Honda has launched a recall of 176,410 Civics from the 2022-2024 model years. These vehicles are equipped with a steering rack that could allow the front wheels to turn too much, leading to possible damage.
The automaker first became aware of the issue in July, after its supplier, Hitachi Astemo Americas, Inc., alerted it to a possible manufacturing defect. In September, Honda investigated the issue, and determined that there could be an impact to occupant safety as a result of this problem.
The power steering racks were assembled with an incorrect stroke length. That means that they could allow the front wheels to turn too much, which could lead to damage. If the wheel goes too far, the tire could be damaged by the lower suspension arm, or vice versa, and neither scenario is good.
Read: The NHTSA Is Investigating New Honda Civics With ‘Sticky’ Steering
If the tire is damaged, it could puncture, increasing the odds of a crash. On the other hand, if the Civic is wearing snow chains, and it damages the tie rod end, it could mess with the car’s handling, which would also increase the odds of an accident occurring.
While most recalls inconvenience owners to some degree, this one will likely be doubly inconvenient. That’s because the vehicles affected by this issue were previously fixed as part of a service repair. Even though the nature of the previous service repair isn’t laid out in Honda’s recall report, the Civic was the subject of an investigation over “sticky” steering in March. However, that problem has so far only led to a regulatory investigation, and has not risen to the level of a recall.
In any case, Honda will start reaching out to owners of four and five-door Civics affected by the steering rack that could turn too much on December 4. It will ask them to return their vehicle to a nearby Honda dealer, where it will be inspected, and the electric power steering rack will be replaced as necessary.
