Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2016 Honda Civic submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 437 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 437, in the owner's own words
Steering will feel notchy or sticky while driving, especially on the highway while trying to stay in a lane. This will cause excessive force to "unstick" the steering while will then require another steering correction. This has happening with the car since purchase (used) in 2020.
My 2016 Honda Civic seems to have a 'sticky steering' issue. It is most noticeable when trying to stay straight in a lane, like when trying to make minor adjustments left or right, it would feel like 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. It doesn’t happen all the time though. It’s random, but once it starts doing it, it stays that way till I’m done driving.
While driving at highway speeds (55–70 mph), the electronic power steering (EPS) physically binds and sticks when held in a straight line. Making minor lane corrections requires a sudden, deliberate application of extra physical force to 'break' the wheel free from the center position. This causes the vehicle to momentarily overcorrect, posing a severe crash hazard due to unexpected lane drifting. An example is my wife hates riding in my car because she feels as if she is being tossed back and forth in the passenger seat. This is the exact mechanical EPS worm gear/preload spring manufacturing defect covered under NHTSA Recall Campaign 24V-744 for 2022–2025 models, but it is actively manifesting on my 2016 model without any dashboard warning lights or fault codes.
At highway speeds (more than 40-50 mph) the steering wheel feels "stiff" when driving straight and requires effort to move to the left or right. This causes a jerky motion to either left or right which then requires effort to correct, which then may cause a jerky motion in the opposite direction. Reading forums and other complaints on this website, it seems like this is a known Honda issue and must be corrected via a safety recall.
Steering wheel sticks and is jerky. Requires constant adjustments to drive straight, especially at highway speeds. Seems like grease is no longer effective and pinion gear sticks in spots. Very dangerous in my opinion. Unsafe. Honda should offer to service this by simply injecting new OEM grease.
On the freeway steering wheel feels like it’s getting stuck
With increasing frequency, at seemingly any condition or speed, a cluster of dashboard warnings, including power steering EPS, ABS, tire pressure TPMS, and others, flash on and stay on. Shortly after, the warnings appear power steering assist fails completely. This leads to uneasy and potentially dangerous circumstances as the car becomes minimally controllable as the physical effort required to maneuver is largely increased. Making turns especially difficult and hazardous while on public roads. This happens with increasing frequency. Initially restarting the car would temporarily fix the problem but that is decreasingly the case and the lights and steering lock happen again shortly after the reset. I no longer attempt to reset the car as it rarely helps now. I am actively keeping log of the frequency of this problem including date, time, and milage.
When driving on the highway or making a turn the wheel feels like it is sticking and it is making it difficult to drive long distance and it feels unsafe.
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to turn to the left or the right. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 84,000.
Sticky steering causing overcorrecting while highway driving and presenting a dangerous condition in relation to the control of the vehicle. Honda recalled approximately 1.7 million newer vehicles—including 2022–2025 Honda Civic models—due to an improperly produced steering gearbox worm wheel that can swell, increasing internal friction and causing a "sticky" steering wheel. This year model is also a 10th generation Honda why was it not included in that recall?
Unknown, 2016 Honda Civic, Sticky Steering on the highway
EPS sticks once engine is up to temperature and car is moving at or just below highway speeds. Same symptoms as in 11th gen Civic.
Steering becomes “sticky” when operating at high speeds, especially in the summer months. This makes intended small adjustments into large, jerky movements, creating a huge safety risk. This issue has been recalled for newer Honda Civics, but not older models, and has been an issue for years now. The issue has been brought up to Honda Dealerships, but no solution has been provided. No warning messages appear.
While driving my 2016 Honda Civic EX at highway speeds (45–75 mph), the steering wheel becomes sticky/stiff and jerky, resisting minor directional inputs. Instead of responding smoothly, the wheel feels temporarily stuck and then jerks when force is applied to correct direction. This requires constant overcorrection to stay in my lane and is a serious safety hazard, particularly at high speeds. This is a known, widespread issue among 2016 Civic owners. The affected component is the electric power steering rack.
Steering wheel is sticking. It’s like the wheels grip and wanders to the left when go straight. If i slightly turn wheel to the right to correct steering it jumps/jerks to the right.
The steering gets stuck or catches when driving on the highway. This cause constant over correction and potential safety hazards. It sounds like this is a common issue but I don’t see any recalls.
Electronic power steering is sticking and notching while driving on a highway once vehicle is warm. This is a safety hazard and Honda has a recall for later model years for the exact same reason. The internal worm gears heat and swell when warm causing internal grease displacement. We cannot safely drive this vehicle on a highway
The steering at highway speeds sticks. This causes the vehicle to drift left or right until the steering engages to correct. It feels unsafe.
My steering is sticking while driving on the highway while the engine is warm and going over 45 mph. We are seniors and generally only drive locally. This is a grave safety issue and has been happening for a while. I am aware that later year Civics have this similar issue and there’s a recall for the expensive steering box but not for ours.
Steering wheel sticks after a period of driving. After 15-20 minutes of driving (especially during warm months), the steering wheel develops a sticky feeling. Instead of smooth corrective steering to maintain the desired direction of travel, the wheel sticks and jerks free only when I apply enough force, which causes the wheel to turn farther than needed, over-correcting the vehicle direction, which then needs to be corrected in the opposite direction. The jerky movement causes erratic car movement, instead of predictable, deliberate changes in direction, not to mention that it's simply distracting - bringing my focus into the car (to the steering wheel) instead of my surroundings (road and other traffic). It started at maybe 130,000 miles? No engine codes or lights on the dashboard. I haven't had a dealer visit yet because it's 45 minutes away and it's hard to justify time off work for a car that still gets me from one place to another.
My 2016 Honda Civic's rack and pinion needs to be replaced due to sticky, stiff steering, and dead spots when turning. The vehicle has not been any accidents and has been regularly maintained and I only have 67,000 miles on it. I searched the internet and see that it is a common problem with Honda Civics. The repair is $4,000 to fix. Replacing a rack and pinion is not a normal wear and tear type of item, especially without an accident and considering regular maintenance has been performed.
The steering sometimes feels stiff or sticky when driving. It will stick in a certain position driving straight and the steering wheel feels stuck and a slight jerk is needed to unstick it to maintain safe driving, and the steering wheel sticks to take a curve either right or left. I’ve researched that it could be an EPS, the electric power steering issue. It’s been happening since I purchased the car and it happens randomly, I haven’t found any rhyme or reason for what causes it. And because it’s random the Honda mechanic hasn’t been able to experience it to understand or pinpoint the problem.
Steering is sticking on center which is causing the driver to oversteering when trying to turn steering wheel from off center. No warning light. Car is scheduled to go to the dealer for inspection.
I purchased this vehicle in September 2025 with 9K miles. About a month after purchase, the steering wheel started to stick and it was difficult to keep the car center of lane. The car progressively got worse and is not drivable. I took the car to a local mechanic and an alignment was done along with tire balance, and rotation. The issue continue to get worse I took the car to Jeff Wyler Nissan for a diagnosis. They stated the steering rack and Rinion assembly needed to be done. The cost of repair is $4302.58. I submitted a claim with Honda hoping to get assistance with their Goodwill program they have denied the claim. Right before my purchase of this Honda Civic in September 2025 I purchased another Honda Civic and it had the same issue, but I returned it for the current Civic. The car is unsafe to drive.
Honda has issued a recall for the “worm gear spring” issue on there vehicles that causes the steering of the vehicle to be sticky and jerky at high way speeds. This is an issue I have been having for over a year. I seen they put out a recall that addresses my issue but only include newer years for the car. It is completely unacceptable they are only addressing the issue for recent models when the problem exists even with older models. It’s a huge safety concern considering I can’t properly steer my vehicle.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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