Sticky/Jerky Steering issue

[TrackRider54]

I believe if we move to another car brand, we may see similar issues with warranty work or other problems with customer service. It is just some people get lucky and have a simple issues with the car and are happy with the resolution provided by the dealership.

True.

The only comparison I have is with Lexus and Ford dealers. Granted, when my Ford had to go in for warranty work it was due to a transmission failure...no denying that one. But the Lexus dealer has always treated us like royalty even though we purchased a $29k CPO car. We got two years complementary service and I took the car in for an oil change. I got a call from the service advisor saying that the battery needed replacing. It was covered to 50,000 miles and my car had just turned over 50,000 miles on the way to the service appointment. I thought I was gonna get stuck with the cost, but the service advisor told me they'd cover it. At around 90,000 miles the water pump started making noise. It had not failed, just making a strange noise. No questions asked they replaced the water pump....no charge.

I understand dealers don't like doing warranty repairs as I'm sure they are compensated at a lower rate than regular repairs/service. But in my case, I believe this is a safety issue. 13 crashes have been reported. 11 of those the steering locked up to the point that the driver ran off the road. The other two reported that after the steering froze up, it released and caused an overcorrection. That is the issue I'm having. I will apply pressure then POP...the steering unfreezes causing the car to swerve.

I'm really at a loss as to what to do. I suppose I could go down to the dealer and demand they fix it, but if they don't, then what? I guess keep taking it back until I can lemon law the car. I really don't want to have to hire a lawyer.

If I knew when Honda would step up with a replacement part, or when a recall would be announced, I'd feel better about living with it until that time. But I really don't want to drive the car years like it is now. I'm paying for a normal functioning automobile, and feel that's what I should get.

 

[Vancity Warrior]

Wow, so you have to call Acura to get them to force the shop to honour their warranty? That's fucked.

Welcome to Canada, land of free infinite responsibility avoidance

Oh, I see. Why are there so many different part numbers for steering rack if there is no updated part?! So if it is the manufacturing defect with the way gears were treated, then all of the steering racks may have this problem. Some get it as early as 3k miles, others get it after 10k. I think for people who have a mild steering problem can wait until Honda/Acura come up with a solution, while others with severe problem will need to get whatever part dealers can install and then the job may need to be repeated, once the correct/updated part is released. I just personally don't like the idea of having dealerships thinker
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Once this "sticky steering "issue becomes an actual recall, then Honda will have to come up with a fix. The fragmentation comes from Honda/Acura not providing clear instructions to dealerships and each dealership act the way they see fit. Some people report a "steering rack" replacement from dealership, others got "this is normal" as a reply or "we have never seen this before". I believe if we move to another car brand, we may see similar issues with warranty work or other problems with customer service. It is just some people get lucky and have a simple issues with the car and are happy with the resolution provided by the dealership.

One of my comrades has a 2019 Honda CRV and has similar issue with car not starting. The car almost came to a out of warranty or it ended recently. He first blamed this on starter and Honda wanted to charge him hundreds of dollars. I told him to get a second opinion and this may not be started as car doesn't even try to start. At the end, Honda found out that this wasn't the starter, but brake switch in the brake pedal.

Agree with this 100%. Im not thrilled about the steering thing but having leased a Mercedes prior to my Integra, believe me when I say, grass is not greener. Im lucky enough mine doesnt seem to be getting worse.

Every brand have their own demons and frankly despite everything, my experience for the Integra has been better than it was for my Mercedes in the same time frame. By the 6th month, I had new seat belts and a sunroof seal on order and my windshield nozzles had stopped spraying. Not being able to see through the windshield when there was road spray definitely wasnt safe, yet it took 5 visits and a whole year to solve. Turns out there was a strainer before the pump and it was clogged. noone knew about its existance until i forced them to tear everything apart on my own dime.

 

[Imperial]

True.

The only comparison I have is with Lexus and Ford dealers. Granted, when my Ford had to go in for warranty work it was due to a transmission failure...no denying that one. But the Lexus dealer has always treated us like royalty even though we purchased a $29k CPO car. We got two years complementary service and I took the car in for an oil change. I got a call from the service advisor saying that the battery needed replacing. It was covered to 50,000 miles and my car had just turned over 50,000 miles on the way to the service appointment. I thought I was gonna get stuck with the cost, but the service advisor told me they'd cover it. At around 90,000 miles the water pump started making noise. It had not failed, just making a strange noise. No questions asked they replaced the water pump....no charge.

I understand dealers don't like doing warranty repairs as I'm sure they are compensated at a lower rate than regular repairs/service. But in my case, I believe this is a safety issue. 13 crashes have been reported. 11 of those the steering locked up to the point that the driver ran off the road. The other two reported that after the steering froze up, it released and caused an overcorrection. That is the issue I'm having. I will apply pressure then POP...the steering unfreezes causing the car to swerve.

I'm really at a loss as to what to do. I suppose I could go down to the dealer and demand they fix it, but if they don't, then what? I guess keep taking it back until I can lemon law the car. I really don't want to have to hire a lawyer.

If I knew when Honda would step up with a replacement part, or when a recall would be announced, I'd feel better about living with it until that time. But I really don't want to drive the car years like it is now. I'm paying for a normal functioning automobile, and feel that's what I should get.

To add to your Lexus story, I had a Scion xD 2008 and after couple of years into the ownership I took it to Toyota for an oil change and service writer came out later and told me that one of the rear TRD shocks was leaking a bit and offered to replace it(car was under warranty still). I was happy that technician caught the issue while performing an inspection.

I completely understand that steering, brakes, airbags are very important for safe driving. Putting this off for a long time isn't an option and not everyone would be comfortable driving a vehicle with questionable steering response. For your steering issue, maybe try another Acura dealership and see what they say? I know that I can take my Integra to a Honda dealership for service. SA of Honda told me that they can perform any service on Acura except diagnosing electrical issues. What I don't know if they can do warranty work as well and get reimbursed. So try to find another Acura dealer or try Honda and see what they tell me about steering wheel issues in general.

 

[Imperial]

Welcome to Canada, land of free infinite responsibility avoidance



Agree with this 100%. Im not thrilled about the steering thing but having leased a Mercedes prior to my Integra, believe me when I say, grass is not greener. Im lucky enough mine doesnt seem to be getting worse.

Every brand have their own demons and frankly despite everything, my experience for the Integra has been better than it was for my Mercedes in the same time frame. By the 6th month, I had new seat belts and a sunroof seal on order and my windshield nozzles had stopped spraying. Not being able to see through the windshield when there was road spray definitely wasnt safe, yet it took 5 visits and a whole year to solve. Turns out there was a strainer before the pump and it was clogged. noone knew about its existance until i forced them to tear everything apart on my own dime.

I don't want to get started with 2016 Mini Cooper S issue! As for the windshield nozzles spray, do they even work?! All of my cars had the spray coming out of the area that is not attached to wipers but on Integra they are integrated and I don't really see them spray, but I do see the trace of a fluid with some foam being left on the windshield. So did the nozzle spray and you really saw the spray coming before it stopped working?

 

[Vancity Warrior]

I don't want to get started with 2016 Mini Cooper S issue! As for the windshield nozzles spray, do they even work?! All of my cars had the spray coming out of the area that is not attached to wipers but on Integra they are integrated and I don't really see them spray, but I do see the trace of a fluid with some foam being left on the windshield. So did the nozzle spray and you really saw the spray coming before it stopped working?

They are built into the wiper arm, same as the civic. So im not looking forward to the cracked hoses in a few years but does work quite well for the time being. They might be silicone hoses so it may be a non issue. So we get this cleaning without the momentary blindness, also allows the windshield to get closer to the hood sheet metal so more aerodynamic and less deadspace.

Another downside is now you need the purchase the wiper blade like most manufacturers rather than the typical Honda way of replacing just the rubber insert.

Anyway, looking forward to the steering gearbox recall/fix..

 

[TrackRider54]

Got a call from the dealer service manager this morning. He was very nice and said he was aware of the issue and did some research into the new part numbers I shared. He said it did look like parts were superseded but that there were none of the new parts available. He shared with me that one of the techs at the dealership had an Integra with the issue, so they were looking for a fix too.

He said he escalated up as far as he could and all we can do now is wait for a reply.

So long story short, the dealer wants to replace the steering rack, but there are simply no parts available. He said he didn't know if they were all pulled from inventory due to the investigation and potential recall, or if they were simply none in stock.

You can generally tell when a dealer is giving you the run around, and I don't believe my shop is. Their customer service has been top notch so far and continues to be. I think if they could get the part, they'd fix my car for me. They are the only Acura dealer in my area, and said that they had 3 total complains about the steering issue. So it sounds like it's not an issue that effects every vehicle. I think the NHTSA has only received approximately 80 complaints. Hopefully it was just a bad run of parts and the issue will get fixed soon.

I've bought a lot of new cars and almost all of them had some sort of quality issue that had to be corrected. From a burnt out light bulb, to a transmission failure. It seems to be the norm these days. That's why you have a warranty. Mine being CPO...I'm warrantied to 100,000 miles. So I'm sure this issue will get fixed and I'll enjoy the car for many miles.

 

[SilverRocket]

I don't know of it's one and the same, but Honda officially issued a steering rack recall:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2023/RCAK-23V704-4662.pdf

Would imagine the Integra should be in the works too.

 

[Vancity Warrior]

After 2 weeks, heard back from Acura Canada, it's just a non-answer.

Their response to seeing the Honda TSB was that Honda America and Acura Canada are different corporate entities with different practices.

Apparently they also reached out to my dealer's service manager who said issue wasn't duplicated. I'll give them credit for giving a call.

So I responded back to corporate with the service invoice that says they were able to duplicate the problem and that vehicles are manufactured by the same global entity using the same parts.

Also reached out to my sales guy who makes the appointments for me, to make another appointment and have a chat with the service manager.

Will come back with more info as this saga continues but they're now realizing I don't act rash and hold on to documentation. Next step is getting Transport Canada involved.

Stay tuned.

 

[Imperial]

I don't know of it's one and the same, but Honda officially issued a steering rack recall:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2023/RCAK-23V704-4662.pdf

Would imagine the Integra should be in the works too.

This seems to be a different recall for another issue.

 

[Leehro]

This seems to be a different recall for another issue.

You're correct. It's even worse. This recall is for incorrectly assembled replacement steering racks that stick out into the tires . So if you have a Civic, got your sticky steering "fixed", it's possible the rack was assembled wrong and it'll stick into your tire when you turn.

 

[TrackRider54]

You're correct. It's even worse. This recall is for incorrectly assembled replacement steering racks that stick out into the tires . So if you have a Civic, got your sticky steering "fixed", it's possible the rack was assembled wrong and it'll stick into your tire when you turn.

Wow!

Honda really dropped the ball...or the parts supplier did. Either way, it looks bad on Honda.

I would consider anything related to steering to be a safety issue. I find it really odd that the NHTSA hasn't forced a recall for the sticky steering issue. Especially given that there have been 13 crashes associated with it. I guess someone will need to die before a recall comes out.

 

[Imperial]

Wow!

Honda really dropped the ball...or the parts supplier did. Either way, it looks bad on Honda.

I would consider anything related to steering to be a safety issue. I find it really odd that the NHTSA hasn't forced a recall for the sticky steering issue. Especially given that there have been 13 crashes associated with it. I guess someone will need to die before a recall comes out.

Unfortunately it became the norm these days and many car manufacturers are going through multi-vehicle recalls at the moment, including Mercedes, Subaru, Toyota, Honda etc. The recall quantities reach million vehicles. Some have issues with fuel pumps, hybrid electric issue, infotainment and more.

 

[TrackRider54]

Unfortunately it became the norm these days and many car manufacturers are going through multi-vehicle recalls at the moment, including Mercedes, Subaru, Toyota, Honda etc. The recall quantities reach million vehicles. Some have issues with fuel pumps, hybrid electric issue, infotainment and more.

It's almost like manufacturers are in a race to the bottom.

 

[CB123]

I don't know of it's one and the same, but Honda officially issued a steering rack recall:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2023/RCAK-23V704-4662.pdf

Would imagine the Integra should be in the works too.

That’s not to solve the sticking steering. It‘s to solve tire rub from the racks they were using to (I think) solve the sticking steering.

 

[Integration]

2023 Integra 6 MT made in 6/22 having exactly the same problem. I can’t tell that mine behaves any differently when I am using CarPlay. It is definitely more noticeable at highway speeds. To me, the change in how it feels is more sad than dangerous. When I first got the Integra, one of my favorite things about how it drove was the steering. Now, it drives me crazy. Slow sweeping turns are the absolute worst. It does feel like I’m pushing up against a servo motor or something, but seeing the technical bulletin about the screw that malformed over the first few thousand miles of use makes a lot of sense. I have an appointment to take it to the dealer next week.

I just want to say that you guys are amazing at describing things. I was reading your posts and saying to myself “yes! Someone who can describe what I am feeling!“