Comments: 1-15, 16
My Honda Civic EX 2007 coupe decided to break on me on Tuesday.
The rear control arm snapped in half, and if I'd went a mile further, the tire would've flew off and I would've lost control.
The material used on the rear control arm is completely unsafe in my opinion.
The lack of commitment to use quality parts in their vehicles, such as Toyota does, makes Honda worse than any other company out there. What is this act of placing faulty materials on a vehicle? An attempt at population control? Since when did I deserve to spend well over 20 grand for a vehicle, and have to live in absolute fear for my life?
Honda corp, do you know what is scientifically supposed to happen 99.9999999% of the time when your rear control arm snaps because of faulty material? You are supposed to lose complete control of your vehicle, you are supposed to spin a few times on the freeway, you are supposed to get hit by a few cars, you are supposed to flip over a few times in your car, and end up dead. How I have survived this traumatic experience, I have absolutely no clue.
Buyers beware, Honda could care less about your life, and only wishes to expand its bottom line to earn more money.
Purchase a Toyota instead.
Do not purchase this vehicle. The lack of commitment to use steel on the rear control arm as supposed to melded metal that is easily harmed and breaks for absolutely no reason is nothing less than a huge safety issue. This car is deadly, and there is a high chance you can meet your maker while driving this vehicle.
You are making some very serious allegations in your review.
I'm just wondering, do you have anything to back up these allegations?
I personally own a 2007 Honda Civic EX model, which I purchased new, with just around 40,000 miles on it and have had absolutely no problems. If anything, it clearly had to be a fluke accident. However, in the past year and a half, there have been 2 separate recalls on the 2007 Civics. Have you had them checked? One was a ABS wheel (rear) sensor and the other was regarding a pulley. Perhaps it was due to a recall issue?
I understand what you mean, something of that magnitude should have been looked at and maybe even an investigation should be started... but last time I checked, Honda still receives some of the HIGHEST and most PRESTIGIOUS awards out there. The comments you made about Honda are inaccurate. Yes, I understand you're mad and you could have been seriously hurt, but seriously, grow up and choose your words correctly next time... plus, a lot of things that come optional for Toyota are already standard for Honda. Just because Toyota sells more units, doesn't mean they are better. When it comes to what I should buy or someone ELSE should, is just an opinion and means nothing to the rest of us.
I work at a Honda Dealership and haven't of any problems like this on Civics. We have 2007 Civics coming in with over 100,000 miles on them and have never had a problem.
To the previous commenter-- Honda issued a recall on ALL 2006-2007 civics. Go figure, it's their best selling car in North America. ALL Honda cars produced before 2001 = GOLD. Everything after that point just sucks in comparison as far as quality/dependability and craftsmanship are concerned.
I'm wondering what previous things may have been done to the car from the driver - what potholes have been hit - what curbs have been ran over etc... to make the control arm break...
The only time I have ever seen this happen is when the driver ran over something that would cause it to do this...
So until I see pics and a full rundown of the drivers history and complete situation of how and when it broke... I give no credit to this post whatsoever.
To the original poster. Was your car ever in accident prior to this. Maybe the the parts used were not genuine Honda parts I don't know. Or maybe you drive like Mario Andretti everywhere.
But it seems highly unlikely that the control arm broke out of the blue. Usually there is cause, and 95% of the time it's caused by the way the car is driven.
Thank the ACE Body Structure that Honda uses on all their Civics that saved your life.
If Honda used faulty materials in all Civics, why are you the only person we have heard from who has had this problem? I am by no way saying all Civics are perfect, anytime something is mass produced there is bound to be a few that have issues, but Honda does do a good job with quality control and addressing an issue if they have one. I would believe at this point that the original posters car was the exception not the rule. When I hear of several Civics suffering from the same issue, I'll be ready to blame the parts, materials, or workmanship.
Seems very unlikely a control arm would just snap. On ANY car. It was probably in an accident or you just drive way too fast over uneven ground.
Civics are the best car in America, and the repeating theme is about how great the craftmanship and engineering are on these vehicles. I have never heard about all 06 & 07 Civics being recalled.
The recalls mandatory on the Civic are the water pump pulley bolts and ABS sensor. Neither have anything to do with your control arm. This is a one in a million thing, and was probably caused due to hitting a pothole earlier in the vehicle's life. The rear control arms are angled incorrectly on some of the 06-08 models, but would have nothing to do with the control arm breaking. The worst thing that happens there is tire cupping and awkward wear patterns.
As far as I'm concerned, you could potentially say this about any accident that happens to any vehicle. Honda is still number one in overall quality and resale value, so if you are thinking about purchasing a Honda, don't let this scare you.
I'm still amazed that someone would make such serious accusations on a site like this.
This is far too serious an accusation to have made without absolute proof, however it certainly seems that the reviewer has none (or at least none that they are willing to share).
I personally would not hesitate to buy a Honda if I were so inclined, as I do not believe these accusations to be credible.
You drove 93,000 miles in two years? I thought I had a long commute!!
I ridden in my brother in law's 2008 Civic EX. Rides like my 1997 Mitsubishi Mirage! Thus he's driving a $25000 97 Mitsubishi in my opinion!