What 409 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Honda Civic Hatchback Hybrid

The vehicle has a steering issue where the steering wheel sticks and requires extra force to correct or adjust while driving. The issue occurs during normal driving at low speeds and highway speeds, and when turning left or right. The condition is present whether Lane Keeping Assist is turned on or off. There is also noise when turning the steering wheel side to side. The symptoms were first noticed around July 7, 2025. The vehicle was later brought to an authorized Honda dealership for steering rack inspection on or around November 28, 2025. The issue continued and the vehicle was inspected again by the authorized Honda dealership on May 18, 2026. The failed component appears to be the EPS steering rack / steering gearbox. The component should be available for inspection upon request. The issue creates a safety concern because the steering can stick while driving and requires additional effort to make steering corrections. This could affect the driver’s ability to maintain lane position or respond quickly during normal driving, highway driving, turning, or evasive maneuvers. The issue was confirmed by an authorized Honda dealership during the May 18, 2026 inspection. The dealership test drove the vehicle, verified the steering concern, and documented that the steering rack is binding and sticking and requires replacement. The vehicle had approximately 50,137 miles at the time of that inspection. The vehicle was also reviewed through the manufacturer’s goodwill process, and the manufacturer offered only partial goodwill assistance toward the steering rack replacement. There were no warning lamps or dashboard messages related to the steering issue. The cause of failure is unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11744759

Honda ¨sticky steering ¨ EPS power steering is catching or stuck momentarily while driving straight on highway. This is a 2019 HONDA Civic LX Sedan that is experiencing the same symptoms as a similar recall that was issued for newer models in 2022 and 2023. This is a known manufacturing defect with the gears in the Electronic Power Steering gearbox that are sticking due to swelling and insufficient lubrication in gearbox. The dealership refuses to take any ownership of the issue and is recommending an almost 6000 dollar full replacement of the power steering rack.

NHTSA ODI 11744371

I believe it is the Electric Steering Gearbox is the problem I had the vehicle inspected for this but I was told it needed alignment which was also done last month the problem got worse this is a safety problem for especially the driver having to grip the steering wheel to stay in a lane I have yet to have the gearbox inspected

NHTSA ODI 11738970

The contact owns a 2019 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving around a curve and driving at high speeds, the steering wheel was pulling in the other direction that the contact was attempting to drive. The vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was hesitating while driving. The lane assist, lane keep assist, traction control, TPMS, and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but no assistance was provided. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 43,000.

NHTSA ODI 11705261

The vehicle steering wheel feels stuck in position while driving, it releases the initial sticking feeling when I force the turn and it continues to feel stuck in place every time the steering doesn’t turn to either side and I try to turn again it requires extra force to release the stuck in place feeling. I took to dealership and asked if there was a recall and they told me only on newer models but not on my car model. The initial steering stuck in place causes delay when I need to steer quickly in traffic, I believe t’s a safety concern. My car only has 39137 miles on the odometer.

NHTSA ODI 11671967

I was driving straight going 35mph on a 2 lane rd when my steering wheel starting making a weird noise & almost was shaking. The steering wheel then locked up to the left & wouldn’t move. This caused my driver side tire to go into the curb, & at this point my steering wheel was spinning in circles & all I could do was brake. After bumping off the curb I then was thrusted back over to the right lane (due to having no steering control) where I came to a stop grazing another vehicle. My insurance performed diagnostics on the vehicle & determined the steering rack housing assembly part failed, causing the accident. There was no damage at all to the vehicle that would indicate this part was damaged as result of the incident, therefore they are calling it “pre existing damage” even though Honda did a multipoint inspection on my car 08/03/2024 (not even a whole 3 months prior) that did not mention a single steering problem. It was ultimately determined this failure is what caused the incident. Upon further research I have found millions of Civics are recalled for this issue but not my year of the vehicle. However, I have found countless stories exactly like mine with steering failure all regarding the 2019 Honda Civic. I am now without a vehicle, insurance refused to pay for the failed part, and I have reached out to Honda over 10 times trying to get in contact with someone about this to no avail. I truly was terrified for my life and feel this needs to be addressed because as previously mentioned, there are countless other 2019 Honda Civic owners with the same horrifying stories. This puts not only owners at risk but all other drivers.

NHTSA ODI 11627171

The steering sticks when making minor adjustments. Could potentially be dangerous if needing to make a quick turn.

NHTSA ODI 11619047

This car followed me all the way home. I knew the driver was following me because I took a fake route home. I eventually stopped and he stopped with me. This driver is not mentally stable enough to own a license.

NHTSA ODI 11534343

I leased the Honda Civic from a dealer in Maryland and the first advertisement for this car was this car has lane departure warning and adaptive cruise etc. I report some incidents of inefficacy these systems in my car while it showed alarm and Honda maintenance team assured me that it works perfectly. i was driving on Fwy I-40 West in New Mexico. After wind blow my whole front shield became foggy and the system did not show any alarm that it is not working. I ended up deviated from the road and my car was totaled. I called Honda customer service they assigned an investigation ticket but after several follow up nothing happened. CA Attorney General office referred me to you.

NHTSA ODI 11518433

I was pulling into a gas station when errors started scrolling on the dash, pretty much all of the driver assist options were failing then the power steering error came up and it was almost impossible for me to turn the wheel, luckily I was going slow. Had it towed to a service station and they could not even find out what the codes that were reported meant. So I had it towed to the Honda dealership, they expected rodent damage but found none and neither did the service station. Honda then said it was the battery, but the car started great without even a second of hesitation so I was not sure how it could be the battery. They replaced the battery and said it was fixed $385.00 later. Less than 24hrs later, only about 2 hours of drive time, same issue except this time I was driving on a main road at 50MPH.. I barely managed to slow down and pull over before the steering went out again. I am not confident that the dealership is even going to be able to fix the issue since they thought changing the battery was going to fix it! They are just guessing and to lose the ability to steer my car while driving is a severe safety hazard. I guess I will have to replace the car, only 3 yrs old but OOW, as I will not feel confident it will be safe to drive in the future even if the dealership says they fixed it again. It obviously was not fixed this time!

NHTSA ODI 11495681

I turned on my vehicle and randomly had multiple warning lights come on including power steering, ACC, VSA, Hill start assist, LKAS, ABS. The power steering completely went out completely randomly but the power steering fluid is full. Two weeks ago I had my fuel pump recalled and now I have these issues. Valley Hi Honda in Victorville CA has not returned my calls and has been absolutely no help. If I had been driving there would be a good chance I would have crashed as I would have been unable to navigate a turn.

NHTSA ODI 11478605

My camera that is supposed to assist in turning and seeing my blind spot is always malfunctioning in my new 2019 civic. Honda says they can’t do anything about that. I’ve already had to put new tires on my car - which I suspect didn’t have new tires on it when I purchased my new car. Replace the battery, and my electronic features (radio screen and windows) like to stop working and go black - including my side camera that’s meant to assist in lane changes. Additionally, my car melted in the sun. This has been a known issue with Honda since 2011 and they haven’t addressed that issue or gave any warnings. My tires, and camera for blind spots is a safety issue and the fact that my car is unreliable and melting(!) is troublesome and a safety problem.

NHTSA ODI 11475829

JUST PURCHASED THE VEHICLE AT 359XX MILES 3 DAYS AGO. AT 36,2XX MILES, WHILE DRIVING, ALL THE DASH LIGHTS CAME ON SAYING THERE WAS A FAILURE IN THE BRAKING SYSTEM, EMERGENCY BRAKE, TPMS, LANE DEPARTURE, BRAKE HOLD, HILL ASSIST, IMPACT SENSOR, EMISSIONS SYSTEM, POWER STEERING, AND THE INFORMATION SYSTEM ALL SHOWED AS MALFUNCTIONING. AFTER STOPPING THE VEHICLE AND RESTARTING IT, THE NOTIFICATIONS STILL STAY ON.

NHTSA ODI 11415680

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE DRIVER WAS DRIVING BETWEEN 45-50 MPH, THE VEHICLE LANE KEEPING ASSISTANT DOES AN AUTOMATIC VEER TO THE RIGHT. AS A RESULT, HER DAUGHTER CRASHED INTO A GUARDRAIL BUT DID NOT SUSTAIN INJURIES. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE OCCURRED ONCE WHERE HER DAUGHTER ENTERED A DITCH BUT DID NOT SUSTAIN INJURIES. THE TIRE FAILURE, ADAPTIVE, BRAKE AND OTHERS WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INSURANCE LOT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 5,000.

NHTSA ODI 11339346