Rep Power: 0

Hey Friends, I hope I posted this in the right area; sorry if I didn't.

I'm looking for a Civic for my Daughter. I've test driven a few civics, and the last one I test-drove was a 2015 LX model with hubcaps. When I got back from a roughly 12-mile test drive, the wheels under the hubcaps were very hot, like too hot to keep your finger there for long. The front wheels were the hottest, and they would burn your fingers if you touched them for a few seconds. The back wheels were hot, but not "burn your hand hot" like the front wheels.

First, is this normal? Second, if not, is this an easy fix? The car was in great shape other than that, and I saw the service records.

Thanks!

 
Rep Power: 367

did the brakes work?

 
Rep Power: 0

The brakes worked fine. I"ve just never had wheels heat up on any vehicle I've owned this much. I drove my Tacoma on a 40-mile trip today and the wheels were no more than 100 degrees, and this is in FL.

When test driving the Civic, I didn't do a lot of braking. Maybe a 7-8 stoplights at the most, and the rest was highway.

 
Rep Power: 367

the first thing to suspect is sticking brakes in that case.
meaning might be easy work to solve (or complicated if it in the end involved changing the calipers.) not expensive, though.
Take somebody mechanically inclined to look at the car next time you go there

 
Rep Power: 0

Thank you! I'm pretty mechanically inclined, and I suspected the brakes or the bearings, but I wanted to see if this was common (or even expected). I would have them fix it before purchasing the car. I haven't started negotiating the price yet and didn't bring up the hot wheels to them yet.

Thanks again!

 
Rep Power: 367

not common on older car makers, I would think most of renowed makers would not make that type of mistakes...
other than some, of course...
the prius throttle was a new electric pedal, GM ignition with heavy keychains is not so easy to predict, for example. But stick brakes, they would not make that mistake (hopefully)

A Tesla... or some of the new entrants, on the other hand....

 
Rep Power: 222

Calipers might be sticky, weird that all 4 would be super hot inless you were doing some heavy braking. If the car had been sitting for a bit and the rotors were rusty then maybe they would be a little hotter than normal. If your going to pursue the car i would get the dealer to a 4 wheel brake service at a minimum.

 
Rep Power: 224

Wouldn't the steel wheels feel hotter than regular aluminum ones? Maybe I'm mistaken.

 
Rep Power: 222

Aluminum is a much better heat sink than steel