two differ, the filing is the record and this is only our summary of it.

The fix, from the dealer bulletin

Source: NHTSA remedy instructions and dealer notice
Stop-sale Not stated in the dealer documents
Remedy Instructions filed: the dealer bulletin exists

Parts named

Part numberDescriptionQty
18303-TR0-A01Exhaust Pipe Gasket1
18302-SP0-003Exhaust Pipe Gasket1
90212-SA5-003Self-Locking Nut (10 mm)6
90161-T5A-0001
90108-TL1-G00Gear Box Mounting Bolt1
91303-RPY-G01Oil Pump O-Ring1
15221-RPY-G01Oil Strainer Gasket1
12251-5BA-A01Cylinder Head Gasket1
15815-RPY-G01Spool Valve Filter Assembly1
15845-RPY-G01VTC Filter Assembly1
90162-T0A-A00Flange Bolt (12 x 40 mm)2
90164-T6E-000Flange Bolt (14 x 33 mm)2
90166-TBA-A00Flange Bolt (64 x 14 mm)2
90371-SJD-003Flange Nut (14 mm)1
12341-RPY-G01Head Cover Gasket (A)1
12343-RPY-G01Head Cover Gasket (B)1

Labour, as the warranty table lists it

  • 2.5 h · op 1105B6
  • 10.4 h · op 1111BT
  • 0.4 h · op 13010-5BA
  • 0.8 h · op 16-017C
  • 1.2 h · op 16-017D
  • 11.3 h · op 1111BU

The operation code and time the manufacturer pays the dealer; a customer-pay estimate elsewhere is a different number.

Read from NHTSA’s copy of the manufacturer’s dealer documents (manufacturer campaign JX9). The procedure itself is in the bulletin; a franchised dealer has the current copy on the manufacturer’s portal, and that copy governs. Working a lot or a fleet? Recall Watch carries this line on every VIN it checks: remedy status, hours, stop-sale.

Which vehicles are covered

Source: NHTSA campaign 16V074000

Vehicles built Sep 22, 2015 to Feb 3, 2016 — a VIN outside that window is not part of this campaign even if the year, make and model match.

Model yearClassSafety SignalRecalls on file
2016 Honda CivicMidsize SedanC5

Those are the model years inside WhichTrim's range, 2016 onward. The campaign may cover others outside it, and the only thing that settles whether one specific vehicle is included is its VIN.

How much of it has been fixed

Source: manufacturer quarterly report, 49 CFR 573.7
Reported repaired 97%

of the campaign

The final figure: the six quarters of reporting that 49 cfr 573.7 requires have closed.

This is the manufacturer's own cumulative count of vehicles it has inspected and repaired, divided by the vehicles the campaign covers. It files that count with NHTSA every quarter for six consecutive quarters, starting from the quarter in which owners were told a remedy was ready, and then the obligation ends — so a figure on an older campaign is where the count stopped, not where it stands today.

It rarely reaches 100%, and not because the work was not done. The same report asks manufacturers to count vehicles they could not reach at all — exported, stolen, scrapped, or simply never located — and those stay in the denominator. A low number means a lot of these vehicles are still out there unrepaired; it does not tell you which ones.

The federal paperwork

Source: nhtsa.gov

Check one specific vehicle

A recall applies to a build range, so year, make and model cannot settle it. Type the VIN and the WhichTrim recall report checks this campaign’s build window and engine against it.

Campaign 16V074000 · the manufacturer calls it JX9

Own one, or run a fleet? Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, this one's expansions included. Or take a free one-line alert by model year.

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A recall covers a build range. Only your VIN settles it.

Check it with the WhichTrim recall report now, or have us check it every night and email you when something new is filed.

Photo: Taiga Miyamoto / Unsplash

Common questions

Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR Part 573

Is JX9 the same recall as 16V074000?

Yes. JX9 is the number Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) uses for this campaign in its own paperwork and in the letter it sends owners. 16V074000 is the number NHTSA files it under. One recall, two references — dealers and service departments generally quote the manufacturer's.

Does this recall repair cost anything?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to remedy a safety defect or a compliance failure at no charge, for vehicles up to 15 years old measured from the date of first sale. A dealer that asks you to pay for a recall repair is in the wrong.

How do I know whether my vehicle is included?

By VIN, not by model year. This campaign covers vehicles built Sep 22, 2015 to Feb 3, 2016. The manufacturer files a build range with NHTSA and only vehicles inside it are covered, so two identical-looking cars from the same year can differ. NHTSA's own lookup checks a VIN against the manufacturer's list.

What if the repair is not available yet?

It happens, and often. Manufacturers must notify owners when a defect is found even if the parts or the software are not ready, then notify them a second time once the remedy exists. This campaign was filed without a repair available — Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) says so in the text above.

What did the manufacturer say was wrong?

The problem, risk and fix quoted on this page are the manufacturer's own words as filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR Part 573. WhichTrim does not paraphrase them.

Who started this recall?

NHTSA's record credits the manufacturer. A recall can begin with the manufacturer's own testing, with a defect investigation, or with a compliance test against a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.