How many miles will a 1998 Honda Civic last?
Half of the 113 NHTSA owner complaints on the 1998 Honda Civic that list mileage came after 94,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 189,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 435 complaints on this model year; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 113 complaints on the 1998 Honda Civic that list mileage, the middle half came between 58,000 and 153,000 miles; 53 (47%) came after 100,000 miles, 31 (27%) after 150,000 and 9 (8%) after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 1998 Civic last?
The 113 mileages owners gave run from 30 to 258,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 58,000 miles, half at or under 95,000, three quarters at or under 153,000 and nine in ten at or under 190,000; 53 (47%) came after 100,000 miles, 31 (27%) after 150,000 and 9 (8%) after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 1998 Civic wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 30 miles |
| 25th percentile | 58,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 95,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 153,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 190,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 258,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 53 (47%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 31 (27%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | 9 (8%) |
Every model year together: Half of the 8,312 NHTSA owner complaints on the Honda Civic that list mileage came after 54,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Honda Civic last? →
Common problems with the 1998 Civic
NHTSA's file holds 435 owner complaints on the 1998 Honda Civic. Owners named the airbags most often: 96 complaints, and half of the 19 that list a mileage came after 139,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 96 | 19 | 140,000 |
| Electrical System | 88 | 35 | 128,000 |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 53 | 14 | 79,000 |
| Power Train | 49 | 12 | 60,000 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 29 | 7 | 35,000 |
Of the 435 complaints, 81 report a crash, 3 report a fire and 44 report an injury (55 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 1998 Civic a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1998 is a good or a bad Civic: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1998 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 435 complaints, the 1998 ranks 13th of the 42 Honda Civic model years from 1985 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2006 (1,459). The fewest: the 1985 (15).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 Civic | 15 | 0 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1986 Civic | 35 | 2 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1987 Civic | 39 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1988 Civic | 46 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1989 Civic | 69 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1990 Civic | 91 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1991 Civic | 110 | 12 | 150,000 |
| 1992 Civic | 98 | 11 | 116,754 |
| 1993 Civic | 146 | 17 | 140,000 |
| 1994 Civic | 135 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1995 Civic | 199 | 21 | 131,000 |
| 1996 Civic | 305 | 40 | 98,000 |
| 1997 Civic | 373 | 93 | 88,000 |
| 1998 (this page) | 435 | 113 | 95,000 |
| 1999 Civic | 338 | 145 | 120,000 |
| 2000 Civic | 287 | 113 | 74,000 |
| 2001 Civic | 1,079 | 692 | 89,000 |
| 2002 Civic | 703 | 483 | 90,000 |
| 2003 Civic | 550 | 409 | 80,000 |
| 2004 Civic | 385 | 268 | 85,000 |
| 2005 Civic | 364 | 255 | 75,000 |
| 2006 Civic | 1,459 | 1,130 | 60,500 |
| 2007 Civic | 1,268 | 938 | 47,000 |
| 2008 Civic | 980 | 732 | 50,500 |
| 2009 Civic | 424 | 288 | 32,000 |
| 2010 Civic | 410 | 271 | 39,960 |
| 2011 Civic | 170 | 123 | 32,000 |
| 2012 Civic | 468 | 330 | 30,150 |
| 2013 Civic | 328 | 200 | 24,000 |
| 2014 Civic | 298 | 178 | 33,000 |
| 2015 Civic | 386 | 205 | 50,000 |
| 2016 Civic | 1,083 | 494 | 30,000 |
| 2017 Civic | 608 | 219 | 23,400 |
| 2018 Civic | 754 | 209 | 33,000 |
| 2019 Civic | 447 | 118 | 16,400 |
| 2020 Civic | 240 | 54 | 15,400 |
| 2021 Civic | 151 | 16 | 30,000 |
| 2022 Civic | 889 | 52 | 27,000 |
| 2023 Civic | 264 | 24 | 10,000 |
| 2024 Civic | 136 | 21 | 11,000 |
| 2025 Civic | 103 | 16 | 8,000 |
| 2026 Civic | 32 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every Civic year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Honda Civic years to avoid →
1998 Honda Civic recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 18 recall campaigns that name the 1998 Honda Civic (4 vehicle campaigns and 14 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 20V026000 | Jan 17, 2020 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 09E025000 | May 11, 2009 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS |
| 09E012000 | Apr 7, 2009 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING |
| 08E050000 | Aug 11, 2008 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS |
| 07V512000 | Nov 1, 2007 | FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 1998 Civic lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 1998 Civic.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 322 of the 435 complaints on the 1998 Honda Civic give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: CIVIC, CIVIC HYBRID, CIVIC HATCHBACK and CIVIC HATCHBACK HYBRID. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file names matched: CIVIC, CIVIC HATCHBACK, CIVIC HATCHBACK HYBRID and CIVIC HYBRID.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
1998 Honda Civic questions
How many miles will a 1998 Honda Civic last?
Half of the 113 NHTSA owner complaints on the 1998 Honda Civic that list mileage came after 94,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 189,000 miles. Of the 113 complaints on the 1998 Honda Civic that list mileage, the middle half came between 58,000 and 153,000 miles; 53 (47%) came after 100,000 miles, 31 (27%) after 150,000 and 9 (8%) after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 1998 Civic that never had one.
What are the most common 1998 Honda Civic problems?
NHTSA's file holds 435 owner complaints on the 1998 Honda Civic. Owners named the airbags most often: 96 complaints, and half of the 19 that list a mileage came after 139,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 435 complaints, 81 report a crash, 3 report a fire and 44 report an injury (55 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 1998 Honda Civic a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1998 is a good or a bad Civic: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1998 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 435 complaints, the 1998 ranks 13th of the 42 Honda Civic model years from 1985 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2006 (1,459). The fewest: the 1985 (15).
How many recalls does the 1998 Honda Civic have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 18 recall campaigns that name the 1998 Honda Civic (4 vehicle campaigns and 14 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 1998 Honda Civic before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 1998 Honda Civic.