— A Honda Civic sticky steering investigation has been upgraded to a federal engineering analysis of 2022-2023 Honda Civic, 2023 Honda CR-V and 2023 Acura Integra vehicles.
Honda owners continue to complain about steering wheels that feel like they get stuck while driving. Drivers say it can feel like the steering wheels temporarily lock which takes more effort to turn the wheels.
This can not only freak out a driver traveling highway speeds, but a driver can suddenly overcorrect and increase the risk of a crash.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into more than 238,000 model year 2022-2023 Honda Civics after receiving 145 complaints about sticking steering.
Drivers complain the steering sticks typically after driving for a certain amount of time and when the cars have low mileage.
Honda believes the problem is caused by the steering gear which contains a worm gear and a worm wheel.
"During manufacturing, the worm wheel goes through annealing and component conditioning processes. These processes caused internal stress and strain within the worm wheel. This strain was slowly released over the first few months of the vehicle life." — Honda
The teeth on the worm wheel can deform and catch on the worm gear, causing a quick increase of steering effort.
According to Honda, there also may not be enough grease, something that can contribute to sticky steering.
NHTSA further says the sticky steering is typically worse in winter months.
And safety regulators also learned the vehicle needs to be driven in a straight line for the condition to be recreated.
Dealerships report no illuminated warning lights and technicians usually cannot find any diagnostic trouble codes.
Honda issued technical service bulletin 23-037 in July which told dealers to replace the electronic power steering gearboxes.
NHTSA has now upgraded the investigation to include 2022-2023 Honda Civic, 2023 Honda CR-V and 2023 Acura Integra vehicles.
The Honda sticky steering investigation includes more than 530,000 vehicles.
CarComplaints.com will update our website with results of the investigation.
