general problems of the 2016 Honda Civic - part 1

My 2016 Honda Civic w/ 66000 miles has been experiencing issues with the steering wheel wherein after driving for approximately 10-15 minutes the steering wheel will start "sticking" when attempting to make micro-adjustments. This primarily occurs at highway speeds, however after starting it does still occur at lower city speeds. This problem causes a significant safety issue, particularly when traveling at highway speeds as a result of increased risk of over correction after the steering wheel becomes unstuck. As an example, when making micro-adjustments to maintain a straight direction, I attempted to move the wheel to the left and the steering wheel became stuck for a moment, requiring higher than normal force to turn. When the steering wheel released, the higher force caused the wheel to turn more than desired, resulting in a minor over correction. This then required me to turn the wheel back to the right to maintain position within the lane, however it again became stuck, requiring higher than normal force to turn and resulted in a near continuous cycle. After bringing the vehicle to a Honda repair center on 04/04/2026, they diagnosed the issues as a failure with the rack and pinion assembly within the eps system. The quoted cost of replacement was $4571. 09. Unfortunately, while there is an active recall for this issue for 11th gen 2022-24 Civics, despite numerous complaints of the same issue there is no such recall for 10th gen 2016-2020 Civics. This problem needs to be rectified, and a mass recall on all Civics since 2016 need to be issued.

Increased resistance making minor adjustments to the steering wheel in either direction when driving the highway at high speeds. I've seen every symptom of the Honda 'sticky steering' problem that only has a recall for 2022-2025 right now, but I know it's not a coincidence.

Steering intermittently sticks making driving awkward and difficult to hold a straight line.

Sticky steering causing over correction when attempting to drive straight. Driving and drifting to either left or right, then attempting to find center, steering wheel will feel sticky and over correct past center. This then makes the car drift to the other direction, then requiring another correcting back, which also over corrects/skips center. The problem is most noticeable during highway driving. This is a safety issue that I have seen many other posts about. The issue may cause the car to severely over correct and veere off the road and/or cause an accident.

Steering can be "sticky" in warm weather, especially above 70 degrees. The issue is intermittent and almost disappears during colder weather, below 60 degrees. I have been noticing this issue for the last couple of years. The issue is particularly noticeable at highway speeds 45mph+. At these speeds the steering wheel becomes somewhat "stuck" and won't turn until you apply enough force to overcome this "stickiness", after which point it starts turning normally, just as expected. The amount of force you need to overcome the "stickiness" is not too much, but it's more than expected, and enough to reduce the control you have over the vehicle's steering. I believe that this "stickiness" is a safety hazard because at highway speeds it makes it harder for you to make small steering adjustments to stay in your lane. This is because you need to apply more steering force to overcome the "stickiness" of the steering wheel, which can result in your car steering more than the desired amount, which can be dangerous. I usually find myself having to immediately make a secondary small steering correction towards the opposite direction, just to bring the vehicle back to the direction I was expecting it to be heading in the first place. But even this secondary adjustment will also suffer from the same "stickiness", so the problem repeats.

When driving on highways steering notches or sticks causing constant attention to be given to it. It does not seem to be a bother when driving short distances for errands in town. It is distracting and dangerous. I will be taking it into a dealer in 2 days so they can reproduce it and hopefully it will be an easy fix, but I doubt it after reading about this problem. There should be a recall. I have read about a few injury accidents and lawsuits.

Steering became "sticky" at highway driving speeds. This caused the driver to be unable to make small adjustments to steering at highway driving speeds. Clicking sound could be heard when making steering adjustments while driving. This was caused by a manufacturing defect in the steering rack of the vehicle. The car is a 2016, but has only 32,727 mile on it and was purchased new. Because of the sudden stick and release of the steering, it creates a crash hazard and put my family and grandchildren in danger. This is a known problem on this model (we now know) and has been recalled on newer model Honda vehicles. We paid Honda of ft. Worth $5,000. 00 to replace the steering rack. We have retained the defective rack, which is available for inspection as needed. We contacted Honda of America for help with this since it is a known safety issue, but they were unwilling to help at all. No warning lights messages etc were given on the vehicle dash panel.

While driving straight, steering wheel sticks in the straight position. Moving the steering wheel slightly to left or right leads to over correction due to resistance.

Unknown - the steering wheel sticks in the center position when driving on the freeway or highway. When I go to adjust the wheel to correct my direction the wheel sticks and I have to turn harder and it results in an overcorrection and jerks the car. This seems to be a common problem and from what I have read online and it is either the eps system or the clock spring in the steering wheel. People have said it can be very costly to repair. It has been happening continuously for a couple of years now but sometimes there are gaps when it is bad and when it doesn't happen a lot. It is definitely a safety concern.

2016 Honda Civic lx. Electronic power steering has sticky feeling when traveling at highway speeds, does not return to center. This leads to a danger situation as car becomes difficult to control when traveling at highway speeds. Honda is away of this issue on newer generation of Honda's. Upon inspection, the mechanism that is having an issue is almost identical in Honda's 10th generation of vehicle.

My front driver side wheel completely detached from the vehicle’s body while I was driving home causing the left side of my car to collide with the street pavement and skid to a stop. The driver door airbags deployed, fluid leaked from under the vehicle and the bottom driver side of the car was damaged including the back left wheel/tire. The car had to be towed and an insurance claim was filed for review.

There is a jerky/sticky issue with the steering while driving. The steering wheel seems to get stuck and I end up almost over correcting to get it to unstick. I’ve read multiple complaints of this issue and my car’s year is 2016 purchased in October 2025.

Steering wheel seems to get stuck with minor corrections, and then “gives way” causing a serious over correction. This is mostly noticeable at high way speeds (45+) but can be felt even when the vehicle is stopped. Vehicle is not lane assist equipped. Appears to be a sticky rack or pinion gear.

The entire steering rack has an issue especially when driving on the highway. To make slight adjustments and wide turns it feels like you have to turn out of a notch and can’t make any smooth minor adjustments. I took it to the dealership near me and they test drove it and confirmed there was a “notch” in the steering rack and the entire steering rack had to be replaced.

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, she became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring the steering wheel to be manually returned to center after completing a turn. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 84,000.

The steering wheel sticks when you try to turn it. The best example of what happens is when you're driving on a fairly straight road, you typically make small steering adustments to keep your car in it's lane. What happens is, when you try to turn the steering wheel it "sticks" and doesn't move and so you turn harder than what would be normal to turn it. So you have to turn the wheel harder to make the steering wheel move. When it finally does break free and turn, the result is that instead of turning the car a small amount left or right as you would like, it turns it more than you expect it to and then the car moves more than you expected it to which causes a dangerous situation. I've noticed this more on hotter days when going over 50 mph but it has occurred at lower speeds. Honda did a recall for this issue for newer Civics, but not the 2016 that I have.

After driving for over 30 minutes, the steering becomes sticky. When I try to make minor corrections to stay in the lane, the steering gets stuck, requiring a little extra force, resulting in a slight over correction. At high speeds this slight over correction is very dangerous. This happens on all extended drives. It happens at all speeds.

The steering is sticky and it is hard to keep the car in the lane requiring you to over correct. I have been told it is an issue with the steering rack and needs to be replaced. This repair is very expensive. This has been an issue for several years but I did not associate it with a problem until I started doing some research. No warning lights. My car has low mileage and has been maintained. This is a known issue but a recall was only done on newer vehicles.

While driving on the freeway at approximately 70 mph, maintaing speed and direction, not changing lanes I noticed that the steering becomes "sticky". This means that as I make very slight 1 to 2 degree maneuvers to maintain a straight path the steering is almost stuck and in order to make those slight maneuvers I have to use more force than should be necessary to keep the car on a straight course. The car has been inspected by twice by my local Honda dealership and they have been unable to find anything wrong by running diagnostics and test drive. There are no warning lamps on. This symptom has been intermittent for at least a year or more and seems to happen when driving at constant speeds.

Failed power steering gearbox. Rack and pinion. Steering wheel gets stuck at center position when driving 4k+ repair quote.

While driving my 2016 Honda Civic at highway speeds (typically 55–75 mph), especially in warm or hot weather, I experience a significant issue with the steering system. The steering wheel becomes “sticky” or stiff and resists minor directional inputs. Instead of responding smoothly, the wheel feels like it is temporarily stuck in place and then jerks when force is applied to adjust the direction. This issue makes it difficult to make small corrections while driving straight and causes the car to feel unstable or difficult to control, which results in abrupt movements that compromise safety, particularly at high speeds. The problem is more noticeable after the vehicle has been driven for a while or during warm weather, suggesting a potential link to heat or prolonged use. There are currently no warning lights or diagnostic alerts on the dashboard, but the steering issue is consistent and reproducible. The issue has been reproduced by an independent service center, to which they said was an issue with a failing power steering where its losing pressure.

The steering wheels becomes stiff/sticky & notchy after driving for sometime. It is most prevalent at interstate speeds & ramps. It causes me to have to constantly overcorrect to stay in my line & often doesn't return to center. This is a serious safety concern which has been addressed in class action lawsuit for 22-23 models of the Civic, but it has yet to be recalled or fixed for later models with the same issue.

Sometimes when driving the steering wheel will tend to “jerk”, or appear “stuck” when trying to turn. This has started to happen recently and I have noticed it when not using lane “assistance” this issue has not only been seen from me, but rather by many others as seen in forms such as the following: [xxx] this issue has yet to cause a wreck for me, but this does pose a safety risk as it could prevent me from moving out of the way of cars, or worse prevent me from turning causing me to hit someone or something around my environment. I hope that this is something that can be fixed or recalled for as I am not the only one experiencing this and does genuinely pose a risk. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Civic ex 4d bought new in 2016, steering wheel is “sticking” seems to be a common issue on 10th gen Civic’s but is only recalled on 11th generation models. When driving straight at highway speed, steering wheel does not want to stay in the middle. Car has been aligned (twice) and has 4 new tires and it seems the issue is even more felt. The car does not pull either side, it is just impossible to keep the steering wheel centered. It causes it to be extremely jerky and hard to drive long distances. Can be felt at lower speeds when turning the wheel left to right in quick succession, feels as though there is a pop in the middle/something gets caught causing the wheel to pop back.

The steering has been sticking for quite some time in the "straight" or center position. One must provide excessive force to the steering wheel to get the car to alter direction left or right. The steering wheel will resists normal minor corrections to follow the road. The steering wheel requires excessive force to "break loose" of the center position which results in overcorrection to the left or right. Picture a car veering left and right over and over while traveling straight as no road is completely straight and requires minor steering corrections to maintain a straight path. Almost ran off the road due to the force required to correct the car's path. This is an extremely majot safety issue that Honda must address. The car has far too few miles to have this major problem. I have never had a car in the past that was so dangerous to myself and the public at large. Steering is the most basic of controls. Even a car with a worn out reciprocating ball or a worm gear rack will still steer off-center as required. This is an accident and disaster just waiting to happen. I demand Honda and NHTSA approve and require the no cost to me repair of the steering system immediately or public outcry will be unrelenting.

After about 30mins of driving car would start pulling to left even if the steering wheel was straight. When trying to correct it the steering wheel would feel stuck like to magnet and when it would release car would over correct to the right. Found out its a common issue among Hondas 2015 and above no matter the model, took my car in to the dealer to replace the gearbox and the rack and pinion which fixed the problem. There are no warning lights or codes for this.

While driving my 2016 Honda Civic on the freeway, I consistently experience a sticky or notchy steering wheel—especially when making small adjustments near the center position. The steering resists input slightly, then suddenly gives way, making it difficult to make smooth lane corrections. This issue is more noticeable at higher speeds and creates a safety concern, as it affects my ability to maintain proper lane control and react quickly when needed. This issue appears to be a known problem with the eps (electric power steering) system on 2016 Honda Civics, and I’ve seen reports of a Honda-issued TSB (17-014) that addresses similar symptoms via a software update. However, this issue should warrant broader attention, as it affects vehicle handling and road safety. I’m submitting this complaint to request further investigation and to urge Honda to issue a recall or mandatory repair for affected vehicles.

The steering wheel gets stuck in the center position. Cannot make minor steering changes with over correcting. You have to steer left/right back and forth so that the steering wheel does not get stuck. High temperatures make the condition far worse. The steering gets stuck in center position and requires additional force to break free which causes the car to veer too far left or too far right back and forth. Very dangerous.

I purchased my 2016 Honda Civic in 2018. Not too long afterward, I noticed the steering would occasionally stick in place when trying to turn it causing overcorrections in driving. Over time, the occurrences have dramatically increased, especially on the highway (dangerous). I have brought the vehicle to a Honda dealership regarding this issue. They test drove it and did not find the wheel to stick (I brought it in (California) wintertime, but the issue primarily occurs in warmer temperatures). Since Honda issued a recall for this exact problem on its 2022-2025 models, I have contacted the Honda manufacturer regarding this issue, but there is no open recall for my VIN. I find I’m in good company with other 2016 Civic owners, from the number of identical complaints on various automotive forums regarding this same complaint for their Honda Civics. I’ve also noticed that “steering” has the large number of reported complaints on the NHTSA site (over 300 for my vehicle year alone). Please look into this, as Honda is ignoring the many Civic owners concerned for their safety as well as others on the road due to this sticking steering issue.

Steering sticking while driving. Took it to the Honda dealer and was told that power steering failure is common on Civics. Cost around 4k.

When driving on a straight road then having to slightly change course due to perhaps a slight bend in the road the steering wheel feels like it is sticking and takes a bit of force to straighten the wheel. I have had numerous alignments done per maintenance recommendations. It seems to happen more often when it is warm outside. There are no warning lights present. Im afraid that the steering wheel will become actually stuck while driving.

I am experiencing an issue where the steering wheel seems sticky and I have noticed from a google search that it affects vehicles designated from 2016-2022 Honda Civics although my specific VIN doesn’t show as one being affected. It sounds like it most definitely should be. It’s only noticeable at speeds greater than 45 since you use very small amounts of steering wheel turn to make adjustments. How do I get my specific VIN included in this recall since it seems like it most definitely should be?.

Steering feels like it’s getting stuck when driving straight on the highway. The wheel almost fights you when you try to make a course correction. Vehicle feels unsafe to drive since you are constantly trying to keep the car straight.

I’m having a problem with my steering lately. It’s like it’s sticky and jerky feeling when driving, causing me to have to overcorrect left or right when making slight adjustments to center. This happens on long drives on the highway. Over correction on a 2 or 3 lane highway is not safe.

I have noticed my Honda Civic 2016 steering wheel gets stickier while its on highway.