NHTSA Complaint #11439725 — 2018 HONDA CIVIC

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at 60 mph, the power steering had failed and the vehicle was difficult to steer. The tire pressure monitoring, brake system, electronic power steering, and stability assist warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to drive to her residence. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to turn off the vehicle and turn it back on to correct the failure. The power steering was corrected after restarting the vehicle; however, the warning lights were still illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with lost communication with the steering angle sensor. The dealer calibrated the steering angle sensor and cleared the DTC, then test drove the vehicle. The failure recurred a week later with an additional unknown warning light. The vehicle was towed a second time back to the dealer, who diagnosed that rodents were chewing the steering column wires. The dealer replaced the steering column wires and wrapped them in a tape produced by the manufacturer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the steering column wires were soy-insulated, which could attract rodents. The failure mileage was 31,879.