How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2023 Honda Civic?

Editor’s note: This Car Seat Check was published in September 2021 about the 2022 Honda Civic; little has changed with this year’s model. See what’s new for 2023 or check out a side-by-side comparison of the two model years.

The verdict: Honda redesigned its compact sedan for 2022, and the new Civic looks a lot like its larger Accord sibling. It also shares that sedan’s base powertrain. But what about the backseat? The Civic isn’t as roomy as the Accord, but we were able to comfortably install two car seats back there, and the sedan’s accessible Latch anchors made installation a breeze. Booster seat accommodations proved more troublesome, however.

Does it fit three car seats? No.

Take a look at how the Latch system and each car seat scored below in our Car Seat Check of the 2023 Honda Civic.

Related: Search Car Seat Checks

A Grade

• Latch: The two sets of lower anchors sit under a large fabric flap. Three top tether anchors sit under a hinged plastic flap; they’re body-colored for added visibility.
• Infant: This rear-facing seat installed easily, and our 5-foot-6-inch front passenger had ample legroom in front of it.
• Rear-facing convertible: As with the infant seat, installation was problem-free, and the front passenger had good legroom in front of it.

B Grade

• Forward-facing convertible: The sedan’s fixed head restraint didn’t interfere with how the convertible fit against the seatback (it should sit flush against the seatback), but the convertible’s adjustable backrest was in its lowest setting. The head restraint will likely interfere if the backrest is raised to accommodate a taller child. Also, the Civic’s fixed backseat head restraints mean the top tether strap needs to be routed over the restraint, per the car’s owner’s manual. This didn’t complicate the connection, but it did require some maneuvering to tighten the strap so it didn’t slip sideways off the head restraint.

C Grade

• Booster: The fixed head restraint pushed the booster off the Civic’s seatback a bit; it should sit flush against the seatback. The sedan’s floppy buckles will likely be difficult for kids to use independently.

Grading Scale

A: Plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn’t impact driver or front passenger legroom. Easy to find and connect to Latch and tether anchors. No fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. Easy access to the third row.

B: One room, fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing the third row when available.

C: Marginal room plus one fit or connection issue. Difficult to access the third row when available.

D: Insufficient room, plus multiple fit or connection issues.

F: Does not fit or is unsafe.

About Cars.com’s Car Seat Checks

Editors Jennifer Geiger and Jennifer Newman are certified child safety seat installation technicians.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a Chicco KeyFit 30 infant-safety seat, a Graco Contender 65 convertible seat and Graco TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a shorter passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant and convertible seats are installed behind the front passenger seat.

We also install the forward-facing convertible in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and infant seat in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit; a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. Learn more about how we conduct our Car Seat Checks.

Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat, and that Latch anchors have a weight limit of 65 pounds, including the weight of the child and the weight of the seat itself.

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