10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
128,162 miles

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problem #1

Dec 122012

Civic Hybrid

  • 128,162 miles
I was driving North in the # 3 or 4 lane on I-405 just North of irvine, ca in intermittent rain, when the car began swerving to the left. My efforts to counter-steer failed to regain control of the car, and the car spun counter-clockwise to the left until I hit the center divider facing backward with the passenger side of the car and continued to spin until facing forward. I managed to pull the car to a shoulder on the center divide and stop. Trying to move the car forward met with considerable friction. Soon the highway patrol arrived and blocked traffic and asked me if I was ok and able to move the car to the right side. Despite the friction, I was able to move the car to the right, encountering difficulty steering the car parallel to the roadway. I told the officer that I thought the car had hydroplaned and spun out. Because no other vehicles were involved and I was not injured, the officer offered me the option to file a report or not, and I decided not to file a report. The car was towed (flatbed) outside a body shop near my home. The rf wheel was severely toed-in, and when I examined it, the sway bar end link was disconnected. I drove slowly a few blocks home, noticing the difficulty in controlling the steering, even at low speed, and the similarity to how the car suddenly was handling on the freeway. This made me concerned that the failure of the end-link and/or steering may have caused the lack of control, rather than resulting from the impact with the center divide. Never in over 20 years of driving have I experienced, in any weather conditions, the complete lack of responsiveness to steering input that suddenly occurred. The car is still in my driveway. If it would be helpful to examine the car, please let me know asap.

- San Diego, CA, USA