IN APRIL 2017 I BROUGHT A 2007 HONDA FIT, FROM A DEALER. JAN 8 2018 I STARTED TO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH MY STEERING WHEEL. IT WAS LOCKING UP EVERY TIME I STARTED MY CAR UP, AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHY THIS WAS HAPPENING. I TOOK MY CAR TO A DEALER THAT I BOUGHT THE CAR FROM, THEY INFORMED ME THAT IN 2007 THERE WAS A 10 YEAR WARRANTY FROM THE TIME IT WAS PURCHASED. I BOUGHT THE CAR IN APRIL 2017 FROM A DEALER.

NOW I'M HAVING THIS PROBLEM. THE DEALER SAID THAT I HAVE TO TAKE THE CAR TO A HONDA DEALERSHIP TO GET IT FIXED. THE DEALER DID NOT FIX THE ESP DTC 32-09 WHEN HE HAD THE CAR. HE INFORMED ME THAT HE HAD THE CAR SITTING IN HIS LOT FOR 2 YEARS, BEFORE I BROUGHT THE CAR.

I FEEL THAT THE DEALER SHOULD HAVE PAID FOR THE REPAIR OF THE CAR BECAUSE HE HAD THE CAR SITTING IN THE LOT FOR TWO YEARS AND DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM WITH THE STEERING WHEEL. AND NOW THE WARRANTY IS OVER THE 10 YEAR MARK. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Update from Jan 30, 2018: I WAS NOT INFORMED ABOUT THE RECALL OR THE WARRANTY AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE. I WOULD HAVE NOT BOUGHT THE VEHICLE AT THAT TIME. NOW I'M STUCK WITH THIS PROBLEM.

Honda Canada has acknowledged that there is a problem with the electronic steering module and therefore issued (late 2014) a warranty extension for 10 years from the cars in service date or 240,000 km, which ever comes first.

The steering problem can pop up at anytime and cause its operator to lose control of the steering when operating the vehicle(2007 Honda Fit in this case). Keep in mind this can happen on an expressway, side street, alley and potentially cause the driver and its occupants serious harm or death due to the inability to steer to safety.

Here's the catch, Honda clearly doesn't care about the safety of its customers! Unless the problem is detected in the diagnostic codes after an incident occurs (steering lock up) they deem it never happened. As others can attest the problem will correct itself (as In my case) and leave no tell tale signs in the diagnostic trouble codes memory, to assist you in your endeavor to have the repair completed by an authorized Honda dealership (under warranty). There (Honda) suggestion is that you go have the car scanned to see if the designate code shows (which it won't) at a cost of $100 per scan. The problem can not be replicated by your dealership and they will not authorize the repair as Honda Canada will not reimburse them unless they can produce the designated electronic codes.

The cost of the repair is in the area of $700(can) which seems much cheaper than the lawsuit Honda Canada will face when a driver is seriously injured or killed when this vehicle defect suddenly appears. It makes no sense that Honda acknowledges that a defect exists (and a dangerous one at that) but continue to refuse the repair for its customers.

Last Honda I ever buy! Worst customer service experience I've ever had dealing with the trained clowns at Honda Canada and the semantics they use in their email replies.

Now that there is an extended warranty for this electronic steering failure, issued September, 2014, they are willing to pay people back for the repair. BUT, I had it fixed under my Honda Car warranty that cost me $2K. Because of this failure, I did not get my money back at the end of the warranty. The warranty money was 100% refundable if not used. Honda will not refund my warranty dollars that I would have gotten back if the steering hadn't failed. Honda Care's response to the question "So, I'm screwed because of timing" was "yes".

Because of Honda's bad business practices of sitting on known problems and not treating the customers well, this will cost me $2K, which is a lot of money. As of now, a lawsuit appears to be my best bet.

I want to start by saying I really do love my 2007 Honda Fit....or at least I used to love it until this problem started! In September 2012 one morning I started my car and all of a sudden the steering got really stiff and the light came on. It did not go off with turning off the car. I took it to the Honda dealer and they told me it was a faulty wire (like maybe a squirrel chewed it or something) and replaced it. This cost about $200.

A few weeks later, the same problem started but it was intermittent, and often the wheel would become stiff all of a sudden with the light going on. Usually in the morning with weather around 0 degrees celsius and after the car warmed up for about 10 minutes. And this would happen while I was driving on the highway at 100km/h!!! Talk about dangerous! If I had to swerve suddenly with this problem I would be in serious trouble, it is very difficult to move the steering wheel!

So then in December 2012 I went to the Honda dealer to have it checked again. This time, they could not get the light to turn on or the steering to act up. So basically, $100 later they told me there was nothing they could do.

And here I am in March 2013, I have brought it in a THIRD time and left the engine on so they could see the problem, but now I am told they had to turn the engine off and they again cannot replicate the problem....this is so ridiculous and Honda absolutely should be doing a recall for this! How many times do I have to bring my car to them for them to charge me for doing nothing and not even fixing a very dangerous problem?? I will be filing a safety complaint asap. And sad to say, but I think this will be my last honda!

Update from Nov 16, 2015: I wanted to update my complaint as I got a question from Christy T. about what happened with my car - sorry I don't know how to reply to her directly so I hope she sees this comment!

In March 2013, Honda still could not find the problem with my power steering and recommended that I replace the EPS motor, EPS module and subwire - even though they did not know what was causing the problem. I complained and Honda Canada agreed to pay for part of the repair, the EPS module and motor and I had to pay for the EPS subwire, which cost me about $1000.

The only codes that ever came up were 71-01 and 71-05.

Since those repairs, the problem has not returned thankfully.

So in total, I paid almost $1500 for this problem.

In October 2014, I received a letter from Honda for a warranty extension: power steering assist. They agreed to cover the EPS module for 10 years from purchase or 240,000 kilometres. I sent them all the info about my repairs even though I did not have the specific codes they mentioned (32-09 and 61-04). I think because I had the repairs done before November 2014 that they agreed to reimburse me the full amount.

Anyone with this problem should contact Honda and let them know that many people do not get the codes that Honda says will happen with this problem - I never did. If you see this Christy T., I would keep contacting Honda Canada and show them this website, they should absolutely be helping you!! Good luck!

I started having this problem early in the life of the car. The warning light comes on and I lose all power assist with the steering. When I brought it in, the dealer couldn't replicate it. I was told there was a short in the system based on the error code, but they didn't know where. Since then, the problem has occurred nearly once a month, in the morning, typically when the weather is cool and damp. The past week, it's happened four times, so I brought it in and was told that 3 error codes popped up and that the Electronic Power Steering control unit needed to be replaced....for $770+labor. I found out that a service bulletin was issued last year on this problem (http://www.scribd.com/doc/26491744/Service-Bulletin), so they know there's a problem, but they won't issue a recall about it. I implore people who have had or are having this problem to report it to the NHTSA (http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/) so that a recall can be issued.

2007 Honda Fit purchased 2nd hand from car lot in September 2009. 3 times now when it is cold outside around -10 or lower the power steering stops working when backing out of my driveway. Very worried it will stop working when driving down the highway, especially when I have my kids in the car. Can't afford to have it fix at this time as the bill for this is over $1000.00.

My first experience with a Honda has not been a good one so far. When power steering locks up it is very hard to turn the wheel, have to stop and restart my car in order for it to reset itself.

When starting the car in the AM, Power Steering warning light came on and power steering was not functional. Went off after several restarts. Recurred several mornings but did not come on while driving. Quickly went to dealership where "Power Steering Chip" was replaced. Outside of warranty mileage by 3,000, so dealer discounted approx $950 "chip" cost by a few hundred. Definitely a major safety problem if loss of power steering had occurred while driving. Seems like a problem in "chip" software or manufacture. Charging almost $1000 for a "chip" is a ripoff in my opinion

I started having this problem in November 2009. Upon starting my car in the morning, the power steering light came on, and the car did not have any power steering (the wheel was next to impossible to turn). I flipped off the ignition and restarted, and the power steering worked fine.

This was the first and only time this happened in a month. My warranty was near the end, so I took my car to the Honda dealership immediately. The service manager said he had never heard of a problem, and ran the diagnostic check. The check came up clean. I figured it was a fluke thing and continued on my merry way.

However, a month later (and almost every month since), the same thing would happen. I would start my car in the morning, and the power steering light would pop right up. However, it got progressively worse to get it to go off - the car had to sometimes be restarted several times. Luckily, this only occured in my driveway, but unluckily, by this time, my warranty was expired.

Lately, it's been happening more and more, so I looked up the problem online. I discovered that several owners of the 2007 Honda Fit have been having this same problem. Some owners experienced it while driving, and were lucky to not have a serious wreck. The solution is to have the Electronic Powering Steering System (EPS) replaced. Honda recently (FINALLY!!) recognized it as a recurring problem and posted a bulletin about it (#09-043).

I took my car to the dealer where they proceeded to tell me that the cost to fix such problem ran just under $1000. I advised them that the problem started happening during the warranty period, and that Honda should foot the bill. They did not agree. I am now in contact with Honda (800-999-1009) and fighting them on this bill. This is definitely a safety issue that SEVERAL people have had (there's a discussion about it on http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com). I have also reported this problem to the National Highway Safety Institute, in hopes that they will issue a recall due to several complaints.

Otherwise, this car has been great. But I consider this problem to be a serious one, and if Honda refuses to nationally acknowledge and be accountable for it, I will probably never go back to Honda again.