alliec84

I need advice on how to furth handle this problem. I have a 2007 Honda Civic with 35K miles on it. My car was parked outside my apartment and someone backed into the driver's side back panel right at the back tire. I took it to a Honda collision center, they did a great job replacing the rear panel, but my car started vibrating on the highway at 65 mph and faster after the accident. It was mainly felt in the seat, but everything in the car kinda shook, which is not how it was before the accident! I had to drive it for a few weeks before the collision center could see me, so I was worried that this was causing damage to the car if something was bent. I wasn't hit hard I don't think (wasn't in the car), but you never know. The collision center said they rebalanced my back tires and had felt the vibration also. When I got it back, it still shook on the highway but at that point, I figured I should get new tires since I was due anyways and that may have been the reason it was still shaking. Bought new tires from Town Fair Tire, had a full alignment and balancing done, the car still shook. Took it back to the collision center, they rebalanced the tires and thought that was the issue. It still shook. Took it to the dealer, which is the same company as the collision center, just different locations, and they rebalanced the tires using a road force balancer. I'm not sure how many times I need to rebalance the tires before someone realizes it's not the tires! The shaking started with the old tires, didn't go away with the new tires, so therefore it is most likely something else. Does anyone have advice on what to do at this point? It seems it's a never ending battle at this point. My next step is to go back to the collision center and drive with them in the car on a smooth highway. You can't really feel it in the passenger seat, it's mostly in the drivers seat. If someone doesn't fix it, I'm just going to sell it!

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

I would have someone take your car out on highway and you go in another car and observe your car. Look at the wheels while it is moving from the rear at lower speeds and look for any side to side movement or abnormality of the wheels (like a bent rim) Then take the car out to highway speed and observe the wheels for bouncing and the likes.


Was the tire or wheel hit during the accident ??
Was any suspension parts replaced or just body work ??

alliec84

Yes. It was hit directly at and above the back tire. No suspension work was done, just rebalancing the tires. Guess they felt that it wasn't hit hard enough to cause any damage.

Would a road force balance be enough to tell if something is bent? Or would they just have to replace parts, such as the rim or hub, to get down to the issue?

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

Are they steel wheels ??

Any rim damage present ??

Something has to have been damaged during the event.

alliec84

Alloy wheels. There didn't appear to be any damage to the rim, but I would think that since it was hit directly at the tire, even the slightest hit would bend something enough. The main damage was on the panel, so it must have been an SUV or truck that backed into the side.

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

You may need a mechanic to inspect for hidden damage.

I would let your insurance know about this as well, it's not body damage but is a result of the incident.

BHallzy4

I think the bottom line is that the insurance company resposible for the repair is... responsible for the repair. Take it back to them demanding it to be fix and don't accept anything else. Don't allow them to rebalance the tires again.

alliec84

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to take it back to the collision center and tell them I don't want it back until it's fixed. It's been rebalanced about 5 times now, so the tires aren't it!

silver25civic

go get a alignment.

whitealexander

yes i think you need to get an alignment first have it check on your local mechanic..

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

switch the rear tires to the front. if the vibration gets worse, you know its a bent rim. you can feel problems in the wheel/tire much more when theyre in the front connected to the driveshaft and steering components. if you swap the tires and nothing changes, then something is wrong with the rear suspension. maybe one of the control arms is bent.