Front Suspension Control Arm problems of the 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid

Honda had a class action settlement for replacement of upper control arm kit extended warranty due to rear wheel excessive tire wear, however I was not informed of issue and therefore have missed the deadline for warranty. After contacting american Honda, placing a claim for goodwill assistance and after reviewing they provided they could not do anything for me and that I could re-submit claim only after I had Honda dealer perform diagnostics which they charge $75 fee with no guarantee that they would recover this cost or provide any assistance for repair of issue. I know this is the issue as I have all original Honda oem parts, have noticed excessive inner tire wear on the right rear tire and had pep boys perform inspection alerting me to the Honda replacement kit. In my research I have also found statement that this condition can cause issues with steering and safety. With Honda repair prices much higher than other independent repair shops, there is no reason to pay Honda diagnostics charge simply to confirm what already established knowledge is. End result is that Honda has corrected a flawed design yet is not willing to make right with providing repair for newly designed replacement kit, which makes me a very un-satisfied customer of their products.

Experiencing premature tire wear out on rear tires (<30k miles of highway driving). Was informed through an internet search for known problems that there was a service bulletin (sb 08-001) that informed dealers that there were defective rear upper control arms that could cause premature tire wear. Inspection was required to determine if the control arms were defective. This information was not initially provided by the dealership when asked if there were any defect with the car. When the car was being brought in for a recall service, the service manager conceded that there was a service bulletin and that they would check out the car. The defect was confirmed and the control arms were replaced at no charge. The tires however were unusable and had to be replaced and Honda would not cover that expense even though the service bulletin specifically stated that the defect would cause premature tire wearout (cupping).

Uneven rear tire wear on 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid caused by flaw of upper control arms. Honda never told me even though I had to replace my rear tires 2 times - once at 15,000 miles and again at less than 31,000 miles. Was told that tire wear was because of how I drove, amount of air in tires, need of alignment although it was within specs, etc. Honda never told me that there was tbs 08-001 or that the repair was needed. I even went to Honda on Aug. 13, 2009 complaining of vibrations felt especially in the steering wheel when traveling on the highway at 68 mph. They put the car on the lift and my rear tires were worn on the inner bottoms right down to the steel belts! the told me that I needed tires and an alignment and said nothing about the need for the upper control arms even though the mechanic said to sal (the serviceman helping me) about some sort of recall only to have sal say that there were none. I was leaving for nc the following morning to visit my son and would definitely have had a horrible accident if I had driven the car that way. I went to a garage and got the rear tires put on. I went to a licensed mechanic in nc for the alignment, but was told that it was already within the specs. When I returned to NJ, I went to Honda again and told them that I needed to know why my tires kept wearing out and they pretty much said that they did not know and that I should call Honda, which I did. Fernando said that he would contact the manager at the dealership and that I should take the car back to him. It is only than that they replaced the parts and told me that it was covered by my extended warranty because of the wear on them. I feel that it had nothing to do with wear. They said nothing about the service bulletin. I investigated myself to find that many others had the same problem with their Hondas. I feel that this is a huge safety issue and there should have been a recall. Someone is going to get killed because of this.

Rear wheels upper control arm (service bulletin 08-001). I have a 2006 Civic Hybrid that wears the inner edge of the tires excessively. Caused by the defective design of the upper control arm. Having read other similar complaints this should be a national recall or replacement. Not just a service bulletin. It will cost me approx. $327 for this repair and Honda should cover it even though my car has exceeded the warranty period do to mileage. In Aug 2008 I replaced the factory dunlop tires because they were excessively noisy and rode ruff. I had a wheel alignment with the new tires 36500 mi. And again in may 2009 55441 mi and again July 2009 because of the uneven wearing of the tires, after the 3rd alignment 61400mi . The dealership made me aware of the service bulletin 008-001. The first two alignments were done at the tire shop. But I have had all my oil changes done at the dealership. Had there been a recall the mechanics would have been more aware and I wouldn't have cut the tire live by half. Request that this service bulletin be alleviated to a national recall due to defective design of the control arms.

In October of 2007, one of my tires had a blow out on the freeway, I have my vehicle serviced on a regular basis and was not aware that my tires were worn on the inside tread, they were rotated at every oil change, uneven wear would have been evident prior to needless replacement. The tires were replaced with the same dunlop tires that were originally on the car along with a front-end alignment. All past vehicles that I have owned have exceeded the mileage on the tires because of the consistent and regular maintenance of the vehicle, therefore I had no reason to expect less from my Honda Civic Hybrid. From October of 2007 (new tires) through April 2008 (service bulletin 08-001) I continued the consistent and regular servicing of my hybrid. This would have put my new tires at approximately 6 months of use. On April 22, 2009 I had my 2006 Civic Hybrid serviced, included in the service was the oil change, and tire rotation. After leaving the dealership, my car exhibited extreme vibration. I assumed that one of the tires was out of balance. I returned to the dealership on April 24, 2009 and explained the issue, I was informed that my tires were excessively worn, not on the whole tire, on the sides of the tires and they would need to be replaced. Upon further inspection by a technician, I was informed that there had been a service bulletin issued in April of 2008, but no recall on the control arms for 2006-07 Civic Hybrids. Service bulletin versus a recall, this is definitely a safety issue. I would never have knowingly driven my vehicle with unsafe tires, yet because I was not informed at the time I had my vehicle serviced, that is exactly what happened. I was traveling north when the tire blew out in October of 2007; I took my 4 grandchildren to disneyland in that vehicle on April 7 through April 9, 2009 and I shudder to think of what may have happened because of those tires. I am thoroughly disgusted and cannot possibly understand how I was not informed.

The contact owns a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid. The contact stated the alignment of the rear upper control arm was defective and causing the inside of the tires to wear prematurely. The contact would have the tires rotated at each oil change, and the failure would persist. The dealer advised any repairs would be at the contact's expense. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer would not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 89,000. Updated 09/29/10 the consumer stated the problem was corrected at no cost to him, except for the alignment. Updated 10/01/jb.

09/07 - took 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid in for service due to excessive vibration at speed. Was told tires were cupping despite excellent, documented vehicle maintenance (tire balancing, alignment and rotations incl. ). Dealership/Honda finally agreed to replace 3 tires, I paid for fourth. (dunlop tire defect was assumed cause) 03/09 - vibration and tire noise began to recur in approx. Feb 09 but didn't get vehicle in for service until 3/14/09. Diagnosis revealed cupping again. This time I was told that a Feb 2009 Honda service bulletin suggested to dealerships that if their civic owners complained of excessive/premature tire wear they should replace the rear upper control arms with the newly redesigned arms. The dealership rep stated that since this was not a safety issue no recall was required. I disagree that this is not a safety issue. My tires, after only 15,000 mi. Are seriously worn. So much so that Honda is refusing to replace or even give partial credit. If these tires would have blown on the road costly property damage, serious injury or even fatalities could occur. If this defect warranted the redesigning of an integral piece of the vehicles suspension system, then I strongly urge you to mandate that Honda replace these parts in all affected vehicles on the road. The only reason I found out about this was because of the vibration issue, not from notification from Honda. What about people that don't go to the dealership for service? how large does the potential loss of property/life have to be before the public is warned of this?.

I have a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid, which is exhibiting excessive and uneven rear tire wear. The tires were initially replaced in Feb. 2008, and again in June 2008 (along with the rear control arms). Now, in February 2009, the rear tires are worn out again on the inside, with cupping and scalloping of the tread. These tires have less than 20,000 miles since new, and have been rotated. This appears to be a common problem with the civic, and this problem is not being addressed or fixed by Honda.

The contact owns a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid. The contact stated that the tires are causing road noise due to a faulty rear lower control arm. The failure wears the tires down and could cause a blowout. A TSB was issued, but not a recall. The contact feels that a recall should be issued for this component since the manufacturer is aware of the failure. The current mileage was 94,105 and failure mileage was 85,000.

A rumbling noise emanating from the rear that has progressively increased in volume from ~12k to 38k miles. Recently noticed extreme wear on the inside of both rear tires and a pronounced toe out of both rear wheels. I also had several close calls from hydroplaning emanating from the rear. Numerous entries on the net indicated a serious problem with 06 to 08 civic rear control arms and a service bulletin issued 1/08 to replace these control arms. I was not contacted or informed in any way of this bulletin even though I had my 06 Honda civic at my dealer in may 08. After realizing the severity of the problem ie. Pure safety issue and running into denials and resistance from both pfluegar and tony Honda on oahu I called Honda corp. In California and they are going to deal with tony Honda for replacement of the arms. Honda must announce a recall on this serious defect before there is a rash of accidents/deaths due to their unconscionable conduct regarding replacing this seriously defective part. Contacted pfluegar Honda honolulu.

This 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid wears out the rear tires within one tire rotation. The inner edges of both rear tires wear away causing instability of vehicle especially on wet surfaces. Honda is replacing the rear upper control arms under warranty as per a technical service bulletin but are not covering tires worn out after 21,000 miles. This vehicle has had 2 four wheel alignments and 2 tires replaced by Honda prior to getting control arms. I am now trying to get them to pay for the 2nd set of tires it has worn out. I believe there defect in the rear suspension geometry is putting people at risk by wearing out tires prematurely.

Lower control arm snapped and broke while driving on interstate traffic.

My rear tires cup and make excessive road noise and causes car to shake. Honda replaced the control arms as part of a service bulletin and paid for half the cost of new tires. However, the problem continues and Honda won't do anything. I took the car to a local service garage after Honda claimed it was now an alignment issue. Local service garage told me alignment was all within specs. I've found through research on the internet and discussions with other owners that this is a very common problem.

Honda civics 2006, 2007 have faulty rear control arms that ruin tires and cause unsafe control of the car. Customer service isn't. I have a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid. I am trying to get bad tires replaced that Honda's faulty rear control arms ruined. My local dealer replaced the control arms. Honda never sent a recall. Honda reps have blamed me for not rotating the tires every 5000 miles perfectly. The tread isn't gone. The tires are warped from misalignment - not a rotation issue. In fact, if I had never rotated the tires, at least the front ones would not have been ruined. At this point, I feel ripped off and lied to. Tires with about 18000 shouldn't be unsafe and need to be replaced. My first complaints were at about 16000 miles when I my car was the worst car on the road in snow at 5 mph. (I put snow tires on from then to April, but I never had to do that before with normal wear all season radials. ) Honda America has been talking in circles and making me wait for another decision. Check the net. These control arms are a real issue.

Car started having excessive tire noise in the rear. Then excessive wear on inside of tires. Took car into dealer and they said agreed it was a problem but could do nothing about it. Had to contact the tire company. Tried to do this but not successful. Replace rear tires at around 29,000 miles. Now at 45,000 miles the 2nd set of tires are making the same noise and have same wear problem. Found out on a blog site that Honda has a TSB out now to replace upper control arms that are defective on all 2006 and 2007 civics except si model. Now trying to work with dealer to replace the upper control arms with new changed design. Apparently Honda now admits there is a problem with original control arms. We will see how cooperative the dealer is with replacing them. I have the technical service bulletin copy and will be taking it to the dealer. Blog says they will not replace tires - even though all the excessive wear and noise is caused by the defective parts. Am still concerned about the safety of the vehicle with constant excessive wear to tires. Do not know if there are other problems that can be cause by this.

Very rapid rear tire wear due to unadjustable negative camber. Within months of purchase, the tires were severely worn and unsafe (hydroplaning and poor traction). . Read more...