Rep Power: 0

When I hold my steering wheel lightly I feel every small bump and rut on the road. Infact, the steering wheel nearly jumps out of my hand sometimes.

My car is a 2001 Civic sedan, 100% stock with no mods at all.

Is this a sign of defective struts, steering rack or something else.

 
Rep Power: 0

Sorry for the double post. I don't know what happened. Can't delet the above post or this one.

Once again, sorry.

 
Rep Power: 0

Funny...I thought this site was for us to help eachother and learn about our Civics...not scold someone for making a double post.

Lek: I have the exact same problems with my car. Suspension seems to be non-existant. I feel literally every bump/crack/rock in the road. My steering wheel jumps too...and makes an aweful noise. I can't seem to get any help w/ this though...Honda just tells me that it's normal and there is nothing that they can do. F*ck them. I think I may have to get a lawyer soon. I don't know where else to turn.

 
Rep Power: 0

Well, I had the same problem with my 2001 sedan. The dealer said "everything is fine". They did hint that maybe a tire change might help. After doing some research on tirerack.com, it turns out the Firestones that came standard on my sedan are the lowest rated tire on the list.

Well, I decided to give myself a little graduation present: new alloy wheels and Yokohama Avid Touring 205/60-15's. Man, what a difference! I still get some bump-steer, but it's not nearly as bad as it was. The ride is much quieter, too. I highly recommend them.

 
Rep Power: 0

Thanks for the help and support about the double posting and Civic problems.

Anyway, this driving problem has been on going since I bought the car new. The car had it's tires replaced only 6 months ago as well as the struts and other related parts. I've also taken all the good advice I can from the site, such as using coil wraps to reduce the clunk over bumps.

Honda are a present looking at my car again for safty seasons and have agreed to replace the struts and springs again. The only problem is, I've got a gut feeling all 2001 struts have a design fault, which is why Honda changed the design of the strut in 2003.

I just don't know what to do next.

 
Rep Power: 0

My coupe is an '01 Ex. I have a friend that has an '02 Ex. Both cars are totally stock. I just rode in his car with him all day this past Sunday....his car is like riding in a Lexus...very nice ride. My car however is like riding in a Yugo. I have been trying to get something done with it for 2 years now...Honda just keeps telling me there is nothing wrong with my car. Funny when I hit the little lane marker turtles my whole steering wheel jumps and makes noise...I can hear the energy in my pillars and in the headliner...my change in my coin holder jumps...and my keys clang together too. But in my friends car you can barely feel or hear those same lane markers. I am at my wits end...I don't know what to do. Should I get a lawyer? You know my car will be 2 years old on September 7, 2003...I hate driving it so much that I still only have 19k on the odometer. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can get Honda to fix my car...please let me know.

PS. Do tires really make that much difference?? Both my car and my friends car still have the stock tires on them...yet they ride so differently.

 
Rep Power: 0

The tires made a huge difference for me. I wouldn't compare my ride to a Lexus, though. From what I gather from the various posts here on the site, Honda did make changes to the strut assembly either in 02 or 03. In a way, I wish that I had gone ahead and gotten an 02, but mine was one of the last of the 01s off the assembly line, so I think at least some of the problems may have been rectified. Knock on wood, I haven't experienced a lot of what I see posted in Vehicle Issues.

All in all, my car rides much better with the new rubber.

 
Rep Power: 0

djaaronk ..................... My new Tires help a lot, but you can't expect the tires to take all the stress of the car. My old tires with only 25,000 km had impact bubbles on the front inner walls because of the problems on the suspension.

Again, just like you I hate feeling every bump and rut through my wheels and steering rack.

 
Rep Power: 0

OK, this is the deal. Honda have agreed to change my 2001 front struts and springs etc once again, but this time using 2003 stuff.

Do you think my problems will go away tomorrow? Maybe they will as I've never heard people with 2003 civics complain about suspension problems.

 
Rep Power: 0

Lek, please let us know it turns out. If mine get worse, I'll definitely take it back to the dealer.

 
Rep Power: 302

I don't know if this applies to you guys, but my civic always jumped around a lot, and was unpleasant to drive. The steering sucked. I changed rims and tires and it didn't help much. My struts are ok. I decided to stiffen up the front end with a Neuspeed X-brace and strut bar. For better cornering, and such. I also added an RSX-S rear bar. Well, one side effect of this was that my steering is now flawless. No jumping, or bouncing. No shimmy or jerking around. It just proves to me that the frame of the car moves a LOT with the tires, and you feel every bit of it. I was about to change my struts, but now I don't need to at all until I lower the car. On the freeway, BTW, it runs straight as an arrow, potholes and all. Awesome improvement. I had no idea that so much trouble is caused by just the frame. Hope this helps someone out, and the brace and top bar from Tornactive were totally worth it.

 
Rep Power: 0

OK, Just returned back from having my 2001 struts and springs replaced for new 2003 struts and springs, infact the whole setup was replaced.

On my 15 km ride home on the same roads I usually drive on, I found the steering to be a lot firmer and hardly any bumps were felt.

The down side is, my front end is about half an inch higher than the rear, but you can hardly see or feel it.

Oh! by the way, no coil wraps around the bottoms new springs. NOT NEEDED.

Happy Civic driver again !!!

 
Rep Power: 0

how much did it cost you to replace your struts at the dealer? w/o the springs, unless they come with them or something. thanx.

 
Rep Power: 0

The car is still under warrenty, so Honda didn't charge anything.

The problem is to change from 2001 - 2003 the whole unit must be changed: Struts, springs, bearing, and strut tops with rubber mounts etc.

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...SHOCK+ABSORBER

 
Rep Power: 0

how many miles do you have on your car. i thouht they voided your "suspension warranty" or something because you have aftermarket springs.

 
Rep Power: 0

My Civics done 48,000 km and Honda gave me 3 years or 100,00 km warranty. I've never upgraded my car in any way apart from a body kit. My Honda dealer has taken care of my car from new, so they,ve known about my suspension problems from new.

 
Rep Power: 0

ah i see. i thought i could take advantage of this since i have neuspeed race springs. so that, if and when my struts/shocks go out...i thought i coudl just get them replace free of charge from my honda dealer. i guess not. anyway, thanx for the help tho.