The 2005 Honda Civic has 6 recalls, all involving the frontal airbags: both the driver and passenger inflators can rupture during deployment, sending metal fragments into the cabin and causing serious injury or death.
All six recalls center on the same critical hazard. The driver and passenger frontal airbag inflators can explode rather than inflate normally in a crash, scattering sharp metal fragments that can strike anyone in the front or rear of the vehicle. Prior repair attempts did not fully resolve the issue, which is why multiple recall campaigns exist for the same underlying defect across both seating positions. There is also a related concern specific to vehicles where the passenger airbag was previously replaced: if that replacement was done incorrectly, the bag may not deploy properly in a crash, raising the risk of injury to the front passenger.