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2023 Honda Civic: harsh or hard shifting

5 of the 260 complaints about the 2023 Honda Civic describe harsh or hard shifting.

owner complaints
5
of this car's complaints
2%
recalls
0
Is there a fix? 3 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Harsh or hard shifting by model year

  • 2025
    1
  • 2024
    2
  • 2023
    5
  • 2022
    9
  • 2019
    2
  • 2018
    2
  • 2017
    1
  • 2016
    1
  • 2015
    5
  • 2014
    1
  • 2012
    3
  • 2011
    2
  • 2010
    1
  • 2009
    2
  • 2008
    3
  • 2007
    3
  • 2006
    4
  • 2004
    2
  • 2003
    3
  • 2002
    5
  • 2001
    4
  • 2000
    1
  • 1999
    2
  • 1998
    2
  • 1995
    2

What owners say

Filed Oct 20, 2025 · Steering · WI

I have received 2 recalls regarding my steering rack. I did have the gear box worm wheel spring replaced but that did not solve the problem my steering was sticking, hard to turn , clunking it would veer off to the right. I took it back to Honda dealer and was told it was dangerous to drive my whole power steering rack needed to be be replaced but Honda said it was not part of the recall I had to pay for the repair. They did give me a discount but my car experienced all the system under the recall to replace the power steering. My Honda is a 2023 and I had to pay over $2000 to have fixed. I would like to know why my car is not included in this recall.

Filed Mar 7, 2024 · Steering · WA

This vehicle has sticky steering which seems to start or become much more of an issue after driving the car for about 30 minutes. The effort needed to turn the steering wheel increases, especially when making small corrections like freeway driving. The issue starts become very notable around 35-40mph and increases in "stickyness" as you travel faster. The steering wheel is hard to get it to move, and as it comes free it causes an overcorrection. It makes it hard to stay straight in a lane or to correct a turn after changing lanes, especially on the highway. This issue is dangerous at highway speeds and extremely annoying at slow speeds. Last week I almost sideswiped another vehicle after changing lanes on I-5 because the steering stuck so bad. Another time I almost went off the road. This issue is unrelated to the current active recall for the steering rack and does not go away when I turn steering assist off. If you listen closely while traveling at around 30-40mph, when the steering sticks, when it releases a slightly audible clunking sound can be heard coming from the front driver side of the car. This sound is hard to hear on rough roads but is obvious when the pavement is smooth. This issue has been reported and discussed by many drivers in online forums and may be related to the worm gear in the steering gear box. I experience this sticky steering problem at all speeds, temperatures, and lengths of time driving. I purchased my vehicle new about a year ago and it has 11,420 miles on it. The issue started somewhere between 6-7,000 miles.

Filed Mar 2, 2024 · Steering · CA

Steering is "sticky" at higher speeds, taking more force than usual to turn or make adjustments. During these situations the steering wheel also does not return to center by itself when completing the turn. There is also a "knocking"/"clunking" noise when turning the steering wheel while stationary or at low speeds. Vehicle mileage was at around 25,000 miles when the problem was detected.

Filed Feb 8, 2024 · Steering, Suspension · CA

When driving at freeway speeds and some in town speeds 40 mph and up and also when turning at those speed especially on banked turns the steering becomes stuck and takes a lot to unstick and momentarily scary. And you can hear a click or clunking noise when it unsticks. Sometimes after driving the car for a long period you can feel it get stuck by just sitting still and turning the wheel to the left and holding it for a few seconds as you would be in a real turn and it will stick and clunk. I’ve even went into a bank to turn a couple times and was able to let go of the wheel and it maintained the turning angle by itself without any lane keep assist options on at all and it has done this multiple times. Also after driving for a good amount of time when you were on the freeway at speeds of 60 to 70 and maybe even faster the car will not drive straight it will click to the left or just click to the right so I basically zigzag down the lanes. It is not smooth like traditional steering. I took it to the dealer and they said they took it on a drive and it could not replicate the issue but I think they did not even take it on the freeway because there is no way it did not do that again because when I left it was still sticking. They said they checked the EPS and it passed inspection no repair necessary but it is still sticking. The Honda dealer I took it to just kept telling me this is normal driving conditions and everyone complains of the same thing and they tell them that it’s all normal. The safety risk is when you give it a hard push to unstick it sometimes it goes almost into the next lane like over correction and could possibly hit another car and cause an accident. No lights or sensors came on the dash at all this has been going on for the last I would say 10,000 miles getting progressively worse. I don’t think the dealer actually drove it long or far enoughThey seem like they wanted me out of there and I was making this up.

Filed Apr 24, 2023 · Steering · FL

2023 honda civic touring - driver side steering rack making a clunk and rattling noise when driving less than 10 miles an hour, steering wheel makes clicking noise. Sound reminds me of a very old rusty car that every screw needs to be replace. When driving at a steady 50-65 on highway steering wheel sticks causing driver to make forceful dangerous severe pulls to get out of stuck position. Today 4/24/23, I almost had an accident due to the sticky steering wheel. This is my second honda civic that suffers from this defect. Prior 2022 honda civic sport had to spend 1 month at the dealer and steering rack struts had to be replace. This is a very serious issue that needs to be evaluated to prevent any further incidents.

Service bulletins that may apply

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

Questions about the 2023 Honda Civic harsh shifting

Is harsh or hard shifting a common problem on the 2023 Honda Civic?

5 of 260 owner complaints about the 2023 Honda Civic (2%) mention harsh or hard shifting. The model year with the most reports is 2022.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2023 Honda Civic?

There are 0 recalls and 3 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2023 Honda Civic

Jerking 23Lane assist 18Adaptive cruise 8Steering lock-up 8Power steering loss 7

All model years of the Honda Civic

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