Factory Service Bulletin for Rear Control Arms

[jerimint]

I was experiencing wicked bad road noice from my rear tires and they were wearing very uneavenly. I took it to a Honda Service dealer and I got new rear control arms, two new tires, and a full alignment for free. I this this is limited to certain serial numbers. I had to fight a little for them to replace the tires. My car has only 25K miles. Good luck

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[Demonis]

Whats your model and year? that will help other owners with any complaints.

[IT GUY]

in for more info.

[Caveman74]

all the 08's have correct camber arms now. There was too much uneven wear on tires. The 08's are pretty much straight up.

So if you lower your car, the 08 arms might do you right

[reaper702]

crap, what year si's are affected?

[ekb16]

[Nighthawk R18]

looks like Si's arent affected. ima have to bring my car in tomorrow. i might just score me an alignment.

will they turn me down if im lowered?

[pd0019]

^ most likely.

thanks for posting the TSB...im going to check my car out tomorrow.

[pato5449]

where do you find these factory service bulletins? is something sent to you or is their a website?

[ekb16]

Originally Posted by pato5449

where do you find these factory service bulletins? is something sent to you or is their a website?

im a tech at Honda so i get access to pretty much everything online

[Caveman74]

Honda changed all the camber arms for 08'.. Thats not right to leave out the Si.

[IT GUY]

Originally Posted by Caveman74

Honda changed all the camber arms for 08'.. Thats not right to leave out the Si.

X2

[Nighthawk R18]

wheres the VIN range? i hope they would still do it even with my springs on.

[IT GUY]

The top of the service bulletin says "all 2006-07 civics except SI" It doesn't give a VIN range, so it leads me to believe that this is for anyone but the SI guys

I do think you need to have tire wear or problem with noise for them to do anything. I can also see them blaming any suspension noise or tire wear on a set of lowering springs

[2008fijibluesi]

Originally Posted by IT GUY

The top of the service bulletin says "all 2006-07 civics except SI" It doesn't give a VIN range, so it leads me to believe that this is for anyone but the SI guys

I do think you need to have tire wear or problem with noise for them to do anything. I can also see them blaming any suspension noise or tire wear on a set of lowering springs

Yes...you need tire wear for them to address the problem. If it isn't worn down to a certain point, you will have to wait. Sounds dangerous to me

[janetsusan]

Okay, I'm a woman, and not at all used to joining this type of forum. But I thought you people might want to hear my sad tale. I've been driving back and forth from the Detroit area to Chicago for the 1-1/2 I've owned the Civic. I have a 91-year old Mom with Alzheimers back in Chi-Town whom I help care for. I always got regular oil changes (not at Honda) and assumed since the tires were so new didn't need to worry about them. Did start experiencing noises on the road a while back (like a thumping or something knocking in the rear). But believe me when you are running back and forth every two weeks trying to keep two households running you tend to ignore what you consider minor annoyances. I finally decided to take my car to the local Honda dealership for a 30K maintenance. While there I was told there was a TSB and they would perform the work on my car. When I called to find the status of the work I was informed my rear tires were really bad and the dealership could replace them for $148 each. I was told the front tires should be replaced soon but not given any indication it was as much a priority as the rear tires. We have a membership at Costco and I knew my brother got his tires there at a pretty good price so I told the dealership no thanks on their $148 per tire deal I would get the tires on my own. To make the story even more interesting I later got a call from the dealership that there had been an accident with my car at the dealership. They were having problems with the sensors on the doors in the service area and a door had come down on the roof of my car and caused damage! Of course they offered free repairs and a loaner but this was the weekend I was scheduled to drive back to Chicago. So I took the car to Costco and told them I need two new rear tires (got them of course at a better dealer than the dealership!). After they had the car on the rack I was informed the front tires were really as bad as the rear and needed to get them replaced also (I was shown the tires and believe me I didn't question the decision at all). My purpose in writing this blog is to vent on my feelings for how Honda handled this whole business of getting customers notified of this life-threatening issue. When I think of all the trips I made back and forth to Chicago in all sorts of bad weather I cringe at the thought of what might have been. I really think the reimbursement schedule shown in the TSB sucks. I bought a Honda because of its reliability. I really question that decision at this time. Thanks for letting me vent.

[high_revs]

Originally Posted by Nighthawk R18

wheres the VIN range? i hope they would still do it even with my springs on.

put your stock springs on, it states on the bulletin if any modifications or signs of racing it is voided. trust me, they arent gonna warranty it if in fact there are signs of uneven wear.

[high_revs]

"tires must not show signs of abuse (such as from rracing or other physical damage). Abused tires are not covered by this bulletin.

[tallpinesman]

Same problem, same miles....but HONDA says the tires are on me....if you can give me some details on your car ( vin, etc ) I could inform their service rep that they can't treat me this way!

[jumboshrimp23]

this does not apply to me cuz I have rims

[kwh165]

So the SI control arms are good from the beginning

[tallpinesman]

I just got off the phone with HONDA...they will not replace my rear tires that have been ruined due to the TBS on the rear geometry.....tires are useless now and it is the falt of HONDA......last one I buy!

[high_revs]

Originally Posted by kwh165

So the SI control arms are good from the beginning

no they were affected as well.

[larryka]

ekb16 or anyone else that can answer,

I have the following questions:

1. Do you know if the "C" is missing on the rear upper control arms of a 2008 Civic Hybrid if that means the arms are the old, incorrect parts (page 4 of TSB 08-001 states that the replaced arms should be marked with a "C")?

2. Let's say the "C" doesn't have to be there for the arms to be correct, do the 2008 rear upper control arm part numbers need to be 04253-SNA-A00 as specified in the TSB in order to be correct?

3. Is the production date more important than the model year to determine if the correct arms were installed at the factory?

My 2008 Civic Hybrid, that was made in 11/07 according to a sticker in the driver's door jam, does not have the "C" on its rear upper control arms, so I'm still concerned that it may have the wrong arms. I only have 200 miles on the odometer, so obviously I'd rather get the correct arms now rather than at 20,000 with ruined tires.

Thanks.



Modified by larryka at 1:12 PM 3/6/2008

[ChargedSI]

Originally Posted by janetsusan

Okay, I'm a woman, and not at all used to joining this type of forum. But I thought you people might want to hear my sad tale. I've been driving back and forth from the Detroit area to Chicago for the 1-1/2 I've owned the Civic. I have a 91-year old Mom with Alzheimers back in Chi-Town whom I help care for. I always got regular oil changes (not at Honda) and assumed since the tires were so new didn't need to worry about them. Did start experiencing noises on the road a while back (like a thumping or something knocking in the rear). But believe me when you are running back and forth every two weeks trying to keep two households running you tend to ignore what you consider minor annoyances. I finally decided to take my car to the local Honda dealership for a 30K maintenance. While there I was told there was a TSB and they would perform the work on my car. When I called to find the status of the work I was informed my rear tires were really bad and the dealership could replace them for $148 each. I was told the front tires should be replaced soon but not given any indication it was as much a priority as the rear tires. We have a membership at Costco and I knew my brother got his tires there at a pretty good price so I told the dealership no thanks on their $148 per tire deal I would get the tires on my own. To make the story even more interesting I later got a call from the dealership that there had been an accident with my car at the dealership. They were having problems with the sensors on the doors in the service area and a door had come down on the roof of my car and caused damage! Of course they offered free repairs and a loaner but this was the weekend I was scheduled to drive back to Chicago. So I took the car to Costco and told them I need two new rear tires (got them of course at a better dealer than the dealership!). After they had the car on the rack I was informed the front tires were really as bad as the rear and needed to get them replaced also (I was shown the tires and believe me I didn't question the decision at all). My purpose in writing this blog is to vent on my feelings for how Honda handled this whole business of getting customers notified of this life-threatening issue. When I think of all the trips I made back and forth to Chicago in all sorts of bad weather I cringe at the thought of what might have been. I really think the reimbursement schedule shown in the TSB sucks. I bought a Honda because of its reliability. I really question that decision at this time. Thanks for letting me vent.

I can appreciate your situation and am sorry you had a bad experience with your local dealer.

The issue with the control arm is not "life threatening". The rear control arm is not going to brake and throw your car into a wall. As a vehicle owner, you should be checking your tire wear on a regular basis, just like you check your oil and water.

After 30,000 miles, even if you do not do the maintenance yourself, I find it hard to believe that no one pointed out to you the uneven and excessive wear on your tires. Even Jiffy Lube will do that. Regardless, as a vehicle owner you have a responsibility to ensure the maintenance of your vehicle is up to date. You make it sounds like you were driving around on bald tires, which placed you in a "live threatening" situation. That is not Honda's fault, that's your fault for not paying proper attention to your vehicle. I don't mean to sounds like an ass, but I find it frustration when people blame others for "life threatening situation" that they place themselves in.

Anyway, I hope everything worked out in the end for you.