Honda recalls 2 million vehicles over steering concerns

Honda Motor Co. has said that the North American recall of approximately 2 million cars and SUVs includes one with a steering defect that can interfere with driver control and render cars more prone to accidents. The recall affects a population of models from the 2022 to production years including important vehicles like the Honda Civic, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Acura Integra, Integra Type S. It revealed that since 2021 it's received 10,328 warranty claims over this problem.

A total of 1.7 million of these total vehicles are in the US, 240,000 in Canada and 58,000 in Mexico. That investigation, which began in March 2023 and was escalated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in November, led to this recall.

A potentially defective steering gearbox assembly that wasn’t properly manufactured may be at the root of the issue. As a consequence, this can cause undue internal friction, which can make steering very difficult, adding to undershoots, noisy engines, and increased work needed to manipulate the vehicle.

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The problem most frequently has been described as a 'sticky steering,' which drivers say usually doesn’t manifest until they get well past halfway through an extended driving period. The NHTSA said the problem seems to occur with a part that swells in heat and moisture, compounded by a misconfigured spring, which worsens friction between parts.

Honda dealers will replace the faulty gear spring with a more solid part and, if need be, add further lubrication. By mid November, Honda will reach out to affected vehicle owners and inform them of needed repairs to help ensure vehicle safety.