Feels like steering wheel gets stuck when going highway speeds, takes more effort than usual to turn/ unlock to change lanes. Happens every time i drive 60+mph
2016 Honda Civic
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Civic years
Owner complaints for the 2016 Honda Civic are substantially higher than the model-year median of 183.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Civic years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
494 reports with mileage · 586 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Steering. Review the 444 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 119 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 95 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
What owners actually said
1,080 reportsA notchy feel when you get at about 40 mph or greater. Steering kind of gives a hesitation or resistance when trying to give minor corrections to the left or right. Very noticeable on at high way speeds when trying to stay within a lane along a straight away. You have to force the steering wheel to turn and by the time it "relea…
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A notchy feel when you get at about 40 mph or greater. Steering kind of gives a hesitation or resistance when trying to give minor corrections to the left or right. Very noticeable on at high way speeds when trying to stay within a lane along a straight away. You have to force the steering wheel to turn and by the time it "releases" you have to over correct to not go into the next lane accidentally. Very unsafe feeling
Steering issues. During highway speeds driver(s) has to keep adjusting steering to make the car drive straight.
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the steering wheel malfunctioned and failed to immediately respond while turning the in either direction while attempting to switch lanes. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who performed a steering module software update, but the fa…
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The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the steering wheel malfunctioned and failed to immediately respond while turning the in either direction while attempting to switch lanes. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who performed a steering module software update, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 65,000.
The steering sticks and causes me to overcorrect to stay in my lane. I see that later models of Honda have been recalled for the same issues as my car has been having for some time now. I feel it is dangerous.
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. The contact indicated that the failure was intermittent. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the …
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The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. The contact indicated that the failure was intermittent. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.
Steering is stiff and Jerky when making slight corrections
For a while now (months), we have noticed our 2016 Honda Civic has had a "sticky" (a click or jerk) feeling when handling the steering wheel, particularly while driving on the freeway, holding long turns, or when even reversing (from an angle) into a parking stall (for the parking, a click/pop is audibly heard). Basically, the …
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For a while now (months), we have noticed our 2016 Honda Civic has had a "sticky" (a click or jerk) feeling when handling the steering wheel, particularly while driving on the freeway, holding long turns, or when even reversing (from an angle) into a parking stall (for the parking, a click/pop is audibly heard). Basically, the steering wheel will suddenly shift/jerk slightly left/right, which causes you to no longer be steering in the exact line you were on. Driver has to then correct by making an opposing shift in the opposite direction to return to the exact line that was being driven. It is a bit of a nuisance, and produces anxiety on the driver's part, leaving one wondering if/when the shift/jerk will cause even larger of an issue, potentially posing risk of harm to the vehicle's and neighboring vehicles' riders via a collision. Our Honda service technician recently confirmed, after our recent big maintenance service, that this issue is present and has something to do with some steering mechanism (I don't recall the correct term of the equipment/device), and that an estimated repair cost would be $3,000-$4,000. For now, we have been advised to monitor, and that basically it is up to us to decide if/when we would like to spend $3,000-$4,000 to have this repaired at our own expense. We are not aware of how this issue arose (what the exact cause is), but is potentially due manufacturing. There are no dashboard warning lights that illuminate during the shifting/jerking of the steering. We just feel it, moreso if you are the one driving. This issue is experienced daily. Our primary concern is prevention of a collision. We do not want it to get to the point of having had a collision/emergency, then reactively reporting the issue to NHTSA. And we do not have funds to purchase a new vehicle. Can we possibly have more confidence in this vehicle being able to transport our family safely without fear of steering issues? Thank you for your support.
The steering locks and sticks when driving especially on a highway. It appears the rack and pinion sticks
While driving the steering wheel is sticking and have to jerk the steering wheel to prevent going into another lane. Contact Honda dealer ships and Honda corporate office and asked if there was a recall for this, they said not on my particular vehicle, but some of the Honda civics. There is no warnings, it just happens periodica…
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While driving the steering wheel is sticking and have to jerk the steering wheel to prevent going into another lane. Contact Honda dealer ships and Honda corporate office and asked if there was a recall for this, they said not on my particular vehicle, but some of the Honda civics. There is no warnings, it just happens periodically.
Official recalls
526V332000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger
May 21, 2026
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
23V858000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump
Dec 18, 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
16V725000 · Parking Brake
Oct 11, 2016
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Civic two door and four door 1.5L turbo and 2.0L vehicles. The electric parking brake (EPB) may not engage if it is applied immediately after turning the ignition off.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the EPB is not applied, the vehicle may roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the vehicle's software to allow the EPB to engage immediately after the ignition is turned off, free of charge. The recall began on November 8, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KC6.
16V526000 · Exterior Lighting
Jul 11, 2016
American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic 2-Door vehicles manufactured February 23, 2016, through May 20, 2016. The affected vehicles may have a damaged LED side marker light circuit board inside the taillight assembly, making the marker light inoperable. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Assoc. Equipment."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If a side marker light does not function, vehicle visibility can be decreased to other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect both the taillight assemblies, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on August 31, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KB8.
16V074000 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine
Feb 9, 2016
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic vehicles manufactured September 22, 2015, to February 3, 2016 and equipped with 2.0L engines. The affected vehicles have engines with piston assemblies that may have been manufactured without a piston wrist pin circlip or with an incorrectly installed piston wrist pin circlip.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If a circlip is missing or incorrectly installed, the piston wrist pin may not be secure and may drift and damage the engine cylinder causing the engine to seize, and increasing the risk of a crash or a fire.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the piston assemblies and damaged engine components, as necessary, free of charge. Parts are expected to be available in the Summer of 2016. Owners were mailed an interim notification beginning March 31, 2016, and will be mailed a second notice when parts are available. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is JX9.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
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