shincivicfan

Hello All,

I am a new member. I am tired of my dealer's incompetence at solving problems so I decided to educate myself before taking the car elsewhere. Few days ago I had to brake very hard immediately after accelerating. I guess the driver in front of me was texting so she didn't see the light turning yellow and she braked when I thought she was going to clear the light. Anyway, the road was dry, rough and had few small potholes. After I braked really hard I heard three loud mechanical bangs/pop noise at regular interval. I checked the brakes after that (braking after reaching 50 mph) and they seem to be working fine. I heard no grinding noises or bangs/pops.

Today, I was stuck in traffic on a freeway. I was going at about 30 mph when the car in front of me braked suddenly so I floored the brake pedal as well. I heard a grinding noise briefly. This time the road was dry as well (no potholes though). But, it definitely felt like I would hear the bang/pop again (sorry, I am not very knowledgeable about cars).

Can any one please tell me what the loud bangs/pops or the grinding noise were? Did something come loose under torsion? Did the brake pads crack under excessive force? Was the suspension damaged because of potholes? Struts or ball joints may be?

I don't know if this will help but the car always pulls to the left. Even before these incidences. I took the car to the dealer multiple times, but the they couldn't fix the problem permanently. The car keeps pulling to the left even after alignments. I don't think my dealer has good mechanics.

My sister also drives the car and I might give the car to her. So naturally I am worried. I would appreciate if you could tell me if I should check any part of the car right away.

Thanks

Car:
2012 Civic LX Automatic

jordan1794

The pops might be related to the ABS system, on a road with gravel the wheels are gonna lock up completely, the move gravel the more quickly it will happen(and on ice, good lord hope you never need it on ice, you'll think your wheels are gonna fall off)

So on a rough road with some pebbles I'd imagine the pops were the wheels locking for a moment before the ABS could re-apply the correct pressure.

No idea why it would already be pulling to the left if it's a 2012, how many miles are on it?
Did you get it new, or used?

If you frequent roads with potholes, you might have some suspension component that is bent, try getting a different mechanic to take a look?
(Then take it back to the dealer, and tell them what the mechanic said and see if they can confirm;Don't get taken for a ride by a dirty mechanic)

I'd link to a video where I tested my brakes from 100 mph(as well as a lot of other speeding clips), but that was back in my younger, dumber days and my post might get deleted if I link to it lol.

There is a very deep, low grinding noise when you brake heavily for more than a second or two

shincivicfan

Thank you very much for your input Jordan. I bought the car new and it only has approximately 20000 miles on it. It always pulls to the left regardless of the speed of the car.

ezone

Yea, this was probably the ABS system doing what it's supposed to do. No worry. You should get the same noises on snow and ice, or trying to skid on loose gravel or wet pavement.


Steering wheel being a bit off center is different from an actual pull.

Maybe you need to take the tech on a quick test drive.....demonstrate your concern with the steering (whatever it is) directly to the tech so everyone is on the same page and he knows what to fix.

I'd ask for the resident rocket scientist to do the work. Most shops don't have a full staff of top shelf techs, and the lowest paid people do the majority of the grunt work.
All shops need to have at least one smart tech that can fix what the others screw up LOL

BTW if the work order only says to perform an alignment, nobody is gonna look for and diagnose a pull.

If you go in and ask for an alignment--- expecting a pull to be corrected, it probably isn't gonna happen.

Not all "pulls" are caused by alignment.
Not all alignment problems can be corrected, the manufacturer does not provide adjustments for some things.




Got a printout of your wheel alignment results that you can post?

shincivicfan

Hi ezone. Your input was very informative. You are right in regards to how most shops are run and you made me laugh at my own idealistic views. I admit that I am not very knowledgeable about cars (just getting into those). My dealer never provided me with a wheel alignment result, but now I know to ask for one. I appreciate your help.

ezone

If it's an actual pull where you let go of the steering wheel and it drifts off the road.. stuff you can easily check:

Are the tire pressures all exactly the same?

Are the front tires exactly the same?
Same brand, same tread style, same tread depth?

Swap the 2 front tires (left <--> right), does the car now pull to the opposite side?





If the steering wheel is only off center, none of the above should make a difference.

HTH