2008 Honda Fit Steering Problems

POWER STEERING INTERMITTENTLY STOPS WORKING. FAULT CODE 37-1 APPEARS.

ORANGE LIGHT COMES ON AND FREEZES THE POWER STEERING. VEHICLE IS VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER. THIS IS ESPECIALLY BAD WHEN THERE IS A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER, ESPECIALLY A CHANGE FROM WARM TO COLD. ONCE THE ENGINE IS WARMED UP, I CAN USUALLY GET THE WHEEL TO LOOSEN AND THE POWER STEERING TO ENGAGE IF I TURN IT OFF AND BACK ON. IF IT'S A HOT DAY AND I CRANK UP THE AC THE WHEEL WILL OFTEN JERK (EVEN AT HIGH SPEEDS) I RECOMMEND LOOKING INTO THIS. *JS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA FIT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME HARD TO MANEUVER AND THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE PROBLEM. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE MILEAGE AT THE TIME OF FAILURE WAS 100,000.

I STARTED MY CAR AND THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD NOT MOVE AT ALL. WHEN I WOULD TRY AND TURN THE STEERING WHEEL THE WHEEL INDICATOR LIGHT WOULD FLASH.I TURNED THE ENGINE OFF AND RESTARTED IT AND IT DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. I UNPLUGGED THE BATTERY TO RESET THE ELECTRIC SYSTEMS AND IT STILL DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. AT THE MOMENT THE CAR IS UNDRIVABLE DUE TO THIS SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

WHEN I SAT AND IDLED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE POWER STEERING FAILED. THIS HAPPENED TWICE. I HAD TO WORK VERY HARD TO PULL THE CAR OFF THE ROAD. I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, THEN TURNED IT BACK ON AND THE POWER STEERING CAME BACK ON. I LOOKED ON LINE AND DISCOVERED NUMEROUS PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM. HONDA EVEN PUT A BULLETIN OUT #09-043 ABOUT THIS. I WAS NOT GOING TO WAIT FOR A RECALL BECAUSE SOME HAD WRITTEN THAT THE POWER STEERING HAD GONE OUT WHILE THEY WERE DRIVING. I HAD THE HONDA DEALERSHIIP INSTALL A NEW EPS UNIT ON 9/25/13. THEY CHARGED $1100. HONDA SHOULD BE MADE TO MAKE THIS A RECALL BECAUSE IT'S EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. *JS

I RECEIVED THE NOTICE "WARRANTY EXTENSION: ELECTRIC POWER STEERING WITH DTC 32-09 OR 61-04" FROM HONDA IN OCTOBER 2014 THAT STATES, "ON SOME 2007-2008 FIT VEHICLES, THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING MAY FEEL HEAVIER THAN NORMAL OR IS HARD TO TURN, PARTICULARLY WHEN THE VEHICLE IS NOT MOVING. TO ENSURE YOUR CONFIDENCE IN OUR PRODUCT, AMERICAN HONDA IS EXTENDING THE WARRANTY OF THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING TO 10 YEARS FROM THE ORIGINAL DATE OF PURCHASE, OR 150,000 MILES, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST." IT STATES,"NO ACTION IS REQUIRED ON YOUR PART UNLESS YOU EXPERIENCE A PROBLEM." IT STATES," IF THE STEERING FEELS HEAVIER THAN NORMAL, CONTACT ANY AUTHORIZED HONDA DEALER FOR AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE IT REPAIRED." IN TWO INSTANCES I HAD EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM. EACH OF THESE EVENTS OCCURRED WHEN I WAS TURNING INTO AN INTERSECTION. THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP, AND I WAS UNABLE TO TURN IT AT ALL. I WAS AFRAID THIS WAS GOING TO CAUSE AN ACCIDENT IN THE INTERSECTION. I TURNED THE IGNITION OFF, AND THEN BACK ON, AND THE ERROR WENT AWAY I HAVE NOTIFIED TROY HONDA AND LAFONTAINE HONDA THAT I HAD EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM TWICE, BUT THEY HAVE BOTH TOLD ME SINCE THERE IS NO ERROR CODE CURRENTLY, THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT. WHEN I CONTACTED HONDA CUSTOMER SERVICE, (800) 999-1009, THEY SAID THE SAME THING. I AM SURPRISED HONDA WOULD SEND OUT THIS WARRANTY EXTENSION, THEN REFUSE TO FIX IT WHEN I TAKE MY CAR IN FOR THIS EXACT ISSUE.

I WAS TRAVEL LING AT APPROX 45MPH ON A SECONDARY ROAD, AND THE POWER STEERING UNIT SUDDENLY MALFUNCTIONED WITHOUT ANY PRIOR WARNING. THE STEERING BECAME EXTREMELY HEAVY, AND I ALMOST VEERED INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THE POWER STEERING WARNING INDICATOR LIGHT DID ILLUMINATE, HOWEVER IT WAS OF NO USE, AS THE STEERING HAD ALREADY FAILED. TURNING OFF THE IGNITION, AND RESTARTING THE CAR CLEARED THE PROBLEM. I WONDER WHEN/IF THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN, AND IF AN ACCIDENT WILL RESULT NEXT TIME. *TR

PURCHASED THIS CAR AS A CERTIFIED USED CAR IN NOVEMBER 2010 FROM TARRYTOWN HONDA. NUMEROUS INCIDENTS OF STOPPING ON THE ROAD WITH THIS CAR SINCE JUNE 2011 BUT THIS IS THE LATEST INCIDENT. PREVIOUS INCIDENT ALSO REPORTED ON THIS WEBSITE. ALSO FILED COMPLAINT WITH AMERICAN HONDA IN SEPTEMBER 2011 (CASE#N0122011-09-0701741) AND FILED FOR NYS LEMON LAW ARBITRATION IN 2011 BUT NEVER RECEIVED A RESPONSE. CAR DASHBOARD LIGHTING STARTED TO GO WHILE DRIVING AND STEERING DIFFICULT. CAR STOPPED AFTER COMING OFF OF BROOKLYN BRIDGE ON 5/10/12 AND HAD TO BE FRANTICALLY PUSHED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITH HELP OF GOOD SAMARITAN AND MY PASSENGER BECAUSE HAZARD LIGHTS WOULDN'T REMAIN ON. CAR WAS TOWED TO HONDA DEALERSHIP BY AAA. CAR COMPLETELY DIED ON THE ROAD IN THE MIDDLE OF HIGHWAY TRAFFIC WITH STEERING IMPOSSIBLE AND HAZARD LIGHTS NOT OPERABLE. DEALERSHIP STATES THAT ALTERNATOR AND BATTERY NEED REPLACEMENT - FOR THE SECOND TIME IN ONE YEAR! I BELONG TO A HONDA FIT ONLINE FORUM WHERE OTHER HONDA FIT OWNERS COMPLAIN OF THE SAME PROBLEM. THE DEALERSHIP HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM SINCE THE FIRST INCIDENT IN JUNE 2011 AND I MAYBE INJURED OR KILLED IF I CONTINUE TO DRIVE THIS CAR. *TR

WHENEVER I LEAVE MY HOUSE TO DRIVE MY CAR TO WORK EARLY IN THE MORNING WHEN IT IS AROUND 5 OR 6 DEGREES. THE POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT TURNS ON, THE POWER STEERING BECOMES VERY TOUGH AND HARD TO MOVE. I WOULD HAVE TO RESTART THE CAR TO HAVE THE WARNING LIGHT GO OFF. SOME TIMES THE LIGHT TAKES A FEW TRIES BEFORE THE LIGHT GOES OFF. *TR

POWER STEERING SUDDENLY TURNED OFF. STEERING BECAME EXTREMELY HEAVY. THIS HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES SINCE INITIAL INCIDENT AND NOW TWICE IN THE PAST TWO DAYS (2/9/2011 AND 2/10/2011). ALL TIMES IT HAS HAPPENED DRIVING AROUND 30-40 MPH WITHIN THE FIRST 10 MINUTES OF DRIVING. STOPPING, TURNING OFF AND ON THE IGNITION HAS RESET THE POWER STEERING IN ALL CASES. HONDA DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT WAS NOT ABLE TO FIND A SOLUTION AND LAST TWO INCIDENTS HAPPENED SINCE TAKING CAR TO THE SHOP.

MY HUSBAND AND I OWN A 2008 HONDA FIT. SINCE ABOUT OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR, OUR POWER STEERING HAS BEEN RANDOMLY GOING OUT ON US (THE EPS LIGHT COMES ON AND WE CAN'T TURN THE WHEEL). THIS MOST FREQUENTLY OCCURS WHILE WE'RE ON THE INTERSTATE DRIVING AT 65MPH - HOWEVER IT DID HAPPEN ONCE ON A SMALL STREET (AT ABOUT 30MPH) AND ANOTHER TIME IN A PARKING LOT WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS NOT BEING MOVED. LUCKILY, MY HUSBAND AND I WERE ABLE TO SLOWLY AND SAFELY PULL OVER. WE HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP TWICE (THE CAR IS CURRENTLY THERE). AN ON BOARD COMPUTER WAS REPLACED AND THE DEALERSHIP IS CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR ANOTHER POSSIBLE CAUSE. THEY ARE CLAIMING THAT NO INCIDENT IS BEING LOGGED ON THE COMPUTER. THERE IS NO WAY TO PREDICT WHEN THE STEERING IS GOING TO LOCK UP. *TR

WE OWN A 2008 HONDA FIT. AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT WE HAD APPROX 48K MILES ON THE VEHICLE. ON A FEW OCCASIONS WHEN STARTING THE CAR IN THE MORNING, THE POWER STEERING INDICATOR LIGHT WOULD COME ON AND THE VEHICLE WOULD HAVE NO POWER STEERING.. TURNING OFF THE CAR AND RESTARTING THE VEHICLE WOULD RESET THE INDICATOR LIGHT AND POWER STEERING WOULD RETURN. AT THE END OF FEB 2010 MY HUSBAND WAS ON THE FREEWAY TRAVELING AT @75MPH WHEN THE LIGHT CAME ON AND POWER STEERING WENT OUT IN THE VEHICLE. HE WAS ABLE TO GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITH NO INCIDENT. HE TURNED THE CAR OFF AND ON AND THE INDICATOR LIGHT WENT OFF AND POWER STEERING RETURNED. AT THE DEALERSHIP, WE WERE ADVISED HONDA HAS AN INTERNAL BULLETIN THAT THE ERROR CODES IN THE VEHICLE INDICATE A PROBLEM WITH THE ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING MODULE, A CHIP OF SOME SORT, AND THAT IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THE FIX IS DUE TO COST US OVER $700. THE PART IS NOT COVERED BECAUSE WE ARE BEYOND OUR 36K FACTORY WARRANTY. WE BELIEVE IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE. IF WE WERE TO LOSE POWER STEERING WHEN NAVIGATING A TURN CROSSING LANES OF TRAFFIC ETC, THE SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER STEERING COULD CAUSE A HAZARDOUS SITUATION. WE CALLED HONDA DIRECTLY AND SUBMITTED A COMPLAINT AND ASKED THAT THEY COVER THE COST OF THE PART AND THE FIX. CONSIDERING THAT THE VEHICLE HAS LESS THAN 50K MILES ON IT, AND THAT THE PART IS FAULTY AND CAUSES A SAFETY HAZARD. HONDA DENIED OUR REQUEST. *TR