Occasionally, after starting the car, the power steering system does not activate. The eps(electronic power steering) light on the dash comes on, and the car will run without power steering. Usually by turning off and restarting the car a few times fixes the problem.

- Hartville, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Honda Civic hybrid. The contact was driving 34 mph as the vehicle exhibited an abnormal clunking noise. The contact suddenly lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. He sustained cracked ribs and several bruises as a result. A police report was filed. The contact had not called the manufacturer in regards to the failure and the vehicle was not repaired. The contact was unsure as to what caused the crash. The failure mileage was 78,000. Updated 4/01/11 updated 04/06/11

- San Jose, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the steering wheel exhibited an unusual grinding noise and became increasingly stiff and difficult to maneuver without warning. Within five minutes of the failure, the contact noticed that the engine was smoking. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where they informed her that the tensioner pivot bolt had fractured and entered the engine block causing the vehicle to smoke and the steering failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,500. Updated 12/14/11

- Murfressboro, TN, USA

2006 Honda Civic hybrid. The power steering does not activate when the car is started. This happens anywhere one to three times per month. Normally restarting the car will correct the problem, but a few times it has taken as many as 12 attempts before it engages.

- Fullerton, CA, USA

My 2006 Honda Civic had the tsb09-007 recall performed to reroute the drive belt and replace the pivot bolt on 3/9/2009. The bolt broke after another 20000miles on 8/21/2010. I do not think my dealer replaced the bolt in question (hoffman Honda of West simsbury Connecticut) or the recall is not sufficient to fix the problem. This is a safety issue because the tsb clearly states this failure can result in a loss of power steering.

- Canton, CT, USA

I have a 2006 Honda Civic hybrid and on occasion the power steering goes out if you restart the car sometimes it comes back on sometimes it takes 3 or 4 tries the other day the power steering shut off while driving, making it very difficult to steer. I have found others who have the same problem on line and I am wandering why this is not a recall issue. As of yet I have not fixed anything because the part I think I need is around $800.

- A, VA, USA

Power steering failure, when starting car power steering fails and warning light on dash board lights up for steering failure, this has happened at least 6 times in the past 3 months, checked manual and it advises shutting off car and restarting which I would do, after doing this several times the power steering engages. I took the car to the dealer today 10/2/09 and was advised the power steering module needed replaced at a cost of $800, I am scheduled to have the module replaced on 10/5/09 and will retain the defective module if need for your investigation. The lack of power steering makes the car very dangerous as the failure of the power steering makes the car un drivable and could cause an accident if driving at highway speeds. Honda needs a recall to repair this problem. In researching this problem I have noticed that other owners of 2006 Honda Civics have also had the same problem and have been reported to NHTSA.

- Purdys, NY, USA

Power steering loss. My 2006 Honda Civic hybrid lost power steering on 3 different occasions in the past 2 months. 1st time I was driving and all of sudden had great difficulty steering the car to make a turn on to a side street. I was only 2 blocks from my house so I drove the car back. The power steering light was on as soon as the incident happen. The driver's manual recommended to turn off the car and turn it on again to readjust. It did. Two weeks later the same situation happened. I work 3 miles from my home. After driving the car normally in the morning, the car had no steering power when the time came to go home. I took the car to the dealership the net morning but the light was off, the steering was back and the dealer could not find what was wrong.

- Ridgewood, NJ, USA

To whom it may concern: The purpose of this letter is to complain about the treatment I received from Honda of America. I was in a minor accident on June 11 2008. The accident was caused by the tie rod breaking on my 2006 Honda Civic as I was driving on a city street at 25 miles per hour. The mechanical failure caused my car to veer into 2 parked cars causing minor damage to each. The attending officer stated that the accident was obviously the result of a mechanical failure and did not issue any tickets. The body shop owner also agreed that a mechanical failure caused the accident. This prompted me to inform Honda of America of the accident caused by the broken tie rod. Honda's response was you will be contacted in 2 to 3 weeks. In the mean time the car was not fixed as everything was on hold waiting for Honda's response. In fact the car was not fixed until 7/24/08, 43 days later. Contact was made by christian K. skjervold of M.a. jordan co. Inc. Located in minneapolis mn. Mr. Skjervold visit was very unpleasant. His only objective was to badger me into admitting that I had somehow broken the tie rod myself. I am 81 years old and drive quite conservatively. He suggested repeatedly that perhaps I had been driving recklessly and damaged the car before hand. He informed me that he would be in contact in 2 weeks. I heard nothing until I contacted him in late September. A week later I received a letter from Honda stating that based on their investigation the tie rod had broken as a result of the accident contradicting all of the available information. The letter goes on to state that tie rod was not broken but was bent in the middle. This is pure fabrication and I have all of the broken parts in my garage to prove it. If this is the way Honda handles this type of problem I will assume you have a file on them already. Please add this to your data base. Any suggestions on how to follow up with Honda would also be appreciated.

- Rhinelander, WI, USA

On Wednesday, September 3, 2008, I began my drive to work and all of a sudden the steering wheel locked on me (no movement whatsoever) while I was driving 35 mph! luckily, I was on a side street and able to stop the car even though I could not turn the steering wheel. I was about to turn onto a highway! my car is a 2006 Honda Civic hybrid. The car was towed to a Honda dealer who informed me that the electrical system for the steering wheel needed to be replaced and that they would have to order the part. What scares me is the thought of what would have happened if I was on the highway and my steering wheel locked while traveling at a high speed. To me, this situation has the potential of being on par with the danger and fatalities incurred by owners of Ford Explorer some years ago (e.g., tires). I think it would be very important to see if other owners of 2006 Honda Civic hybrids had similar problems with their steering wheels locking up while driving and whether there have been major fatalities/accidents as a result. If there is a problem, them Honda should issue a major recall to fix the problem.

- Falls Church, VA, USA

On Sept 7, 2007. I complain to Honda dealership in carson, about a roaring sound on my real wheels. Aside from that there was uneven wear on both inner side of the tires. The sound was like a bearing failure. They told me that I need an alignment. So I paid for it. Plus I have to buy new tires. Then today 9-2-08. It happened again with the same issues. I was told they wound not cover since it was out of warranty. My car 55,000 however on February of this year 2008. There is a service bulletin regarding this issue. With the same symptoms on 2006 and 07 Honda Civic LX and ex not si. So tried to argue about the service bulletin both Honda dealership and Honda Motors North America. They are giving me a run around and wont pay me for my tires and alignment cost. But they will fix the problem which is replacing flange and upper control arm as stated in service bulletin. I request your kind office and recommend a recall on this issues of alignment because they said its just a service bulletin and not a recall. So its not mandatory. So they wont pay for my third tire and alignment. And the can get off the hook. This is a safety issue because not all people recognize this and still drive their cars unit the tread comes out and the whole car shakes when they are bad and wobble the front steering.I'm a mechanic for (yrs never have a hard time getting issues straighten out.

- Placentia, CA, USA

Steering locks up from time to time. It has happened 2 times. Approx. 12 months ago & then again 4-27-2008. Comes and goes. Concerned it will cause a crash. I check on Honda websight and no recalls. Phone interview update (Sept. 8, 2008): Mr. Bitker said that he did not notice anything unusual prior to the steering locking up. The steering lockup lasted about 2 to 3 seconds each time during which he could not turn the steering wheel. Once it occurred at highway speed. The engine was still running when the steering lockup had occurred. The dealer did not find any fault code stored in the vehicle computer and could not tell Mr. Bitker what was wrong.

- Mason City, IA, USA

On my way to work, after normal driving for 2 miles, the vehicle lost it's power steering. I was just entering the freeway, so I got off on the next exit and took it directly to the dealership. One of the idiot lights on the panel would intermittently flash for a split second but would not remain on. The dealership was only a mile away. I parked the vehicle and waited for my turn. I turned the vehicle back on to move it forward and voila, the steering problem was gone. I explained to the tech all that had transpired. He turned the ignition and pointed to an idiot light and asked me if that was the one I had seen. I said yes because it looked very much like it. I left the car there for their testing. They called me later that afternoon and said they could find nothing wrong and also there were no error codes that registered. They told me to bring it back if it happened again.

- Fresno, CA, USA