The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has expanded its investigation into a critical safety issue involving three of Honda's most popular models, including the 2023 CR-V, Civic and the 2023 Integra from their Acura brand.
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The NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has been looking into what they described as an "alleged defect of momentary increase in steering effort" in new Civics in March 2023.
The issue, which is commonly referred to as "sticky steering," reportedly occurs after motorists spend some time on highway driving, where a brief loss of power assistance can make moving the steering wheel require much more force than needed.
Honda (HMC) -) stated to the ODI that the said condition is due to multiple errors made during the manufacturing process, where specific parts within the steering gear deteriorated faster than intended, noting that the "annealing and component conditioning processes" that such parts received caused its "internal stress and strain"
"Over time, the released strain caused the deformation of the teeth on the worm wheel, causing the worm gear to catch on the worm wheel," the ODI said in its investigative documents. "This results in the consumer’s momentary increased in steering effort."
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The ODI estimates that over 532,535 cars may be affected by this issue, and that 13 crashes reported to the NHTSA has been deemed related to this issue. The initial probe – which begun back in March investigating the Civic has been expanded to include the CR-V crossover and Acura's Integra, which share key steering components with the best-selling compact.
In a statement to The Drive, American Honda Motor Co. stated they are "committed to safety" and that they are "in communication" with the NHTSA and will "continue to cooperate" with them on the investigation while they conduct their own internal review.
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