2001 HONDA CIVIC — Complaint #448150
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:HIGH/LOW BEAM DIMMER SWITCH filed January 6, 2004
NHTSA complaint #448150 (ODI reference 10052550) concerns a 2001 HONDA CIVIC and was filed on January 6, 2004. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 3, 2004. The vehicle had 64,692 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to California based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as exterior lighting:headlights:high/low beam dimmer switch, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same HONDA CIVIC cohort independently describe similar exterior lighting:headlights:high/low beam dimmer switch failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2001 HONDA CIVIC shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY, MY LOW-BEAM HEADLIGHTS SUDDENLY TURNED OFF AND ONLY MY HIGH-BEAMS WOULD WORK. I FOUND OUT THAT THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH IN THE STEERING COLLUMN HAS BECOME BURNED OUT AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. I'VE SPOKEN TO SIX OTHER 2001 HONDA CIVIC COUPE OWNERS, AND THEY HAVE HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES. THIS IS CLEARLY A FACTORY DEFECT AND NEEDS A SAFETY RECALL.*AK
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 448150 |
| ODI Number | 10052550 |
| Date Filed | January 6, 2004 |
| Failure Date | January 3, 2004 |
| VIN | 1H6EM215011 |
Similar EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:HIGH/LOW BEAM DIMMER SWITCH Complaints for 2001 HONDA CIVIC
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS AN ELECTRICAL SHORT THAT CAUSED THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS TO FAIL. THE CONTACT HAD TO APPLY THE HIGH BEAMS DUE TO THE FAILURE,
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LOW BEAM LIGHT SWITCH HAS BLOWN OUT 4 TIMES BETWEEN MAY OF 2004 AND SEPTEMBER OF 2007. THE DEALER GIVES HER A HARD TIME WHENEVER S
LOW BEAM LIGHTING RECALL. AFTER RECALL REPAIRS WERE DONE LOW BEAM LIGHTS FAILED. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, AND MECHANIC REFUSED TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THIS INFORMATION WAS PROVIDE BY THE
I HAVE A 2001 HONDA CIVIC. THE HEADLIGHTS STOPPED FUNCTIONING DUE TO A BURNED OUT SWITCH AND MELTING OF THE WIRING CONNECTOR. THE DEALERSHIP CONTACTED HONDA AND REPLACED THE SWITCH AND WIRING BUT COU
THE VEHICLES HEADLIGHT SWITCH MELTED. AS A RESULT ONLY THE LOW BEAMS WORKED. DEALER NOTIFIED. *NLM
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.