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ok, this morning i sauntered up to my local honda dealer, and had them drive my car and then they put it on the hoist and tested it.

the problem, thank goodness, is not the wheel bearings. it's the tires. seems like ya just can't put 57,000 miles on new tires any more LOL.

that's not a bad option to fix, since pretty soon i am due to change to my snow tires and could wait until spring to replace the summer ones.

however, in case it never looks like snow, can anyone suggest some new tires brands to look at? the ones that came on the car were ok, but i am sure there are some comparable ones out there that are afforable.

thanks

Hi Laurie:

___There are others but the Dunlop SP20 FE’s or Bridgestone B381’s are about the best LRR tire you can get your hands on. Anything else and I mean anything is going to cost you FE. The prices as seen on Tire Rack’s site for these two are not that bad either … The B381's are legnedary LRR tires although wet and snow traction is not their forte'.

2003 – 2005 - HCH-I OEM tires (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp?filterType=oe&width=185%2F&ratio=70&diameter=14&autoYear=2003&diameter=14&sortCode=34050&minLoad=S&ratio=70&autoMake=Honda&autoModClar=&minSpeedRating=S&width=185%2F&autoModel=Civic+Hybrid&filterType=oe&vehicleSearch=true&startIndex=0&search=true&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&speed_rating=S&speed_rating=T&speed_rating=U&speed_rating=H&speed_rating=V&speed_rating=Z&speed_rating=W&speed_rating=Y&RunFlat=All)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

thanks, wayne. i checked and the bridgestones are the tires that are on there now. i will do some local pricing and see what i come up with.

i checked the source you listed above and i almost wonder if there might not be some warranty coverage on them. it says 3 years and i have only had the car for 2......maybe the miles on them are too high, however.

Laurie,

Did you have the tires rotated every 5,000 miles? I failed to do this in one FWD vehicle we had and the tires did not last without issue for more than 30,000 miles, and had to be replaced at 42,000 miles.

Since that happened I buy the lifetime rotation and balance agreement at a local shop.

Just to add a few reviews from other HCH owners (http://www.tirerack.com/survey/SurveyCommentsMMY.jsp?autoMake=Honda&autoModel=Civic%20Hybrid&autoYear=2005&autoModClar=&commentStatus=P&additionalComments=Y&index=0) (followed Waynes tirerack link)

I second Brian's statement about tire rotation -- I get mine rotated every 6K mi and they've been holding up quite nicely. I used the last set 60K miles without the pressures I now run at with this routine, and they were only rated at 40K miles.

I thought the tires rotated whenever you drove down the road:p.

But seriously, I only rotate them if I see uneven wear from bad alignment/struts or have a full-sized spare for a five tire rotation. If I remember right, on a FWD I usually get about 50K out of the front tires and 60K out of the rear tires (I generally only buy the 30K tires.) If I had a hydraulic lift I would probably rotate more often.:)

I'm hoping to get more miles now that I've upped the tire pressure.

I rotate every oil change - just happens that my interval is 5k miles.

Laurie,

Did you have the tires rotated every 5,000 miles? I failed to do this in one FWD vehicle we had and the tires did not last without issue for more than 30,000 miles, and had to be replaced at 42,000 miles.

Since that happened I buy the lifetime rotation and balance agreement at a local shop.

truthfully, i can't remember. i sometimes had it done with an oil change, since i usually take it to a tire shop for that.

now that i think about it, they don't actually have the same mileage as the car, since i run snow tires in the winter. and i have a record at the tire place of when i switched them on and off, so perhaps there IS some warranty coverage here..........

let me do some math here........at an average i drive 2200 miles a month, i have had the car for 24 months. assuming i put the snow tires on in november and take them off in april, that's 6 months out of the year i didn't use the original tires, times two, since i have had the car for 2 winters......holy cow, that's only half of what i have on the car. OUCH!!! about 28,000.

i'll be calling the tire place tomorrow and see what they can do.

I don't think wear is covered under warranty?, only road hazard damage is?H

If you only got 28K out of your tires with your driving style, I'm guessing that the dealer is exagerating the need for new tires, or there was a warranty-able defect in your tires (The warranty's probably pro-rated by tread wear) or there is/was an additional problem with the car that is showing up as tread wear.

Here is a webpage that might help you figure out what's going on if you have abnormal. wear: http://www.justtires.com/services/commonWear.html.

Here is a webpage that shows a way to gauge your tread depth without special tools: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=51.

Depending on who you ask, you need to have 2/32" of tread to be safe on the road. Dealers have started recommending replacement at 4/32" of tread (assuming I suppose that people don't check their tires as often as they should.)

If you only got 28K out of your tires with your driving style, I'm guessing that the dealer is exagerating the need for new tires, or there was a warranty-able defect in your tires (The warranty's probably pro-rated by tread wear) or there is/was an additional problem with the car that is showing up as tread wear.

Here is a webpage that might help you figure out what's going on if you have abnormal. wear: http://www.justtires.com/services/commonWear.html.

Here is a webpage that shows a way to gauge your tread depth without special tools: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=51.

Depending on who you ask, you need to have 2/32" of tread to be safe on the road. Dealers have started recommending replacement at 4/32" of tread (assuming I suppose that people don't check their tires as often as they should.)

thanks for the articles. the reason i had them checked it because the car has been getting louder and louder, kind of a roaring sound when i drive. i had some suggestions that it was wheel bearings, and some that it was tires. the honda dealer, who did not try to sell me another set, checked it out and determined it was not a problem with the bearings, but with the tires. if they are faulty after 25,000 miles, i think there is some kind of pro-rated warrany on them. i would have expected them the last longer.