What 1,061 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Honda Civic Type R

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

NHTSA ODI 11473463

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.

NHTSA ODI 11471164

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.

NHTSA ODI 11471038

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.

NHTSA ODI 11470408

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.

NHTSA ODI 11470491

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.

NHTSA ODI 11470267

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.

NHTSA ODI 11470331

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.

NHTSA ODI 11469920

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.

NHTSA ODI 11467884

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.

NHTSA ODI 11467386

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.

NHTSA ODI 11466794

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.

NHTSA ODI 11466879

My 2016 Honda Civic is having issues with the steering. When driving the car at 50 mph or above, the steering wants to pull to the left and it feels sticky and hard to turn back to keep in the lane and you have to turn hard and feel you will over correct and run off road. The car has about 50,000 miles on it. This is a safety issue because it make me over correct when driving. No warning lights are on.

NHTSA ODI 11466644

Steering wheel sticks when driving at highway speeds and requires some force to correct in lane. This causes over-correction and vehicle moves in a jerky motion. No lights are on and this is extremely dangerous

NHTSA ODI 11465935

The steering wheel sticks in the center making it hard to make steering adjustments without overcorrecting and moving out of driving lanes. I am constantly veering from left to right when trying to steer car in a straight line. It is worse at higher speeds and very tiring to drive the car. When my wife informed the dealer, they said someone will get back to her. It has been 3 weeks. The car is so unsafe to drive especially highway speeds that we take our other car when possible. Took car to repair shop and they agreed with our concern A search on the internet shows a major concern with these cars about this steering issue

NHTSA ODI 11465007

After approximately 20k miles, the steering began to "stick". When the issue occurs, it takes more force than usual to turn the wheel slightly, causing me to have to over-correct to center the car. The issue usual occurs during highway driving and after the outside temperature rises. For example, the problem appears to go away during the winter, but re-appear during spring and summer. I have brought the vehicle in for inspection to the original dealer who failed to reproduce the issue.

NHTSA ODI 11464893

I drive a 2016 Honda Civic ex and the steering is sticky and jerky when driving. This doesn't seem very safe when driving especially at highway speeds when the steering sticks then jerks either to the left or right when trying to get the steering to unstick. There have been tons of reported problems of the same issue by other Honda Civic owners of the same generation car who most have said the electric power steering rack is the issue. I have brought the car to the dealer to figure out the problem and while they acknowledged that something wasn't right, told me that they don't know what's causing it and therefore won't bother replacing any parts to try and fix it. While the car was in getting looked at I was then told that there were no lights or codes that were shown even though something is clearly wrong. This steering issue has been going on for over a year and it has yet to be figured out. https://youtu.be/w5x_CaVHXmM- This is exactly what is happening.

NHTSA ODI 11464644

The steering wheel sticks intermittently. About 50% of the time, when making minor inputs to maintain lane, the steering wheel will "resist" and require additional pressure. When additional pressure is applied the steering wheel suddenly "breaks free" and causes over-steering. This over-steering causes lots of swerving and occasionally causes me to leave my lane. I have nearly been in several head-on accidents. The issue does not occur every time I drive the vehicle but when it starts, it continues until I stop and turn the vehicle off. The issue happens at all speeds. There are no warning lights or indicators on the dash. The issue started a couple days after taking the vehicle home after purchasing. There are 25000 miles on the vehicle and the vehicle will be in the shop next week.

NHTSA ODI 11464512

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the steering wheel failed to respond immediately however, abruptly the steering wheel responded causing the vehicle to veer into the other lane. The contact stated that the failure was ongoing. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that after slowing down, the vehicle operated as designed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed; however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

NHTSA ODI 11464426

My 2016 Honda Civic has the following problem. The steering "sticks" and is very sensitive to turning when it "catches". It is getting worse and is way worse at interstate speeds. It causes the vehicle to swerve sometimes when correcting and could make you overcorrect and lose traction and run off the road or into another lane of traffic very easily. It will be at a Honda Dealership within the week to be officially diagnosed but it is definitely a safety issue and it barely has 60,000 miles on it. NO warning lights are displayed.

NHTSA ODI 11462607

Steering sticks. Takes additional force to push against the stiffness for just a minor adjustment. Wheels jerk towards that direction and you then have to steer in opposite direction to correct. But you are also pushing against that stiffness in the other direction, too. People must think I'm a drunk driver as the car jumps back and forth in the lane. Cannot smoothly adjust the wheel to keep the car in a straight line. It happens intermittently. Car starting doing this after 6 years and 48k miles. A search of Honda Civic car forums and on here shows others describing the same issue. For those who were under warranty, Honda replaced the power steering rack.

NHTSA ODI 11459589

The steering "sticks" especially at high speeds which causes the car to swerve. It is a safety hazard as the steering is not smooth and it bumps the car towards other lanes. A mechanic said it could not be readily determined what the problem is and the dealer stated this is not covered by any warranty. No warning lights or check engine lights are on.

NHTSA ODI 11459347

Steering wheel sticks causing driver to have to exert extra force to "snap" back to normal steering. Problem happens in both directions and is more noticeable on warmer days after driving for 30 or more minutes. There are forums on the internet with multiple persons reporting the same problem. I see there are 154 steering complaints on this site. Most of them are for the same issue. This problem can surprise a driver at times. It is very annoying and distracting. I am hoping it does not get worse than it already is. Please do something about this safety issue.

NHTSA ODI 11459064

The Electronic Power Steering is failing and causing the vehicle to swerve, get stuck in one direction, and sway into other lanes almost striking other vehicles. The vehicle is a huge safety concern on the road. I Myself have had to roughly pull my steering before crashing into another vehicle. At times, the vehicle looses traction while actively driving because of the steering becoming stiff and stuck. The vehicle has been brought into Honda, they confirmed the power steering rack is failing and will continue to diminish over time thus causing the vehicle to crash. Multiple other Hondas have been brought in for the same issue according to Honda and stated the steering rack part has no estimated time when the part would be in the shop. I was told it could take anywhere from a week to months before Honda receives the necessary part. There are no warning lights appearing but Honda did confirm the steering rack is failing more and more and there’s nothing they can do for it yet. I’m not sure how people are supposed to drive a car that is bound to crash into someone? The part itself is no where to be found easily, so do Honda owners pray they do not crash?

NHTSA ODI 11459136

The 10th gen Honda civics are having steering problems related to eps. The steering will become stuck while driving, especially at speeds higher than 45 mph. The steering becomes stiff and you must pull the wheel hard to gain control back and then the wheel goes right back to being stiff. It is difficult to keep the vehicle straight and to turn the vehicle. There are no warning lights coming on. Multiple forums of owners having similar issues and Honda dealerships not knowing what the problem is or how to fix it. The car veers off into other lanes with traffic. This first began to happen about 3 months ago. Never had any issues with steering prior to this case.

NHTSA ODI 11457402