Intermittent creaking while steering in 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid (with EPS)

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

Recently on a long trip with my 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid (82k miles, tan in color), I noticed creaking when making slight adjustments to the steering. I was on a highway at the time, but traffic was very heavy, so these were small adjustments to steering (not full turns) and I was going pretty slow (probably about 30-40 mph) for a highway. When traffic lightened up and we went faster, I didn’t notice the noise. At this point, we had been driving for at least an hour.

At the next opportunity, I pulled off and found a gas station, thinking I should check the power steering fluid. I couldn’t find the power steering fluid anywhere under the hood, and the manual made no reference to it. It turns out I have EPS (electric power steering) so there is no fluid, and it is controlled by the computer.

Figuring that there was nothing that I could do at the moment, I got back on the road, and the sound was gone, for a while. It returned after another hour or two.

I’m not certain that the noise is coming from under the hood, versus the steering column itself.

Has anyone else encountered this? Any likely causes?

Thanks!

2

I thought it may be bushings or struts. I found a reference to your problem on the Edmunds Civic site. The dealer replaced the strut bearings AND new struts to fix the problem. Many people seem to have the problem, but few got a fix from the dealer. This persons persistence paid off.
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX?14@@.f0ff5e3/3#MSG3

3

I also have a 2005 HCH. Earlier this year (approx. 150k miles), I noticed it started to make a single creak or pop sound at the start of a turn. From reading the other post, it appears to be the initial symptom of a bearing/strut problem. Unfortunately for me, my power train warranty is long expired. I plan to “keep an ear on it” to see if/how symptom gets worse/more frequent.