DTI urges select Honda car owners to contact dealers amid issue with steering gearbox

January 30, 2025 - 3:58 PM
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A photo of Honda Civic Type-R uploaded on its Facebook page on Oct. 22, 2022 (Honda via Facebook)

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) advised Honda car owners of certain models to contact their dealership after the carmaker initiated a recall campaign for public safety.

The DTI Consumer Care on Monday, January 27, issued a product recall notice on three models of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Japan due to issues with the steering gearbox.

It said that owners of the following 5,505 models should contact their dealer for their repair and replacement which will be done for free:

  • Civic 4D (2022-2024 model) — 2,463 affected units
  • CR-V (2024 model) — 2,762 affected units
  • Civic Type-R (2023-2025) — 280 affected units

“Findings show that reduced grease in the worm gear meshing area of the Electric Power Steering Gearbox increases sliding resistance and torque fluctuations, causing abnormal noise or sticky steering and posing a safety risk,” the DTI Consumer Care said.

The DTI said 38 authorized dealers and three service centers of Honda will do the repair and replacements.

The repair will take half an hour or 30 minutes, while replacement will take approximately four hours.

“Stay informed and check if your vehicle is affected,” the DTI said.

Meanwhile, a more detailed description of the issue can be found in Honda’s letter to the DTI, as uploaded on the department’s website.

“Findings show that due to the decrease in grease amount in the worm gear, meshing area of the Electric Power Steering Gearbox during use, the sliding resistance in the meshing area increases and the torque fluctuation becomes larger while turning the steering wheel,” the carmaker said.

“This causes abnormal noise or sticky steering that makes the driver feel in danger,” Honda added.

The carmaker said it will also notify the vehicle owners or seek assistance and reach out to the new owners in case the unit has been sold already.

Honda added that it would also post the frame numbers of the affected vehicles on their website www.hondaphil.com.

Owners may also inquire with Honda dealers or through the Honda Philippines’ hotline at 1-800-1000-46632 and 857-7240.