NHTSA Complaint #11576080 — 2023 HONDA CIVIC

This vehicle has sticky steering which seems to start or become much more of an issue after driving the car for about 30 minutes. The effort needed to turn the steering wheel increases, especially when making small corrections like freeway driving. The issue starts become very notable around 35-40mph and increases in "stickyness" as you travel faster. The steering wheel is hard to get it to move, and as it comes free it causes an overcorrection. It makes it hard to stay straight in a lane or to correct a turn after changing lanes, especially on the highway. This issue is dangerous at highway speeds and extremely annoying at slow speeds. Last week I almost sideswiped another vehicle after changing lanes on I-5 because the steering stuck so bad. Another time I almost went off the road. This issue is unrelated to the current active recall for the steering rack and does not go away when I turn steering assist off. If you listen closely while traveling at around 30-40mph, when the steering sticks, when it releases a slightly audible clunking sound can be heard coming from the front driver side of the car. This sound is hard to hear on rough roads but is obvious when the pavement is smooth. This issue has been reported and discussed by many drivers in online forums and may be related to the worm gear in the steering gear box. I experience this sticky steering problem at all speeds, temperatures, and lengths of time driving. I purchased my vehicle new about a year ago and it has 11,420 miles on it. The issue started somewhere between 6-7,000 miles.