09 HCH Road Noise and Control Problems
 

Is anyone else having serious control problems with their 2009 HCHs? I had a 2007 HCH (never noticed any issues with my control arms that I knew of) but traded it in at 25,000mi for an '09. I immediately noticed the increased road noise and even worse at highway speeds (75-80mph) I'm all over th road!! I get 'good' gas mileage (43-46 routinely) even with my lead foot; BUT the control at highway speed concerns me. The mechanic told me the control arms are OK (I immediately took it in and quoted the multiple strings and TSB about the 2006-07 problems). He said some causes might be (1) heavy wind; (2) different tires (specifically different for the '09 HCH). I buy the wind argument (but not ALL the time) and think possibly he might be right about the tires. I keep my tire pressure at 40-ish and know that if I go down to 32-35 I'll probably lose some gas mileage. My first oil change is due (I'm at about 5500 mi) and I'm going to have them look at the tires to check for uneven wear. Any other suggestions?

Re: 09 HCH Road Noise and Control Problems
 

I too, had a 2007 and now have a 2009, the 2007 factory tires sucked ( they were Dunlops too but a different model than the 2009 and much louder in my opinion ) - they were replaced with Cooper tires and the drivablity went up. 4800 miles on my 2009 and the have Dunlops - not as bad as the 2007 factory but not as good as the Coopers. I don't think they are as loud as the 2007 OEM tires but louder than the Coopers.

The Coopers were bought as the only tire in stock that would fit the Civic and were LRR as well. The tires were attacked by a rouge highway patrol spike strip - the got the pickup truck they wanted and my hybrid at the same time ( don't ask - I was not driving it at the time - I loaned it to help someone when gas was $4.10 gallon - the Kansas Highway Patrol picked up most of the cost but not the damage to the wheels )

Re: 09 HCH Road Noise and Control Problems
 

Our 09 has the Bridgestones. There loud like all Honda's. Honda's just have bad road noise. The car is not twitchy and is stable at speed. But honestly. It's never been as fast as the OP's has. That's what the Mazda3 is for. It does everything better than a Civic except mpg. :)

Re: 09 HCH Road Noise and Control Problems
 

Personally, I think this car (mine is an '08) drifts around the lane on the highway worse than any other I've ever owned. It's not a big deal to me.. I just adjust to it, but it's noticeable. Add in wind and it just gets worse.