NHTSA Complaint #11205736 — 2011 HONDA FIT

ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING (EPS) CUTS OUT AND BACK IN AT UNPREDICTABLE TIMES CAUSING STEERING TO BECOME STIFF AND UNSAFE. THE EPS INDICATOR COMES MOMENTARILY WHEN ASSISTED STEERING IS NOT AVAILABLE AND TURNS OFF WHEN POWER STEERING IS RESTORED. IT HAPPENS PERIODICALLY UNDER ALL DIFFERENT DRIVING CONDITIONS. THIS LOOSING AND REGAINING ASSISTED POWER STEERING HAPPENS WITH IN SECONDS. IF CORNERING WHEN THIS OCCURS, THE LOSS OF POWERING STEERING CAUSES SEVERE UNDERSTEERING FOLLOWED BY SEVERE OVERSTEERING WHEN POWER STEERING IS RETURNED (ALL WITHIN THE SAME CORNERING MANEUVER). FIRST NOTICED JUST PRIOR TO GETTING THE TAKATA RECALL PERFORMED; HONDA DEALER STATED THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE STEERING BECAUSE THEY "COULD NOT FIND ANY CODES". DID NOT NOTICE THIS PROBLEM TOO MUCH AGAIN TILL RECENTLY WHEN IT STARTED OCCURRING SO FREQUENTLY THE CAR IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE. THE OWNER'S MANUAL STATES THERE IS ONLY A PROBLEM WITH EPS IF THE WARNING LIGHT STAYS ON. HONDA DEALERS ARE 'UNAWARE OF ANY ISSUES' ALTHOUGH HONDA HAS HAD EPS ISSUES WITH THE FIT AS DOCUMENTED IN NHTSA COMPLAINTS AS WELL AS HONDA SERVICE BULLETIN 14-058 (DEALING WITH EARLIER MODEL FITS). WHEN I RECENTLY CONTACTED HONDA AND ASKED ABOUT THE PROBLEM THEY STATED THEY HAVE NO INFO ON DEFECTS AND BASICALLY IT SUCKS TO BE ME. BECAUSE THERE ARE SUPPOSEDLY NO STORED DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES (DTC) WITH THIS KNOWN ISSUE IT CANNOT BE RULED OUT AS A CAUSE OF ACCIDENTS. IT SEEMS ANY AND ALL HONDA FIT ACCIDENTS (ESPECIALLY INVOLVING FATALITIES OR SEVER INJURIES) IT WOULD BE CIRCUMSPECT TO CONSIDER THE UNPREDICTABLE LOSS OF POWER STEERING, WHICH CAUSES OVER AND UNDER CORRECTION IN CORNERING.