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Getting my recently acquired 2013 Honda Civic back in shape

11th April 2025, 11:01 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

I wanted the Civic to have 16-inch wheels but the Skoda Octavia rims on my Laura would not fit.

BHPian thetinywanderer recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hi, fellow Civic enthusiasts,

I have recently re-joined the Civic Club after purchasing a 2013 AT model that had clocked 47K. I was forced to look for another car after my Skoda Laura's engine broke down and RC was also nearing its expiration. Chose to let go of the car and get another one instead of trying to get it fixed.

Now that I have possession of the Civic, wanted to bring it back to a good/great driving condition.

Some of the issues that we noticed:

Steering system was making whining noises and was not sure what was wrong - the rack, pump or just the hoses. This is one of the common issues in these Hondas and I accounted for this when I purchased it.
High speed stability was horrible. Above 80 the steering would wobble and was very unstable. The tyres seemed old and needed replacement and I also felt 15" are a little too small for the Civic
Lots of small things like the doors squeaking a bit, door handles needed some work, missing monogram/ emblems, one of the tail lights was not well aligned.

I dropped the car off at an FNG for two days, below is what they did about the issues:

Steering System

Luckily, the issue seemed to be just the hoses and O ring wearing off - replacing which the noise went away and everything seemed smooth. Hoping the steering doesn't bring up any more issues.

High-Speed Stability

I purchased a set of tyres for the Laura just 5 months ago and wanted to use them as they were in mint condition. These were 205/R16/55 instead of the 195/R15/65 that comes on the Civic. I wanted to have the Civic also on 16", but the rims (Skoda Octavia rims) on my Laura would not fit on the Civic so I had to exchange it with a set of 16" whose design I did not like (the chrome accents are nono) but had no option and did not wanna really spend too much as this was an unplanned purchase. I am planning to just get it painted all black later.
Now that the car had 205/R16/55 tyres and wheels, I was also told the shocks were kaput and needed a new set, got new TRW shocks front and rear and buffer kits.
Got the wheels balanced and aligned

Even after all the above, the car does not feel good post 90kmph - the steering wobbles and on braking it gets worse (rotors/pads?) and also one of the test rides - the balance rod popped off and had to be refitted back to position. Now the FNG is saying that the bushing is worn off and would need replacement. I am okay to have them replaced but seems more like the issue is not being narrowed down and more of a hit-or-miss approach, below is what was done and the pricing (not sure if it's a good/bad price).

I am planning to get a second opinion from another FNG as I am not really getting the confidence that the current one knows what they are doing. Any advice and recommendations for this situation will be very helpful from the more informed folks on this thread. As I do a lot of highway rides, high speed stability is critical. Also, below are the pictures of the car in its current condition - the wheels are really not to my taste but really hope they look good in all-black.