Steering is stiff and notchy feeling

I've been experiencing this same issue. A very obnoxious sticking in the steering. I've noticed it's worse when the car is warm or on a hotter day. I've also noticed it can be significantly worse when you turn the car off after it's warm and then restart it soon after. Then it's very noticeable. Makes me wonder if it is an electrical sensor(some sort of calibration when the car starts) that overheats, or if it's still actually mechanical.

I've also noticed when applying the brake the problem seems to fade significantly. Then immediately returns. But I have no idea why this would be. Seems like a good clue though.

As I write this I wonder if it may be brake related, auto calibration or something.(Heat related, restart related)

I have Honda Sensing, but I see others like above have EX-L's and still have the problem, so I doubt it's the Honda Sensing. Plus I've tried turning LKAS off, cruise off, lane departure, etc. Didn't seem to fix the problem entirely.

I'll be taking it in for service next week, but I wouldn't be surprised if like everyone else, they find nothing.

One last note, when I took it in for an oil change last time at the dealer, it had the problem, I told them. They found nothing, but when I picked up the car, the problem was entirely gone, like a new car. Maybe something is electronically reset or calibrated during routine service? Or the oil change itself?

"Taken it to the dealer 3 times. They can't recreate it"

Be honest, please. If there was a significant problem the dealer would have identified it.

Dealers are described in the forums as almost universally bad -- not responsive to the customer. I have never experienced this at different dealers over the years.

They get income from working on cars. If there is an obvious problem they will work to correct it. They receive income for warranty work. If they are turning away work due to an excess of warranty work I have never noticed it. I've always gotten prompt service from my dealers.

If you have a subtle problem, monitor it. When/if it becomes significant take it to the dealer. They'll fix it if possible. You'll be happier with your dealer.

schmiddr2 said:

I have this problem...again. At 30K I took the car to dealership and told them of the problem...

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Update: Took my car in today. They did not feel the steering stick. Although they did think the steering felt weird. Not sure what that means exactly. Anyway, they hooked up to the car and I was told they found 2 issues (not sure if they are related to the steering wheel sticking):

U0100-00 F-CAN Malfunction (EPS Control Unit-PCM/TCM)
U0416-68 (VSA System Malfunction)

They said they updated something - probably relating to the above "malfunctions".

Just before I went to drop the car off I "returned to factory" from Stage 2 Ktuner tune. So now I'm wondering if I caused these faults by not allowing enough time after resetting the ECU? And can I reload Ktuner without erasing their updates?

Most importantly, did their updates fix anything with the steering? I won't know for another week probably.

May be worth mentioning, when I brought my vehicle in for this issue and a software update they found something anomalous with the steering column assembly. They said they found the steering column needed to be zeroed in with the power steering position (this was a bit ago so I’m trying to remember) and that they zeroed it. Given that they told me they found a problem and they fixed it, but they didn’t know what caused it led me to believe the issue may come back, which it did a couple weeks later.

My steering was so bad that after 30 minutes of driving you had to fight to keep the car going straight. When ever you try to make a small adjustment, you have to pull hard to overcome the EPS, then it over-corrects, making you look like a drunk driver.

Took it the dealer and they said there have been three other 10th gen Civics recently with the same issue. Needs the steering rack replaced and an alignment. $2700 so far.

How is this not a safety recall?

bhorn said:

My steering was so bad that after 30 minutes of driving you had to fight to keep the car going straight. When ever you try to make a small adjustment, you have to pull hard to overcome the EPS, then it over-corrects, making you look like a drunk driver.

Took it the dealer and they said there have been three other 10th gen Civics recently with the same issue. Needs the steering rack replaced and an alignment. $2700 so far.

How is this not a safety recall?

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I'm in agreement with you, or at least note its an issue and put out a service bulletin out for people that complain. What year do you have? Mine was 2016 and it only happened after driving for 25 mins and the temps were above 90/95. It was a PITA to reproduce and get to the dealer to show so I lived with it till my lease was up. Mine was no where near as bad as yours. That said, my 2019 civic so far has not shown the problem, but it hasn't gotten that warm out.

I have this issue from day one (2018), my unit is sourced from Thailand plant.

Almost all of Civics here have this problem. It's a defective EPS gearbox, replacing it fixes the issue but it will return after a while so I'm holding my warranty claim.

Aside from being stuck (only gets stuck though when doing full turns), it also has a distinct noise that its making..

I also have this issue when you drove the car for a few minutes. It's quiet and not getting stuck immediately after a cold start.

I just made this account today after finding a thread on another site about several people having bad EPS racks on their 2016's. I took mine to the dealer last week over the steering having this exact issue (and my A/C compressor went out). They did a software update last week that made the steering problem more evident. I took it back today to have my A/C fixed and the steering looked at again. I told them to drive it for longer than 20 minutes, they only drove it a mile and couldnt replicate it. A tech told me to bring it back tomorrow so they could do an all sensor relearn, and they also said they would keep it for a few days to try to replicate the problem.

Just got it back from the dealer. They replaced they whole EPS rack, but the problem was in the torque angle sensor. Service manager explained that the sensor can only be replaced with the whole EPS rack.

The difference is night and day. I guess it was a gradual degradation of the steering and I really didn't notice how bad it was. Feels like a new car again. Hopefully they have updated the torque angle sensor in the new part so this doesn't happen again.

Shazam74 said:

What year do you have?

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Mine is a 2016 EX w/HS

I took mine back to the dealer today, they checked the rack and said it was "fine", so they did a sensor relearn then had me drive it with a tech present. I was able to show him how the steering was still sticking (idk how none of these techs could tell when they drove it) and I left it at the dealer so they could look at it again. I got a call an hour later from the dealer, they apologized and said I was right, that the EPS rack did need to be replaced and how they would have it fixed tomorrow.

I am having the same issue with my 2016 Honda. I drove it from Maryland to New Orleans a month ago and thought I was going to go crazy by the time I got home (took me two days). I am going to bring it into the dealership and will keep this blog updated.
Thanks to everyone who is posting! I will definitely make sure they check the EPS rack.

BTW - I have a sporty model with tan fabric seats that I HATE (if you spill water on them, it stays and looks like a stain)! Can you order leather seats?

Thought I'd give an update!

I picked up my car today, the new EPS rack fixed the problem. The part number is 53650-TBC-A02 and it's a re-engineered part, so hopefully this one will last. If possible, have a tech ride with you so you can show them the problem, they were never able to duplicate it themselves. After I showed them how it sticks, they called the Honda Tech Line and they were the ones to tell them to replace the rack. Just be patient with them, I also had to take mine to the dealer 3 times to get this resolved.

Looks like the former part number is
53650-TBC-A01
https://www.hondapartsnow.com/genuine/honda~rack~assy~power~steering~eps~service~53650-tbc-a01.html

Another update....

My car is back to wandering while I'm driving in a straight line, and now my steering is either super loose or super stiff, and one direction can be harder to steer to than the other. I have an appointment to get this steering looked at yet again. I'm SO disappointed in Honda, what happened to them? I will update when I get it looked at.

there is a recall on this, seems like they havn't quite got it figured out yet.
https://hondanews.com/releases/stat...l-2017-2018-honda-civic-and-cr-v?query=recall