2016 Honda Civic

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.

An internal steering rack failure is involuntarily interfering with the electronic power steering system making the steering sticking or notchy at speeds under 45 mph. At highway speeds this same internal failure causes a prevalent and strong steering drift. Then upon correction to center the steering sticks and then releases to give back control. Sometimes this happens 3 times a minute. The longer you drive the more frequent the failure mode happens. After four hours of driving my arms were tired. On 23 Mar 2023 the vehicle was inspected by a certified Honda Dealer technician including a 4 mile drive test. The inspection report declared that the "STEERING RACK HAS AN INTERNAL FAILURE CAUSING THE STEERING TO FEEL NOTCHY". To remedy the problem the dealer recommended a steering rack assembly change out which would entail about 5 hours of labor. An alignment was also recommended. Including the assembly part, alignment, labor and inspection report the total came to approximately $4800. I decided to take the car from the dealer and with a friend record the number of failure instances and video the highway speed failure mode. The dealer had advised me on the inspection report invoice that the "VEHICLE IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE" but I also didn't want the car to be held hostage for $4800. On 27 March 2023 I called American Honda to request assistance with this repair. The 2016 Honda Civic model year has the highest number of steering complaints from 2010 to 2022. The replacement steering rack part is in its third iteration. My car was made in Dec 2015 in the early production on a new generation. Even though my car has 73,000 miles Honda should recall these early steering rack models and replace them at their expense providing a safe steering rack assembly to their customers. A copy of the Vehicle inspection report and invoice is attached. Note that that the vehicle is declared not safe to drive by the Honda Dealer and I am stranded away from home awaiting a fair resolution

While operating the vehicle on the highway the steering was not smooth when starting to turn the wheel. There was a short hesitation or loss of power assistance while turning to follow the direction of the roadway. This occurrence was very brief while turning the steering wheel. The steering problem lasted for several days. Later when taking the vehicle to be inspected for this problem there was no steering difficulty at all. The vehicle was inspected, computer analyzed and test driven finding no fault with the steering. Although there seems to be no problem at this time it is unknown if this could possibly be an "intermittent problem"?

At highway speeds while trying to keep the vehicle straight and in my lane, the steering sticks while trying to make minor adjustments to stay in my lane. I have to apply more force to my steering and I end up overcorrecting and it becomes very hard to stay straight and in my lane. This is only at highway speeds, anywhere from 60-75 mph, I have not noticed this happening at lower speeds. It seems something is happening with with the steering wheel or something in the electronic power steering system is malfunctioning. There are no warning lights on my car, I have talked to several certified Honda master technicians about this issues and they recognize the symptoms and tell me it is the electronic power steering rack having issues. My vehicle has only 42,000 miles.