Civic - Honda :: Loose Steering Wheel When Driving But Only About 30% Of The Time
Aug 31, 2015
2000 Honda Civic DX, green, four doors, 91,000 miles. A few weeks ago I noticed that the steering wheel was loose when driving but only about 30% of the time--didn't seem to be related to whether the car was warmed up or time of day or speed, just that it happened when the car was moving. The steering wheel would have play when the wheels were pointed/driving straight and the looseness went away when turning. I brought it in to the mechanic and of course he couldn't get it to happen when he drove it. Replaced worn inner tie rods, did a power steering flush/replaced the power steering fluid and did a front end alignment. Drove fine for two weeks but then it started occurring again, this time even more loose/more play in the steering, still only when driving straight. Oh, just one time (so far) a few days ago it was loose when I was standing still at a stop light.
View 10 Replies
Advertisement
2003 Honda Civic. Any speed between 30 and 50, car suddenly starts pronounced steering wheel shimmy, too intense to ignore. You can park, start up again and it's gone.
View 1 Replies
My 2005 Honda Civic just made it through a blizzard (outside the whole time). This morning I started driving it, and whenever I got above 45 mph the steering wheel started vibrating / whobbling very badly. My car seat was also vibrating. I poured hot water over the rims when I got home and that did not seem to work. Should I take it to a car wash? Is my car safe to drive?
View 1 Replies
Wife's 2004 Civic isn't pretty but usually runs like new. Over 200k and going strong.Yesterday she had trouble starting. Dash lights are bright. Battery is Interstate and under a year old. She wiggled the steering wheel and it started ok . Then it wouldn't later in the day. I tried moving the shifter (automatic). Tried moving the steering wheel. Nothing from the starter. Dash lights very bright. Let it sit overnight.Today the tow truck arrived. Started right up as if nothing was wrong. Ignition switch? Transmission sensor? Starter?
View 3 Replies
I own a 1997 Honda Civic EX. Automatic. 160,000 miles. I have had the front disk rotors and pads replaced five (5) times within the past two years due to "warped" rotor issue. I recently changed the two front calipers as well to rule out caliper issues. Yet I continually end up with a warped right front rotor weeks after putting on new rotors. Here is what happens. Car brakes fine for a week or two with the new rotors. Then shortly afterwards, the right front rotor (passenger side) quickly develops a rubbing -like noise (not a grinding noise) when braking at a low speed. It's not a constant rubbing noise but a rhythmic swoosh swoosh swoosh noise as the tire rotates and the brake is softly applied. You can feel it in the brake pedal. This noise eventually gets louder and louder the more I use the brakes (or, the hotter they get?). It can also cause the steering wheel to vibrate at certain speeds when braking.
I have had it into four different mechanics.
Mechanic 1: Your rotor is warped.
Mechanic 2: You are too hard on your brakes causing the rotor to warp.
Mechanic 3: Did you go through a puddle of water lately?
Mechanic 4: You need new brakes. Period.
This is getting ridiculous. In all my years of driving, I have never encountered this problem. I am not hard on my brakes. I do not believe the "water puddle" theory at all. I should mention, although these are not oem rotors. they are not some cheap Chinese ones either. Something must be causing this rotor to "warp" if it's really warping at all. I have had the tires rotated to rule out a bent rim. It happens no matter what tire is on the right front car. What could be causing this? A bad front end alignment... bad wheel bearing... (although no mechanic ever indicated that as a problem)... bent splash guard... bad master cylinder? Air in the brake lines... old brake fluid???
View 3 Replies
My wife drives a 2010 Honda Civic LX sedan with about 18k miles. She mentioned that its steering wheel started shaking a couple of weeks ago when driving at about 60 miles/hour at the same streth of the road during her daily commute. She did experience the problem during rest of her drive at lower speed. I drive the car about once a week at lower than 45 miles/hour and had no problem. I have checked the tires and noticed nothing obvious.
View 1 Replies
95 Honda Civic. Manual Trans and Steering. CV joints have 40K since rebuild, 50K on tires. Tire Press and Tq is good. Steering does not pull either way, suspension feels tight. Happens with/without brakes. I noticed that the steering wheel has developed an occasional left right shake that is proportional to the speed of the car. Seems to be most pronouced about 45 mph, however it continues until the car comes to a stop sometimes, well below the speed an unbalanced tire might be an issue. I noticed the problem when it started getting cold and can not figure out if it a road issue (in IL = bad roads), or a car issue.
View 2 Replies
The power steering on my 2001 Honda Civic intermittently cuts out and the wheel becomes really hard to turn. The belt is tight and the fluid level is correct.
The weird thing about it, is it only happens in cold weather. Everything was fine all summer, but now that the weather has turned colder the problem has reappeared. Same thing happened last year. . .
View 5 Replies
1994 Chevrolet silverado 2WD 350/V8 ... I've been too focused on the loose steering and now there is a grinding noise feel on the steering wheel when I'm driving straight and above 20 mph. I jacked up the front end of the truck and after wiggling the front tires at 12:00 and 6:00, I can feel a slight movement at both front wheels. Is it a telltale sign the wheel bearings has failed. Note that I am deaf and can't hear any growling/grinding but I certainly can feel the grinding feel on my steering wheel. Wheel bearings it is?
View 19 Replies
What might be the problem with my 2001 Pathfinder 4WD. I notice steering wheel shaking/shimmy when driving but not all the time. The vehicle has 125K miles. Is it tie rods, struts, warped rotors, alignment? What it might be before going to a repair shop. Have had tires rotated and balanced.
View 2 Replies
Honda Civic 2008. Daughter sends att'd photo of passenger side, lower portion. (I will not see the real thing until Wednesday evening.) Does this need fixed, or can we just snip it off? (I can hope, can't I?). Who fixes it, glass shop or body shop? Is this a typical failure, or should we be concerned about vandalism or other malice? (What could they have been trying to get at? But the sharp bends look unnatural.)
View 18 Replies
My 2004 honda civic hybrid has 8 spark plugs. The ones in the back of the motor look like they get much hotter and both times I have replaced them, all four in the back were really really loose.
View 2 Replies
When driving, a pin fell out of the shifter arm under the car and now the shift stick is extremely loose and, although it will go into gear, it is almost undriveable. I have reinserted a pin, but the stick shift is still loose. I gave it a test drive and I drove about 10 feet in first gear, but when I put it into reverse, the car continues to move forward.
View 7 Replies
My embattled 92 civic hatchback has developed an issue that makes it take forever to start. I put the key in the ignition, turn it to the start position, and then I have to wait for up to 10 to 15 minutes to hear the click-hum of the fuel pump priming (which turns off the check engine light) before I can start it. I've noticed that it's much worse on wet days, but generally starts right up if it's only been off for a few moments. I used to just give the Civic ample warning before I need to go somewhere by running out, turning the key to start, and then letting it sit there, but this is beginning to wear down the battery. I've replaced the main relay to no avail, and once the car is running it does just fine, which makes me think that the fuel pump is fine.
Full disclosure: this thing also has a bad oil problem. A diesel mechanic changed the head gasket several months ago (owing to yet another starting problem, and I'm starting to think it was the same starting problem, and that I blew the head gasket from trying to push-start the thing), and in our efforts, we seem to have messed up the valve cover gasket. There is oil in the plug wells, and there's some power loss as the engine is trying to cough up the oil. I haven't replaced it yet because it doesn't seem to be a critical issue as long as I keep feeding it more oil.
I've done some searching on the web, and the general consensus of the internet (and the internet HAS to be right, right?) is a bad ECU. When I look this up in my manual, getting to the ECU is just a matter of pulling the carpet in the passenger-side floorboard out of the way. Okay, great. Only problem: I can't find a place where I can buy a good ECU. I could probably find one at a junkyard, but there's no guarantee there. If I do manage to find one, I want to be able to return it if replacing it doesn't fix anything.
Fuel pump - checked before we changed the head gasket, came back okay
Starter - I changed it by myself before we changed the head gasket
Ignition Switch - The key is optional, but everything else electronic in the car responds properly when the switch is in the proper position.
Distributor/Rotor cap - Changed when we changed the head gasket
View 10 Replies
I had a blown head gasket replaced on my Civic last month and since then I've noticed a chirping noise every time I turn on the A/C and about every 18 seconds thereafter. Sometimes there's a longer, louder squeal, too.
Does that sound like a belt issue or an expansion valve problem or something else entirely? Will it hurt my car to keep driving it like this? And could it be related to the replaced head gasket?
View 1 Replies
I drive a 1998 honda civic 5 speed manual transmission. The transmission is loud in all gears(including reverse) nearly all the time. It is not exactly a grinding sound, but that is as close as I can describe it. When taking off from a stop, sometimes it won't initially make the sound, but around 15-20 mph it will start to make the sound in 1st or 2nd gear. Once the sound starts, it won't go away. I can't link the time when it starts making the noise to any particular RPM.
I've hard the car for 5 years and 50,000 miles and it's made this noise the whole time I've had it. It is annoying more than anything (shifts smoothly, clutch not slipping). Someone who looked at my car shrugged his shoulders and said "when the clutch goes, put in a whole new transmission, that will probably fix it".
View 8 Replies
Car does not have to get wet, just be in humid air. Problem going on 2 years now, mechanics tried disconnecting a (?) ground/sensor from computer, major tune up, new fuel pump. Until recently, it just took keeping it in crank position for a long time for it to finally start. Recently, in crank position for 30 seconds does nothing and has me worried I'm doing damage. In dry weather, it starts first time every time.
View 12 Replies
I just took my car in to have my tires balanced and rotated, and the tire place said my front left wheel bearing is coming loose. The guy said it isn't dangerous, and that I'll eventually hear a rumbling sound. I'm wondering if this is a fair price for the repair, and how soon I need to take care of this. Also, at some point I'm going to need to have my front rotors turned/replaced, but my brother said I don't need brake pads yet. Since I'm fairly clueless about this stuff, I'm wondering if I should deal with the rotors at the same time as the wheel bearing, or wait until the brake pads need to be replaced.
View 7 Replies
I just picked up a 1978 ranchero, and the steering wheel seems very loose. Lots of play in it.
View 2 Replies
I think the yellow colored thing is a clip but it isn't latching onto anything and I try to force it up but it just moves back. Here's a pic. It's right below the ignition start button and is below the steering wheel column.
View 2 Replies
Girlfriend went to start her car on a nice cold day, and said it wouldn't turn over. so after taking her to work, i tried to see what the issue was . . . and the key wont move. the steering wheel is loose, i used the transmission override to move the stick back and forth a few times. still no go.
Did the hammer tap on the key, and used electronics cleaner on the switch in case something was stuck.
Oddity was, the door ajar chimes come on without the key inserted. So am I chasing electrical gremlins or what? the car is a base model without keyless entry.
View 3 Replies
