[kklabunde]

Anyone else experiencing this? The steering wheel "sticks" at dead center when on a smooth straight road. When I try to make a micro adjustment due to road crown, wind, etc., the wheel won't move without considerable force, then will suddenly give way and jump off center the direction I'm pushing. Then I have to correct back.

I have turned off all steering assist, lane keeping, etc. and it doesn't change the problem at all. Alignment seems okay -- car is driving dead-straight and the dealer aligned it 3 times at delivery to get it right. I suppose their could be some alignment issue though that could make the wheels jump off center?? If not alignment, then there is something very wrong in the steering system.

Interestingly, if the road is rough and the suspension is active, the problem goes away and tiny adjustments in the steering wheel feel normal.

It feels like the opposite of Straight Drive Assist, which I think should make small adjustments easier on a crowned highway.

 

[kklabunde]

Oh yeah, it a 2018 Hybrid Touring...

 

[Splashman24]

I have a 2018 Hybrid Touring also. I have experienced the same thing. It seems to happen between 65 and 72mph. I took a trip on Sunday and drove at 80mph+ and did not notice this. I drive about 60 highway miles to work everyday and it can seem like work just to keep the car centered in the lane. I am going to have the dealer check it out when I bring it in for the first service. I have just over 6000 miles on the car.

 

[mpbclutch33]

YUP!!!!!! I have had this on and off. Drives me nuts. I have tried turning all the assist stuff off too and didn't help. Doesn't do it all the time.

 

[vtecharry]

I just discovered this with my 2019 Sport 2.0! I did not go over 75mph, but it seems like it starts around 60-65mph. It was the first time I took a semi-long trip (50 miles) and it was a ton of work to keep the car tracking and staying in the lane. There appears to be resistance in the steering wheel with the LKA and ACC off.

When I turn on LKA the car just goes left to right struggling to stay in the lane even in a straight line and I even got the driver input light in a straight line a few times which is just wrong. The LKA just keeps going from the left line markers to the right ones back & forth and struggles to keep the car in the lane. When I turn everything off, I am having the same problem, like the steering wheel slightly resists my input and I seem to be slightly over-compensating, or the steering does I should say, so all I am doing is making constant steering corrections. When I test drove an '18 Sport 2.0 and took it up to 65-70 it did not do this at all. Steering was very smooth and compliant and Lane Keeping assist worked perfectly, and kept the car in the lane even in sweepers. Mine is the opposite. Both the electronics and myself are struggling to keep the car going straight and staying in the lane. I think something is off with the "high speed sensitive steering" because it a lot more noticeable at speeds over 60mph.

I hope there is an adjustment or a software download they can do to fix this. It takes all the fun out of it

Harry

 

[kklabunde]

Dropped my 2018 off at the dealer this morning. They were familiar with this problem (had one in previously with the same). Will let me know what they determine, but they did say that the other one they had in with this issue required a replacement of the full steering system.

I'll keep you posted.

 

[mpbclutch33]

Sounds like a "We don't know what the problem is, so lets just replace everything!"

 

[kklabunde]

Ha! Yes. I just got the call -- whole new steering system in 1 week. No complaints here -- that's wonderful that they're trying to take care of it. I think a lot of other dealers/manufacturers would try to push me off.

 

[Steering-st]

Steering issue

I have a similar problem with steering resistance and the Dealer tested a 2019 and it had the same feel. I hope they discover what it is because it is very annoying. It occurs at low and high speed.

 

[Fired00d]

Ha! Yes. I just got the call -- whole new steering system in 1 week. No complaints here -- that's wonderful that they're trying to take care of it. I think a lot of other dealers/manufacturers would try to push me off.

Glad to hear you are being taken care of and hopefully this will take care of your issues. Hope they send these bad systems back to Honda so they can research the cause and make corrective actions so this problem is removed from production.

 

[vtecharry]

Ha! Yes. I just got the call -- whole new steering system in 1 week. No complaints here -- that's wonderful that they're trying to take care of it. I think a lot of other dealers/manufacturers would try to push me off.

What state are you in? Also it would be good if people mention the build date (month/year) of their Accord to see if there is a pattern. Mine is 12/19.

That's great that they are replacing the entire steering system, although I had hoped for a software upgrade or something simple. Replacing the steering rack is a BIG job and unfortunately I don't trust some dealer mechanics to do it right. If not done properly, and every bolt is not torqued to specs, it can create vibrations. Maybe it's just the electric assist box they are replacing and not the whole rack? Hopefully it's a smaller component that what I am thinking.

Now I have to convince my dealer that this is the issue and it's probably going to be a struggle. Funny though, I have not seen a TSB on this. I just checked the Service Bulletins again, and it's the same 19 TSB's from 3-4 weeks ago when I last checked. Half them say Honda is "still investigating the issue".

Harry

 

[Fired00d]

What state are you in? Also it would be good if people mention the build date (month/year) of their Accord to see if there is a pattern. Mine is 12/19.

That's great that they are replacing the entire steering system, although I had hoped for a software upgrade or something simple. Replacing the steering rack is a BIG job and unfortunately I don't trust some dealer mechanics to do it right. If not done properly, and every bolt is not torqued to specs, it can create vibrations. Maybe it's just the electric assist box they are replacing and not the whole rack? Hopefully it's a smaller component that what I am thinking.

Now I have to convince my dealer that this is the issue and it's probably going to be a struggle. Funny though, I have not seen a TSB on this. I just checked the Service Bulletins again, and it's the same 19 TSB's from 3-4 weeks ago when I last checked. Half them say Honda is "still investigating the issue".

Harry

Can you provide a link/location of where you are viewing these bulletins? Would like to see what they are. TIA.

 

[vtecharry]

It appears that NHTSA is now calling Service Bulletins "Manufacturer Communications"

https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2018/HONDA/ACCORD/4%2520DR/FWD#manufacturerCommunications

Go about 3/4 of the way down to see the 16 communications/bulletins. Just keep in mind though that there are a lot more issues with the car that what is listed. It's just that Honda is taking their time addressing them.

All the REAL issues are in the link below and it's under "complaints". There are 124 complaints made to the NHTSA by 2018 Accord owners. For someone to file a complaint with the NHTSA it means the Dealer or Honda is not doing anything to address the issue.
The worst one out of all of these, and I read them all, (besides rattles in the dash which I hate, hehe) is the engine shutting down for no reason while driving, and the car braking hard for no apparent reason in the middle of the highway. These last 2 are extremely dangerous and need to be Recalls. Honda is taking their sweet time addressing them. They are probably waiting for someone to get really hurt or die in an accident. NHTSA should be going after them for a fix. Usually most manufacturers do not issue recalls unless the NHTSA tells them to, which really stinks. They won't spend any real $ recalling hundreds of thousands of cars (they sell >400K Accords every year in North America) unless they are told to by a US govt. agency. Car manufacturers are happy just ignoring all the issues because they are already working on the next generation models, and don't have the staff to address all the problems with the current models, and another staff to work on the upcoming models. This is why it usually takes them at least a couple of years to address most issues or agree to a recall. To these companies 5-10% of bad cars and pissed off owners is acceptable, and they count on acquiring new/1st-time owners to replace them.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2018/HONDA/ACCORD/4%2520DR/FWD#complaints

BTW, all this safety electronics/crap is no good... they cause nothing but headaches and trips to the dealer + put your life in danger when they fail or have a mind of their own. I can do without all of them. I am getting into the habit of disabling the brake mitigation system whenever I start the car.

Harry

 

[kklabunde]

My steering is 100% fixed! Here are the details...

BTW, I'm in Indiana. Someone asked about the build month -- I guess that would be August 2018 since I custom ordered my color/interior combination. I took delivery on 8/31 when the car arrived at the dealer straight from the factory.

The dealer had my car for a week and brought in Honda's field engineer since this was the second case of this steering issue they had seen recently. The tech's notes on my invoice state "STEERING GEAR BOX BINDING / REPLACED GEAR BOX".

It was a single part replacement -- 53620-TWA-A28. At $2,100 for the part, not including labor, I pity anyone that ends up with this problem out of warranty!

Honda and the dealer (Penske, Indianapolis) did right by me. The car is now handling the way I have always experienced my Honda cars.

 

[vtecharry]

Excellent! Thank you for the info and part#! I will be taking mine in next weekend and will have more information/ammunition for the dealer to do the right thing.

Mine is still binding after turning all the safety features off so replacing the steering gear box is definitely what mine needs as well.

 

[kklabunde]

I feel a little bad -- but I did just file this with NHTSA. I kinda think Honda should notify all dealers at a bare minimum.

 

[vtecharry]

I agree. All dealers should be notified of this to at least be on the lookout with instructions on the symptoms, feel of the steering, etc. to diagnose it. Unfortunately it takes a while for a TSB to come out but I suspect we will see one in the next couple of months. Too many people with the same issue are complaining. It's not just 2..

 

[njguanmeng]

This steering wheel stick issue on driving straight in highway speed is still seen constantly with nhtsa complaints.

 

[johnny13]

After tolerating the steering binding for 2 years I finally took it into the dealership to have them look at it. I gave them the details that 'kklabunde' had posted (thank you!) and they ended up replacing the steering gearbox which completely fixed the problem. Neither the service manager nor the technician could feel the binding in the steering. I basically explained that it wasn't really apparent when the car was cold, but if you drove it for 15 minutes or longer on the highway it was pretty apparent. I'm thinking with the colder temps the binding may not be as pronounced until the car warms up. The steering is pretty much perfect now after having had that replaced, can actually feel how the tires grip the road now. Makes me wish I had it repaired much sooner. Really hated fighting with the steering with highway driving.

 

[delfinom]

After tolerating the steering binding for 2 years I finally took it into the dealership to have them look at it. I gave them the details that 'kklabunde' had posted (thank you!) and they ended up replacing the steering gearbox which completely fixed the problem. Neither the service manager nor the technician could feel the binding in the steering. I basically explained that it wasn't really apparent when the car was cold, but if you drove it for 15 minutes or longer on the highway it was pretty apparent. I'm thinking with the colder temps the binding may not be as pronounced until the car warms up. The steering is pretty much perfect now after having had that replaced, can actually feel how the tires grip the road now. Makes me wish I had it repaired much sooner. Really hated fighting with the steering with highway driving.

I wonder how much the gearbox binding is related to the service notification honda has been sending to dealers for months now continaing "Honda is searching for certain 2018-2019 Accords with a customer complaint of a clicking noise from the steering gearbox. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind. "