Honda Civic
Problems & Worst Years

Steering complaints run through nearly every model year of the Civic in this data, and two years stand out for sheer volume. The 2016 cars logged 545 total complaints, with steering wheel sticking and jerking cited 279 times as a safety concern and sticking at highway speeds reported another 116 times — air conditioning failure, also safety-rated, added 93 more. Recall 16V074 applies. That steering theme resurfaces even more sharply in 2022, where total complaints hit 593 and a single issue — steering notchiness or resistance — accounts for 495 of them, rated safety-level, alongside more sticking and jerking reports. Recalls 23V704 and 24V744 cover that year.

The years in between tell a related but distinct story. Both 2017 and 2018 combined steering sticking with air conditioning failures and fuel-system recall issues, the latter drawing 45 complaints in 2018 alone; recalls 18V421, 18V663, 18V817, 20V314, and 23V858 stack up across those two years. The earliest year here, 2015, is different again — transmission failure without warning (35 occurrences) and general powertrain issues (37) dominate, with an airbag malfunction rated as a safety concern (23), under recall 15V574.

By 2019 and 2020, complaint volume had eased to 152 and 101 respectively, though steering sticking persisted alongside newer complaints like fuel pump failure and electrical glitches; 2021 stayed relatively low at 83 complaints but included an automatic emergency braking malfunction rated safety-level. Across nine model years, the throughline is clear: steering wheel sticking or notchiness shows up somewhere in the top five almost every single year, making it the complaint worth asking about regardless of which model year you're considering. As always, these are self-reported counts to NHTSA rather than measured failure rates, and a mechanic's test drive checking specifically for steering resistance or catching will tell you more than the year alone.