NHTSA Complaint #11631307 — 2018 HONDA CIVIC

The standard OEM key fobs for Honda Civics, for several model years, and possibly for other Honda models, have a "feature" that seriously affects driver and passenger safety, and that cannot be disabled. If two buttons are depressed simultaneously on the key fob for a period of time, all of the windows go down and the doors unlock. I have encountered dozens and dozens, perhaps hundreds, of owner complaints about this "feature" on various Internet bulletin boards. Typically, the stories go, "I parked downtown in an unsafe area and I came back to my car and found that it was unlocked with all of the windows open and someone stole everything from my car," or "I parked outside just before a rain storm and I returned to my car to find all of the windows open without my knowledge and the interior of my car was soaked." Single women could encounter this problem and be attacked by people hiding in the back seat. Apparently, if anything in one's pocket depresses the keys on the fob, without one's knowledge, this occurs. It has happened to me, where I'll bend down to tie my shoe and walk away and I'll return hours later to find all the windows open during a rain storm or in a bad part of town. I've asked American Honda numerous times for a way to disable this unwanted "feature" and they've said that they've not interested in addressing it unless they're forced to do so by the government. This is a serious safety issue, not only implicating potential crime, but a wet soaked car interior could affect electrical and navigation systems in a life-threatening way. If you respond, I can upload several Internet pages with owner comments and complaints about this problem.