2016 Honda Civic
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Steering is the leading concern among 1,081 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 4th highest complaint count among 26 Civic model years with reports.
Of the 2016 reports, 36 involved a crash and 4 involved a fire. 16 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Air bags, sensor, occupant classification, front passengerMay 21, 2026
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
Campaign 26V332000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpDec 18, 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
Campaign 23V858000 on NHTSA.gov
Parking brakeOct 11, 2016
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Civic two door and four door 1.5L turbo and 2.0L vehicles. The electric parking brake (EPB) may not engage if it is applied immediately after turning the ignition off.
If the EPB is not applied, the vehicle may roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the vehicle's software to allow the EPB to engage immediately after the ignition is turned off, free of charge. The recall began on November 8, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KC6.
Campaign 16V725000 on NHTSA.gov
Exterior lightingJul 11, 2016
American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic 2-Door vehicles manufactured February 23, 2016, through May 20, 2016. The affected vehicles may have a damaged LED side marker light circuit board inside the taillight assembly, making the marker light inoperable. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Assoc. Equipment."
If a side marker light does not function, vehicle visibility can be decreased to other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect both the taillight assemblies, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on August 31, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KB8.
Campaign 16V526000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine cooling, engineFeb 9, 2016
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic vehicles manufactured September 22, 2015, to February 3, 2016 and equipped with 2.0L engines. The affected vehicles have engines with piston assemblies that may have been manufactured without a piston wrist pin circlip or with an incorrectly installed piston wrist pin circlip.
If a circlip is missing or incorrectly installed, the piston wrist pin may not be secure and may drift and damage the engine cylinder causing the engine to seize, and increasing the risk of a crash or a fire.
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the piston assemblies and damaged engine components, as necessary, free of charge. Parts are expected to be available in the Summer of 2016. Owners were mailed an interim notification beginning March 31, 2016, and will be mailed a second notice when parts are available. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is JX9.
Campaign 16V074000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: steering
445 reports, newest first. Show all
Steering, Aug 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became firm, and was sticking while turning in either direction. The contact stated that the failure was more noticeable while driving at highway speeds, and caused the vehicle to drift to either side, causing the driver to make addition steering wheel adjustments to keep the vehicle driving straight. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 60,000.
Steering, Aug 25, 2023
I have a 2016 Honda civic around 48,000-50,000.00 miles I have noticed that the steering in my vehicle gets sticky/stuck while driving. This usually occurs on the highway while I’m driving at higher speeds and when I’ve been on the road for about 30 minutes. While driving on the highway the steering wheel gets “stuck” towards the left and I have to pull it to correct this position. It has made me fearful while driving especially at high speeds and I feel like the entire drive I have to white knuckle the wheel. If I do not continue to make the correction then the car would veer off into another lane. This is extremely dangerous and unsafe. It has also happened while I’ve slowed down to a traffic light and when I pulled the steering wheel back out of the sticky position I heard an adamant click. I started researching and saw there are hundred if not thousands of these reports. I did send Honda a message to open a case which they sent a standard message back just saying to bring it to the dealer and closed the case. This needs to be fixed or rectified by Honda. I saw that there were some lawsuits but that they didn’t include 2016. It seems that the problem with all of these is the EPS Rack Assembly which is a fault with the manufacturer.
Steering, Aug 24, 2023
Our vehicle has just over 60,000 miles and has developed a significant "sticking" in the steering. This starts at around 50 miles per hour and gets progressively worse as speed increases. It doesn't completely seize but requires significant pressure to break the sticking. This could easily result in an overcompensation that leads to a loss of control. Once over 50 miles per hour, this issue requires constant attention by the driver. It is not an intermittent issue. We took this vehicle to a Honda dealer for repairs in July, but it still hasn't been repaired yet due to a shortage of the parts needed to repair this issue that is apparently well known by the Honda service technicians. Insult to injury is that once this is repaired, it will cost me over $3,000 as Honda has rejected our request to cover this repair.
Steering, Aug 17, 2023
Steering wheel sticks and you are not able to change direction without using excessive force. This happens when driving at highway speeds and seems to be worse (more force needed to turn wheel) at higher temperatures, 80+. The sticking steering causes you to oversteer and may cause you to lose control of the vehicle and crash.
Steering, Aug 12, 2023
Sticky steering wheel, feels notching while driving
Steering, Aug 8, 2023
Steering intermittently sticks when trying to make small adjustments to stay in lane. It has been doing this for the last couple years.
Steering, Electrical system, Aug 7, 2023
The steering sticks around highway speeds which causes me to over correct. The vehicle feels unsafe to drive and I am being told it will cost close to $4,000.00 to replace the electronic steering rack.
Steering, Aug 1, 2023
I recently moved so I am traveling on the interstate more. In doing so, I've noticed after about 15-20 minutes at higher speeds, my steering wheel starts sticking. I have to fight to stay in my lane. It's scary as well as exhausting. I've researched and see other complaints just like mine. Why has this issue not been addressed by Honda? It makes me scared to go visit family or do any traveling at all. I bought this vehicle used in 2019 but this issue really didn't surface until I moved and started driving more on the interstate. I noticed it some before but since most of my driving was in town, it didn't occur often. Please have Honda address this as it definitely is a safety issue. I feel like I'm going to drive off the road the whole time I'm on the interstate.
Steering, Jul 28, 2023
Steering- the Steering wheel jerks when I make incremental movements to the left or right. This only occurs when I'm driving on a freeway at or above 55mph. It does not occur on surface streets. I brought it to Autonation Honda in Chandler, AZ. They said it was the Rack Motor or Rack Pinion motor and it needs to be replaced. The advisor said that they have seen many 2016 Civics with this issue. Total out-of-pocket cost $3700.00. Part was not available even if I decided to have it replaced. I feel this should be addressed since this is a major safety issue caused by the manufacturer and should be recalled.
Steering, Jul 24, 2023
The steering wheel get stuck/ jerks in position and to correct stuck position/ jerks it causes you to correct your lane position. You feel out of control for a second or so. Purchased vehicle in 2019, in 2020/21, this happened and I took it into the dealership where we purchased the car and they did an alignment. After that alignment, steering/jerky/sticky wheel did not happen as much but it still happened and is getting worse. So this weekend I took the vehicle back to the dealership for the same issue again. According to the dealership. their technician(s) test drove the car and they did not feel the sticky and jerky wheel. Generally this happens when the vehicle has been driven for longer than 20-30 mins and when you are going 40-70 mph. The technician(s) stated that they could not reproduce this in their test drive. But it is still happening as I drove home from the dealership. I am not sure how they could not see and feel the constant wheel movement maintain control of the lane. It's sometimes hard to hold lane control especially going at a higher rates of speed. I see 200+ complaints similar to this issue with the 2016 Honda Civic. This dealership states that they see nothing wrong. But there is definitely still something wrong with this year model. I wanted to go on record and voice my concerns about this issue like many others.
Steering, Jul 19, 2023
Steering is getting stuck while driving on highways and/or higher speeds. Appears to be a consistent issue with Honda civics complaints/issues after researching. Requires replacing EPS, approx $2-3k. Not due to wear and tear. Vehicle at less than 30,000 total miles.
Steering, Jul 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving 40-60 MPH, the steering wheel became firm. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact jerked the steering wheel side to side and the steering wheel started operating normally. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not under recall. No further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 49,000.
Steering, Jul 17, 2023
Steering has become sticky, especially when driving straight on a highway or at higher speeds. Extra force is needed to maintain position in lane and move the wheel. The pressure required to turn the wheel past the stuck position causes the driver to over correct excessively making it difficult to stay in the lane.
Steering, Jul 14, 2023
The steering is sticking - the same as all these other reports I'm seeing below. It is worse in the afternoons (higher temperatures I guess) and definitely more noticeable at highway speeds. Took the car to the dealer and they said that even though my car only has 36k miles it needs a new (electric) rack & pinion system for $4000 !! Ridiculous. I was advised that the dealer is well aware of the issue (I was the 2nd case this week that my service advisor was dealing with) but there's nothing they (the dealer) are doing at the moment other than referring it to corporate Honda U.S. I dont know whats going to happen if the situation gets worse - does the steering stop steering or get continually harder to steer ... is a definite safety issue.
Steering, Jul 10, 2023
Steering wheel becomes stuck in a certain position at highway speeds after 20+ minutes of driving and it requires an unnatural amount of force to free it, thus resulting in a sudden jerking motion that makes driving highly unsafe. Honda dealerships are quoting Civic owners $4K for an issue that is WELL known (200+ complaints on NHTSA and an active investigation on the 11th gen Civics with the same issue (https://www.autoblog.com/2023/03/21/nhtsa-honda-civic-sticky-power-steering-investigation/#:~:text=The%20National%20Highway%20Traffic%20Safety,reports%20of%20the%20issue%2C%20too.))
Steering, Jul 7, 2023
Steering wheel is quite hard to turn. Gets kind of stuck at certain points when I’m driving. Fluids all good. Don’t understand why this is happening.
Steering, Jul 6, 2023
Steering sticks making it difficult to change direction. It has a significant resistance when changing direction, this is troublesome especially at higher speeds. The consumer stated that the steering issue happens frequently and is not limited to just one occurrence.
Steering, Jul 5, 2023
My car's steering has been sticky and catching. This often causes me to apply unnecessary pressure to correct the steering and could cause an accident. I had it verified at Honda of Murfreesboro that I need a new steering rack.
Steering, Jul 4, 2023
When I’m driving the steering wheel gets stuck and the only way to get it unstuck is to pull hard enough to break the jam. It always gets stuck pulling to the left because every time I have to get it unstuck I have to pull to the right to break the jam.It happens every day and it’s really frustrating. Every time this happens is after 15-20 minutes driving. This is a serious safety hazard specially in a long drive because you are literally fighting the car to keep it in the center of the lane! 2016 Honda civic touring 62,000 miles It started doing this after 3 years with the car and approximately 37,000 miles. I remember because I took the car to the dealership and they told me that my basic warranty had expired at 36,000 miles or 3 years and the diagnosis and fixtures were going to be out of my pocket.
Steering, Jun 28, 2023
When I am driving on the highway, my car steering will get "stuck" and I can't make adjustments to the wheel without jerking on it to get it unstuck. I am bringing the car in to get serviced again this week. The sticking results in unsafe travel on the road because it is difficult to maintain my lane. It usually starts to happen 15-20 minutes into a drive and then will not go away until after the car has been off for a significant period of time, but will recur the next time I drive on the highway. The vehicle has been serviced by a dealer and the problem went away for a while, but has recurred. It has not been inspected by any parties other than the dealer. I do not know if they were able to reproduce the problem. There are no warnings, messages, or other symptoms before the wheel sticks.
Steering, Jun 26, 2023
After driving for over :30 minutes steering wheel sticks and is jerky to turn. It has a dead spot that requires a higher breakout force to get the wheel to turn , once wheel is turning there are normal steering forces required to continue the turn.
Steering, Jun 21, 2023
Sticki steering wheel on the freeway
Steering, Jun 19, 2023
The vehicle steering is sticky. When the vehicle is started, the steering is fine. However, after about 15 minutes of driving, the problem is most noticeable when trying to keep the car straight at around 40 mph and higher. When making fine adjustments to keep the car straight on the freeway, the steering gets stuck then suddenly releases when making fine adjustments. This causes the vehicle to jerk from side to side when trying to keep my vehicle in my lane...I have taken my vehicle in to 2 independent service centers but the problem seems to temporarily go away if the vehicle is turned off for a little while. Only to return when I leave the service center around 15 minutes later...There are no codes or warning lights that appear...My Civic is a 2016 but only has 12,400 miles. The steering problem started at around 9,000 miles.
Steering, Electrical system, Jun 11, 2023
My car has had a sticky steering wheel problem for over a year now. I’m at 75k miles, the problem started at least around 60k miles. The wheel feels heavy and I have to over correct due to that stickiness. I can’t drive straight when I am on the highway. I continuously have to correct to keep the wheel straight. It does not feel safe. Last year my battery died and changing the battery helped the sticky steering a little but only for a short time. I think the problem has something to do with the power steering.
Steering, Jun 8, 2023
Steering, same as other complaints. Intermittent sticking of the steering wheel. Constantly have to force steering wheel in order to maintain lane. Steering wheel seems to lock, have to force it to stay straight. Problem started couple years ago, at about 35K miles, and at 70K it is getting worse. And the cost---ha-unreal!!!