The dealer says I need new front struts on my 2002 Civic Coupe LX. 69K miles, almost all highway. (factory brake pads are just now needing replaced!)

Anyway, the research I've done so far doesn't indicate this is a common problem with the 2002 Civic. So I was wondering if anyone feels that this is unusual or that the dealer has possibly made a wrong diagnosis. Let me give you some background:

Road noise from the rear prompted me to bring it in. They rotated the tires and the noise moved up front - indicating a tire problem. Inspection of tires by the dealer reveals uneven wear they tell me -- and here's where it gets weird IMO. The explanation the dealer gave me was this: 6 months ago when I had my tires rotated, the tires in the front must have been chopped up by the weak struts. SO then that's why I got the road noise in the back. Here's what doesn't make sense to me......I had no road noise in the front OR the back 6 months ago, before or after the rotation....it was only a few months later that the noise began, and I took it in. So if the tires got chopped up from the front struts being weak, I'm just confused as to why there was no road noise at the time....no road noise until 3 months later....from the BACK tires


Any help/insight would be greatly appreciated. Perhaps I should take the car elsewhere for a second opinion? I've always felt my dealer to be top-notch and honest but this doesn't make sense to me.

 

humm that does seem a little weard..best thing you can do IS bring your car to a couple different places and get different opinions, thats weard that your trusts would be gone with only 69miles on it, thats nothing..unless you carry a very hevy load in the back or go over some crazy *** bumps..take a look at the tires yourself, how are they? are they worn? is there side wear on them, you can find charts on the net that show you bad wear on tires.. but like i sead, take it to another place to get a second opinion, but DONT tell them what the other dealership told you, just tell them what the problem is and ask for a quote

 

if your gas struts are not working properly, you will get that feeling of being on a boat, up and down... up and down... push down on the front of your car, does it keep bouncing? when you push down and release, it should go up, then down then up to a stop. sometimes a strut can also get bent, limiting movement....

 

thanks very much for your thoughts and opinions. I really hate to spend the time/money taking it elsewhere but considering the dealer wants almost $1000 to replace the two front struts, replace all four tires, and do a computerized allignment.....getting a second opinion is certainly worthwhile. Like mill$civic said, I agree that I should just play dumb -- walk into another dealership or shop and say 'I've got a funny noise coming from the front' and see what they say.

As far as how the car feels....i don't feel any difference in the ride then when I bought it 3.5 years ago. I'll do the 'push up and down' test and see if it bounces, I hadn't tried that. Keep in mind they said the struts are not shot, but just leaking and weakening -- so in need of replacement.


I didn't mention that as far as the tire wear goes, the dealer was very specific. He showed me measurements they took that indicated the tires would just barely pass inspection - and yes, I can see the uneven wear. I thought it was due to the cheap *** tires I bought last time I bought a new set, or perhaps a broken belt...but of course the dealer said it was the struts

.....but anyway, thanks for the help and I'll let you know how it goes!

 

$1000 to replace the two front struts, replace all four tires, and do a computerized allignment.....

GOOD LORD........

 

yep. It's like $275 a side for the strut replacement, then about 300 for the full set of tires, then 90 for the allignment. Comes to around 900 or so


that being the case, it is true that for the 3.5 years I've had this car I've had ZERO problems. Very solid and dependable and I only paid 13,800 for it. (4% interest)

As a matter of fact at this point I owe $4100 on it and I just got my tax return so I'm paying that off this week. W00t! Finally I'll own that car instead of the bank [8D]


So really, no matter the cost, I want the car in the best shape it can be. No point in spending hundreds more then I have to though.

 

This is a common problem with the 2002 civic coupe .I had my 2 front struts replace about a month ago .If I were you I'l get myself some good aftermarket one ..1 better price (sometimes) 2 better handling 3 lifetime waranty (most brands).

 

i agree. aftermarket struts would be less in price than o.e.m. struts. plus you get better performance with aftermarket struts depending what brand you get. i'm pretty sure you can get a pair of kyb struts for less than the o.e.m. ones.

 

why not replace the springs while you're at it? 400 for shocks, between 150 and 250 for springs, install them yourself and get them to do the alignment. who can complain? well them i guess but youd be set.

 

Ok well i just had the car in to a local shop for a second opinion. Their assesment of the situation differs slightly -- they do agree that i may have some struts that are going bad, but told me "well yeah you may want to get some new struts by summer" whereas 4 months ago the dealer said i needed them RIGHT AWAY or else my tires were going to be chopped up very quickly.

So it seems the dealer either:

a.) believed the problem to be worse then it is

OR

b.) made it out to be worse then it is



The tires on the front are ok, I was told today by the local shop (where 4 months ago the dealer said my struts are going and indicated the tires would be ruined very soon)


The tires on the back (which were on the front when i originally started hearing the road noise) are all chopped up and need replaced, so I got two new tires today, had them put on the front, front tires moved to the back, and now it'll pass inspection.

According to what the dealer told me, the new tires I now have on the front will be ruined due to the leaking and weakening struts. Local shop says well, yeah, eventually, but nothing that requires immediate attention. Didn't cost me much at all for these two new tires so I don't really care -- but this way, with new tires going on TODAY, i can have the car checked out in a few months and see if they are getting chopped up or what.


One thing I am wondering -- seeing as the front struts are pretty much ok, but are slowly going bad..... am i possibly doing damage to other portions of my front suspension such as CVs, etc by putting it off? Should i just bite the bullet and get it done ASAP in order to keep the entire front end tight as possible? I'd rather get as much life out of the struts as I can then replace them before they really need to be.