ecindric

Hello everyone, I'm a fairly new Civic owner and just recently ran into several issues with my car.

My 2002 Civic EX Sedan has severe vibrations/shaking in the steering wheel when brakes are applied suddenly or at any speed above 20mph. At first the shaking (moving right-left) was mild but over the past few months it has increased and now I feel the vibrations and what sounds like thumping at the entire front end of my car (especially drivers side).

I went to a few separate mechanics to get a diagnosis and was presented with different solutions each time. First mechanic said that my front struts are shot/leaking and that they should be replaced starting at $800. He said the rotors were fine. Apparently the worn out struts have caused "tire cupping" which is causing the vibrations when braking, and therefore I should also replace all my tires. Altogether this mechanic quoted me around $2,000 for everything - which I obviously walked away from.

The second mechanic said my rotors are the problem and complete brake job should do the trick.

The third mechanic said my suspension is bad, along with my rotors and tires. He said replacing the rotors should eliminate the vibrations, however the bad struts would eventually cause it to come back (he said it could be a month or a year).

What is the likelihood that my bad struts are ruining my tires and causing the vibration versus just bad rotors? Mind you, my rotors were turned about 3 years ago by the previous owner. I don't plan on keeping this car for much longer and I'm hesitant to spend so much money on a new suspension system.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Slumpertcivic

I usually suspected the rotors are warped / glazed when it’s a complaint about steering wheel shaking when braking.

Bad tires usually have certain driving speed ranges where they shake the car more and less. Example, whole car shakes at 50 but seems way less at 40 or 60.

Struts keep car from bouncing on the springs, more likely a. blown strut would minimize those kinds vibrations than create them.

ezone

I read this as multiple issues.
First issue is your mechanics.




Evaluate struts: Bounce test, then visual inspect. Is there excessive bounce? Are they really leaking? (Raise car up on jack stands. A light film of oil around the top of the working chamber is okay, but a strut that's soaked all the way down the tube is not ok. (Sometimes we see the tube caked with dirt, that's a clue the tube was oil soaked)

Evaluate the rest of the suspension: Shake tests, and bushing inspections.

Evaluate tires: Front tires are probably choppy on the edges. Makes a 'rumprumprump' noise/vibration while driving and it gets much louder when braking heavily due to tread squirm and load change.
Are the tires on the rear fairly new? At least not choppy? Rotate them to the front, see if the noise changes location (assuming they are not already choppy too).

Typical scenario: The previous owner didn't rotate the tires often enough if at all.
The choppy tires on the front didn't get that way on the front. They had spent far too long on the rear of the car, became choppy during that time while the front tires wore out completely. Then previous owner notices the front tires are bald and the rears still look kinda okay, so he goes to the tire store and gets a pair of tires, but the store installs the pair of new tires on the rear (because lawyers) and they move the choppy noisy tires to the front. Presto, an instant crapload of noise right in front of the driver. It wasn't nearly as noticeable when they were in the rear.


Evaluate brakes: Does it need brake pads yet?
If the front rotors are warped, you'll see/feel the steering wheel try to twitch/rotate/oscillate about once per wheel revolution ONLY while braking.
Most noticeable or intense when braking from highway speed simply because everything is spinning much faster than they do at in-town speeds.
Choppy tires won't make the steering wheel shake the way rotors will. You'll feel the tread vibration through the wheel but it won't try to shake it out of your hands.


By the way, I have not seen textbook "cupping" on anything since about when the 1970s American cars disappeared from the roads here. Most people in this industry really haven't ever seen true cupping either unless they are over 50 LOL
I hate hearing the term but I also know it sells expensive shocks and struts.
Everyone calls it cupping when it's really feathered or choppy tread blocks on the edges of the tires. It's never the fault of the shocks either, but that doesn't automatically mean there's no problem with the shocks.
Well, except the boat trailer tires actually get true cupping, the trailer has no shocks on it at all.