When car is driven above 40 mph the steering wheel sticks. Extra effort is required to maintain midline steering. Extra effort is required to break the persistent sticking pattern, which can cause loss of control.
2016 Honda Civic steering complaints
Page 10 of 16: complaints 251 to 280 of 446, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Steering system console. Remove and replace rack and pinion assembly
Steering wheel has become stuck/jerky on the freeway. This causes me to swerve all over the road. The wheel sticks after it's been still for more than a couple seconds. To make a steering correction to stay in my lane I need to apply more force to make a small adjustment. This causes the car to swerve when the steering wheel breaks free. Then it sticks in the new position, and I end swerving the other way when it breaks free again. Dealer says only fix is to replace entire steering rack and wants $3500 for repair. Car has 55000 miles and is no longer under warranty. Called an independent Honda repair shop to get an estimate. The independent shop told me they have replaced a few. Problem apparently affects many Civics from model year 2016 through 2022. Unfortunately, the replacement rack is the same part number and has failed the same way again in some cars. This should be a safety recall and repaired ant Hondas expense.
Slight momentary resistance to turning the wheel, usually only on long interstate drives
Every time my 2016 civic is driven for about 30 minutes straight above 60 mph the steering starts to become stiff and jerky. It feels as if the steering wheel locks into place and you must pull on the steering wheel to get it out of position while driving causing serious danger to myself and those driving near me. People who have driven behind me while the issue has happened have notified me that it looks like a drunk driver is at the wheel due to the jerking that needs to be done to get the steering wheel out of position. Driving speed limit on the expressway after 30 minutes has become a hazard and is very unfortunate due to the car only being about 6 years old. It has been going on for quite some time now and is a frequent issue that is popped up on civic forums for models 2016-2019.
Driving on the highway I started to feel the steering stick while keeping the car centered in my lane. To release the steering stick issue a stronger input was needed by me to control the car. It seemed to me the steering sticking issue occurs only at highway speed. This started with about 32,000 miles on the car. Although it never became an actual safety issue there was always the fear the steering would lock up and I would not be able to control the steering. At no time was there any visual indication (warning light(s)) for the condition. I have not taken the car to the dealership for inspection. Police nor insurance company were notified over this issue. The auto is available for inspection.
Steering wheel has some extra resistance (sticking, stiff and jerky) when making small corrections at any speeds, resulting in extra pressure being applied to break the resistance, resulting in sharp (hard) correction changes. When make small steering adjustments it has resistance, then suddenly becomes easy. This can cause oversteering when correcting.
1st Steering wheel pops on highway 65+mph, I've taken my vehicle to dealership to get diagnosed supposedly couldn't find anything wrong, I've even taken a service rep for a drive to show them what is happening they noticed but service told him not to do anything! Second issue squealing noise coming from wheel bearings I took my car to 2 different shops, Honda and wheel shop both places can't determine where noise is coming from!
Typically during highway driving, steering becomes extremely sticky and requires significant effort to make even slight adjustments to keep the car on the road and even forces over correction which has occurred on multiple occasions
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated while her husband was driving 60 MPH and turning the steering wheel to the right, the vehicle would drift to the left. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to continue driving to his destination. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the vehicle needed an alignment. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the failure. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer, but the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel was drifting and failed to move as needed and continued to jerk. The contact forced the steering wheel into position however, the action would overcorrect the vehicle. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel was jerking and the vehicle was difficult to turn. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer again where it was diagnosed and determined that the power steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 47,466.
Steering wheel has some extra resistance (sticking, stiff and jerky) when making small corrections at any speeds, resulting in extra pressure being applied to break the resistance, resulting in sharp (hard) correction changes.
Car abruptly pulls to the passenger side and requires significant force to keep car centered on the road. The system then lets go and car overcorrects into incoming lane requiring quick reaction to prevent car from hitting oncoming vehicles. This issue occurs on nearly every use of the vehicle especially if driven more than 30 min. The design of this car is drive by wire and there is no mechanical link between steering wheel and rack and pinion. This problem seems unrelated to the avoidance system as it happens when it is both on and off. Honda dealership seems unconcerned with the issue even though there is a recall for that same issue for both the 2017 and 2018 model years. The issue was related to a magnet for a sensor within the rack.
Steering sticks when driving on the highway. When make small steering adjustments it has resistance, then suddenly becomes easy. This can cause oversteering when correcting.
Same problem others have reported. At highway speeds the steering will become hard to manage and if going into a curve very dangerous. When this happens have to pull over at next exit and shut car off. Dealership service department claims the VSA modulator needs replacing (at a cost of 1500$).
At highway speeds when it is warm and the vehicle has been driven for 20-30 minutes the steering becomes sticky. It is most noticeable at freeway speed when attempting minor corrections to maintain good lane position. The steering wheel resists minor effort to turn and then breaks loose causing an over correction, potentially as far as into another lane.
Electric Power Steering after driving on hot days becomes resistant to turning the wheel at higher speeds. Requires about 5lbs of force to the wheel and then it gives way and causes a more abrupt turn than driver is attempting.
When traveling at highway speeds the steering wheel “catches” at center and feels almost stuck in position. This causes for over correction and an unsafe driving experience
At highway speeds the car has problems with the steering sticking, and when it releases it jerks into the other lane . This has happened several times almost causing a wreck. I have reported it to Honda in the past and the technician could not find anything, or so they said
I am not an alarmist. I am a retired Porsche mechanic (42 years) so I have a decent grasp of how a vehicle should perform. The steering on my Civic is very notchy. When I am making a sweeping curve at highway speeds (especially to the right) and I try to straighten the steering wheel as the curve ends, it wants to stick to the right then breaks loose and often jerks the car to the left. It is even difficult to maintain the vehicle smoothly in the center of the lane when traveling straight due to this stickiness in the steering. This is not a one time occurrence. It happens very consistently and maybe worst in warm weather. I know this is a fairly common problem with the Civic as I see many people complaining about it on Civic forums on line. I thought it may be something Honda would be interested in recalling.
At high speeds, sometimes my steering wheel has a tendency to “catch” at the center line when I attempt to keep the car straight. To overcome this resistance, I have to apply extra pressure, which often leads to over-steering. This feels very dangerous, and I do not let anyone drive my car for fear that they will overcompensate and swerve into other lanes or oncoming traffic. There are over a hundred complains with this exact issue, and needs to be addressed.
At highway speeds the steering on the vehicle stiffens and requires the driver to steer right or left to break the resistance on the steering wheel. Steering continues to stiffen and the wheel does not loosen to maintain straight driving conditions unless driver breaks resistance continuously while driving. The force needed to break the resistance on the steering wheel could cause an accident from the car steering left or right out of the lane. Honda does not acknowledge this issue but will charge thousands to diagnose and replace parts that may or may not fix the issue. The steering wheel resistance is a safety hazard due to it feeling stiff and locking in place requiring the driver to move the wheel in the opposite direction to loosen the steering to give the driver control while at speed.
Steering wheel has some extra resistance (sticking) when making small corrections at highway speeds, resulting in extra pressure being applied to break the resistance, resulting in sharp (hard) correction changes.
The EPS Electronic Power Steering system is STICKING, while driving. It wants to hold the steering wheel, which is terrifying. When you muscle the steering wheel out of its “hold” it brings heightened risk of over-compensating and losing control of the vehicle. No dash indicator/fault lights turned on. I will be having the vehicle inspected at a local Honda dealer. My son confirms the same driving conditions as I have explained above, and he is a foreign car mechanic of 20+ years experience.
Most noticeable when trying to stay straight in a lane on highway or interstate going 60-80 mph. When trying to make minor adjustments left or right, the steering wheel will stick, causing it to jerk more in the direction I’m trying to steer, which causes slight over steering and having to correct back the other direction. I have to keep a death grip on the steering wheel with both hands so as not to overcorrect when I try to slightly adjust to the left or right. It’s definitely a safety issue and has the potential to cause an accident.
2016 Honda Civic LX with 47K miles. With engine warm and driving at highway speed, steering wheel gets stuck/sticky at the 12 oclock position and requires too much force to correct, or 'unlock' (it's jerky). Requires near constant correction. Feels unsafe. Numerous reports of what appear to be exactly the same problem are described in on-line forums such as carcomplaints.com or carproblemzoo.com - appears to be electronic power steering system problem.
There is no EPS indicator light lit but there is a "sticking" of the steering when driving at highway speeds. When the steering wheel is in the 12 o'clock position you can feel unusual tension while just lane controlling and then the tension will give when you apply greater than normal force required to stay in lanes during normal travel. It nearly is to the point of having to over-correct in order to release the tension created. There are numerous other accounts and owners in Honda online forums that have reported this issue and every report has been a result of and caused by the electronic power steering rack assembly. If this component goes or forces the driver to over-correct as a result of the sticking problem this can lead to an accident.
The steering on this car is electronic. It feels a lot different than other cars that I drive. The steering is stiff. When trying to make minor corrections, the steering doesn't want to move, therefore, more force is required to turn the steering wheel to make the correction. When the steering eventually releases, it results in an overcorrection situation. This overcorrection is a safety issue and could result in moving into the oncoming lane of traffic.
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the steering wheel momentarily seized; requiring additional force to steer the vehicle. The contact indicated that the failure would occur when turning in either direction. The failure was intermittent. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.
Steering issue with car drifting out of lane. Trying to recenter the vehicle in the lane there is resistance, and it requires an extra jerk to move the car back into the center of the lane. This happens repeatedly. This happens after about 30 minutes of driving. When driving on an interstate at high speed this creates a safety issue. Many others have reported a similar issue. It appears Honda is aware of this issue, and right now the fix is to replace the steering rack to correct a problem with a sensor when the car warms up.
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