2016 HONDA CIVIC Complaints

2016 Honda Civic AC system is not working and has not been working for awhile. There are 2 warranty extensions issued for this vehicle's AC system, one for the condenser and one for the compressor. Honda has diagnosed the problem as being the evaporator, which I have been quoted everywhere from $1800 - $3000 to have fixed. The general consensus from mechanics that have dealt with these models (I have seen many different mechanics, 3rd party and dealership), is that the entire AC system is riddled with manufacturing defects, the condenser and compressor issues likely caused the evaporator malfunction, and will likely have to be recalled at some point. That is obviously slowly happening with the existing warranty extensions, however I am still being forced to pay nearly $2k for working AC despite public knowledge of a manufacturing error dealing with these AC systems. Honda refuses to acknowledge the evaporator issue was caused by the other failing components by not extending the warranty to the whole AC system. When I refused service for the evaporator since it was not covered, I was told the compressor shaft seal leak that IS covered under the warranty extension could not be fixed either. The reasoning was that the compressor could not be fixed alone without fixing the evaporator due to "safety concerns". Essentially admitting that the whole system fails if one of those 3 parts is faulty. So even though that is the case, I still have to pay out of pocket for the manufacturers mistake. Unbelievable and clearly an extremely common occurrence as there was an active class action lawsuit for the AC systems of this model (Andre Wong v. American Honda Motor Co. Inc., et al., Case No. 2:19-cv-10537) and Lemon Law documentation of the issue as well. Please hold Honda responsible and force them to issue an all encompassing AC Recall/warranty extension so that myself and many others do not have to choose between a very expensive repair or passing out on the road from the heat

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.

The inside of the car smells like coolant and the air is making the front dashboard foggy. One area of the Central ac is blowing cooler than the other.

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 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.))

Each time I drove my car the tire pressure light would flash before the ABS, brake system, power steering and traction lights would come on and the dealership could not find the problem although my car would not accelerate and the speed sensor has already been changed because only one went bad prior. 3 times to the dealership and no codes could be found and they couldn’t never duplicate the problem once the vehicle was turned off. This time the car jerked at take off and would not accelerate. They stated that it was the VBS Module that had to replaced this final time.

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.

The air conditioning system is a failure. First my condenser went out and they replaced it with the extended warranty they provided. Now my evaporator is leaking and they do not have an extended warranty on it. Cost to replace is $2,100.00. This is a safety concern in California because of the smog. I could no longer keep my windows up when driving because of the heat and a/c not working.

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.

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.