NHTSA Complaint #11035988 — 2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID

WHILE DRIVING THE POWER STEERING DISENGAGES LEAVING ME WITHOUT ANY POWER STEERING MAKING IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN MY STEERING WHEEL IN EITHER DIRECTION. THERE SEEMS TO BE NO RHYME OR REASON AS TO WHEN THIS WILL OCCUR. ONLY THAT IT WILL USUALLY HAPPEN AFTER ABOUT 20 MINUTES OF STEADY DRIVING. SOMETIMES IT HAPPENS WHEN I'M GOING STRAIGHT AND OTHER TIMES WHEN I'M GOING AROUND A BEND. IT HAS SHUT OFF ON ME WHILE TRAVELING AT SPEEDS OF 65, 55, 40, 30, 20, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO 5 MPH RIGHT AS I'M PREPARING TO PARK MY VEHICLE. FORTUNATELY, THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED ABOUT A MONTH AGO I HAPPENED TO BE GOING STRAIGHT. I DON'T KNOW WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED HAD IT OCCURRED 20 SECONDS EARLIER WHEN I WAS GOING AROUND A BEND. EVER SINCE THEN I STAY HYPER VIGILANT W/ 2 HANDS ON THE WHEEL, SO IF IT DOES HAPPEN WHILE TURNING I'LL BE ABLE TO MUSCLE MY WAY THROUGH THE TURN. SURE ENOUGH, YESTERDAY EVENING I GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO TEST MY REFLEXES. WHILE TRAVELING 35 MPH ON A BACKROAD HIGHWAY I BEGAN TO TURN INTO THE SHARP BEND IN THE ROAD WHEN SUDDENLY THE STEERING WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED, AND THE POWER STEERING SIMULTANEOUSLY DISENGAGED. AS I BEGAN TO DRIFT OVER INTO THE YELLOW LINE W/ ON-COMING CARS WHIZZING PAST, I DECISIVELY PUT EVERY OUNCE OF MIGHT I HAD INTO TURNING THE WHEEL AS FAST AND AS FAR RIGHT AS I COULD UNTIL I COULD GET MY CAR SAFELY TO THE SHOULDER. I NARROWLY ESCAPED A HEAD-ON COLLISION. WITH A SIGH OF RELIEF, I PUT THE VEHICLE IN PARK, ACTIVATED MY HAZARDS AND SHUT OFF MY CAR FOR ABOUT 2 MINUTES. THAT USUALLY DOES THE TRICK. WHEN I RESTART MY CAR, I CAN USUALLY EXPECT THE POWER STEERING TO RETURN. AS I CONTINUE TO DRIVE THE ISSUE ALMOST ALWAYS SEEMS TO RESURFACE WITHIN 10 MINUTES OR SO. THE FACT THAT THE POWER STEERING JUST RANDOMLY DISENGAGES FOR APPARENTLY NO REASON WHATSOEVER IS OBVIOUSLY A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN. THIS REALLY NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED.