2011 Honda CR-Z

On February 15 I took a short drive into Woodstock, Vt. My trip into Woodstock was without incident, except for the fact that I got a "check tire pressure" alert, probably due to the very cold weather. When I finished my business and restarted the car, there was an additional alert: "check power steering". The car previously had no issues with steering. I drove the car to another nearby parking spot. There was no power assist at all. I wrestled the car into the parking space and called AAA for a tow. The tow truck driver arrived in about an hour. He asked for the keys and started the car. The problem had disappeared. With a friend tailing me I drove to a nearby auto repair shop, asked them to investigate and told them I would pick the car up the next day. They called me the next day and informed me that they had connected the car to the computer analyzer and found no problem. They had also driven the car on the day I dropped it off and again the next day and were unable to reproduce the problem. I went online and discovered others have had similar issues: https://www.crzforum.com/threads/scary-power-steering-eps-issue.87738/ and https://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/CR-Z/2011/steering/steering.shtml. I contacted my nearest Honda dealership as well as Honda USA. I received no substantive help from either party, although Honda USA did suggest I bring it to the dealer for repair, which I will attempt to do tomorrow. I don't know what the threshold is for generating a recall, but the possible consequences of this problem are so serious that I wanted to share my experience. My car has less than 30,000 miles.

2011 CR-Z PASSENGER CARS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS THE ENGINE STALL WHILE THE BRAKE PEDAL IS NOT PRESSED, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE ENGINE CONTROL UNIT (ECU) SOFTWARE MAY CAUSE THE ELECTRIC MOTOR OF THE HYBRID SYSTEM TO MOVE THE VEHICLE UNEXPECTEDLY IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF THE SELECTED GEAR. ADDITIONALLY THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING IS DRAINING NEW 12V BATTERIES WITH LESS THAN A 6 MONTHS USE (SEE ATTACHMENT). VEHICLE MOVEMENT CAUSED BY ENGINE STALL AND LACK OF POWER STEERING COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH OR PERSONAL INJURY TO THE PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THE MOVING VEHICLE. THERE HAS ALREADY BEEN A RECALL ON 2011 HONDA CRZ MANUAL TRANS FOR THE ISSUE MENTIONED ABOVE.

VEHICLE HAS PERIODICALLY STARTED EXHIBITING STRANGE AND DANGEROUS ISSUES WITH THE ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING (WHILE STOPPED AND AT VARIOUS SPEEDS) AND, OF GREATER CONCERN, WHEN THE COMPUTER IS DETECTING ISSUES IT IS NOT SHUTTING DOWN THE EPS SYSTEM AS IT SHOULD BUT, INSTEAD, SPORADICALLY TURNS ON AND OFF EVEN WHILE IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN. WHEN THIS ISSUE OCCURS IT FIRST STARTS BY A MOMENTARY (OR SOMETIMES LONGER) FLASH OF THE EPS INDICATOR ON THE DASH AND THERE IS A CONSTANT SOUND OF RELAYS CLICKING IN THE DASH TO THE LEFT OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THIS INDICATOR LIGHT WILL RANDOMLY TURN OFF AND ON WITH SEEMINGLY NO REASON AND THE STEERING BECOMES STIFF, THEN LIGHT, AND OFTEN WILL BEGIN AN ASSIST IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN WHICH RESULTS IN THE VEHICLE VEERING DEEPER INTO THE TURN UNLESS THE OPERATOR RESPONDS QUICKLY ENOUGH TO PULL IT BACK TO THE CORRECT POSITION. THESE PERIODIC ISSUES CAN SOMETIMES LAST 5 MINS OR CAN LAST AN ENTIRE TRIP AND OCCASIONALLY THE COMPUTER DISPLAY WILL FLASH A MESSAGE TO CHECK POWER STEERING BUT THEN USUALLY IMMEDIATELY CLEAR THAT MESSAGE ALONG WITH ANY ERRORS. A MECHANIC WAS NOT ABLE TO REPRODUCE THE ISSUE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO LOCATE ANY ERRORS FROM THE STANDARD COMPUTER BUT DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE PROPRIETARY HONDA PROTOCOLS AND A DEALER WANTS $120 JUST TO CONNECT THE CAR TO THE COMPUTER. ADDITIONALLY I ASKED IF THERE WAS A WAY TO DISABLE THE POWER STEERING COMPLETELY SO THAT THE VEHICLE DIDN'T OVER OR UNDER STEER ON ME AND THE DEALER SAID THAT THIS WASN'T POSSIBLE AND THAT ONLY THE COMPUTER WAS ABLE TO DISABLE THE POWER STEERING IF IT DETECTED A PROBLEM (WHICH IN MY CASE IT IS ONLY DISABLING MOMENTARILY WHICH IS CREATING AN EVEN GREATER HAZARD). MY DEALERSHIP SEEMED UNCONCERNED WITH THE SAFETY HAZARD THIS CREATES AND OFFERED NO REASONABLE PATH TO INVESTIGATE AND REPAIR.

I HAD JUST BOUGHT THIS CAR IN SEPTEMBER, AND ON THE MORNING OF WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2014 IT CRASHED. I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, I495-SOUTH. IT WAS RAINING AND I THINK THE CAR HIT A WATER PUDDLE OR SLEET, AND STARTED FISH TAILING. I TRIED TO GET IT BACK UNDER CONTROL, AND I DID FOR A FEW SECONDS AS IT WAS TRYING TO PULL TO THE RIGHT. THEN IT JUST SUDDENLY TOOK OFF TO THE LEFT, VERY STRANGE, ALMOST LIKE THERE WAS EITHER A WHEEL/TIRE ISSUE, TRANSMISSION, ELECTRICAL OR STEERING WHEEL.. WHATEVER IT WAS IT SEEMED LIKE IT TOOK OVER AND JUST TOOK OFF LIKE A CRAZY HORSE TO THE LEFT. I WAS LUCKY THERE WERE NO CARS TO THE LEFT! THE CAR JUST TOOK OFF TO THE LEFT AS I HELD THE WHEEL AND COULDN'T GET IT UNDER CONTROL, IT DROVE THROUGH DIVIDERS INTO HOV LANES AND INTO CONCRETE HIGHWAY DIVIDERS. IT WAS THE SCARIEST AND MOST PAINFUL MOMENT OF MY LIFE, I HAVE BEEN PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY TRAUMATIZED. EMT, AMBULANCE, FIRETRUCKS AND POLICE ARRIVED, AND THEY HAD TO CUT OFF THE ROOF TO GET ME OUT BECAUSE OF SEVERE BACK PAIN I COULDN'T MOVE, WAS DIZZY AND COULDN'T BREATH WELL. I WAS TAKEN TO TRAUMA IN ER AND WAS HOSPITALIZED FOR 3 DAYS. I FRACTURED MY SPINE, AND WAS OUT OF WORK FOR 2 MONTHS. I HAD A SURGERY, KYPHOPLASTY, BEEN GOING THROUGH PHYSICAL THERAPY AND NOW CHIROPRACTOR. I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME ATHLETIC PERSON I USED TO BE, IT RUINED MY LIFE. I AM FILING THIS COMPLAINT BECAUSE I KNOW FOR A FACT, AS I WAS BEHIND THE WHEEL, I FELT THIS CAR, IT WAS NOT A SAFE CAR, IT HAS ISSUES. I NOTICED YOU HAVE A RECALL FOR 2011 MODELS, FOR SIMILAR ISSUES, AS IT CAN CAUSE CRASH AND INJURY. THE SEATS ARE NOT SAFE, THE CAR IS NOT SAFE. I ADVICE EVERYONE AGAINST THE PURCHASE OF THIS VEHICLE. THIS WAS THE FIRST ACCIDENT IN MY LIFE! *TR