Negative Camber Problem; What You Need To Do To Get The Upper Control Arms Replaced
Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2
Re: Negative Camber Problem; What You Need To Do To Get The Upper Control Arms Replac
Thanks for the reply and link to 8thcivic.com, I'll check it out today. I've almost got 40,000 miles on my 2006 Si now and the tire wear and vibration problem is not getting any better, I'm just wearing out my rear tires even though I rotate them constantly. Since I don't use my Si for anything except to drive to work, I think that a slight reduction in handling would be a great trade off for me even if I have to purchase the control arms myself. They would be a lot cheaper than a new set of tires!
Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 42
Re: Negative Camber Problem; What You Need To Do To Get The Upper Control Arms Replac
Your are right about costs. Purchase price for the arms and bolts ranges between 100 to 200 hundred dollars. plus time, one hour. plus alignment. The difference in vibration, sound and handling at speed in the HCH is very noticeable.
I am far from an expert, but comparing the Civic to any BMW design is probably not a good comparison as there are a great number of other suspension and weight variables in play.
--Peterg
I am far from an expert, but comparing the Civic to any BMW design is probably not a good comparison as there are a great number of other suspension and weight variables in play.
--Peterg
Hybrid-Hugger
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 111
From: Calgary, AB, Canada
Re: Negative Camber Problem; What You Need To Do To Get The Upper Control Arms Replac
Can a Canadian owner advise if they have had this fixed on their HCH II. I read the Canadian TSB and it clearly says 2006-07 Civic (EXCEPT SI & HYBRID). This tells me it is only an issue on the Canadian made Civics and not the Japanese made Hybrids.
Thanks
Thanks
Active Enthusiast
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 72
From: Ontario Canada
Re: Negative Camber Problem; What You Need To Do To Get The Upper Control Arms Replac
I got the work done to my 07.
I printed out at least a quarter inch of complaints, tsb's etc and dropped copies to my salesman and the service manager.
I also called honda canada and complained from a safety point of view.
We could not drive our HCH in a straight line in icy/packed snow road conditions. The rear end would swerve all over the road. Depending on the road conditions it would swerve into the left lane onto oncoming traffic..needless to say we were unable to drive at speed and we a hazard ourselves due to our low speed. I asked them if they were going to fix the car before or after I was involved in an accident due to a documented defect in ther vechicle. I had a case number that day and the dealer called me to book an appointment.
The problems only happened in poor road conditions. When the roads were clear, we drove to the dealer (50 km away) and complained, but of course they could find nothing wrong, except for the abonormal tire wear in the rear.
I printed out at least a quarter inch of complaints, tsb's etc and dropped copies to my salesman and the service manager.
I also called honda canada and complained from a safety point of view.
We could not drive our HCH in a straight line in icy/packed snow road conditions. The rear end would swerve all over the road. Depending on the road conditions it would swerve into the left lane onto oncoming traffic..needless to say we were unable to drive at speed and we a hazard ourselves due to our low speed. I asked them if they were going to fix the car before or after I was involved in an accident due to a documented defect in ther vechicle. I had a case number that day and the dealer called me to book an appointment.
The problems only happened in poor road conditions. When the roads were clear, we drove to the dealer (50 km away) and complained, but of course they could find nothing wrong, except for the abonormal tire wear in the rear.
Last edited by Ontario07Civic; Mar 27, 2008 at 06:14 AM.
Thread Starter
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Ridiculously Active Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 941
From: San Diego, CA, USA
Re: Negative Camber Problem; What You Need To Do To Get The Upper Control Arms Replac
Kevin:
Would you mind letting us know which dealer fixed your problem? We have none in Ontario, or even Canada.
Thanks
Would you mind letting us know which dealer fixed your problem? We have none in Ontario, or even Canada.
Thanks
Great Mileage and Green
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 107
From: Erie, Colorado
Re: Negative Camber Problem; What You Need To Do To Get The Upper Control Arms Replac
Many thanks for the posting. I'll be contacting my dealer here in Colorado and see where that leads. So far I've not had any symptoms with one year and 18,000 miles on the car.
Active Enthusiast
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 72
From: Ontario Canada
Re: Negative Camber Problem; What You Need To Do To Get The Upper Control Arms Replac
My dealer is Kingston Honda - http://www.kingstonhonda.ca/
Kingston Honda
2839 Princess Street
Kingston Ontario
Canada
K7L 4V2
Kingston Honda
2839 Princess Street
Kingston Ontario
Canada
K7L 4V2
Active Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 58
Re: Negative Camber Problem; What You Need To Do To Get The Upper Control Arms Replac
This is part II...
2 days after contacting Honda, they called back and told me to take the car to a different dealer, as this one was not going to help and that they had not attempted any diagnostics. They where to call me back next week to follow up (they did)
I took the car to Kolbe Honda (mi wife did) and I had an argument over the phone with the sales man (er, service advisor) when he told me that my rear tires needed to be replaced... It was useless to tell him that they had been rotated a month before because the then rear tires made that noise... Told him about the TSB and all that, and he even got mad at me and told me that "Honda did not want customers to do diagnostics". After mentioning that I would open a case with Honda (I already had it) and some more going back and forth, the sales guy finally agreed to ask his foreman to check for any pertinent TSB's. The guy was rude and offended, as his foreman had told him the noise will go away replacing the tires... to come back later, I'm sure.
Any way, they called me again the next day and told me that they where going to do the TSB, and my wife even got a rental.
So Kolbe Honda did perform at the end, even against the service sales guy initial desire. Because that's whay the service advisors are, dont forget that. Insist that the information is relayed to the foreman.
They had the car in total 3 days, replaced the control arms and did the alignement as per TSB (no tires, they wanted $120 each) replaced armrest and drivers side weatherstripping and lubed my window (keeps popping out, but they could not reproduce it)
So Add Kolbe Honda in Reseda, CA to the good dealership list.
Incidentally, today I got a call from the other dealer, Keyes of Woodland Hlls, to tell me that the parts where there (armrest and weather strip) told the lady that the job had been done by other dealer that did perform all needed work...
Juan S. Fernandez
06HCH / 06FEH AWD
2 days after contacting Honda, they called back and told me to take the car to a different dealer, as this one was not going to help and that they had not attempted any diagnostics. They where to call me back next week to follow up (they did)
I took the car to Kolbe Honda (mi wife did) and I had an argument over the phone with the sales man (er, service advisor) when he told me that my rear tires needed to be replaced... It was useless to tell him that they had been rotated a month before because the then rear tires made that noise... Told him about the TSB and all that, and he even got mad at me and told me that "Honda did not want customers to do diagnostics". After mentioning that I would open a case with Honda (I already had it) and some more going back and forth, the sales guy finally agreed to ask his foreman to check for any pertinent TSB's. The guy was rude and offended, as his foreman had told him the noise will go away replacing the tires... to come back later, I'm sure.
Any way, they called me again the next day and told me that they where going to do the TSB, and my wife even got a rental.
So Kolbe Honda did perform at the end, even against the service sales guy initial desire. Because that's whay the service advisors are, dont forget that. Insist that the information is relayed to the foreman.
They had the car in total 3 days, replaced the control arms and did the alignement as per TSB (no tires, they wanted $120 each) replaced armrest and drivers side weatherstripping and lubed my window (keeps popping out, but they could not reproduce it)
So Add Kolbe Honda in Reseda, CA to the good dealership list.
Incidentally, today I got a call from the other dealer, Keyes of Woodland Hlls, to tell me that the parts where there (armrest and weather strip) told the lady that the job had been done by other dealer that did perform all needed work...
Juan S. Fernandez
06HCH / 06FEH AWD
So far, add Woodland Hills Keyes (CA) to the bad dealer list...
Car has 29000 miles, and the noise from the back was driving me crazy for the last... I'd say almost a year by now. On the last oil change they rotated and equilibrated the tires, telling me that the tires would have to be replaced at some point soon that the noise was due to tire cupping...
Later on I found about the bulletin.
I had my wife take the car there last week with the service bulleting. We listed the things to be done (service bulletin, driver door seal replacement, fix to the window off track problem on same door and the arm rest covering is coming out on the back) They gave her an appointment for today and that they needed the car for all day.
She brings in the car early and the service advisor tells me that the tsb does not apply to the hybrid.
My wife had it there on her hand, I had him read the document where it said all civics 06, the column about the hybrid tires... they guy wont budge. One of his mechanics even told him that they could not do it anyway as the hybrid battery was in the rear! He told me that they checked the vehicle VIN for any recalls and that there where none. I explained him that this was not by VIN, but by year and by diagnosing the issue by looking at the tires... non sense to him.
Then it ends up that they did NOT have ANY of the needed parts in stock, no door seal, no arm rest, nothing to fix the window... WHY DID THEY HAVE US BRING THE CAR IN!
I finally requested the Honda customer care number, his name and opened a case with them. I should have an answer in 24 to 48 hours.
So at this point, Keyes Honda is on the wrong side. I'll keep you guys posted on HONDA's reply.
Juan S. Fernandez
06 HCH / 06 FEH AWD
Car has 29000 miles, and the noise from the back was driving me crazy for the last... I'd say almost a year by now. On the last oil change they rotated and equilibrated the tires, telling me that the tires would have to be replaced at some point soon that the noise was due to tire cupping...
Later on I found about the bulletin.
I had my wife take the car there last week with the service bulleting. We listed the things to be done (service bulletin, driver door seal replacement, fix to the window off track problem on same door and the arm rest covering is coming out on the back) They gave her an appointment for today and that they needed the car for all day.
She brings in the car early and the service advisor tells me that the tsb does not apply to the hybrid.
My wife had it there on her hand, I had him read the document where it said all civics 06, the column about the hybrid tires... they guy wont budge. One of his mechanics even told him that they could not do it anyway as the hybrid battery was in the rear! He told me that they checked the vehicle VIN for any recalls and that there where none. I explained him that this was not by VIN, but by year and by diagnosing the issue by looking at the tires... non sense to him.Then it ends up that they did NOT have ANY of the needed parts in stock, no door seal, no arm rest, nothing to fix the window... WHY DID THEY HAVE US BRING THE CAR IN!
I finally requested the Honda customer care number, his name and opened a case with them. I should have an answer in 24 to 48 hours.
So at this point, Keyes Honda is on the wrong side. I'll keep you guys posted on HONDA's reply.
Juan S. Fernandez
06 HCH / 06 FEH AWD
Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 36
Re: Negative Camber Problem; What You Need To Do To Get The Upper Control Arms Replac
being that i am a honda tech in socal i can tell you that the job for the control arms is quick. maybe 30 minutes if your good. the alignment is quick with proper equipment. you should be in and out in about 2 hours or less with an appointment. the biggest problem i see with this is the prorate on the tires. most people dont start to see the effects of degrading tire wear untill the prorate is aleady out. meaning yes you get your control arms and alignment but you have to buy the tires
iSteve
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 60
From: Australia
Re: Negative Camber Problem; What You Need To Do To Get The Upper Control Arms Replac
My dealer did 2 wheel alignments and sent the information to Honda Australia for evaluation.
Honda Australia called me today and wanted to organise a time for me to take the car back to the dealer vehicle for more evaluation and if they find anything untoward it is at my expense. I have already paid $65 for the wheel alignment. they have totally disregarded the TSB and state that it does not apply to Australia.
I asked for a loan car and they werent really interested in helping, Il have to ask the dealer, they have made me feel like this is my fault and regardless that the symtoms are the same and the cause and diagnosis has been done already by other countrys.
Ill post the specs of the wheel aligment tomorrow
Honda Australia called me today and wanted to organise a time for me to take the car back to the dealer vehicle for more evaluation and if they find anything untoward it is at my expense. I have already paid $65 for the wheel alignment. they have totally disregarded the TSB and state that it does not apply to Australia.
I asked for a loan car and they werent really interested in helping, Il have to ask the dealer, they have made me feel like this is my fault and regardless that the symtoms are the same and the cause and diagnosis has been done already by other countrys.
Ill post the specs of the wheel aligment tomorrow
