2001 HONDA CIVIC — Complaint #453491
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:HIGH/LOW BEAM DIMMER SWITCH filed February 5, 2004
NHTSA complaint #453491 (ODI reference 10056589) concerns a 2001 HONDA CIVIC and was filed on February 5, 2004. The owner reports the failure occurred on February 1, 2004. The vehicle had 57,800 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Massachusetts 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
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 COULD NOT PROVIDE WHAT CAUSED THE MALFUNCTION AND IT IS LIKELY TO HAPPEN AGAIN. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF POSTINGS IN REGARD TO THIS SAME ISSUE. I ALSO CONTACTED HONDA TO REQUEST INFORMATION. THEY INITIALLY REFUSED TO OPEN A CASE FILE OR PROVIDE INFORMATION. DURING THE SECOND CALL THEY FINALLY OPENED A CASE FILE. WHEN THEY DID CALL REGARDING THE CASE THEY HAD NO INFORMATION, REFUSED TO ALLOW ME TO BE TRANSFERRED OR PROVIDE ME WITH ANOTHER CONTACT AND THEN MARK HUNG UP. *JB
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 453491 |
| ODI Number | 10056589 |
| Date Filed | February 5, 2004 |
| Failure Date | February 1, 2004 |
| VIN | 2HGES16251H |
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
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 NEE
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.