EU‑mandated Intelligent Speed Assist on the 2025 Honda Civic triggers constant beeps even for slight over‑speed, frustrating UK drivers. Learn how to tame the alerts.
Across Europe and the United Kingdom, a new safety requirement is turning heads – and ears – on the latest Honda Civic. The Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA) system, compulsory for every new model sold in the EU since July 2024, is designed to keep drivers honest about speed limits. In practice, however, Honda’s implementation is proving more irritating than reassuring for many owners.
EU Regulation Makes ISA Mandatory
The European Union has mandated that all fresh‑type passenger cars be equipped with Intelligent Speed Assist. When a driver exceeds the posted limit, ISA flashes a visual cue on the instrument panel and emits an audible alert. The goal: reduce speeding‑related accidents by reminding motorists to slow down.
Honda’s Over‑Sensitive Approach
While most manufacturers set the audible alarm to trigger only when the vehicle is noticeably over the limit, Honda’s 2025 Civic model will beep for a margin as narrow as 1–2 mph (1.6–3.2 km/h). The beeping continues relentlessly until the speed drops below the threshold, leaving many drivers feeling trapped in a noisy feedback loop.
Driver Feedback: Annoyance on UK Roads
On a popular Reddit thread, a British Civic owner wrote: “The constant buzzer makes a 30‑minute drive feel like an hour. It distracts me and turns a normal commute into a stressful experience, especially on roads with frequent speed‑limit changes.” The sentiment is echoed across several UK forums, where owners describe the beeping as a “never‑ending reminder” that saps concentration.
Workarounds and Their Limits
For 2024‑year models that still offered the option, drivers could disable the Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR) feature – the sensor that feeds speed‑limit data to ISA – via the vehicle’s settings menu. Unfortunately, this setting resets after each trip, meaning the driver must turn it off every time they start the car.
- Disable TSR each trip: Access the infotainment menu → Settings → Advanced → Traffic Sign Recognition → Off.
- Disable Honda’s navigation app: Some owners found that shutting down the native navigation app stops the sign‑reading function, silencing the alarm. This hack, however, also disables turn‑by‑turn directions and works only with certain smartphone integrations.
With the 2025 facelift, the TSR toggle appears to have vanished entirely, leaving owners with no official way to mute the beeping without resorting to third‑party hardware or software tricks.
Looking Ahead
Because ISA is an EU‑wide legal requirement, Honda cannot simply remove the feature. The automaker must either refine the sensitivity settings or provide a more user‑friendly mute option. Until then, European drivers – especially those in the UK – will need to navigate the fine line between compliance and comfort.
As speed‑limit alerts become an increasingly common component of vehicle safety suites, manufacturers face the twin challenge of enforcing the law while preserving a pleasant driving experience. The debate sparked by the Honda Civic may shape how future cars balance regulatory duty with driver satisfaction.