MG1

Folks,


Recently purchased Honda 2003 ES Civic Coupe. In temperatures above approx. 30 degrees, everything seems normal. When the car stays outside overnight in lower temperatures, a very loud rear end noise, most notably right side, but sometimes left side, is evident over every single bump in the road.


It sounds like the car is scraping on the ground... it's very loud to the point you think the whole rear end is going to fall off. And then, when temperatures go above 30s for a prolonged time, the sound basically goes away... I know, you all think I'm crazy. Local repair shop indicated it's possibly the mechanism where the shock connects to the car, but they have also said everything appears very tight and normal. (they actually had someone ride in the trunk to isolate the problem on a very cold day but are dumbfounded by the cause). They wanted to start with $700 repair with no guarantee of solving the problem.


Any similar experiences ? I can't find one on the site.


thanks
MG

ezone

Doesn't ring any bells with me...Got a recording of the noise?

Give it a bounce test while it's below freezing, see if the shocks froze up?

MG1

Thanks. I'll get a recording at the next cold spell... we tried the stationary bounce test during cold weather during a time the noise was extremely bad... the bounce test was fine... no issues, no noise.

mac25

any modifications?

MG1

The car is new to us, so we're not sure about after market mods... although the mechanic did indicate the shocks were not the originals, no other known mods... It hasn't been cold since I entered the problem, so we still haven't been able to troubleshoot it more or try the Honda service center.