“Sticky” steering sparks huge recall for Honda, 1.7M cars affected

Honda is recalling almost 1.7 million vehicles due to a steering defect. An improperly made part can cause certain cars’ steering to become “sticky”—never an attribute one wants in a moving vehicle.

The problem affects a range of newer Hondas and an Acura; the earliest the defective parts were used on any vehicle was February 2021. But it applies to the following:

• 2022–2025 Honda Civic four-door
• 2025 Honda Civic four-door hybrid
• 2022–2025 Honda Civic five-door
• 2025 Honda Civic five-door Hybrid
• 2023–2025 Honda Civic Type-R
• 2023–2025 Honda CR-V
• 2023–2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid
• 2025 Honda CR-V Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle
• 2023–2025 Honda HR-V
• 2023–2025 Acura Integra
• 2024–2025 Acura Integra Type S

Honda says that a combination of environmental heat, moisture, and “an insufficient annealing process and high load single unit break-in during production of the worm wheel” means there’s too much pressure and not enough grease between the worm wheel and worm gear. On top of that, the worm gear spring isn’t quite right, “resulting in higher friction and increased torque fluctuation when steering.

The first reports of the problem date back to 2021 and had started an internal probe by November 2022. In March 2023, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started its own investigation, but the decision to issue the recall only took place in September of this year, by which point Honda says it had received 10,328 warranty claims, although with no reports of any injuries or worse.

Honda has just finished telling its dealers about the recall, and owners of the affected vehicles will be contacted next month. This time, there is no software patch that can help—affected cars will be fitted with a new worm gear spring and plenty of grease.