I recently purchased a new 2010 Honda Civic Sedan LX. Within a week I noticed the passenger seat was shaking. I brought it into the dealer and they informed me the right rear tire needed to be replaced and this was the probable cause for the passenger seat shaking.
This did not resolve the issue, and in addition now the driver seat is shaking and gets worse at highway speeds (45mph and higher). Took it back to dealer and they balanced tires twice now. Both times it has got worse, and now steering wheel column shakes and rattles when hitting bumps.
Dealer has informed me there is "nothing wrong" with my car and this is normal. When I test drove the car and drove it for first week, before right rear tire was replaced, the car drove smooth. I would have noticed the driver seat shaking and there were no rattling noises. They tell me it's just the tires picking up the road surface.
Please any input would be helpful as I have been unable to find anything on the net that tells me this is "normal". I find it hard to believe a new vehicle just starts having this issue and gets worse after each tire balance.
Has anyone else experienced this?

 

The only thing i can tell you is try a new set of tires. My 09 lx has goodyears on it and they are the biggest piece of crap tires ive ever seen. Seems like something is wrong with the steering wheel shake and rattles have you tried a different dealership?

 

Try switching the front and rear tires and see if you notice any difference. Or trying finding another car that you can switch all 4 tires and see if the problem goes away.

 

Peg_Leg: I was thinking the same in regards to the tires. I think the current tires are bad and the dealership just doesn't want to pay to replace them since my car is still under the 12,000 mile warranty. I tried going to another Honda dealer and they told me they couldn't feel any shaking. So I went out for a test drive with them and pointed it out and the service advisor denied feeling the shaking. Whereas the dealership I purchased it from still acknowledges they can feel it, but tell me "it's normal" and can't explain why it drove smooth the first week and now after they replaced the right rear tire and balanced it twice the seats shake.

This morning the steering column shook and rattled the whole way to work. I have a 45 minute commute. It was very annoying. I am supposed to go in this evening and have them test drive my car with me, and drive two new Civics to compare. They tell me this will "resolve" my issue and confirm their is nothing wrong with my car.

I am hoping when they feel the car driving like it is, they will fix it. If not I am contacting Honda and complaining. I've also heard from friends that the Civic is the bottom of the line for Honda. That should not matter in my opinion. It's a new car. Everything I find online related to front seats shaking tell me it's most likely a balance issue. Can't find anything that says "it's normal". Same with steering wheel column rattling.

 

I can say this if you have to call Honda don't get your hopes up. Ive had a few 8th gens well 4 a 2007 ex coupe/ 2007 lx sedan/2008 lx sedan and i now have a 2009 lx sedan. The only one of the 4 i liked was the 2007 ex coupe i had to trade it cause it was a 5 speed my bad knee didn't like it. But imo the rattles and shaking are not normal where do you live , road conditions? My 09 doesn't have this problem just the ****y OEM tires. Oh just a thought, Have you ever hit a pot hole hard ? that could bend even a steel wheel.

 

Apparently, there was a problem with 2006-2007 upper control arms causing tire cupping and resulting vehicle vibration but I thought this issue was resolved.

Do you notice any uneven tire wear? Look at them, carefully.

 

^ It was a problem on 06-08's and yes Honda said the 09-10's where revised but i don't believe them anymore. Polymer i have uneven wear on my 09 but mine has the revised arms. I keep a check on my tire pressure every week so its either that or the cheap *** tires they put on these cars. OP do you have the Good Year's or the Bridgestones?

 

I have Bridgestone tires. Last night when I went the dealer to test drive my car and two other Civics with them, which by the way they picked out the Civics I was to test drive. My car shook like it always does and both of the front seats vibrated. The Service Manager acknowledged he felt it too. I printed out an article about vehicle vibrations and shaking, and no where in the article did it say "it's normal", ever, in any car, make or model.

He read over it and only gave me short "lessons" on what the possible causes mentioned in the article meant, but didn't read discuss all of them and told me none of those possible issues are related to my vehicle.

The two other Civics had Goodyear and Dunlop. The car with Goodyear was awful, the car with Dunlop was very similar to my car. The final conclusion was he said there is nothing wrong with my car, it's normal for it to do this, despite the fact that it didn't do it the first week I had it and it's also normal for the car to vibrate a lot at idle.

He said I bought a Honda not a Cadillac so I'm getting what I paid for and that it's a smaller car and this is just a characteristic of these cars. I still don't buy it.

 

When it does it at idle it's obviously not your tires causing the vibration

My guess is a faulty motor mount

When it's shaking at idle, what does the tachometer read?


Steering wheel rattling could be a tie rod. Have your steering rack inspected. If you would like to check yourself, jack up the front end of the car and try to shake the wheel with your hands, basically trying to turn the wheel on the same axis it turns when you turn the steering wheel. There should be no play.

 

Thanks. When it's vibrating at idle it's between 1.5 and 2. I called Honda today and they are opening a ticket and said I should hear something in a few days. They told me minor vibration is normal, but not what I am experiencing.