Any auto mechanics out there ?

[Smokin Okie]

This is long, but I'm at a loss as to what to do with my wife's 2018 Honda Civic with a little over 37,000 miles.

The rear tires were worn on the outside. It somehow got out of alignment badly. Wife said she remembered cutting a corner and hitting a curb with the rear tire. But she was pulling out on to a street and not going very fast.

So we put a new set of tires on it and got an alignment. The guy at the shop said he could not get the rear aligned. He thought there was something bent in the suspension and suggested we take it to a dealer.

The dealer sort've laughed and told us it was a bushing that was worn and the tire guy probably tried to tighten it too much. So he ordered a new bushing and we scheduled the work.

Then after doing the work, the dealer tells us it was not the bushing and did not charge us for the work. He thought there was something bent in the suspension and recommended a local frame shop. He thought they could straighten what was bent or put on a new part.

We go to the frame shop and we're told there's nothing bent. They want $1,000 for " adjustable upper control arms ". Its an aftermarket item. I asked him, what did Honda do, build a car that cannot be aligned ? He told me they see it every day. Said the rear suspension just " gets worn out " . That its common with Civics.

Well, we called the dealer they say its not common. The guy at the tire shop said nothing about it being a common occurrence. I've searched the internets and there's nothing about this being a complaint with 2018 Civics. Even ChatGPT can't find anything .

Monday, we're gonna go back and talk to the dealer. But I'm not optimistic. I don't know who to believe and what my options are. If its not far out of alignment, we might just drive it. Or I might trade it.

I've never run across anything like this.

 

[Winterrider]

Don't claim to be a mechanic but "rear suspension parts" should not be worn out at 37k miles. If it doesn't shimmy at Hwy speeds, I would tend to drive it, just watch tire wear.

 

[DemonPit]

Head over to a Honda tuner forum. You should get all the help you need. Especially of its a common issue with Hondas.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Head over to a Honda tuner forum. You should get all the help you need. Especially of its a common issue with Hondas.

Found one, thanks

 

[Bigtank]

If everything is tight ie not worn, rotate the tires at every oil change. That will get the most even tire wear possible. Trade it for something that does not have a solid rear axle. I know more about Toyotas, Corolla has the same solid rear. Camry does not.

 

[babydocsmoker]

I'm not a honda guy, or a hard core car guy at that, but I can tell you that 37K miles is just getting worn in for that car. There's no way its a common thing. Id steer clear of that frame guy.... Let us know how it goes!!

 

[Brokenhandle]

Can't help you out but I'd go with trading it off as well. Curious as to how you turn out.

Ryan

 

[chopsaw]

We go to the frame shop and we're told there's nothing bent. They want $1,000 for " adjustable upper control arms ". Its an aftermarket item. I asked him, what did Honda do, build a car that cannot be aligned ? He told me they see it every day. Said the rear suspension just " gets worn out " .

I was an ASE certified auto mechanic before I got in the Carpenters . That was a long time ago , but even back then it was common to see vehicles with non adjustable suspension .
Even low milage cars would need parts replaced to be brough back into specs .

I searched for recalls and service bulletins for a 2018 Civic .
Saw some noise related issues for the rear of the car .
Had a " common complaint " for pre mature wear on the steering rack . Wouldn't cause rear tire wear , but might keep it out of alignment specs .

Then I stumbled across some after market rear suspension ad on that controls rear suspension lateral flex . That would certainly cause wear on the outside of the tire .

I would go back to the dealer , or find a different dealer . Those guys should know what it needs .
They have an untold resource of info , problems and fixes for all the common Honda issues .

 

[Smokin Okie]

I was an ASE certified auto mechanic before I got in the Carpenters . That was a long time ago , but even back then it was common to see vehicles with non adjustable suspension .
Even low milage cars would need parts replaced to be brough back into specs .

I searched for recalls and service bulletins for a 2018 Civic .
Saw some noise related issues for the rear of the car .
Had a " common complaint " for pre mature wear on the steering rack . Wouldn't cause rear tire wear , but might keep it out of alignment specs .

Then I stumbled across some after market rear suspension ad on that controls rear suspension lateral flex . That would certainly cause wear on the outside of the tire .

I would go back to the dealer , or find a different dealer . Those guys should know what it needs .
They have an untold resource of info , problems and fixes for all the common Honda issues .

That's what I'm thinking. Between the dealer and the frame shop, one of the two knows the problem.

 

[chopsaw]

That's what I'm thinking. Between the dealer and the frame shop, one of the two knows the problem.

For sure . Probably both . The frame shop will be more experienced with issues , or what they have seen . The dealer should know the trouble exists and what bulletins have been issued for that car .
Could be something out of the norm also .

 

[Smokin Okie]

I forgot the car is now at a quilting retreat , and she won't be home with it till the weekend. So I got a whole week before we go talk with the dealer.

 

[Chasdev]

Best advice for everybody who owns cars (because sooner or later they will need service) is visit the I.A.T.N. website and look in your area for a member shop.
IATN members join to find out the latest info and data on all makes and models.
The shops/Techs have to pay to join but are rewarded with a vast database of known pattern failures, and their fixes, plus tech info on older AND the newest models.
Members include dealership techs who report on issues that indepent shops won't read about for many months, if at all.
Info and help with tough computer/electrical problems too, there's a library of thorny issues (and fixes) plus known good and bad waveforms for comparison to waves captured in the field.
I joined back in the late 80's and it made me a much better diagnostician, plus got me in touch with Techs all over America all of whom were interested in upping their game.

 

[Smokin Okie]

I will tell you what I suspect. I think the frame shop guy is upselling me. I think he knows what part is bent. But there's not much money in that, so he's gonna upsell me on these aftermarket parts that I don't need.

I'm gonna talk to the dealer again. Put him on the spot to identify which part is bent. If he cant' do that, I'll go to another dealer.

Then if that fails, I'll go to Honda. Its ridiculous that I have to pay a $1,000 to get the rear wheels aligned. Even if my wife hitting a curb was the cause, that's just normal things that happen. I bought a Honda Civic just to avoid this very thing. They were known as dependable, low maintenance, economical cars.

If that all fails. I sell the car and go buy a Toyota.

 

[Bigtank]

Your insurance should cover the damage from hitting a curb, less the deductible, but it might not be worth turning in.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Your insurance should cover the damage from hitting a curb, less the deductible, but it might not be worth turning in.

Hell, I have no proof that parts are bent. No one can show me a bent part. I don't know what an adjustor would think about that.

But I don't wanna file a claim, it'll just give the insurance company another reason to raise my rates, which they're already doing by 20% every six months and blaming it on 5% inflation.

Which is another area I need to go shopping. The only way to beat their rate increases is to shop it around often.

 

[Chasdev]

Modern frame shops use computer measuring equipment and measurements are shown on-screen and can be printed out.
If the car has bent or twisted bits, the system will show you exactly where and how it's out of spec.
Get a print out and show it to the dealer if it proves there are no bent parts.
All the more reason to seek out an International Technicians Network member shop.
Better yet a frame shop that's a member would be the ideal.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Modern frame shops use computer measuring equipment and measurements are shown on-screen and can be printed out.
If the car has bent or twisted bits, the system will show you exactly where and how it's out of spec.
Get a print out and show it to the dealer if it proves there are no bent parts.
All the more reason to seek out an International Technicians Network member shop.
Better yet a frame shop that's a member would be the ideal.

Thanks for that advise.

We're headed back to the original dealer to report to him what the frame shop told us. See what they say about it.

After that, ladies in Mrs Okies quilting clatch are good friends with a Honda tech at another dealer and we will go talk to him.

But I really like the idea of a system that will show which part is defective. The guy at the frame shop said if he had to start replacing parts till he found the defective part, it would get real expensive. But I still think he's trying to sell me those aftermarket parts.

 

[Chasdev]

It won't name the bent part/s but it will show the angle/s of deflection which are not in line with factory specs.
There are only so many parts to deal with on a simple front wheel drive car, so unless the chasis (frame mount point/s) are bent or twisted, it has to be the control arms or other bits that suspend the rear wheels.
The chances of the chasis mount points being bent or tilted without the attaching parts also being bent are pretty much zero because the connecting parts are weaker tnan the chasis mount points.
Before going back to the dealer, I would suggest finding a more high tech frame shop with a lazer measuring system.