[ST404]

What year and model do you have? And did you notice any particular conditions when it happened?

Considering that the Generation 11 Civic has been out for a couple of years now, it appears that a very small percentage of them are affected by this steering flaw. Also important to note that it is not about losing control, it's just a momentary increased effort to steer which has not resulted in any accidents or injuries.

This is just anecdotal but I have been looking at several forums and groups and it does seem like this is happening on the Canadian produced sedan and I've not yet seen a report about a US-made hatchback. That said, I'm confident that Honda has triggered its own investigation now that the NHTSA is on it.

 

[ST404]

Your math is flawed. You're using the complaints to NHTSA but to have an accurate figure of the failure rate you would need to know how many racks have been replaced by the dealers, complaints to the dealers and people with issues waiting for new racks.

It's anecdotal, but based on the 5 Civic groups/forums I am in, it doesn't seem very widespread.....there just aren't many posts about it.

 

[Hpacura]

To determine the failure rate you would need access to honda data. NHTSA complaints are not an accurate assessment of the failure rate. You would need to know how many complaints to honda dealers and how many defective racks replaced. Complaints to dealers would be key since many dealers try and sweep the issue under the rug and never test or replace the rack. My dealer told me to bring it back if the steering wheel starts moving around in circles by itself. Also, how many Civics are not driven at highway speeds for an extended period of time.

 

[Eldahank]

Considering that the Generation 11 Civic has been out for a couple of years now, it appears that a very small percentage of them are affected by this steering flaw. Also important to note that it is not about losing control, it's just a momentary increased effort to steer which has not resulted in any accidents or injuries.

This is just anecdotal but I have been looking at several forums and groups and it does seem like this is happening on the Canadian produced sedan and I've not yet seen a report about a US-made hatchback. That said, I'm confident that Honda has triggered its own investigation now that the NHTSA is on it.

Yes I don’t see this being something Honda would take lightly particularly since it has potential safety implications. I’ve been looking up the issue online more today and it does seem that it’s more like the steering gets stiff suddenly, not locked up completely. I drove a 93 Nissan pickup for years that never had power steering and that wasn’t so bad lol. But the randomness and unpredictability of the issue is concerning, could catch you off guard if you’re hugging a corner at speed and don’t react properly.

 

[5358]

Well this is from an 09 Civic but I really wish I could find somebody with this issue. I would love to take the recorded scan tool data to the dealer. After I drive cycle when the anomaly occurs to compare the PID information with what is normal spec. Back in 09 all it took was a relearn procedure sometimes a module or rack motor replacement.

 

[cleanneon98]

Your math is flawed. You're using the complaints to NHTSA but to have an accurate figure of the failure rate you would need to know how many racks have been replaced by the dealers, complaints to the dealers and people with issues waiting for new racks.

Unless you have those numbers, you can’t tell me my logic is flawed, especially when you continue to spread baseless misinformation based on your lack of knowledge of how steering systems even work. Your mindset of “If one is bad they’re all bad” is simply not correct

 

[Hpacura]

Unless you have those numbers, you can’t tell me my logic is flawed, especially when you continue to spread baseless misinformation based on your lack of knowledge of how steering systems even work. Your mindset of “If one is bad they’re all bad” is simply not correct

I'm sorry you have a hard time understanding and are upset but everyone can see that if you're basing your failure rate off of complaints to NHTSA then you're very wrong. Do some research and quit being a troll.

 

[cleanneon98]

Says the guy chasing his tail with “all the racks are faulty, prove me wrong” logic because you have a problem and can’t possibly accept that you got unlucky so you tell yourself (and everyone else) that it’s only a matter of time.

 

[Hpacura]

I'm sorry your assumptions and horrible math can't prove me wrong. Please report back if you have any facts and accurate data.

Anyone who's having an issue getting your dealer to take you seriously and fix your malfunctioning steering please send me a private message. I would be happy to help you navigate the dealers and honda corporate to get your vehicle repaired. My civic is tucked away in my garage waiting for a replacement rack and honda provided me with a long term rental. This is a serious safety issue and in the wrong hands could be very dangerous.

 

[BlazedSi]

The problem is very real.. already had my cars rack replaced.. and its very annoying .. glad they are investigating

Really eh? I remember we got our cars in the same production build week so that's concerning. At how many kms did this start happening as I recall you drive about 10x as much as me haha. I'll keep a lookout for you but I don't really rack up much highway driving as I have another autobox for road trips.

 

[robardin]

“Since the car is steer-by-wire, the problem has to be somewhere in the sensors or the software related to that.”
This car does not have steer-by-wire, it has EPS, which is not steer-by-wire very few cars have that system.

Perhaps I used the wrong term. I meant that the steering wheel is not directly (mechanically) controlling the steering rack, as with a "traditional" hydraulic power steering setup or an older no-power-steering setup. It goes through electronic sensors and software to control motors - as you say, EPS = Electronic Power Steering - which I thought was colloquially called "steer by wire".

So what then is "SBW" if not (just) EPS?

 

[Civic_805]

With EPS there is still a mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the axle but there is one or two motors helping the steering action. They are called single or dual pinion. With steer by wire there no mechanical connection at all, you turn the steering wheel without any mechanical connections to the axle. It is kind of like a game controller. I believe the new Lexus RZ offers steer-by-wire as an option.

Electric Power Steering & Steer-by-Wire - Nexteer

Nexteer’s Electric Power Steering (EPS) gives you comfort, control and feel-of-the-road.

www.nexteer.com

 

[Civic_805]

I'm sorry you have a hard time understanding and are upset but everyone can see that if you're basing your failure rate off of complaints to NHTSA then you're very wrong. Do some research and quit being a troll.

I wouldn’t even bother. With this logic there would be no recalls on any of the cars pretty much. It is simple as going to NHTSA website and checking the say 2023 CRV (only couple of months old car) which already has a seatbelt recall and 4 complaints in total. 150 complaints is NOT a small number and there is many Canadian civic owners here with this issue. If a flaw or error actually occurred in every vehicle that companies recall, these companies would go bankruptcy due to thousands of customers going to court and sue them. If one single customer crash their car and prove that this happened due to this steering issue they will be in big trouble.

 

[ST404]

The issue is with the steering rack which is a physical product not a digital one

 

[brittaniann335]

Sorry if you feel that I implied you didn't know your car. It seems that from the start of your post you feel I implied that. Sorry if my (Question) didn't meet your expectations or standards as you point out you see them as poor. I don't view them as comments it was a question I posed about the number of the masses. Not everybody is a mechanic I'm sure there are older people in civics. Ones who are not tech savvy driving these things that might not understand the features. As it can clearly be seen in my post when kept in its original context. I'm guessing you didn't read my follow-up post. Illustrating many do not have that said understanding via article link. I have no doubt this sticky steering is a real phenomenon and anomaly. After all they are investigating it. Usually only real happenings warrant that type of action. You say you hope this doesn't happen to me or mine yet you throw out a statistic and say you feel it's a (mater) of when not if? That sounds contradictory actually to be honest with you. Especially in light of the investigation not being completed yet. I think you might be hoping just a little bit it does happen to me/mine from the sounds of it😏. Hoping I have some divine revelation about my what you view as comments directly pertaining to you. It's ok I'm not easily offended or triggered you can tell me if you do wish me or my Civic malice 😅. Just to be clear my original post with question applied to and about the number of masses in no way pertained to you sir. It pertains to my own curiosity about the number of people who do not understand these features of the vehicle. Who now may think they have a problem with the vehicle unaware of how to turn off these features or unaware of their existence. I thought this would have been self-evident to those who do understand these features. Those who do know how to shut them off or aware of their existence. That my question was not pertaining to the number of them or questioning there intellect. Maybe reading what I wrote then turning the feature off. To their own amazement realizing the problem is gone. Nor was I implying this isn't a real phenomena AKA sticky steering. Nor implying as direct comments would not a question born of my own curiosity. That they do not understand or know their own automobile. I learned a long time ago. The only dumb question is one not asked. Failure is a much better teacher than success. I don't claim to know it all. Nor am I self-righteous enough to think I'm right all the time. The man that knows all and claims that. He makes no progress he quit learning long ago. Hopefully this very long and detailed explanation helps to clear this matter up for you sir. Have a good day and God bless.🙂

I just read this whole thing. Tell me why you literally typed all those words and literally said absolutely nothing ……. Lmfao like how is that possible .

 

[5358]

I just read this whole thing. Tell me why you literally typed all those words and literally said absolutely nothing ……. Lmfao like how is that possible .

I'm sorry if my typing or the contents of it failed to meet your expectations. I'll try harder to meet them in the future.😁 I suppose I could ask why did you read literally all of it. Only to gain absolutely nothing from it.😅 Anything is possible if you set your mind to it. Hopefully that makes more sense than nonsense.

 

[hasbulla]

Literally

 

[Violence HD]

Just here to throw in my hat - I've been having these issues with my 2022 Si for the last few months and it honestly feels terrible. Car is a pain in the ass to drive at about 45 MPH. Have to push the wheel pretty hard to make micro adjustments, and when I do it usually ends up overcorrecting, so I'm sitting here doing this multiple times trying to get the wheel completely straight, instead of being able to focus 100% on driving.

It's inconsistent to reproduce too - sometimes there's no issue but I'd say about 80% of the time it's noticeably stiff and notchy. I just filed my complaint with the NHTSA a few days ago and I'd advise anybody that hasn't to do so. I expect a lot more complaints will roll in after the investigation made the news.

I haven't taken mine into the dealership yet because I was worried they were gonna give me a hard time about my coilovers (also had to replace both CV boots after I ripped them installing the coilovers) and honestly I didn't want them to put another rack in that may go bunk in another 8,000 miles (assuming it doesn't take MONTHS to deliver). Hopefully these get recalled, because these steering racks are trash.

 

[ST404]

Hopefully these get recalled, because these steering racks are trash.

Sorry you're having the difficulty. But I think to make a blanket statement that the steering racks are trash is really not defensible. I am in several groups for the Civic and although there are a lot of complaints about things like chipped paint, there are very few and sporadic complaints about the steering rack. There has been a bump in the NHTSA complaints; about 50 more than before the news broke, And it is probable there will be a recall but it's a matter of the scope of the recall. It does sound as though if there is a recall that you would be a very likely candidate. Thankfully the vast majority of owners are not experiencing this issue.

However, Mr. Violence, while you may get cooperation out of the dealership for a recall, the other parts of your suspension and handling would probably get a warranty denial because of those coilovers, not to mention what they may be able to determine from you having to replace the CV boots. Hope this all works out for you. Drive safely.

Note: Still haven't seen any posts about this issue with the US produced hatchbacks; just the Canadian produced sedans (including Si) although that continues to be anecdotal only.

 

[cleanneon98]

Sorry you're having the difficulty. But I think to make a blanket statement that the steering racks are trash is really not defensible. I am in several groups for the Civic and although there are a lot of complaints about things like chipped paint, there are very few and sporadic complaints about the steering rack. There has been a bump in the NHTSA complaints; about 50 more than before the news broke, And it is probable there will be a recall but it's a matter of the scope of the recall. It does sound as though if there is a recall that you would be a very likely candidate. Thankfully the vast majority of owners are not experiencing this issue.

However, Mr. Violence, while you may get cooperation out of the dealership for a recall, the other parts of your suspension and handling would probably get a warranty denial because of those coilovers, not to mention what they may be able to determine from you having to replace the CV boots. Hope this all works out for you. Drive safely.

Note: Still haven't seen any posts about this issue with the US produced hatchbacks; just the Canadian produced sedans (including Si) although that continues to be anecdotal only.

If it really does affect only sedans, which are all made in the Canada plant, and if they assemble the racks there themselves, it could be down to a bad shipment of seals used in the racks, or perhaps a miscalibrated tool used during the assembly process. Nobody seems interested in talking through this logically though, “my rack is bad and all the racks are the same and all the racks are therefore defective and must be recalled” is a more popular stance to take, and then those same people tell me not to make assumptions about stuff 😂😭😂😭😂