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.
A few times over the past several months, the steering light up on the column but we were able to turn the car off and back on again with the issue resolved. However, this time we were driving across the country and the light turned on and never turned off again. Power steering was completely gone. It was difficult to turn the wheel and drive the car at all.
On multiple occasions electric power steering assist would fail on start up, particularly after some overnight rain. Without the steering assist this car becomes difficult and dangerous to handle. Restarting the engine has corrected this intermittent problem so far, but it poses a considerable danger, especially if the steering assist were to cut out during high speed driving.
Electronic power steering has failed numerous times during the life of the vehicle. Failure occurred twice during driving and caused near misses of other cars. Failure mostly occurs at startup, making it difficult to impossible to drive car. It tends to occur when the temperature is closer to freezing but it has occurred in the summer. Technical service bulletin 09-043 has been discussed on several forums. This is a common problem discussed in numerous forums and is a defect in the manufacturing of the 2007 Honda Fits. A recall is requested as it posses a significant risk to human life and limb, particularly when failure occurs during driving.
I was driving and without warning the power steering failed. At the same time the power steering warning light lit up on the dashboard. Luckily I was able to maneuver to safety into a parking lot. I shut off and restarted the engine and the power steering functioned normally. Someone with less arm strength may not have been able to maneuver to safety. This problem has reoccurred twice since then.
We are having consistent problems with rubbing and squealing noises with right turns. It is very concerning as the rubbing has to be damaging the steering system in some way. Something is definitely going wrong here. It needs to be investigated.
- Louisville, KY, USA
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After having purchased my Fit, one morning at about 10,000 miles, I started my car a power steering indicator light came on, the orange steering wheel light on my dash. My power steering wouldn't work. I turned the car off and back on then the power steering reengaged. This happened only once and I thought it was just from being cold. As I continued driving the vehicle it started happening more and more frequently, usually when the car was cold in the morning and not very often in the summer. I had my dealership look at it and give me an estimate on the charges since it was now out of warranty. The cost was very expensive and since it was intermittent I thought I would wait until it failed completely. Honda refused to cover the issue, eventhough I was told this was a very rare incident and shouldn't be happening. I am submitting this review because I understand it is not so uncommon on this vehicle and for some it occurs while driving. I will now have the issue fixed because it would be very dangerous for the power steering to disengage while driving. I hope this issue is considered important because Honda should be responsible to fix this failure weather in or out of warranty. There is obviously a defect in the part and due to the possible potential for fatalities if this should fail while driving a recall should be considered. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Power steering suddenly shuts off - the event has happened on several occasions over the past 3 years: Twice while driving - serious safety risk as car becomes extremely difficult to steer without warning; and three times when starting the car - no power steering immediately upon start. During all events, the eps light came on. During all events, shutting the car of then turning it back on remedied the situation, but this is very hazardous while driving.
About three weeks ago, while my wife was driving to work, shortly after leaving our home, the steering wheel became extremely rough and started to shake the car violently through a turn and the eps malfunction indicator came on. She turned the car off and back on again and the issue remedied itself and the eps light turned off. This past weekend, as I was driving the car, the same issue presented itself. This time, however, the unexpected loss of power steering caused me to veer into opposing traffic. Luckily, other drivers in the opposing lane were able to respond quickly and avert an accident. I researched this issue online, including on popular Honda-specific forums, which I am a member of, such as Honda-tech.com and fitfreak.net, as well as general auto forums such as on edmunds.com. It became apparent that this is a common issue among owners of Honda Fits, with some owners stating that this occurs 1-2 times a month. Upon further research, I found Honda technical service bulletin 09-043, stating symptoms of 'the steering feels heavier than normal, ' a euphemism for the power steering failing'a very dangerous occurrence, which I am disappointed that Honda did not issue a full safety recall for, and which we had to find out the hard/dangerous way that this is an issue with our vehicle.
Around June 30, 2011, shortly after starting the car, the power steering caution light came on, and the power steering failed leaving the car with no steering capabilities. After turning the car off and then back on, the power steering returned to its normal operation. This same thing happened again around July 4, 2011, on July 19, 2011, July 22, 2011, and July 25, 2011, all shortly after starting the car. The car was diagnosed by appletree Honda and they reported that the electronic powering steering unit was defective and needed to be replaced at a cost of nearly $900 at our expense due to the expired warranty. They based this diagnosed partially on a Honda service bulletin #09-043. When the powering steering fails, all vehicle operations remain active, the car is impossible to steer, thus causing a safety hazard not only to the passengers of the Fit, but also to other motorists on the road. After contacting Honda, they said there was nothing they could do except replace it at our cost.
The contact owns a 2007 Honda Fit. The contact stated that while in reverse, the power steering failed with the illumination of the power steering warning light. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was awaiting diagnosis. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 15,000 and the current mileage was 75,000.
The contact owns a 2007 Honda Fit sport. The contact stated that she started the vehicle, the power steering suddenly failed. The contact tried to move the vehicle but the steering wheel would not turn. The contact turned the vehicle off and restarted it; the power steering reset itself. The manufacturer had not been notified. The failure mileage was 45,000.
I purchased my 2007 Honda Fit approximately one year ago at 49,000 miles. My eps indicator came on less than one week after purchase; it is possible that this was an issue prior to the purchase of my car. On page 62 of my owners manual it says to restart the engine and the issue should go away so that is what I did. It only recommended to have it checked if the light didn't go away when restarted. The issue happened several times over the past year but always went away after restarting the engine. It seems to happen more during cold weather. I had it checked by a local mechanic and he could find nothing wrong with it. After it started happening with increased frequency, and persisted after multiple restarts (although if I came back hours later it would be fine) I decided to take it to the dealer where it was diagnosed with "eps control unit internal failure, eps control unit needs replaced" not covered under warranty and it costs $800 to replace. This is a frightening safety issue because the wheel is virtually impossible to turn when this indicator is on. I have been very fortunate in that it has never come on while I am driving although from my research on this issue I have learned there are others that have not been as lucky as I have in this regard. It is also frightening that this is not an issue that is easily diagnosed my mechanics outside the dealership. For Honda owners like myself that live an hour away from the closest dealer; we are likely to take it somewhere closer first; where we are told there's nothing wrong with our car, although there is a potentially life-threatening issue wrong with the car.
The contact owns a 2007 Honda Fit. The contact stated that in cold weather when turning the vehicle on, the electrical power steering warning light would illuminate on the instrumental panel. While driving at various speeds, the power steering would fail when making a turn causing it to be difficult to manuever. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who informed the contact that there was a tsb related to the failure and they are aware of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 27,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The electric power steering on my Honda Fit failed to function. Fortunately, the event happened in my garage, but it was almost impossible to steer the wheels. So, I had to find other transportation to make my thanksgiving dinner. This could have been a disaster had the failure occurred on the road.
The contact owns a 2007 Honda Fit. While driving 15 mph, the power steering failed. The contact pulled over, turned off the vehicle and restarted it. The power steering reset after the restart. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer but the failure could not be duplicated. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that they could offer no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.
I started up my car (Honda Fit 2007) from a cold start and the power steering locked up. I restarted the car a few times after wards and still to no avail. The steering wheel was extremely hard to turn and when checking under the hood, nothing seemed to be wrong. After waiting about a half hour the car started up normally again. 2 days later same issue happened. I read online about an malfunction in the eps system that alot of other Honda Fit 07 users were having also. I haven't repaired my car yet because my car warranty just ended a couple months ago. My only fear now is if the power steering locks up while I'm cornering or driving and forcing another car out of their lane or having an accident from this.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Albuquerque, NM, USA