lachambers

Has anyone had any more luck with this issue. I'm going to raise the car and take a look at the TS behind the front left wheel and see if there is any grease inside the dust cap on the Tension Sensor. Will post back and let you know what I found out...

Smit

I had the same problem. Replacing the Torque Sensor fixed the issue.

netpsyche

I also have the same problem, thinking of getting used replacement torque sensor from a member here or entire rack. will let you guys know if i manage to fix the issue with just sensor or entire rack

lachambers

OK Everyone,,, This is really interesting. I jacked the car so that I could get under the front left side and reach the TS (Tension Sensor) which is just behind the front left tire. You don't have to remove the tire if you can get the car high enough to fit under. Looking straight up without removing anything there is the TS and it faces towards the driver on the steering shaft. There is a DUST COVER that keeps dirt out of the TS and it's internal bearings. It just slides on with no threads. Slide it back up the shaft towards the driver and you will see the internal bearing. The purple grease on top of the bearing was very dry and very thick. I cleaned out the old grease with a wooden stick like a Popsicle stick that I trimmed down and shot some WD 40 to loosen up the old grease which seemed to help removing the old grease. The only grease I had is regular lube grease that you would put lube a cars fittings with. There is probably a better grease but I do not know what it would be. I have the manual and it just says a grease point and does not say what type of grease. So I smeared this grease into the bearing as good as I could and pushed down the dust cover. I started driving the car and there was not much difference for the first few miles and the wheel would still shutter but not as intense. As I drove the car the next 20 miles the problem has almost gone completely away. I guess the grease has to work it's way down into that bearing.
Just an FYI .. My car is a Yellow 2002 with 30,200 total miles and I have owned it since new. When I took the car into the dealership (which was the FIRST ever problem with the car they told me it was the TS and they could not find one in the inventory or anywhere other than a used part and could not install a used part due to Honda's requirements. They also said this problem was well known issue according to Honda's hot line but could not fix this issue, so just brought the car home with a $130 charge.
Sorry for this long reply but I know those of you who are having this problem are very frustrated (like me) and want all the information they can find about it....If I have any negative changes to the car I will post here..
Good Luck...

lachambers

UPDATE, three weeks later, steering issue has totally gone away with the lubing of the TS..

X2board

Great news. What was your particular problem prior to adding the grease ?

Shuddering
Wandering Steering
Temperature Sensitive
Uneven / Irregular Assist
No Assist

lachambers

I't still doing fine NO ISSUES after the grease addition. My problem started about a year ago with very light issues while backing out of the garage and making a left turn after out of the garage. While the turn was initiated it would shutter the steering wheel. As last year went on it would come and go mainly in cooler temperatures. Then it started to get bad in Nov of 2016 where it would do it all the time in tight steering areas, moving forward and backwards. Then it started doing it while driving straight lines with slight inputs to the steering wheel. I would feel it lock up and go away then lock up. When I say lock up I mean like hitting a hard spot in the steering. I would always come back to normal after those little shutters in the steering wheel.
Since I added the grease it took a few miles to work in I guess and all the issues went away...
I took it back to the Honda service manger who I spoke with and he told me they were not allowed to add the grease to the TS... Yeah Right!!!
Hope this helps.....

X2board

Yes, helpful detail, thanks.

The manual does skip the grease type for that dust boot but likely it's just multipurpose grease like the rest of the areas on the TS. It's strange that greasing only that small area is helping.... you did not grease the needle bearing or remove the TS in any way according to your description. On my car, I can reach that area fairly easily from the top side of the engine bay so I will try this out on the weekend.

My issue involves no shuddering and I'm not sure as to the car's previous history of steering issue. The effect is no PS assist turning left at all, but my dust boot area also appears dry and in need of grease. I suspect an internal short on the TS if the grease doesn't work as my TS and motor wiring all have expected continuity.

lachambers

That is correct X2board, I did not do anything to the needle bearing or remove the TS. Yes, it does seem very weird that it fixed the issue with multipurpose grease under the TS dust cap... It has always felt like an electrical problem to me also... Hope it works for you, Please let us know what the outcome is after the grease addition... Good Luck!

X2board

I also posted this in another thread (FYI):-

"So I tested continuity on all the the EPS to Torque sensor connectors/wiring as well as the EPS to Motor wiring and everything checked out fine. Strange thing was that the Motor side of the 2P connector A has it's wires backward versus the manual's description (Green and Red wires)...I don't know if this is because of the right hand drive configuration of this car and a manual for a US model LHD car.

I did notice that when I tested the resistance of the torque sensor's internal wiring, the middle terminal 2, PVF, that connects to the BLU/RED wire on the connector side, showed no continuity to Ground. This male connector on the sensor side should go to ground according to the manual. So I guess that confirms that I need a Torque Sensor.... and explains why the sensor calibration procedure would not complete.

To test the grounding of the middle terminal on the sensor side of the TS connection is very simple if you have a multimeter. If your sensor does not show continuity to ground, it's a big question mark that can be answered in just a few minutes. The sensor can be accessed from the top of the bay if necessary.

**Also pulled the dust cap and greased the seal, but I doubt that would have any effect on my issue (No power assist left, only assist when turning right at any speed, no shuddering when turned in either direction, right hand assist is consistent, left turn assist never occurs."