Hi James,
A worn steering rack is not something you want to ignore. It also
should not occur on such a new car. And C$2,000 can buy a heck of a
lot of repairs; I find it hard to believe that a steering rack would
cost that much to replace.

My first approach would be to go back to the dealer (or another dealer
if you don't get satisfaction from the first one) and note that
this problem first appeared under warranty. (You do have your service
records, right?) It should have been repaired properly then. Ask to
speak to the Honda regional rep. Be polite and persistent. I suspect
that the rep will approve the repair under warranty.

If not, then seek out several opinions, especially from small, private
garages that specialize in Hondas or Japanese cars. You will find that
the repair cost can be much less than at a dealer.

Good luck.
Dan

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JP (jpan_home@hotmail.com) writes:
> Hi,
>
> I have a 2002 Honda Civic SiR (or Si in US), and it has been having
> steering problems:
>
> on launching, or at low speeds when the throttle is applied, there is
> a creaking sound coming from inside the dash. The sound is similar to
> an old door opening where the hinges need oil. Some times it is
> particularly loud and at others just a slight screech.
>
> I took it in to the dealership 6 months ago (under full warranty) and
> they told me it was the clutch rubbing the wrong thing and they told
> me they fixed it. The problem came back eventually but it was fairly
> minor and I just left it alone. However, last week the problem became
> extremely loud, and got me really worried about the part.
>
> I took it back to the dealership, and they told me that I needed to
> replace the steering rack, and the whole thing will cost about
> $2000CDN since the car is no longer under full warranty. I simply
> can't afford that, so I'm planning to ignore the problem until
> something seriouly breaks and I absolutely have to fix the car.
>
> Now, what's your opinion on this problem? Is there anything I can do?
> Please help! Thank you!
>
> James