Hi everyone,

I’m trying to figure out a steering/handling issue on my 2011 Honda Fit (around 283,000 km / 176,000 miles) and I’m honestly running out of ideas. I’ve already spent a lot of money trying to diagnose and fix this, so I’d really appreciate some opinions before I continue throwing parts at it.

The main symptom is this:

• On the highway, the car constantly wanders left and right.
  
• I’m always making small steering corrections and counter-corrections.
  
• The steering does not naturally self-center properly.
  
• After turning a corner, the steering wheel often stays partially turned instead of smoothly returning to center.
  
• Sometimes it slowly comes back in small jerky/saccadic movements over several seconds.
  
• If I make a small steering input (for example around 20–30 degrees), the wheel may barely return at all unless I manually bring it back.
  

This makes highway driving extremely tiring.

What confuses me is that this issue used to be intermittent for years. Sometimes the car would feel great, sometimes not. Oddly enough, tire rotations or seasonal tire changes sometimes seemed to improve the issue temporarily, which originally made me suspect wheels or tires.

Last summer, I installed a first set of aftermarket struts (cheaper ones), and surprisingly the car drove very well. I even drove around the Gaspé Peninsula for several thousand kilometers with no major issues.

Then in the fall:

• the suspension started making squeaking/squishing noises,
  
• and I also started noticing more wandering on the highway.
  

The garage replaced those struts under warranty with supposedly higher-quality aftermarket struts. The squeaking disappeared, but the steering/centering problem became MUCH worse over the winter.

At first, the garage suspected the top mounts/strut bearings. They replaced the aftermarket top mounts with OEM Honda top mounts.

Result:

• steering feels slightly smoother in turns,
  
• maybe a small improvement overall,
  
• but the main problem is still there almost entirely.
  

At this point, the steering still does not self-center properly.

Things that have already been checked:

• tie rods
  
• ball joints
  
• bushings
  
• steering intermediate shaft / steering joint
  
• alignment
  
• multiple road tests by different mechanics
  

No mechanic found major play, clunking, or obvious damage.

One mechanic thinks the issue was mostly caused by the top mounts binding.
Another thought maybe slightly stiff steering components.
Nobody has strongly suggested the steering rack yet.

Important detail:

• there are NO major clunks when turning,
  
• no obvious looseness,
  
• no steering rack leaks,
  
• no major vibration,
  
• but the steering return-to-center behavior feels wrong.
  

At this point, I’m trying to understand:

• Can aftermarket struts themselves cause poor self-centering and constant micro-corrections?
  
• Could the struts/springs still be binding even with OEM top mounts?
  
• Could this still be a subtle steering rack issue even without obvious clunking/play?
  
• Has anyone experienced a Honda Fit that became extremely sensitive to suspension brand/setup?
  

I’m hesitant to spend thousands more replacing parts without a clear diagnosis, especially on a high-mileage car.

Any ideas or similar experiences would really help.

Thanks.

 

After everything you've checked and replaced.... I'd start thinking about the steering rack.
At first I was going to say tie rods or control arm bushings. Then maybe it was your choice of tire (directional tires can sometimes feel different than others).
But you're saying you've checked those and confirmed everything is fine.

So if you haven't replaced your steering rack yet, maybe look into that. Even without leaking or clunking, a steering rack could still cause some sort of wander or play when under load and at high speed.

Also, how are your wheel bearings? Test those and make sure they're tight without any side-to-side play.

 

Thanks. That’s actually one of the things confusing me the most.

If it was purely the steering rack, I’m having trouble explaining why the issue used to be intermittent for years, and why tire rotations or seasonal tire changes sometimes seemed to improve it temporarily.

Also, last summer I had a different set of aftermarket struts installed (cheaper ones), and the car actually drove very well. I drove several thousand kilometers around the Gaspé Peninsula with almost no highway wandering and no major steering complaints.

The issue became much worse only after the garage replaced those struts with a supposedly higher-quality set last fall. That’s why I keep wondering whether the current struts/suspension setup is somehow amplifying an existing sensitivity or friction in the steering system.

The poor self-centering is what worries me the most. Even after replacing the top mounts with OEM Honda mounts, the wheel still returns very slowly and sometimes barely returns at all after small turns.

As for wheels/bearings, another important detail is that this spring I actually bought a completely different set of wheels because I originally suspected a bent wheel or wheel-related issue. So the current wheels are basically brand new, which makes this even more confusing.

Wheel bearings are still something I should probably have checked more carefully though.

 

I honestly don't see how the struts would have any impact on your steering unless you aren't using the correct struts. However, I'm not 100% on that.
However, a stiffer strut/spring combination could definitely amplify other issues as you mentioned. So that's not an awful line of thought.

Have you only had one garage/shop look at things for you? A second opinion is definitely warranted, imo. Either from another shop or from a Honda dealer.

But yeah, wheel bearings are easy to check. Watch a Youtube video if you need. But you just have to get one wheel up off the ground to test for each bearing.

 

Yeah, that's pretty much where my thinking is at right now too.


I don't necessarily think the struts alone created the problem from nothing, because I did have some intermittent wandering/sensitivity issues for years before this. Sometimes the car felt perfectly stable, other times not. Tire rotations or seasonal tire changes sometimes seemed to improve things temporarily, which originally made me suspect wheels or tires.

But the current setup definitely made the problem MUCH more noticeable.

The confusing part is that the previous aftermarket suspension setup actually felt pretty good overall. I drove several thousand kilometers with that setup and highway stability was surprisingly good. The major self-centering issue only became obvious after the garage replaced those struts with the current supposedly higher-quality setup.

The garage originally suspected the aftermarket top mounts/bearings were binding, so they recently replaced them with OEM Honda top mounts. Steering feels slightly smoother now, but the poor self-centering issue is still largely there.

Since then, the steering still feels like it wants to stay slightly left or right instead of naturally returning to center.

And yes, I've actually had multiple shops look at it already:

- tie rods checked
- ball joints checked
- bushings checked
- steering intermediate shaft checked
- alignment checked

None of them found obvious play or a major failure.

Also, I even bought a completely different set of wheels this spring because I originally suspected a bent wheel issue. So the current wheels are basically brand new.

At this point I'm honestly trying to figure out whether:

1) the current suspension setup is binding/amplifying something,
2) there is still some subtle steering rack issue,
or 3) it's a combination of both.

The car has around 160k miles now, so I'm also trying to be realistic about how much money makes sense to invest into further diagnosis or repairs. The car is still reliable overall, but the steering behavior becomes very tiring on longer drives.

 

Okay, definitely seems like you're checking the right boxes.
Inspect your wheel bearings still, just to check those off as well. That's probably the last part of the front suspension that you can cover before considering the steering rack itself.

 

Yeah, that's kind of why I'm leaning away from wheel bearings being the main issue.

The symptoms were present both with my old wheels and with a completely new set of wheels/rims, so that seems to rule out a bent wheel or tire issue pretty strongly.

Also, I don't really have the classic wheel bearing symptoms:

- no humming/growling noise,
- no major vibration,
- no obvious play.

My main symptom is still the poor self-centering. The steering wheel tends to stay slightly turned instead of naturally returning to center, and it often comes back slowly or in a slightly notchy/saccadé way.

That’s what makes me think more about:

- some kind of binding/stiffness in a steering or suspension component,
- or possibly something in the current strut setup amplifying an existing issue.

The strange part is that the issue existed intermittently before, but became much more noticeable after the newer suspension setup was installed.

 

At work didn’t read the whole thread.

Stop throwing parts at it. Take it to a reputable shop or Honda dealer and have them diagnose the issue. (Then fix it yourself to save $)

 

It sounds to me like some suspension bushings are shot. Steering input is making components slide laterally on their bushings instead of properly steering the car. Being chunks of rubber, lifting the car for service is sometimes popping the bushings back into position - that's why you're getting periods of normal driving after service sessions. Have them actually unbolt the front lower arms to inspect the bushings.

 

I was thinking bushings as well but he said those were inspected. However, we have no idea how well they were looked over or, as you said, in what orientation/position.

Also a consideration would be the ball joints. Even if they're not leaking, they can still be shot.

 

Yeah, that's honestly where I'm stuck right now.


I already took it to a well-rated independent shop in my area and we've checked/replaced quite a few things over the past months:

- sway bar links,
- struts,
- top mounts (recently replaced again with OEM Honda mounts),
- alignment,
- different wheels/tires, etc.

The weird thing is that the issue actually became much more noticeable after installing the higher-quality aftermarket struts last fall. Before that, I had some intermittent wandering at times, but the car was still very driveable and I did thousands of km without major issues.

The shop initially suspected the aftermarket top mounts, which is why we replaced them with OEM Honda mounts recently. It maybe improved things slightly, but the steering still doesn't return to center normally and I still constantly correct left/right on the highway.

As for the Honda dealer near me, I used to go there years ago, but honestly I wasn't very impressed. The work often felt rushed and inconsistent, which makes me hesitant to spend hundreds of dollars there just for diagnosis on a 160k mile car.

At this point I'm trying to figure out whether this is:

- a subtle binding/stiffness issue somewhere in the steering/suspension,
- a steering rack issue,
- or maybe something geometry-related that's being amplified by the stiffer suspension setup.

 

That’s actually an interesting point. Historically, the car sometimes felt temporarily better after being lifted or after tire rotations/service, which could fit with suspension geometry changing slightly when unloaded.

The strange part is that the steering wheel also doesn’t return normally to center anymore and sometimes stays partially turned, which still makes me suspect some kind of binding component as well.

I may ask the garage to inspect the lower control arm bushings more closely instead of only checking for play.

 

That’s a good point. The bushings were supposedly inspected, but like you said, I really don’t know how thoroughly they were checked or under what load/orientation.

As for the ball joints, one mechanic told me that if they were binding or rusted internally, they would usually make noise while turning, but I honestly don’t hear any clunking or squeaking at all. The steering just feels resistant and doesn’t self-center properly anymore.

Another interesting detail: about 10 days ago I replaced the aftermarket top mounts with OEM Honda mounts. At first the steering felt slightly smoother, but now the wandering actually seems worse, even at lower city speeds around 50 km/h (30 m/h). It almost feels like the softer OEM mounts are allowing another underlying issue to show itself more clearly.

 

Sadly no one will care about your X as much as you do. And it doesn’t sound like very many techs that’s looked at your car have actually taken the time to verify x y and z parts are actually to spec, and where they should be in reference to other items.

I’m no suspension whiz, but what you’re describing to me sounds like it HAS to be either rack or geometry related. It sounds like at least there’s been enough eyes and things replaced on the suspension itself that I’d start suspecting the rack more. That said…. Might be worth getting it on a lift and doing a lot of measuring yourself and verifying bushings as well as toe, caster etc. are all in spec, and if they are… well I duno how to diagnose a rack, but process of elimination and all that.

haven’t been under my car enough to have any idea how difficult it would be to remove and replace, but as compact as the car is… probably not fun I’m guessing so I’d say do the above before taking the time and money to change racks.

 

That’s kind of where my head is at too right now. I agree it doesn’t make sense to jump straight to replacing the rack without first verifying that the geometry and suspension components are actually behaving correctly under load.

One thing that keeps bothering me though is the progressive caster change on the right side. Back in April it was around 3.8 on the right, then around 3.4 before the most recent alignment, and finally around 3.0 after alignment.

That makes me wonder if something in the right front suspension geometry is gradually moving or settling somehow.

At the same time, I also can’t completely ignore the possibility that the aftermarket suspension/top mounts changed or amplified the steering feel compared to before.

The hard part for me is that I’m not very DIY, so I have to rely on garages for diagnostics, and this seems to be the kind of subtle problem that many shops don’t really take the time to dig deeply into unless something is obviously broken.

Also, the car has 283,000 km (160,000 miles+), so I also have to be careful financially and avoid throwing parts at it randomly. The body is still very clean and rust-free though, so I’d really like to find a reasonable path to keep the car driving properly for another 6–7 years if possible.

 

Just a thought, but if you know of any FitFreak members that are within driving distance, maybe someone can offer to inspect it for you that might be more mechanically inclined than you and know what to look for.

 

Unfortunately I don’t know any FitFreak members near me personally, otherwise that honestly would’ve been really helpful.

Right now my biggest dilemma is deciding where to go next. I have a local independent garage I trust and they know the car fairly well, but they’re more of a general repair shop and I’m not sure how experienced they are with subtle Honda Fit steering/suspension geometry issues specifically.

The other option would be going to the Honda dealer. In theory they should know these cars better, but in practice I’ve felt the quality of dealership service has gone downhill over the years, and I’m also worried about spending a huge amount of money on diagnostic time without them necessarily finding the root cause either.

So at the moment I’m kind of stuck trying to figure out the most reasonable path forward.

 

Take it to a different shop and/or Honda dealer to get a different set of eyes on it.

TBH, there's remarkably little subtlety in the fit suspension. In the front, there's the lower control arm, steering knuckle (with the wheel bearing, hub and brake), strut (aka damper, with coil-over spring) and steering rack.

It looks complicated, but there's not a lot of parts there. There's rubber bushings between the lower arm (9/10) and body, and a ball joint (4 is the dust boot for the ball joint) that connects it to the bottom of the steering knuckle (2/3):

The strut bolts directly to the knuckle. The lower arm's ball joint and the strut shaft act as pivot points for the steering. The steering rack connects to an arm off the side of the knuckle which is hidden behind stuff in the above views (the very end of it is visible in the exploded view). The rods that connect the steering rack to the knuckle are made of two pieces that screw-thread together (provides adjustment when doing an alignment). The inner half that attaches to the rack is called the "rack end", the outer half is called the "tie rod end". Sorry, I don't have a diagram that shows both without being frighteningly complicated. The rack ends are inside the part labeled "boot", there's a boot on each end of the rack, though only one is labeled:


Rack ends are covered by a large dust boot and bathed in grease, so they don't fail unless the dust boot is damaged or the car is in an accident. Same goes for the ball joint on the tie rod end, though it has a much smaller dust boot which is in plain view when the wheel is off. Tie rod and rack end ball joint failures should have obvious play and/or clunking noises when moved.

The rear suspension is much simpler. There's one trailing arm/beam that both rear wheels and brakes attach to (via bearings). The arm pivots on a pair of rubber bushings, a coil spring on each side supports the weight of the car, along with a shock absorber (the other kind of damper) to keep bump motion under control.


The rubber bushings are in the part of the axle beam closest to the bottom of the pic. All the unmarked squiggly lines are brake-related - The hydraulic line on top of the axle beam, the parking brake cable under the beam, and the squiggle in front of the damper is the wire for the wheel speed sensor for ABS and VSA.

 

Thanks, that explanation actually helps a lot. One thing that’s been overwhelming me is feeling like there are an infinite number of possible causes, so simplifying how the front suspension geometry actually works is really useful.

What keeps standing out to me though is the progressive caster change on the right side combined with the worsening self-centering and wandering.

Do you think a lower control arm bushing that’s shifting/deforming under load could realistically explain both the caster drift and the steering feel gradually getting worse over time?

What also confuses me is that the problem already existed mildly before, but it became noticeably worse after installing the aftermarket suspension, and then dramatically worse after replacing the aftermarket top mounts with OEM Honda top mounts.

At highway speeds now the car wanders much more left/right than before and the steering no longer feels natural or “go-kart like” the way Fits normally do.

Does that progression sound more like a geometry/compliance issue to you, or does it start pointing more toward the rack itself?

 

In my experience, solid bushings (two concentric metal tubes with the space between filled with rubber) mostly fail when the rubber de-bonds or otherwise tears free from one of the tubes. That lets the center tube twist with respect to the outer tube and also move along the tubes' axis. In the case of the lower control arm's forward bushing, the free twisting isn't a big deal, but the axial movement would let the whole arm move forward and aft (not very far, but more than it was designed to), changing caster with braking and accelerating events. I think this would more likely be a source of metal-on-metal squeaking rather than handling issues.

Non-solid bushings have similar concentric tube construction, but are larger and have voids in the rubber, resulting in one or more rubber "arms" linking the inner and outer tubes. Examples include the engine mounts, rear beam bushings, and front lower control arm's rear bushing. Typically, a surface crack in the rubber becomes a stress point which evolves into a tear all the way through one or more of those arms. The center tube is usually still trapped in the outer tube, but is no longer suspended by the rubber as intended. The center tube (with whatever portion of rubber that's still attached) can be forced into those void spaces - depending on the specific bushing's construction, the center tube ends up flopping around within the confines of the outer tube.
In the context of the front lower control arm, that would let the position of the lower ball joint (steering pivot) pivot around the front bushing with steering and/or braking/acceleration forces.
If the bushing were cracked when you originally took it in for struts, the technician may have unbolted the strut and let the weight of the knuckle, bearing, brake, and outer axle (ball park - 40 lbs / 20 kg?) all sit on the ball joint at the end of the lower arm. In other words, that weight was resting on a lever arm trying to twist the bushings. I'm not saying that's an unusual practice or "wrong" per-se. Healthy bushings should be able to take that. Rather, I'm saying that every time they replaced the struts, the tired bushings got a thrashing.