2012 Honda CR-V: loss of power steering

Filed Aug 28, 2026 · Electrical · TX

2012 Honda CR-V - I've had to replace my battery multiple times. I would go out the car and it would be dead. I even tried replacing the alternator. I am replacing batteries at an average of every 2.5 years. Honda tells me I can do a diagnostic test for $189. I see there are repeated complaints about the Honda CR-V needing a software update. They will just keep selling new batteries and not do the fix. At one point, I even lost power steering. It is dangerous, and they should be made to correct it.

Filed Aug 11, 2023 · Electrical, Steering · TX

While I was driving the car, an indicator with "Battery" symbol showed up on the monitor. All off a sudden I see all the lights went ON/OFF and I couldn't steer the wheel. The Power Steering stopped working and the car was running. Since I was near a 4-way stop sign, I managed to pull my car on the side without an accident. Then I got roadside assistance to tow my car to a mechanic shop. They said the "Alternator" need to be replaced. I did that and went for a "Battery" checkup based on the indicator. The battery was good. It would have been a life threatening incident if I were somewhere on a highway. I wanted to make sure this is taken care seriously by the manufacturer and find a fix. Because it just impacts all electrical things and we can't steer the car!

Filed Feb 11, 2023 · Steering · CA

I am writing this letter to place a COMPLAINT against the total lack of Honda not providing parts for car repair. I have a 2012 Honda CRV that the Electronic Steering Gear has failed. I was told by a dealers Parts Department that this part 53601T0AA01 is not available anywhere in the USA. They couldn’t understand why the part is unavailable as it is not part of the Port holdup situation. To date, my car has been in the shop for 3 weeks waiting for this part from Honda. Monday I was told the part might arrive in the middle of March! In the meantime, 6+ weeks later I have no car. My complaint is that this Power Steering Gear has for years been a dangerous problem on Honda vehicles. The potential dangerous crisis is that when this part fails you cannot steer your car or drive it. So, imagine driving 70 mph on a freeway and lose power steering. Of course, the Manuel indicates the vehicle just goes to manual steering. In real time, this manuel operation makes it extremely difficult to turn the wheel right or left. And if you continue to drive it without repair you could more damage to the vehicle. Why this has not been a recall problem is beyond me. Not only is the cost of the part is ridiculous at $1700+ with an additional cost of labor $1500+. Something must be done about Honda not providing parts for car repair. Especially an issue that is so dangerous to car owners. I’m guessing the Honda excuse now is tied to Ukraine. I have trouble believing that’s the only country that provides auto parts.

Filed Dec 27, 2020 · Steering · 171,000 miles · VA

Was driving and power steering went out then came back on. Almost caused me to go into a ditch as I was making a left turn. Barely even turned the wheel.

Filed Apr 22, 2017 · Steering · 92,000 miles · PA

Power steering failed twice within 1 mile (~3 minutes apart) of starting car and driving 25mph down residential street. In both instances car was going straight ahead. Indicator light reset after first failure and restart then ~3 minutes later indicator lit and power steering failed again while in heavy traffic. Vsa modulator had been previously replaced by the dealer (~4000 miles ago) to remedy this recurrent issue.

Filed Oct 1, 2016 · Steering · 87,900 miles · PA

Power steering failed while in motion ~25mph on a city street. Indicator light intermittently flashed 2-3 times after power steering was lost. Collision was narrowly avoided.

Filed Sep 11, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 22,200 miles · MN

While driving less than 30 MPH, the power steering failed on two occasions with my 2012 honda crv. It became very difficult to turn the wheel and the power steering indicator light was on, and the only thing I could really do is stop in the middle of the street. When I turned off the vehicle and restarted it, the steering worked fine again. The same thing happened again about one week later. I took it to my honda dealer in inver grove heights, mn, to have it checked. They could see from the two codes that something happened but could not find anything wrong. They contacted honda, who indicated it could have something to do with the battery connection so they checked/replaced the grounding wire to the battery and also checked all of the connections. I previously had problems with the battery about 6 months after getting the new vehicle. I had trouble with the vehicle starting even in the garage. I had it into the dealership at least three different times when they determined I had a bad battery. After they replace the battery, I did not have any problems with it starting again. It makes me wonder if the previous battery issue and the steering issue could be related I have only been driving it a few days, but it has not happened again as yet. If it happens again, I will take the vehicle to my honda dealer and update this complaint. Having steering failure is obviously a very serious safety issue, which I am very concerned about.

Filed May 20, 2013 · Steering · 4,780 miles · OH

My 2012 honda cr-v (awd, ex trim) has, on 5 separate occasions, locked up the electric power steering (eps) system while driving in neighborhood streets (<25 MPH) or parking lots. I am lucky this has not happened to me while driving on a city street or highway, but I fear it may happen at any moment. On today's occasion (the 5th out of 5, at 6372 miles), my car was sitting in bright sun all day, and when I drove it a few miles and parked in front of a store, I lost power steering right as I turned to park. The steering tended to harden up as I drove through the parking lot to find my spot. The eps indicator on the dash did not illuminate at all, even though my steering was lost. I had to wait 5 minutes before I was able to maneuver the vehicle into position. On page 355 of the owner's manual, a notice states that: "if you repeatedly turn the steering wheel at an extremely low speed, or hold the steering wheel on the full left or right position for a while, the system heats up. The system goes into a protective mode, and limits its performance. The steering wheel becomes harder and harder to operate. Once the system cools down, eps is restored. Repeated operation under these conditions can eventually damage the system." what kind of steering is this? You tend to use your steering most when in parking lots or tight neighborhood streets. In conclusion, normal driving habits will "eventually damage the system." I demand honda to fully reimburse me for the remaining negative equity of the vehicle lease, and provide me a safe, paid-in-full rental vehicle (non-honda please) to drive until my new mini countryman arrives from europe in a few weeks. I find it appalling that a company known for "reliability" and "durability" would skimp on the most important aspect of driving: the steering.

Filed Nov 21, 2012 · Steering · 2,500 miles · MO

2012 honda crv - power steering intermittently goes out while driving and power steering failure light on dash illuminates. Once vehicle is turned off after an occurrence the power steering again works fine for days or weeks until the next occurrence. While the dealership acknowledges that when this occurs the vehicle is unsafe to drive, the vehicle is currently at the dealership for the third time to attempt repair for this dangerous problem. Note this is the first model year to use honda's new motion-adaptive electric power steering (eps).