Alliteration notwithstanding, my 07 Honda Civic is in shambles now after hitting a blown-out tire from a semi the other week. Imma take it in to the dealer to get an estimate, but I'd like to get some opinions to make sure they don't rip me off.

Anyway, it's making a nice whining noise when I turn the steering wheel all the way, either side. Checked the power-steering fluid, and it might be a little low.
There is a grinding noise that sounds like a wobbly fan-blade that gets faster as the car speeds up. Doesn't seem to make as much noise when putting the car into a hard turn.
There's a moaning noise when first putting the car into reverse from a cold-start that eventually goes away. Prolly a brake thing, as the brakes are due for replacing anyway.
Blinkers are shorted out, because the front passenger blinker was ripped out of the socket when the tire hit, probably because it was somehow connected to the wheel-well cover which was ripped off. It was raining, so when the blinker bulb broke, it prolly shorted out the blinker mechanism. The rest of the blinkers / parking lights turn on, but the interior indicator for the blinker doesn't turn on with the blinkers, nor do they flash, either side.
Wheel-well cover was ripped partly off by the tire, and the rest eventually had to be taken off, as it was dragging the ground.
Front bumper is cracked and coming off on the passenger side.

That's all I can think of at this point. How much do yall think this is gonna set me back?

8/15/2010 7:30:54 PM

you shouldn't take it to a dealer to start off with

why would you associate a brake issue when you put the car in reverse?

8/15/2010 7:43:17 PM

well, it's more of a "when I back out in the morning." The gear really is irrelevant.

8/15/2010 9:23:31 PM

Quote :

"Imma take it in to the dealer to get an estimate, but I'd like to get some opinions to make sure they don't rip me off."

don't go to a dealer

Quote :

"Anyway, it's making a nice whining noise when I turn the steering wheel all the way, either side. Checked the power-steering fluid, and it might be a little low."

does it only whine when you turn all the way while the car is traveling, or does it whine when you turn the wheel all the way with the car sitting still (aka "dry steering")?

Quote :

"There is a grinding noise that sounds like a wobbly fan-blade that gets faster as the car speeds up. Doesn't seem to make as much noise when putting the car into a hard turn."

if you rev it up in neutral, does the noise get faster, or does it only get faster when the car travels faster?

Quote :

"There's a moaning noise when first putting the car into reverse from a cold-start that eventually goes away. Prolly a brake thing, as the brakes are due for replacing anyway."

doesn't sound like brakes to me

Quote :

"Blinkers are shorted out, because the front passenger blinker was ripped out of the socket when the tire hit, probably because it was somehow connected to the wheel-well cover which was ripped off. It was raining, so when the blinker bulb broke, it prolly shorted out the blinker mechanism. The rest of the blinkers / parking lights turn on, but the interior indicator for the blinker doesn't turn on with the blinkers, nor do they flash, either side."

probably just a fuse

Quote :

"Wheel-well cover was ripped partly off by the tire, and the rest eventually had to be taken off, as it was dragging the ground."

junkyard part. easy diy.

Quote :

"Front bumper is cracked and coming off on the passenger side."

should be easy for a decent body shop to repair. maybe someone will suggest one in the raleigh area.

[Edited on August 15, 2010 at 10:56 PM. Reason : dasf]

8/15/2010 10:49:34 PM

sounds like a lot of stuff got pressed back into the suspension and alignment and steering column with some electrical issues.

do NOT take it to the dealer, terrible idea as they will ask for your first born child and probably still not fix it.

research a reputable reliable mechanic and go there.

8/15/2010 10:55:41 PM

I guess I have a couple of questions:

1. Do you still owe money on the car? Are you carrying collision insurance?
2. What kind of condition is the car in otherwise?

Reasons for asking: I think a lot depends here on either your obligation to keep the car in good repair (if you have outstanding loans on the car) or your intent on having the car in good condition. Do you want it scabbed back together, or do you want all repairs by the book? If it's the latter, and you plan on filing insurance anyway, then why worry about it here? Take it to a good reputable shop (NOT necessarily the dealer) and have them take care of everything.

Signal lights rarely function correctly at all after such an incident, in part because the flasher circuit depends on load from front and rear lights to function correctly. And just like [user] NeuseRvrRat[/user] said, it could prolly just be a fuse. Shit just doesn't get that fucked up elsewhere in the system simply from ripping a couple light sockets off the wiring.

Bodywork issues: Knowing a bit about the sheetmetal and plastic parts on these cars...they're all reasonably cheap to buy brand new aftermarket. Signal lights are also available aftermarket, but I think fender liners are gonna have to come from the dealer. The paint is the most expensive part. Count on between 300 and 500 for that alone, and possibly more than that.

Mechanical stuff I can look at, and will be glad to do so if you would like. I have some bodywork experience too, but not really set up for it. Like I said, depends on just what level of repair you'd like to have done.

8/16/2010 9:31:52 AM

well, here's the damage...

i replaced the fuse myself. woot.
There was shit rubbing against the tire. removed that, problem solved.
Can't recreate the whining now, which is good. But, it was happening at a stand-still but also while moving.


Took it to a body shop, and the estimate is more or less around 1000.

8/16/2010 7:00:37 PM