So around 40K miles the Civic steering would stick on center and then once off center would become too easy to steer. The problem over the last 10K miles has gone from intermittent to almost all the time. Since it is so sticky, the car tends to weave down the road. I had to pickup a rack second hand and install myself. Honda wanted to rip a new hole in my body for a replacement. 2017 and 2018 have the rack under recall.
Why can't Honda recall all their sucky racks? I've owned so many Hondas over 40 years, but this is the last one. The recall on 2017 and 2018 racks was due to a problem with the top dead center magnet falling out of the holder. POS.
I experienced the same problem as other complaints about power steering that sticks when driving at highway speed (40+mph). I noticed about it when it had around 50k miles, I didn't give attention to it because it only occurs once in a while, and you can't notice on short drive (esp. city driving), until recently. I went on a long highway drive and it occurred steadily, it made me keep moving the wheel to avoid it to stuck, can't keep driving straight on my lane, worried of losing control or crashing.
I went to a dealer where I always go for regular service, the service advisor said that it's strange because so far only I complained about it to him. They tried to check on it and even test drove for a while but found nothing wrong, went home and searched about it, that led me to this site, tried contacting the advisor and left message but he never responded yet. I hope HONDA will give attention to this.
Steering binds when hot and driving longer distances, in particular on the highway, forcing me to exert extra force causing oversteer. A clunking noise can be heard coming from the steering rack when this happens. Dealer stated NEEDS RACK AND PINION and offered to repair for $900. Original quote was for $3,800. Opted not to repair, but on 5/23/2020, car has over 54,000 miles and is doing this routinely. I have not allowed my wife or daughter drive as I feel it is unsafe. It appears that Honda has been aware of this issue given that that steering rack part number has changed at least once.
I just bought the car and when I test drive it for like 20 minutes the car steering was fine. After 20 minutes of driving back home I noticed the steering wheel was stiff and when I try to keep the car running straight the wheel would suddenly un stiff (kind of like unlocking) and the would release and be smooth again. The car keep doing that for the rest of the 1 hour trip. I then come home, super worried and start searching online to then find out on auto forums and websites like this one that many many owners where experiencing the same problem as I did. Some of this cars had as low as 12,000 miles, others had it replaced around 20k miles and then had the problem at 40k miles again. I went to my local Honda Dealer and I paid $104. for having the car inspected. The diagnostic came out at $3,400 to replace the whole steering wheel assembly. THIS REALLY SUCKS! Not because I just bought the car, because this is definitely a Honda problem/defect that should have recall and free replacement. Hopefully Honda will stand as a good company and resolve this issue to the Honda owners and if they don't they will have a lot of unhappy customers and very bad reputation. I am definitely going back to Toyota after this and we own 4 cars. I will also share this and other posts of the same problem in my social media until Honda resolves the problem and then will also post if Honda resolves the problem. THIS IS DEFINITELY A HONDA'S MAL-MANUFACTURE.
Same as all other complaints with the 2016 Honda Civic Steering. When driving on the freeway or straight roads at 40 or more mph, the steering wheel sticks which requires jarring to the left or right to unstick. This overcompensating causes me to move too far left or right. It is very unsafe. Dealer cannot replicate the issue and thinks this breaking from the lock position is normal. This is extremely dangerous.
- Steve P.,
Akron, OH, US
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My 2016 Civic Touring was sitting in storage for about two months. The car came alive after a quick jump start. I have done this in the past before without any issues. But today, all sort of error was showing on the dash, EPS warning, lane departure warning, low tire pressure warning (tire is fine), engine warning, etc... I can shift the car but the electrical power steering is not working, the steering wheel is sift, unable to turn. I tried replacing the battery with a new one; tired taking all the fuse out. Nothing seems to work. Car is sitting in driveway and my warranty ran out. It will be expensive to tow the car and get it fix at the stealership. At 22,000 miles, this should not happened. Can someone out there with this issue recommend a fix? Big thanks in advance!
This has happened multiple times over the last 2 years. Started around 50000 miles. At highway speeds (65+) the steering becomes very stiff requiring some force to overcome. Feels like the power steering is trying to fight back. It doesn't happen every time but when it does it goes on for several days in a row.
Update from Jun 11, 2021: Just turned over 80000 and is still having the same issue. Took it to Rockwall Honda where I bought and was dismissed since they could not replicate the problem. Reported the issue to NHTSA. Should be a recall issue.
Get your power steering fixed! I thought my car was re-positioning itself with the merging assist and LKA. My car steering wheel would lock up. I would try to stay in the middle of the highway but I was fighting the steering wheel. The wheel would finally start to move in notches. I could not pull the wheel to one side too fast or the car would move to far over. I had to get used to slowly fighting the wheel to re-position myself on the highway.
I finally said something is not right, I was just so fed up of seeming like a “terrible driverâ€. I did not want to get into an accident. I brought the car into Honda and explained the issue. The car is now getting fixed under manufacturer warranty with brand new oem parts.
If you are finding a similar issue then Please get your steering fixed.
Failure of nearly all safety systems as well as power steering in a 3 month old car seems to be a problem for the owner as well as manufacturer. Service advisor thought it might be mice (based on experience with other vehicles). I have yet to see a mouse who could reprogram software. Perhaps the Russians hacked my car. Or a Russian mouse.
Update from Oct 22, 2016: Service tech found rodents had chewed off power steering wire shielding triggering all problems observed.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
So around 40K miles the Civic steering would stick on center and then once off center would become too easy to steer. The problem over the last 10K miles has gone from intermittent to almost all the time. Since it is so sticky, the car tends to weave down the road. I had to pickup a rack second hand and install myself. Honda wanted to rip a new hole in my body for a replacement. 2017 and 2018 have the rack under recall.
Why can't Honda recall all their sucky racks? I've owned so many Hondas over 40 years, but this is the last one. The recall on 2017 and 2018 racks was due to a problem with the top dead center magnet falling out of the holder. POS.
- Louis D., Leander, TX, US