Noisy Honda Civic

[Phil Conners]

We have a current-model Honda Civic about 5 years old, a few thousand clicks short of 60K km. About 5K km ago we replaced the factory tires with Yokohama Earth-1 205/55R16 tires, same dimensions as the originals.

We didn't notice any problems until recently, when I started noticing a quite loud resonance noise from the rear end, starting around 50 km/h.

We had LPG installed recently and at first I thought it had something to do with that, but after a test drive the mechanic said the tires were the problem and that I should get them aligned.

1) Is this likely to be the problem? I don't think I've ever had wheel alignments go out of whack before.

2) Could it be something else, like the gearbox or differential? Are there any known problems like that with Honda Civic?

3) If it is indeed a matter of wheel alignment, can anyone recommend a good place in Pattaya to have wheels realigned?

[culicine]

Interesting , I have earth one tires on my honda civic too - about 15K kms now. A while back i got a humming noise from the front at higher speeds -thought it was a wheel bearing, but mechanics at the dealer said no. I wonder if there is an issue with the tires/compound and it's causing the noise. Tread is still fine and no uneven wear. I think the alignment is OK but might get it rechecked at the next rotation (noise still existed after the rotation at 10K kms. Might be worth to do an internet search to see if others have an issue with these tires.

[stevenl]

Many possibles causes, but tires seems most likely. Get them aligned and balanced, and see what that brings.

[Phil Conners]

Hm, yes maybe I'll have them rotated at the same time they align them, if the noise then moves up front it's definitely a tire problem. I think they're balanced ok, there are no noticeable vibrations, just noise.

Actually come to think of it, the dealer issued some sort of guarantee on the tires, I might take the car up to Si Racha where I got the tires and have the dealer check it out.

[Gary A]

I doubt that alignment will help anything. I think the road noise comes from the tires. My Ford Focus now suffers from more road noise since the tires are older and have apparently gotten harder. A new set of softer tires will likely solve most of the problem. As for me, I just turn the stereo up a bit.

My pickup truck was quite noisy. The tires still had at least half the tread remaining. When I noticed that I had lost a lot of traction on wet roads I bought a new set. On the way home, I thought I was in a new truck. My imagination? I don't think so.

[culicine]

It seems I go through a set of tires every two years, but before I get to 50K I've normally had some uneven wear issues - I should have fixed that problem but putting the stock springs back in the rear to correct the negative camber. The heat / weather seems to kill tires quickly, and they go hard and noisy as mentioned. But the OP's tires are only 5K kms old; they are practically new. I think for my next set I'll go back to michelin pilot sport 3.

[bkmbkk]

It is your wheel bearings - don't believe the mechanic.

I had same problem on my Civic and after visiting different Honda shops one good mechanic finally came to same conclution - wheel bearing.

Changed the thing and the noise went away.

After another 10 K km the other bearing also went tits up - this happend around 40K km on the clock and onlrear bearings.

[transam]

It is your wheel bearings - don't believe the mechanic.

I had same problem on my Civic and after visiting different Honda shops one good mechanic finally came to same conclution - wheel bearing.

Changed the thing and the noise went away.

After another 10 K km the other bearing also went tits up - this happend around 40K km on the clock and onlrear bearings.

Tend to agree. Different tyres can reveal a bearing problem. Easy check for the right ''fitter''.

[Phil Conners]

I heard Honda Civic have problems with their wheel bearings so that would kinda make sense. A quick Google suggests that this wouldn't normally happen for at least 100K km - so isn't it a big quick to have this problem after 5 years/60K km?

I guess I'll have to visit the Honda shop and have them listen hear what they think.

[Phil Conners]

Interesting. Searching a bit, it seems in US there was a general recall of Honda Civic models from 06-07 (mine is a 07) for this exact problem. I wonder what Honda Thailand will say to that. Probably nothing

Recall document.

RCDNN-07V399-1316.pdf

[Lancashirelad]

Wondering why the quote button shows up for all the replies but not for the OP?

quite loud resonance noise from the rear end

2) Could it be something else, like the gearbox or differential? Are there any known problems like that with Honda Civic?

Have I got this right? You own it and are driving around in it for 5 years but you don't know at which end the driven wheels are?

Tyres don't go out of alignment, wheels do. More usually front ones who's alignment is controlled by the relatively thin steering rods. A good kerbing will knock them out of track which then usually causes shoulder wear on the tyres. Best observed by putting the steering on full lock, standing at the side of the wheel and looking down the front of it at the tread.

Be careful about this old fashioned idea of rotating tyres, many these days are directional. Also if you wear them all out at the same time, means dipping in your pocket for 4 new ones at once.

Also when a vehicle has been serviced or tyres been messed with in Thailand, ALWAYS check the pressures yourself as they are very likely to have been very over inflated for normal use = will wear the centre tread off & won't stop in the wet + uncomfortable ride.

My money's on a bearing.

Edited May 20, 2012 by Lancashirelad

[rakman]

I heard Honda Civic have problems with their wheel bearings so that would kinda make sense. A quick Google suggests that this wouldn't normally happen for at least 100K km - so isn't it a big quick to have this problem after 5 years/60K km?

I guess I'll have to visit the Honda shop and have them listen hear what they think.

Ever drive though some deep water, then park the car? Water can get into the bearings and even with the grease cause the bearing to get noisy. If the hub assembly gets hot with braking, it drives off the moisture, allowing the grease to do it's job.

[Phil Conners]

Wondering why the quote button shows up for all the replies but not for the OP?

That's normal, that's how the forum software works.

Have I got this right? You own it and are driving around in it for 5 years but you don't know at which end the driven wheels are?

Doh! Of course, Yes I know it's front wheel driven, but last i was under a car was my BMW 540i in Europe and I just had that mental image of a differential under the rear axis.

My money's on a bearing.

The more I read up on the Honda Civic the more I'm convinced this is the problem. A quite expensive one too and I don't suppose it'll be easy to get Honda Thailand to pick up the tab, even if it's a manufacturing problem.

Ever drive though some deep water, then park the car? Water can get into the bearings and even with the grease cause the bearing to get noisy. If the hub assembly gets hot with braking, it drives off the moisture, allowing the grease to do it's job.

I guess. We have some real big rain here sometimes, but I think the o-ring is supposed to take care of that problem, as far as I understand that was the reason for that factory recall I mentioned earlier.

[Phil Conners]

Yesterday I took the car to a German mechanic recommended by a fellow BM. I explained the noise without making any suggestions, but he immediately suspected it was the wheel bearings and confirmed it after a short test drive. Quote to replace both rear wheel bearing assemblies, labor + materials, just under 8K.

[raro]

I'm due for my second set of rear bearings, short of 130,000 on the clock...the first ones were replaced at something around 60 or 70k. Honda Civic disease you have to live with.

Last week driving back from Bangkok the sound changed from some humming that can be ignored to some really loud buzzing, as if you had a Cessna in the trunk.

[culicine]

I'm due for my second set of rear bearings, short of 130,000 on the clock...the first ones were replaced at something around 60 or 70k. Honda Civic disease you have to live with.

Last week driving back from Bangkok the sound changed from some humming that can be ignored to some really loud buzzing, as if you had a Cessna in the trunk.

This is the later model civic? I have the 7th gen and developed a humming, but at 190K kms. The honda dealer and bkwik both said its not bearings. The sound hasn't changed much in a few thousand kms - still a low hum from the front at 80KM/h ++. If I get the cessna effect I'll take it back:)

[raro]

Yep, its the 2007 model, 8th generation. The 7th generation did not have this problem.

Sent from my Nexus S using Thaivisa Connect App

[transam]

Yesterday I took the car to a German mechanic recommended by a fellow BM. I explained the noise without making any suggestions, but he immediately suspected it was the wheel bearings and confirmed it after a short test drive. Quote to replace both rear wheel bearing assemblies, labor + materials, just under 8K.

Sounds a lot of dosh for a couple of bearings.

[Phil Conners]

Actually I checked Honda and they wanted 7k for it so they get the job in this case.

Yes its expensive but you can't just replace the bearings, it comes as a complete wheel assembly.

[raro]

Actually I checked Honda and they wanted 7k for it so they get the job in this case.

Yes its expensive but you can't just replace the bearings, it comes as a complete wheel assembly.

that's exactly the problem..and yes, it is 6,900 for both.

[Phil Conners]

Actually I ended up taking it to Honda, and they only replaced the left even though I asked them to replace both. The bearing was 2,950, labor 308 + vat, total 3,486.

They also found one of the engine support things, a metal ding with some rubber ding inside that's supposed to stop the car from shaking was broken and replaced that @ 3,800 all in. They told me that was another "normal to change this after 5 years on Civic" thing. I wonder how many "normal things to break in a Civic" I'm going to find in the near future and if it's time to ditch the car before it gets too high maintenance.

[culicine]

Actually I ended up taking it to Honda, and they only replaced the left even though I asked them to replace both. The bearing was 2,950, labor 308 + vat, total 3,486.

They also found one of the engine support things, a metal ding with some rubber ding inside that's supposed to stop the car from shaking was broken and replaced that @ 3,800 all in. They told me that was another "normal to change this after 5 years on Civic" thing. I wonder how many "normal things to break in a Civic" I'm going to find in the near future and if it's time to ditch the car before it gets too high maintenance.

Yes I had that rubber mount replaced as well as it was split. I'm at 200K kms on my civic, I recently replaced the shock absorbers, as one was noisy in the front over bumps. The rubber mounts were also bad; total cost was about 15K. Other rubber suspension components needed replacing at about 130K kms.

Another major expense you may have is the air cond unit. My original lasted till about 170K kms but packed up. I spent about 11K for a non honda one to have it last less than 2 years, and have replaced that again. The honda unit is quite a bit more expensive.

Also my airbag sensor went faulty after 100K kms , out of warranty. I haven't fixed that as the original unit from honda is 17K baht. Honda said its not often for the unit to go bad; so I'm a bit unlucky there. Apart from those things, no major expenses till 200K kms.

Engine / gearbox are still great. But I always practice using neutral when stuck in traffic, and not leaving it in drive with my foot on the brake. Maybe that helps the gearbox a bit.

[Phil Conners]

Thanks for the input. Yes I do the same if i stop more than a moment.

I can understand things needs replacement after 100k or 150k km, but my car only has 60k on the clock.

I think it's a bit early for everything to start packing in. My old BMW 540iA went 170k before the first major thing failed (that happened to be the automatic gearbox which almost cost more to fix than the car was worth so that was when I sold it.)

[culicine]

Thanks for the input. Yes I do the same if i stop more than a moment.

I can understand things needs replacement after 100k or 150k km, but my car only has 60k on the clock.

I think it's a bit early for everything to start packing in. My old BMW 540iA went 170k before the first major thing failed (that happened to be the automatic gearbox which almost cost more to fix than the car was worth so that was when I sold it.)

Yes I agree, 60K is a bit early too. Those rubber mounts seem weak though. I wonder if there are some aftermarket products of better quality - different kind of rubber /polyurethane?? I think you've just been unlucky - the shocks should last ages, for example, so shouldn't have to worry about those just yet.

[Phil Conners]

And just as I got the car back, the "folding in" of the left side mirror has now packed in. I had to park and pressed the "fold mirrors" button. Right mirror no problem, left mirror didn't move. Moved it manually. Now the electric motor in the mirror won't stop, you can hear it running when the power is on with the engine off. Not impressed with Honda at this time.

[ThaiTrav]

Does anyone know where I vcan buy rasing springs for Honda Civic 2009 .Now on LPG ,add a few passengers in the back and a suitcase and it rides too low. I can't find anywhere in Pattaya that sell springs??

[watcharacters]

Thanks for the input. Yes I do the same if i stop more than a moment.

I can understand things needs replacement after 100k or 150k km, but my car only has 60k on the clock.

I think it's a bit early for everything to start packing in. My old BMW 540iA went 170k before the first major thing failed (that happened to be the automatic gearbox which almost cost more to fix than the car was worth so that was when I sold it.)

Another caution about buying a used car. 555

"(that happened to be the automatic gearbox which almost cost more to fix than the car was worth so that was when I sold it.)"

[Phil Conners]

I'd had it for years by then, it was still well worth the money.