2016 Honda Civic Complaint Log

Steering feels lime it is catching and becomes jerky

While driving, my wheel often “sticks” and I have to over correct throughout the entire drive. I’m afraid it is going to get me in an accident. It becomes more noticeable at high speeds. I have to travel often for my job and recently have not felt safe while driving my car on the highway. It seems to be a common issue with the 2016 Civic and I’m not sure why there hasn’t been a recall. I am the sole owner of this car and bought it new off the lot in 2016. I looked into getting this fixed and it looks to cost $4000-$5000. On a problem that several people have , it really should be fixed by Honda.

Steering is sticky at highway speeds, steering wheel will not move without force that can cause lane departure. This is dangerous when attempting to follow the curve of the road. Component: steering rack. Inspection availability: yes. Safety: jerky steering and lane departure Reproduced: no, though it is a known issue among many Honda vehicles due to method of lubrication for the steering rack. Inspected: no, issue was recent during travel. Warning lamp: no. I plan to take this to a dealership soon as the part requires subframe removal to replace or access. Closest Honda dealership is 45 minutes of highway driving where the issue will cause problems.

I was driving my car home from work and many warning lights lit up on my car dashboard (brake problem, engine problem, uphill start, steering problem) etc.. I got off the freeway and my car dashboard lit up and notified me “to pull over to a safe location because my car needle (temperature) was on high. I pulled over to a safe location and opened the hood and noticed that the antifreeze coolant compartment was empty) my car could have caught on fire because there was no coolant inside the compartment. After I got home and filled the car with coolant I placed cardboard under the car engine to see if the coolant would leak. There are no signs of leakage. I took my car to my mechanic and he told me that he couldn’t fix the problem and suggested I call Honda USA customer service. The mechanic told me that the problem is with the “head gasket” and that the coolant does leak into other parts of the engine. He didn’t charge me anything for the inspection and added coolant to my car. I called Honda USA customer service and they told me that there are “no recalls” regarding coolant leaks and head gasket problems. I googled problems with “Honda 2016 civics and learned that there is a problem that exists and it’s very costly to fix. I also learned that Honda was sued in Canada and Honda settled with customers regarding this problem. Honda USA simply told me to take my car to a Honda dealer and ask for an “inspection” I asked if they would cover the cost and they didn’t not say they would pay for the inspection. This is a manufacture problem that occurs after a Honda Civic has gone past 70,0000 miles. People still complain about this issue and wonder where the coolant in the car is leaking and where is the coolant going into since the coolant is not visibly leaking. The coolant is making its way within the engine and causing more problems in my car. I have never had a problem like this one. This is the second time that the coolant inside my car leaks into the engine.

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.

What component or system failed: The entire Air Conditioning system, specifically the AC Compressor, Condenser, and Evaporator, failed catastrophically. The authorized Honda dealer diagnosed it as "Black Death," meaning the AC compressor internally shattered, sending metal shrapnel and contaminated oil throughout all AC lines and components. How was your safety put at risk: This failure is a SEVERE SAFETY HAZARD. Because the AC compressor is dead, the windshield defroster/defogger system no longer functions. During rain or changes in temperature/humidity, the inside of the windshield fogs up instantly and cannot be cleared. This causes a sudden and complete loss of driver visibility, creating a high risk of a fatal crash on the highway. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed: Yes. The vehicle was inspected by an authorized Honda dealership. The technician confirmed the catastrophic failure ("Black Death") and stated the entire system needs to be replaced. Previous history & Manufacturer response: Honda has known defects with the 2016 Civic AC system (Warranty Extensions 19-091 & 23-039). The condenser was previously replaced under warranty in 2023. Now, the defective compressor shaft seal has led to the complete destruction of the system. Despite this being a known defect that causes secondary damage to the entire system, Honda Corporate has refused to cover the repair costs for the collateral damage (evaporator and lines). The parts are currently on the vehicle and available for inspection. Were there warning lamps: There were no warning lights on the dashboard prior to the failure. The only symptom was the AC suddenly blowing hot air and the immediate loss of the defogging capability.

My car shuts off during long drives and carries the same behaviors of a car with a failing fuel pump.

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.

Have had A/C issues for years, have had to replace compressor and condenser 4 times, only twice after a warranty finally came out for the defective parts. Now, the evaporator core has failed, but it is not under extended warranty or recall. Wild as I've seen so many with issues with another part of the faulty a/c system, likely from a defect. Going through a heatwave currently, dropping 3K on an evaporator core was not on my budget, especially when I believe Honda is at fault here. Tried a goodwill claim with them, immediately rejected. This came shortly after the condenser and shaft were replaced at the dealership.

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.

My infotainment system about killed me 3 or 4 times

I was driving my vehicle on the highway and I experienced a loss of power / limp mode and my car started decelerating very quickly and I pulled off and parked because I got super scared of driving and when I tried to start my vehicle back up it would not turn back on. I found a recall describing the exact scenario I went through and it is not listed for my vin “ [XXX] ” but says it’s for the exact make of my vehicle, a 2016 Honda Civic Sedan 2.0 Naturally aspirated. The recall is called “Piston misset recall.” Please help me nagivate this I have no clue what to do and feel like this should be warranted. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The paint is flaking all areas surrounding the rear windshield which will cause rust damage and may lead to rear windshield needing to be replaced

The white orchid pearl paint on my 2016 civic is peeling. the car has 150000 miles on it. I've seen this is a known defect with this type of paint. I'm reporting this concern for my vehicles as the repair is costly and if it isn't repaired I will get structural rust.

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.

2016 Honda civic EX steering wheel airbags and front passenger airbags didn’t deploy during my husbands wreck. He totaled the car…

There are no lights on the dash or any kind of notification of this issue. The issue is the “sticking” of the steering wheel. It sometimes gets stuck while driving and applied force to the wheel in any direction is the only thing to fix it. It is a very dangerous defect of the car and can cause serious injury to the driver and or others around. It has been an ongoing issue. There is already a recall for the problem but on newer year models.

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 A/C system experienced a total failure at around 79,000 miles. I took the vehicle to a service center, and they confirmed the failure is the A/C Evaporator. This component is now broken and available for inspection upon request. This evaporator failure is an extremely common, widely reported issue across this generation of vehicles and is almost certainly due to a manufacturing defect. The failure creates two major safety risks: First, the loss of defrost capability causes the windshield to fog up immediately in rain or humidity, which completely blocks the driver's view. Second, the extreme interior heat caused by the lack of A/C creates severe driver fatigue and distraction, which impairs safe operation of the vehicle. This issue has been confirmed by the dealership, and there were no warning lights.

The fuel pump is failing and stalls when driving.

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.

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2016 Honda Civic in October 2024. The contact stated that while attempting to trade the vehicle at the dealer, the Carfax Report indicated a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. The contact stated that at the time of purchase, the odometer reading was 109,000; however, the Carfax Report indicated that the mileage was 172,000 in 2023.

Blown Head gasket failure due to coolant leak into cylinders Evaporator Leak for A/C due to condenser and compressor shaft.

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 CVT transmission causes the car to stall when gaining acceleration past 20 mph-40 mph from a complete stop and when slowing down and then trying to gain rpm with flow of traffic whether on streets or highways. This can cause a safety concern for the driver if the car stalls out in the middle of oncoming traffic in the streets or highways that could potentially lead to death of owner and others. The car was taken to the dealership and no warning lamps were on. The tech had mentioned that they see this problem a lot with this model containing the CVT transmissions.

Body: underneath part came unsecured out of nowhere on my collage daughters car. It was scary for her as it scraped bottom and rattled out of no where on highway. She stopped and since nothing on hand, she had to push it up with feet and it bent to hold till she got to shop. They quick fix with zip tie or something. Someone hit her from back and she took to shop. I mentioned it that some noise coming after the fix and was supposed to to bring it to them this week. It just rattled but nothing else. Drivable still. Than middle of no where, that bottom popped again and she panicked. It was Sunday so no one is open. I had to have her park at work and pick her up which is an hour away. This is very dangerous as when we googled, this has happened to soooo many Honda civic owners! Need to do recall and fix this issue for good. It’s underneath the car so hard to tell till it drops to flow. We love the car but this issue is greater. Also, she has tire sensor light always comes up. We got new tires also!

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, there was an abnormally loud pop coming from the sunroof. There was no warning light. Illuminated. Upon inspection, the contact became aware of a large hole in the sunroof glass. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 166,655.

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while the vehicle was running with the A/C unit activated, there was an abnormal odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. Additionally, while the A/C unit was activated, only hot air was coming from the vents. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the A/C evaporator needed to be replaced because of leaks in three places. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

Component that failed: The air conditioning system evaporator core failed, causing refrigerant leakage. The vehicle was inspected and diagnosed by a Honda dealership, which confirmed the failure and provided a written quote for replacement. The component is still installed and available for inspection. Safety risk: When the evaporator leaks, the A/C system loses refrigerant and stops cooling. This prevents the defrost/defog system from working properly, which can lead to poor visibility through the windshield in humid or rainy weather. In hot conditions, lack of cooling can also cause driver fatigue and heat stress, creating a safety risk for occupants. Confirmation of problem: Yes, the problem was confirmed by a Honda dealership after the condenser was already replaced under Honda’s extended warranty. Inspection by manufacturer/others: Yes, the vehicle was inspected by a Honda dealership. Honda corporate was contacted but declined to cover the evaporator, even though the condenser was covered under warranty due to a known defect in the A/C system. Warning lamps or symptoms: There were no warning lamps or dashboard messages. The only symptom was a loss of A/C cooling. After recharging the system, the A/C worked temporarily but will lose effectiveness again as refrigerant continues to leak. Summary: This is a premature failure of a critical climate control component that is widespread among 2016–2018 Honda Civics. Honda already extended warranty coverage for defective condensers in these models, but evaporator failures are also common and part of the same defective A/C system. The high cost of repair (quoted over $2,000) combined with the safety risks of poor windshield defogging and cabin overheating warrant NHTSA investigation and corrective action.

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

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.

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.

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.

Upon a quick right turn into traffic, the right front drive axle shaft snapped in two, leaving the vehicle without propulsion.

[XXX] a/c didn,t work blowing hot air needed freon, cost $293.96 , ,GERMAIN HONDA told me some 2016 civic,s a/c compressors & componets needed to be replace but not mine. today [XXX] a/c blowing hot air again. was there a recall on a/c on 2016 honda civics. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

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.