This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
This car has given me the same repeating issues. Winter time the screen blinks blank. AC issues because of the design. Feeling the car with my foot on the break at a red light makes me want to puke. And the big one the steering. After driving on the highway for a bit, I notice the steering has a sticky kind of groove it likes to be in. I have not found a solution to the problem. Safety-camera screen blinking but you're used to using it, could potentially hit something. Nausea in traffic not good for any one. Steering-trying to maintain a lane while the steering gets stuck to the left but the road is veering to the right, it's terrifying. The car has a mind of its own and only performs when it wants...no official dealer report. I don't believe there are any official reports in regards to my vehicle. There have been NO lights or any kind of warning or messages about this. AC was about a year into having the car. The screen happened first winter and every winter since. The sticky steering wheel has been like herpes for about the past 5 years. I just want to have nice things that work. Thank you for your time.
The steering wheel sticks constantly while driving the car. This is a major safety concern because many times it sticks hard enough to the point where you can over correct while trying to overcome the stuck position of the steering wheel. This can cause you to drive erratically trying to keep the car between the lanes. We have not taken it to the dealership since we are aware now that this is a an issue amongst a large number of Honda Civic owners and the manufacture needs to step in and rectify this problem they already know about. It's not just our 2012 model, it is an issue amongst several different year models with the Honda Civic. We are just another victim of negligence by the manufacturer. Something needs to be done to correct this issue before people are injured because of it.
Car has an intermittent steering problem noticeable mostly at highway speeds. Its not constant, just shows up randomly. While driving straight ahead attempting to keep it going straight the steering wheel becomes sticky and jerky when you attempt to slightly adjust (turn left or right). Wile applying slight pressure to turn minimally the steering wheel sticks in place, then suddenly jerks in the direction you trying to steer it towards, causing oversteering and resulting in an attempt to oversteer it back to the other direction (to try and keep it in the lane going straight). It is not only annoying but also very unsafe as the sudden jerking and oversteering can cause a highway collision unexpectedly. My car has only 7,500 miles on it and this just started happening (May 2023).
The incident started 2-3 years ago and has progressively gotten worse. When driving, for usually 20+ minutes, the steering wheel will become stiff. This is most noticeable when driving in straight lines or trying to keep the car in the lane on the highway. This requires more effort to straighten the car out which leads to oversteering. Given the high speeds on the highway and impact of small movements in the steering wheel, I believe this to be a serious safety concern to occupants of the Honda Civics and nearby vehicles. I am unsure if a system has failed or if there is a malfunction but upon further research this appears to not be an isolated incidence with a significant amount of forum discussions relating to this exact issue. The problem has not been reproduced a this time in front of a service center representative. There has been no warning of any kind relating to this issue.
Steering wheel becomes stiff when driving at highway speeds, especially after the car has been operating for at least 20 minutes. The experience is similar to turning your steering wheel with the ignition off and no power assist. I thought I was going to lose control of the vehicle as I fought the steering wheel to stay centered in my lane and had to immediately pull over to the shoulder on the highway. First time it happened was September of 2020. When it continued, I no longer drove on the highway. I also experienced the issue when driving through a roundabout at 5 mph. It felt like the steering wheel locked up and I nearly crashed into the median before regaining control. Almost three years later, it continues to happen at highway speeds so I took it to the dealership for diagnosis because I only have 24,000 miles on the vehicle and cannot take it on road trips. Dealer confirmed the electronic power steering rack needs to be replaced at a cost of $4,000. This is a 2016 Honda Civic purchased new with only 24,000 miles to date and is undriveable at highway speeds due to safety issues and the dealer actually diagnosed a defective electronic power steering rack. Service tech said "too bad you don't own the 2017 Civic because a recall was issued for the power steering and you'd be covered 100%." This is an extremely expensive repair for a known defect. Please issue a recall for the 2016 Honda Civic electronic power steering system. Customers should not have to pay for the repair out of pocket for a defective part.
- Fort Worth, TX, USA
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Hello, I've had my 2016 Honda Civic LX for almost 4 years now and noticed within the first year that the steering seemed to start getting "sticky" once I reach speeds over 35 mph. I brushed it off with the excuse that I live in a hot area, and maybe some things that I just don't understand are happening with the components. Yet, throughout the last year (55k-65k miles) it's becoming unbearable. To be specific, when I'm on the highway and I turn the vehicle towards the left or the right, the entire steering wheel feels like it catches on some kind of notch. This "catch" results in me having to use excessive force to steer the vehicle in the direction I'm trying to go. This makes me very concerned and nervous when I'm changing lanes, turning onto a street, or even simply following the curve of the road, as it can cause jerking motion and overcorrection. I've brought the vehicle into a Honda dealership before and the mechanic said he noticed what I was talking about, but was unsure of the cause. It did not get resolved, as I don't have the money to throw random components at it. This is my only vehicle and daily driver, I would be open to making it available for inspection. I have not had any one besides the dealership look into the problem. There has been no warning lights in the dash, and no other issues with this vehicle. The first experience I have with the sticky steering was 2020, at around 35k miles.
The steering wheel sticks around the center point when left still for a few seconds. This leads to resistance in the steering when trying to make adjustments after driving straight. I am open to having the issue inspected. The main issue this leads to is oversteering, which is a serious safety concern especially when I am driving at higher speeds on the road. Greater force is needed to make adjustments when it sticks at the center line and results in longer reaction time for steering response and swerving when too much force is applied to unstick the steering. I haven't yet taken it to service center, but this issue continues to persist while I drive, so I don't have any worries about it being able to be reproduced. It also seems that this is becoming a more prevalent issue with this generation of Honda Civics, so I am not the only one experiencing this issue. No other symptoms predated the onset of the steering issue.
There is stickiness in the steering. When driving on the highway in a straight direction, there is an initial resistance or stickiness to turn the wheel from the neutral position.
Steering has become extremely sticky. Extra force must be taken to maintain position in lane. The pressure required to turn the wheel past the catchy position causes the vehicle to maneuver excessively making it difficult to remain in the proper lane. This is extremely dangerous on wet roads at highway speeds.
Steering "sticks" when making minor adjustments left or right to maintain direction, particularly on the highway. The force required to overcome the resistance causes it to overcorrect in the other direction. Wheels have recently been balanced and aligned by authorized Honda dealer.
The steering is "sticky" especically after running the car for 10 minutes or more. A slight movement of the steering wheel - feels like it gets stuck and have to put more effort moving the wheel. Then the wheel will let loose and over compensate the steering. Very dangerous. This has happened on and off for 2 years or so, but now happens every time we drive the car. Took to the local Honda dealer and they said the Rack and Pinion system needs replaced. The estimate for replacement is $4,200. I have seen that there are many other people with the problem and hope that a recall will happen soon.
When driving over 40 mph the steering sticks constantly. It is difficult to control the car and I-??m fearful of over correcting. I was originally told it needed an alignment, but the problem returned. Honda now states it-??s the steering rack and will cost $4000. This seems to be a common problem and I feel Honda should stand behind their product, as this is a huge safety concern.
The steering wheel sometimes get "sticky" and hard to move. It is dangerous because sometimes you have to drag the steering wheel to get it unstuck. There have been multiple reports on the same issue with my car and newer models. There are no warning lights, the steering wheel just start to stick making a dangerous on the road
Just bought vehicle during march. Still Winter in Northern Michigan. And this month in April I've noticed with the warmer days the steering sticks directly dead center at highway speeds. And requires a bit of force to be able to maintain direction. Once getting it "unstuck" it usually causes oversteering. Causing panic and almost getting me pulled over numerous times. My drive is an hour home from work. At 70+mph. Never been so aggravated to drive a vehicle I've only had for a month and a half. Vehicle only has 60,000mi. Took to two techs. Both have stated it's common and that there's no presented diagnosis besides a faulty EPS module from the factory. Hate this vehicle.
The power steering on the 2016 Honda Civic. While driving it is hard to gain control over the vehicle and the steering wheel tends to lock in place. It is UNKNOWN if the problem has been reproduced. The vehicle has been inspected by others. There is no warning lamps or message prior to failure.
Highway driving in the mountains. When making minor, stay-in-my-lane corrections the steering stopped being smooth. It felt like it was binding or sticking and would require more pressure to change direction then it would pop to another sticky spot. It sometimes adjusted too much and required a re-correction in the opposite direction. At no time was this enough to cause me to steer out of my lane but it was alarming.
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the steering wheel became firm and jerked. Additionally, while at a complete stop, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. The contact stated that her father inspected the vehicle and stated that the steering rack assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
The investigation into the complaint that the Honda Civic steering becomes stiff at higher speeds and after driving for a while needs to include 2016 models. This has been noticeable on the highway and is becoming way more problematic as the car ages. I've noticed this for a while - maybe from the original purchase of the car. It is getting worse though as the second hour of our trip was almost unbearable and felt very unsafe.
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the electronic braking system, steering, alternator, check engine, and TPMS warning lights illuminated. After shifting into drive(D), the vehicle lost power steering functionality and became difficult to turn. The braking system warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a certified mechanic and the contact was informed electronic power steering rack and pinion had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure was 46,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Houston, TX, USA