Honda Civic Tires and Wheels

jet10000

I don't know much about those tires in particular, but I found a bulletin board with some opinions, some good, some not so good.

Hope it helps:

http://www.epinions.com/auto-Tires-All-Discount_Tire_Co__Mohave_R_S/display_~rev- iews

thomasf

Hello all, my treads are worn down on my 2002 Civic, Firestone F690 tires to just under 1/8". Should I consider replacing the tires yet? I have about 55k miles on the vehicle.

jet10000

Hello all, my treads are worn down on my 2002 Civic, Firestone F690 tires to just under 1/8". Should I consider replacing the tires yet?

Manufacturers generally recommend replacement at 3/32". You say you're just under 1/8" which is equivalent to 4/32". So you're getting close. You should probably do some tire shopping.

chuckthor

To: scgramma, tacman, mpan

I too have been having the same problems with my '07 Civic LX 5-Speed Manual, purchased in July. I was disappointed at first with the mpg, 31 instead of the 39 I get with my '02 with 190,000.

I drive 600 miles per week across the Appalachian Trail and back, from Asheville to Johnson City TN. I carry about 150 pounds of tools, tire chains, flashlights, and other winter survival equipment in the truck.

I now have 8,800 miles on the car. I noticed the noise and vibration had increased at about 6000 miles and 8 weeks ago. I took it in and paid to have the tires rotated and balanced, (not covered by my maint agreement!). Took it back the next day. They said it was defective tires. Bridgestone said the tires had flat spots and it was an alignment issue.

Last week the dealer said that I had too much weight in the trunk! They said that the tires and the alignment are my problem! I am the only person in the car 95% of the time! And this is a four passenger vehicle? I explained that I would not stop carrying the load in the trunk and that I wanted them to re-align the rear wheels with the load as is. He said there is not enough adjustment in the camber to align the rear end!!!? You gotta be kidding!

Preposterous! It is irresponsible and a fraud upon the public to release a four passenger vehicle that won't safely and reliably carry four adult passengers (and/or 200 pounds in the truck)!

I filed a formal complaint with Honda USA on Friday.

After reading your comments I believe that I have all that I need to file a formal complaint under the state's lemon laws. I also believe there may be grounds for a class action against Honda USA for the unsafe and faulty design of the rear suspension.

You betcha!

Thorntonc at aol.com

temj12

Hey man, I have the same problem with an '06 Civic LX Coupe. I just spent $1050 replacing all of the tires at 23,000 miles and a total alignment. What seems to happen with Honda, is that they are tight fisted in paying and acknowledging any problem. I have not found that true with the so called big three. I have an '05 Accord that has 59,000 miles and the tires still look good and don't need to be replaced. The wear is even and they have never had to be re-balanced. They run perfectly. The Accord has made a fan of me, but I am disgusted with the Civic. I see that Honda is just like the big three. They don't get it right during the first year. Forget a new Accord. I will give them plenty of time to resolve any issues with it.

phillyflip610

i just got a 2000 honda civic ex. i wanna get rid of those nasty stock wheels. im looking for some black racing rims but i don't know what rims are good for a civic. also, i don't know what type of tires to get. any advice???

flseadan

So you take out a $100 for the alignment thats over 200 for each tire..........It's a civic for christ sakes, not a vette, porsche etc........My God, thats pissing money away.

kiawah

Hope you got a nice new set of rims with them. That is a ridiculous price for tires.

sandman46

Even the '05 Civic SI rims I got on EBAY only came out to about $70.00 each with the new lug nuts, shipping & installation. But I only wanted real Honda wheels so there would be no fittment problems once I got them from Texas. And with EBAY, one has to rely on the truthfulness of the seller as to the condition of the merchandise.
Aside from a few tiny marks which were disclosed to me during the auction, am quite happy with the look and quality. Now I see more and more Honda wheels on EBAY and maybe should've waited a bit...but at the time...they were what I wanted. Very satisfied.
What kind of new rims did you get?

The Sandman

alignmentman

the rear arms can be replaced for about $340 including alignment . then the camber and toe in can be set on the rear . i know it sucks but that is the onll option . george

alignmentman

the rear arms can be replaced for about $340 including alignment . then the camber and toe in can be set on the rear . i know it sucks but that is the only option . george

scgramma

The weight problem is what we were first told was our problem. We had the car - with our travel load - weighed. Then we had our luggage weighed. We were well under the weight limit.

We are still waiting for Honda to figure out what to do. I do know that replacement parts are available - at my cost - but we are going to wait for Honda to come up with a solution.

I guess we were lucky in that Honda did pay for our alignment and rear tires that we had to have at 7,000 miles - while on vacation. We did not replace the rear tires with the same tires. We went with a different brand.

I would be interested in the response you have gotten from you "formal complaint". Please keep us updated on what happens.

marcs2

At about 25,000 miles, I developed a roaring sound and severe cupping of the rear tires on my 2006 Civic. I took the vehicle to a dealership in Ardmore, Oklahoma. They spent about 3-5 minutes in the service bay,returned my keys, and said that I was S.O.L. because I didn't rotate the tires every 5000 miles. I knew full well I had been sold a bill of goods, because they didn't have time to place the car on a rack, much less diagnose the problem. They did mention it was my lucky day because they had a set of tires in stock that would fit my vehicle, but I left and later purchased a new set of tires elsewhere. Much to my surprise, the car continued to roar like mud grip tires were on installed the rear. I sent a letter to Honda Corporate and complained about the problem, and the lack of interest by the dealer in Oklahoma. I also suggested that either an engineering design flaw in the rear suspension or defective tires caused the problem. Honda Corporate promptly called in regard the the letter, admitted that the upper control arms on the rear suspension were to short, and refunded my money on a pro-rated basis for the cost of my tires. They then scheduled a repair with a very professional dealership located in Denison, Texas. The technician changed the control arms, which raised the rear of the vehicle about 1 1/2" and dramatically improved the handling. However, the roar continued, and on a second trip to this dealership, the tech located the cause of the roaring sound . Seems that the vehicle had a defective rear wheel bearing, which when held in the hand and turned, sounded like metal to metal. He replaced the bearing and then rotated and aligned the tires. The Service Manager allowed me to watch this professional work, and I was amazed at his diligence in correcting the problem. The car now drives like new, and that darn roaring has been silenced. The best part, Honda stepped up like a champ and covered the problem at no cost. After my experience with the first dealer I decided that the Civic was my 5th,and last Honda. After the way Honda stepped up to the plate and dealt with my problem, I'm sure looking forward to Honda number 6 in about 4 years.

jrcrowe

My Civic has worn out the rear tires on the inside like so many others with only 20,000 mile on them. It was noticable when our Granddaughter was in the back seat while driving down the freeway saying aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah and laughing because it made her voice sound funny. I told my son "gee I think I better get my wheels balanced". I took it to Costco and they told me the tires were essentialy bald on the inside, and that I would need new tires very soon. They would not rotate the tires front to back. I finally decided to take it to the Honda dealer and asked them to do a four wheel alignment. My intention was to purchase new tires after the alignment was done. The service writer called me the following day and told me that Honda had agreed to replace the rear tires and pay for the wheel alignment. That was totally unexpected as I had not asked for it to be covered on the warranty and I had not rotated the tires at 10,000 miles as prescribed. Just by eyeballing the rear wheels I don't believe they solved the camber problem, but now they have taken ownership of the problem and I will be diligent about roatating the tires. Only the future will tell. I rented a Ford Focus while my car was at the dealer and I really missed my Honda. It does seem to need stiffer springs in the rear but that won't solve the alignment problem. I've gotten over 40 miles per gallon with this car with an automatic transmission.

bfyerxa

Can you get 15" rims on a 2007 Si? Have access to 15" winter tires that are correct tire size, but wondering if you can get 15" rims on this car.

kork13

.....do you really want to do that? I can't guarantee it, but I'm pretty sure that it would look pretty ridiculous...

Practically speaking (ignoring all appearance arguments), I think that having small tires on the already low-swinging Si would cause problems, particularly during the winter when you have to deal with snow, especially piled/clumped snow like you would find on the roads...

shipo

No, 15" wheels will not clear the brake calipers, however, the folks at TireRack have some 23 different 16" wheels that will fit your Si.

Best Regards,
Shipo

shipo

"Practically speaking (ignoring all appearance arguments), I think that having small tires on the already low-swinging Si would cause problems, particularly during the winter when you have to deal with snow, especially piled/clumped snow like you would find on the roads..."

First off, bfyerxa didn't say anything about using small tires, he stated that he had access to a set of wheels that had tires that were the proper size (i.e. that the overall diameter on the 15" set was the same as the factory spec 17" wheels).

Secondly, it is generally considered desirable to use a slightly smaller wheel size (and slightly narrower tire) for winter time use. Please note that this still means that a winter set of 205/55 R16 tires (mounted on 16x7.0 [plus or minus 0.5" in width] wheels) will have the a virtually identical overall diameter (24.88") versus the factory set of 215/45 R17 tires with a diameter of 24.62".

Best Regards,
Shipo

beaker4572

I have a Civic 06 LX and have an anoying hum on the tires after 17,000 miles. My tire shop says that is common with the bridgstone on that car, love the Civic but very disturbed with the noise. Anyone else have this issue?
Beaker4572

altomelsa

Yesterday my friends and I were going to go shopping but it was starting to blizzard. When I went to brake, the ABS kicked in, but the car skidded through stop signs. When I adjusted my speed (I'm a careful driver anyway), braking well ahead of time, the car would still skid on through. When I turned around to get my friend's car (7 yr old Chevy Cavalier...no problems handling in the snow), the car skidded right past the turn, so then when I turned onto the next road sloooowwwwly, it skidded through the turn and ran up onto the curb! No one else was having problems with their vehicle. By this point, I kept driving at 15 mph all the way home.

It seems to be a tire/traction problem. I bought this car on Labor Day 2007. It is a 3 month old car. Any advice before I contact the Honda service center to have it looked into?

kork13

I was just up in the mountains for the last week, and I have a similar story. With the snow/ice we had on the roads, there were frequently times that I would start sliding. However, when it came for me, it was often my fault anyway... Going too fast on the snow/ice and expecting to stop on a dime, taking a turn too fast, or trying to accelerate a bit too quickly. Just reacting, I was able to regain control easily enough.

In general, I'd say the 'fix' is to just monitor your driving a little more carefully. If it continues to be a problem, you might look into some actual snow tires rather than the all-weathers that come stock. There's not really much you (or a dealer) could do beyond that, because your traction all happens where rubber meets the road (or ice, as the case may be), based on how you drive, accelerate, and decelerate.

altomelsa

Thanks for the advice, but I live in flat Chicagoland and was already driving slowly (10-15 mph). Snow tires may end up being a good bet, but I'll see if anyone else has suggestions/similar experiences. The skidding was frightening, esp. since I was already taking every precaution with my driving that I could and still had no control on the flat surface. My 17-yr-old Ford Probe never gave those kind of issues.

shipo

Which version of the Civic do you have and what size, make and model of tires do you have? FWIW, if you have an Si with the Performance Tire option, what you described is guaranteed to happen no matter how new your tires are and how good your car is aligned and operating. If you have an Si with all-season tires or any of the non-Si models (which only come with all-season tires), it is still fairly likely as the factory all-season rubber only ranks as mediocre at best when it comes to dealing with winter weather.

For my part, I'm looking at buying a new EX-L and then a set of 17" HFP wheels. I'll mount a nice high performance set of all-season on the 17s, rip the factory rubber off the factory 16" wheels and put a good set of winter tires (something like the Michelin X-Ice) on them.

Best Regards,
Shipo

cj7375

I just put winter tires Michelin X-ICE, nothing but praises.

On the first winter storm today, my other car Nissan Altima 1997 (all season tires) could not get out of the driveway. Civic went trough the thick wet snow like a bird.

Excellent tires. Worth the money. The car just feels in control. I never thought a small car like the Civic 2007 would be so stable and in control with winter tires. But it is.

shipo

Hehe, my Mother-In-Law is a serious nervous Nelly in foul weather if there ever was one, and so I put the X-Ice tires on her 2002 Celica. She was so stunned at the difference it made in her car that she became as bold as brass, offering to go out to run an errand in even the worst weather we have up here in New Hamster. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

lore1

I have a chance to purchase some new 07 EX wheels, I can't find out if the TPMS sensors for the 08's will fit on the 07 wheels. I received different feedback from 2 dealers. One said they would have to try it, the other said, no, 2 totally different systems.

Thanks In Advance

shipo

I wouldn't bet on it. I've seen other listings for Honda wheels and they specifically call out when they can accept the sensors (or if they already have them fitted). I'm not saying it's impossible, just that it's probably unlikely.

Best Regards,
Shipo

jet10000

I'm pretty sure they won't. Honda even redesigned their upgraded wheel packages to work with TPMS. If you go to this link at College Hills Honda you can see they have wheels upgrade for 06-07 and separate ones for 2008 due to TPMS.

http://www.collegehillshonda.com/honda_civic_4dr_accessories/06_08_civic_wheels.- htm

jsmid

I just joined this forum because I was looking to find if other Civic owners had a similar issue to mine. At 17000KM my Canadaian owned Civic has two rear tires with the inside edges scrubbed off, cupped and very noisy at any speed. A visit to the dealer (Sterling Honda, Hamilton Ontario) showed a:) no-one seems to warrantee OEM tires BUT b:)Honda Canada has issued a TSB concerning this problem on 26 November 2007. TSB # VIII-10-07 addresses "Uneven or Rapid Rear Tire Wear" in vehicles frequently driven with "significant" (their word) weight...etc.
In short it calls for replacement of the rear upper control arms with new "special" (again, their word) control arms, realignment, and $$$ reimbursement for tire wear. Now lies the rub, reimbursement is dased on normal and abnormal tire wear. Honda's procedure is to measure tread depth in 32nds at the centre of the tire (NOT the worn inside edge!!!!!!!) and base tread wear on that. Therefore, even though my rear tires are scrap Honda will do nothing since the wear at the centre of the tire is "normal". I have no idea why Honda is saying good bye to my family's future car purchases (at least 3 in the next two years) and service on this car to save thenselves less than $200. BTW I had the tires (er donuts) balanced at tarhe deakler at 11000KM for $73.00 +taxes easily 3 times what my tire shop charges and even then they mentioned nothing of the wear. John

jsmid

See my reply to post 117

sandman46

The Civic calls for a 4 wheel alignment as I recall. I always buy a policy for this from a local tire store for both cars and get it done every 6 months or so. Been very lucky having this policy on the last 4 cars as none have ever had alignment issues, we just both seem to pick up nails & road debris too often. Usually they're patchable but I had to replace the rear Goodyears RS-A's on my Civic last moth as the nail punctured the tire just where the sidewall meets the tread so patching it was not doable. The only bad thing is now I've got new Fusion tires on the rear and the RS-A's on the front, I always prefer the 4 tires to match though. And the RS-A's still have some good tread on 'em.
I'd definitely recommend regular 4 wheel alignments as preventative maintenance.
This works for us.

The Sandman

rlm3

Hi, newbie here. Purchase tomorrow 12/11 on shore in CT Civic autoLX 4dr, for $18,996 out the door with tax, reg, trns cost, and package of side guards/front/bk wheel flaps/fl matts. I hate dealerships, am I being taken for a ride I don't want to be on? Can't seem to find any
specific prices for what I'm purchasing. Any really good advice to go in with on final closing? I can walk away, and get my deposit of $1000 back in seven days...rather that than make a huge mistake! In Edmonds specs, floor mats are standard, fwhy is dealership is included them in the 524.00 package I'm paying for when they are standard? Can they do that? ...I have a Civic EX 4dr 2004, 42,500miles, best and fastest way to sell myself...?. I'm robing peter to pay paul until other car, paid for is sold. Financing at 4.9% 5years, no penilty to pay early. Thank you in advance for any advice given!rlm3

jet10000

rlm3

You should post this message on the Civic Prices Paid and Buying Experience forum. You'll get a much better response for that there.

You can find the dealer invoice price for the Civic LX auto on edmunds.com. You can see how much they're charging you over invoice.

Yes, the Civic comes standards with floormats. These may be upgraded floormats that come in the package. But point out in the brochure that floormats are standard and have them give you a credit if you don't want them in their $524 package.

Good luck.

flseadan

I paid 17,400 a year ago for an lx sedan in Florida. Greatly depends where you live as far as price goes.......I paid a tad too much never the less....

You have a good price, but I would keep the car you have. A civic is a civic, save your money.

rlm3

Thank you for your response. I need to sell my 2004 due to surgery on right wrist...hurts when I shift...plus black/snazzy just isn't me...never felt comfortable driving someone else's miles...had 39000 when I bought it, only 42 now, so I think I'll get most of my money back, plus peace of mind and less sore wrist:-)

rlm3

Thank you...I did ask today about floor mats, they are up grade, blk rubber, still I'm goingto check same. Not picking up til Thursday now...too much pressure from dealership, they have my deposit..and info said, have to wrk and son is sick I'll be in Thursday...final answer!
Still couldn't find on edmonds...just regular retail cost and specs...oh well..I'm commited and commitable/certifiable...between dear son, Christmas "i wants" and work!
rlm3

jet10000

I did ask today about floor mats, they are up grade, blk rubber, still I'm goingto check same.

The black rubber are the floor mats for people who have a lot of mud, snow or water tracked into their car. However, they should still give you the set of standard mats for when you don't need the rubber protection.

Still couldn't find on edmonds...just regular retail cost and specs.

Here's where the invoice prices are at:

Go to edmunds.com

Select NEW CARS link

In the Browse by Make section select Honda

Select 2008 Honda Civic from the list

Click on the trim level of the car you are getting---I think you said an LX.

The MSRP and dealer invoice will show up on the next screen. These prices do not include the $635 destination charge which you have to add to that as well.

If you enter in your Zip Code, edmunds will also show you the price that people in your area commonly pay for that vehicle.

jet10000

This morning my Tire Pressure Warning Light was on. I pulled over and checked all of my tires and they all were near 30psi. Has anyone else had false warnings on the TPMS sensors yet?

I'll have to take it to the dealer and see what they say.

shipo

It's not a false warning, your tires were all low. This is a fairly common thing to run into when the weather gets cold. We've had a car with TPMS for almost five years now, and every fall we get pressure warnings. Simply air your tires up to the proper inflation pressure and the warnings will stop.

Best Regards,
Shipo

thegraduate

Running at low pressure will really hurt your mileage too... not to mention increase your chances of a blowout.

jet10000

It's not a false warning, your tires were all low. This is a fairly common thing to run into when the weather gets cold.

Recommended pressure is 32psi. I made sure all tires were at 32 exactly and you were right it did go away. But when I first checked this morning, they were all around 30. Is TPMS that sensitive?

shipo

"Is TPMS that sensitive?"

Yes. Comment, I thought that the Civic had a recommended inflation pressure of 36 psi. Yes, no?

Best Regards,
Shipo

jet10000

Comment, I thought that the Civic had a recommended inflation pressure of 36 psi. Yes, no?

From the 2008 Owner's Manual:

Cold Tire Pressure, Front/Rear

DX: 30psi
LX, EX, EX-L: 32psi
Si: 33psi
Si (at speeds over 118mph in a sanctioned competitive event): 35psi

shipo

Hmmm, I wonder if Honda changed the pressure requirements for 2008, I'm almost positive that I've read that the 2006-2007 spec was 36 psi. Oh well. :confuse:

Regarding your TPMS threshold (i.e. avoiding the light), your best bet would be to fill your tires with air during the coldest time of the day and when they are cold (i.e. undriven for an hour or more), if you don't (or can't), then you'll need to compensate for the temperature fluctuations by adding a few more pounds.

Best Regards,
Shipo

kork13

in my '07 Si, the recommended is 33, as jet stated. Personally, i keep them just a little higher, around 34-35.

mixwhit

I've got an '02 EX and it needs new tires. I went to Michelin and Goodyear's site to lookup what their high-quality all-season tires are for it. To my surprise, Michelin sells nothing for the EX and Goodyear has one tire, but its a tire focused on sport performance, not all-season (traction, tread wear, ride, etc.).

I am quite confused, as the the EX is one of the most common cars out there. Apparently the DX and LX have a different wheel size, and there are plenty of tire options from those manufacturers for them. My wheel size is P185/65R15 86H.

I've seen some other threads mentioning Michelins, but they haven't been specific as to which Civic they going on (DX, LX, or EX).

Any and all suggestions greatly appreciated!

mixwhit

Ok, doing more research. On Goodyear's site if I search by vehicle and select '02 Civic EX, I get this:

We do not have any Car/Minivan tires available for your vehicle. Please select one of the categories below to continue your search.

* Sport Performance

But if I search for tire by size alone (185/65/15) I get several good choices, including their Assurance ComforTread, which looks reasonable. Is there something specific about the Civic EX that is excluding these other tires?

shipo

The reason that the ComfortTread is not listed for your car is that Honda specifies "H" rated tires for your car and the only Goodyear in that size with an "H" rating is the Goodyear Eagle GT-HR. That said, Michelin DOES make a tire in that size that is both "H" rated AND has long life and good traction numbers, namely the Michelin Primacy MXV4, a tire that seems to be getting pretty good reviews. The only other tire that I personally would consider for your car would be the Yokohama AVID H4S.

Best Regards,
Shipo

mishaa

I would second shipo on Yokohama. It is an excellent tire, and it costs about two times less than Michelin. I got Michelin stock on my 03 Si, and was happy to replace them with Yoko this fall. My personal opinion is that Yokohama is better. I've been using them for seven years already, on two cars.

mixwhit

Thanks for the info. I hadn't caught the speed rating difference.

I see the T rated ComforTread is good for 118 mph, while H is 130 mph. Given I'll never go faster than 85 or so in my EX, does this difference matter? I guess perhaps an H-rated tire is just higher quality than a T?

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll look into the Michelins and Yokohamas.