2007 Honda Civic 1.8L Car Pulls and Steering Wheel Vibrates

I went to the chain shop that I had initially taken it for an oil change and tire rotation. Apparently they did not rotate the tires the first time, even though the receipt I have says 'rotate and balance' on it. They told me they "only balance the tires if the customer asks for it" What?!?! God only knows what kind of oil they put it in it before. It will be a good year if I never have to go back into that place again this year.

I will be getting another oil change done soon somewhere else as the engine seems to be running a little rough but the pulling is gone and the steering wheel vibration @ 70mph is now gone.

I still feel a very slight residual sort of tire vibration at high speed occasionally on the highway.

Having been driving around with tires out of balance for ~ 1 month could you advise on any part of the car that may need to be checked due to the chronic vibrations that were happening, and could this residual vibration be due to the tires being warped now or something?

Thanks again for all of your help Tom.



This is a common problem often brought on by waiting too long to have your tires rotated. Rotating tires every other oil changes helps with this. Unless your an aggressive driver or have a son/daughter that drives aggressive. I often mark on the inside of tires which was where upon a tire rotation in case a customer comes back to me for vibration. In any case I put the tires back where they were or offer the customer new tires. Always keep your tires properly inflated and rotated. Take a good look at your tires for wear patterns in case of alignment issues. Keep my tips in mine, till then just drive your car until the tires wear and the vibration will go away.

Well I think this problem can be filed away as solved.
After the tires were competently balanced the car was running better, but the engine was still running a bit rough.

I took it in for another oil change as I had had a fuel induction service done when I last had it in for an alignment recheck (before the balancing), and I learned after the fact that if you have this fuel service that you should get another oil change within 100 miles.

Well after the oil change the car runs like a champ! The vibration has been decreasing since the balancing as now I think the tires are wearing evenly.

My theory is that they used the wrong oil in the first oil change bc my engine was running roughly immediately after that (along w/the tire vibrations). Subsequently I got the alignment done and rechecked and finally after the proper balance the shaking diminished, but the engine was still running rough. The fuel tune up helped but I could tell the engine was still not running right, and it did not seem to be where it should be until this 2nd oil change.

All in all it has been a learning experience for me. Stick with one shop that you trust, even if the other one has a good deal going on tires its not worth the time or aggravation to save a few $$$ in the short run.



Yes like he said above get to know and trust your tech. I use to pull customs to the garage and show them exactly what was wrong. I have worked with a lot of techs and they have done a lot of shady work. When a garage doesnt have the right oil for your car. There are a lot of techs that will just put what ever they have in your car. Sometimes this will have no effect on most cars, possibly your gas mileage. But for some engines its just down right a bad idea. It doesnt take effect instantly but putting the wrong oil in some engine will cause crank bearings/ cam bearing to wear because of lack of oil. Some oils are just too thick to get where its needed in some engines. BMW's for example all use Full Synthetic. Its because Full Syn is thinner then regular oil and can get into the journals and assure proper lubrication. Those things really start to make a ticking noise after a while. I had a buddy with a BMW that would always put regular 10w40. He no longer has that car lol.

My preferred brand of tires are Michelin. Great tires doesnt transfer much noise. Smooth ride last long.
My preferred brake pads are Ceramic they are quiet and easier on the rotors. Good luck in finding your tech.