What 601 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Honda Civic Sedan

The electric power steering (EPS) system failed/malfunctioned this past week. When going over 35 mph my steering wheel would become "knotchy/jerky" and lock up and be difficult to turn. As a result, I took it to Honda to which they stated my whole rack and pinion needed total replacement. No warning signs, messages, icons, or lights came on in my car.

NHTSA ODI 11678465

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving at high speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was drivable. The contact stated that the failure persisted while his wife was driving the vehicle at an undisclosed speed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V663000 (Steering), however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

NHTSA ODI 11677761

We have noticed a clicking noise and her steering has begun to stick. Took to Honda and they told us they have been seeing this issue and even sent video telling us they see this is an ongoing problem. Filed claim with Honda. They refused to fix the faulty part because there is not recall with my VIN even though many have been recalled. Again, multiple managers at service told us they are just waiting for Honda to recall this. Car has less than 55,000 miles. We have a video they sent us but ai have been unable to attach. It is a video Honda Service sent us stating this was an ongoing issue with Honda advice at this year and a few others. That they were seeing these parts fail.

NHTSA ODI 11676074

At speed the steering sticks when turning.

NHTSA ODI 11675834

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while attempting to make a left turn, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. No warning light was illuminated. A dealer and an independent mechanic were contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and then taken to an independent mechanic, where both diagnosed that the steering assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure Technical Service Bulletin: 18-102 (Steering Gearbox); however, the VIN was not included in the bulletin. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls associated with the VIN. The contact was referred by the manufacturer to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11675678

Rack and Pinion steering failure. Sticking, hard to make wheel adjustments. loss of steering control. issue confirmed but Honda Dealership. Honda Dealership contacted Honda North America and was rejected as warranty issue. repair will exceed $7500. This issue corresponded with the fuel Pump recall and failure of the AC system which were covered under warranty recall. Due the High volume of failures of R & P for these Honda civics locating replacement parts is difficult if not impossible.

NHTSA ODI 11675263

My complaint is similar to most of the other ones shown here. Notchy steering. I took it to the dealer. They told me that the steering rack was bad and needed to be replaced. How much? $6500! The car has under 30,000 miles on it. Got to give the service rep credit. He asked me if I wanted them to contact American Honda. I said heck yes. While they were making their decision, which took about 2 weeks, I came here and looked at all of the other similar complaints. The dealer told me that Honda would cover 100% of the replacement cost. They ordered the parts and the replacement was completed last week. Although this was resolved to my satisfaction, it's another incident for the record, and it demonstrates that the problem showed up as early as under 30,000 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11674936

The steering wheel becomes sticky and stiff. There is also a clicking noise when I try to center it. It is difficult to keep the car within my lane of traffic. There is presently 38,565 miles on this vehicle. I keep up with required maintenance. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the dealership. There is a Safety Recall for 2017-18 civic: steering box . My VIN number is not included on this recall. I understand repair to the steering is close to 4,000.00. No warning lights are on the dashboard.....yet. My understanding is this problem only becomes worse in time. This constant swerving and erratic steering is not only tiresome I believe it can become dangerous.

NHTSA ODI 11675081

Steering wheel gets really loose and very stiff at random while driving. I get power steering failure notifications on dash. I spoke with Honda dealership and was told my vehicle doesn’t belong to the recall. I have all the symptoms of the power steering recall issue.

NHTSA ODI 11673496

We purchased the vehicle in Jan 2025. As the weather or the car warmed the steering gets stiff and hard to maneuver, making it difficult to stay in the center of the lane. There are times when it gets so bad I think a cop could pull me over for swerving. As I researched the symptoms I found that recall SB18-102 matched the symptoms and was for the same year, make, and model; however, my car’s VIN wasn’t included. I took the vehicle to a local Honda dealership on 6/16/25 who confirmed it was a power steering box failure and gave an estimate of $3,990.46 to fix it. That same day I called Honda customer care and submitted a case to try to get the costs covered due to their being a recall out on the same year, make, and model and issue as mine. They advised me to go back to the dealership and request my car be submitted for Honda’s Goodfaith assistance. I requested this on 7/9/25 and was told on 7/10/25 it was denied with no reasoning. The car has no warning signals however the issue persists. My fear is that it will lock up or not straighten up and I or my son (whom the car was purchased for) will run off the road or cause an accident. This is obviously a known issue but Honda is not taking ownership and declined to help with the cost, which is almost a third of the cost of the vehicle we paid.

NHTSA ODI 11672561

Steering wheel sticks, creating an issue to keep vehicle driving in a straight line. Alignment is not out, having to bump the steering wheel back and forth to stay in lane. Feeling of "dropout" in the steering driving at higher rates of speed. No warning lights or other symptoms prior to the failure. Issue has continued since first noticed. Service center can recreate the issue easily and says that the steering rack needs replacing. Not wanting it to further to where the steering wheel is unable to turn.

NHTSA ODI 11669255

The steering wheel sticks when slight turning on both sides.

NHTSA ODI 11668833

Steering sticks and makes it difficult to correct or straighten the car. Feels jerky and hard to handle

NHTSA ODI 11669032

Steering wheel sticks when making slight left/right adjustments at speeds of 55+ causing you to overcorrect. Most noticeable while driving on the freeway trying to maintain a straight line.

NHTSA ODI 11668554

Sticky steering on highways. Takes effort to make micro adjustments on the wheel. Steering wheel makes a sound when trying to turn or change lanes, especially on the highway.

NHTSA ODI 11667734

The steering wheel sticks when moving it. Can't make any subtle moves on the steering wheel because of this and have to jerk the wheel.

NHTSA ODI 11667569

Steering is sticking causing car not to stay in lane properly...

NHTSA ODI 11667083

We started having trouble keeping it on the road. Then on the highway, at about 73, I thought the car was going to go off the road. The steering felt sticky, and It's awful trying to hold it straight. You can also feel it when car is parked. Once parked and in park, keep it running and just turn the steering wheel. The steering wheel jerks either direction we turn it. We took the car over to our garage, so they can look at it. We were told it had to with the steering rack. Something regarding a magnet inside the gear box. Our mechanic stated they could not even do the work. With a look online we found a safety recall that my car matches all information, except, the VIN number. So our local dealership can fix it, but the cost is crazy at about $4200. My Civic has 49,000 miles, and to pay that amount is foolish. My VIN number had to have been overlooked. I don't know anyway to fight this, except this website. This car has become very dangerous.

NHTSA ODI 11666625

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving 35–40 MPH, the steering wheel was moving to the left and right and was sticking while being corrected. The steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact stated that the failure occurred while driving at higher speeds. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V663000. (Steering). The vehicle was taken to an unknown local dealer, where there was a reading of erratic steering operation. The contact stated that the steering wheel was stiff. The cause of the failure was an inoperable EPS electronic power steering system. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

NHTSA ODI 11666223

The steering system randomly but frequently has an issue where it “sticks” when going straight down the road, requiring excessive pressure to make minor adjustments to remain in the lane. This causes the car to jerk and the steering to “oversteer” while to trying to maintain the lane. It is available for inspection upon request. My safety and others are put at risk because the issue makes it difficult to remain in the lane while going down the road. When the wheel “sticks” it causes the car to jump/jerk abruptly and sometimes causes the car to leave the lane because of the excessive effort required to “get through” the sticking. This is EXTREMELY dangerous at highway speeds. I had another recall done on the car (fuel pump) and mentioned it to the service manager who noted on the invoice that they could feel the “sticking” feeling and recommended steering rack replacement to correct the issue. The car has not been inspected by Honda, the police or anybody else. There are no warning lamps or active fault codes. The issue was present when I purchased the car at around 80,000 miles and is still present at 123,000 miles. I also had a 2016 Honda Civic that had the same exact issue, starting at around 25,000 miles and lasting until I traded it in at around 80,000 miles. The dealer was never able to replicate the issue when I took the car in to have the issue corrected under warranty so they could never repair the issue. I’ve done intensive research on others having the same issue and there are a LOT of others having this same exact issue on the 10th generation (2015-2023) Honda Civic.

NHTSA ODI 11665112

This has been an in going issue. While driving the steering sticks as you try to make small movements to get the car straight. This is especially noticeable at highway speeds and can cause you to over correct on the sticking releases. I have seen multiple reports of this issue in several different places with most stating that Honda has been unwilling to help. There was a recall on the newer models just recently but nothing for the 2018 Honda Civic. This is a very dangerous issue making driving the car safety risk. I had my independent shop state this seems to be a steering box issue that would cost over $4000 to fix with original Honda parts.

NHTSA ODI 11665150

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly and was sticking, requiring the steering wheel to be manually returned to center after making a turn. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the steering rack. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11664679

Driving at moderate speeds causes steering wheel to become sticky, notchy and stiff. Gets stuck to the left or right when turning. Causes car to go out of lanes and overall hard to adjust the wheel

NHTSA ODI 11664721

Steering is notchy, when making a turn at highway speeds, the steering will lock in the position of the turn. Takes force to get it to free up and allow you to straighten out the wheels. It also causes the car to wander and is notchy in the 12 O'clock position. Feels like it is sticking, then releases. The issue becomes worse the longer the drive time is.

NHTSA ODI 11663730

The steering constantly sticks in warmer weather. Have reported to the dealer several times and they can not replicate or have any idea what I'm referring to (even though its very well reported to be an issue/recall). It is scary to drive at times because you are forced to jerk the wheel just to get it to respond making you almost swerve.

NHTSA ODI 11662632