Purchased new 2009 Honda Civic in May of 2009. Around October of that year, with only 18000 miles, the rear tires were worn to the point of not being safe. I took it to the dealer, his service rep told me that the wear was caused by not having rotated the tires. I pointed out that I was glad I had not rotated them because I just had 2 tires to replace now and that if I had rotated them, I would have 4 tires with excessive wear. After digesting that, he agreed and suggested an alignment and charged me around $80. I asked if Honda would compensate me for the tires and alignment charges and was told no.

I bought 4 new tires and have now worn out 3 more rear tires (the two original front tires put on the back, plus one of the new replacements. I will be going by my dealer tomorrow to discuss the problem and the costs.

The symptom of this problem is premature tire wear. My passenger side rear tire--and ONLY that tire--wears faster than any of the other three. It has been replaced (from the factory tire) once already (in July of 2010), and is moving quickly toward needing another replacement.

I'm really curious to know why this is happening. I have heard a rumor that some Hondas of my make have similar problems--for some reason, the wheels won't stay in alignment and the tires wear fast. I believe the reason is that these makes lack some kind of auto-correcter that helps detect when the wheel comes out of alignment and then corrects it.

Replacing a tire every few years is not the most onerous task a car owner could be burdened with, but it will add up over the years, and it should not be happening in the first place.

Update from Oct 4, 2012: One thing I forgot to tell you at the outset. As I said, I've had to get this rear passenger-side tire replaced in the past--not one, but actually two times. The first time, in 2010 (as I indicated) I had to get the tire replaced because my Honda dealerships, in the course of a normal inspection, discovered that there was an extremely worn spot in in my tire--so worn that they recommended immediate replacement. So I replaced.

The second time I had to have the tire replaced was a year later. No dramatic worn spots or anything, just noticed that the tire was wearing much faster than the other tires, to the point of needing replacement (this would be July 2011), so I replaced it again. This time I just went to a regular ole tire store and got a reasonably priced tire (the ones at the dealership are not reasonably priced). That's three tires for the one wheel to a single tire for each other wheel. Definitely something going on!

I have a 2009 Honda Civic EX and I noticed the rear tires were very noisy (25k miles, 2yrs-9 months old) so I brought it to the Honda dealer while it was still under warranty. They looked at it and told me they rebalanced the wheels but didn't rotate them because the back tires were cupping. They didn't say anything about the Rear-Upper Control Arm problems. They said I probably didn't rotate my tires enough, although I have maintained my car and rotated my tires regularly. Now the tires became noisier so I just bought 4 new tires (31K miles, 3 years-3 months - warranty is over by 3 months). The service station told me the tire wear/cupping is NOT due to tire rotation, it's due to suspension problems. I called Honda immediately from the service station and complained. They have scheduled me for an appointment in 2 days. We both have my record of the visit 6 months ago. I am planning on them repairing the Control Arms without it costing me any more of my money (4 tires, alignment - $728.60).

THIS IS BEEN HAPPENING MULTIPLE TIMES NOT JUST ONCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tires are abnormally wearing extremely fast. About every year someone is telling me I need new tires because they are 'chopped' and wearing really fast. This lead me to the internet to do research and found it is common with the 2006-2009 civics. Something about the control arms not working properly, in turn causing this problem and a whole lot of others like suspension. I cannot afford and shouldn't have to put new tires on my new car every year or 20000 miles. I am so frustrated and at a loss of what to do. I have a call into Honda but haven't heard back, I can only image what they're going to say.

the OTHER failure is my 'headlights are still on' indicator noise stopped working a year after i bought the car BRAND NEW. Ugh, so frustrating

Just to add that after taking the car to the dealer and blame me for not rotating the wheels every 30000 miles (4 times per year $ extra cost) and no guaranty on the tires. They offer to fix by installing 2 new tires for $600. I report the rear tires issue to Honda California and the guy at the end they also inform that they corrected that defect with a new torsion bar in previous models and 2009 already have one and there was no other remedies. I understand that the defect is in the rear suspension system...hope to know if there is any ongoing class action sue.

In May 2011, we had to replace two of the original tires on our 2009 Honda Civic after only 8000 miles of wear. Today (January 2nd, 2012) we are replacing the other two original tires on the car after only 16,000 miles of wear. On your web site, I read that some owners of 2006-2009 model year Honda Civic automobiles have experienced the same problem. Supposedly, the Honda Corporation has identified the problem as one related to inadequate length of Rear Control Arms. I will be contact the Honda dealership where we purchased the vehicle to discuss this with them and request their assistance in rectifying the problem. If we don't receive satisfaction from them, we will elevate the problem to Honda corporate team to address this.

Bought a 2009 (new) Civic EX-L for child in college. I recently rode in the car and could not carry on a conversation due to the road noise. Took car to dealer because car is under warranty. After inspection and test drive, I was told that all the tires were cupped and needed to be replaced. They checked the suspension and tire pressure and found nothing wrong. The service advisor told me that the tread depth was good at 7/32. The tires were just "crap" and needed to be replaced with Michelin's (at my expence of course). After looking on line, I found that this has been a common problem with the Civic and that Honda has not taken responsibility. They issued a service bulletin in 2008 for the exact problem and said that the control arm and flange needed replacing. After calling back to the dealer, the advisor told me that my car already has the new control arm and flange. She told me that there was nothing further that Honda would do to fix the problem. I guess Honda is telling me that I have to put new tires on every 20,000 miles due to poor engineering. Beware!!

My husband noticed horrible humming coming from the tires. Got tires rotated to see if that would fix problem. No difference. Took to Honda Orangeville for diagnostic. Was advised my tires were cupped and that I would need new tires and an alignment to fix problem. I put four new tires on my car. I then had the alignment done, only to find out that the right from camber and right rear camber were out of specs and the rear left camber was just in spec. Phoned Orangeville Honda and they told me it was alright to drive with cupped tires and they don't do repairs to the camber, it's too much work. I then phoned Honda Canada and James, ext. 6854 told me it was a maintenance issue and Honda Canada would offer no help. He advised me that Honda Orangeville would do a toe but it would cost me. I was advised by Honda Orangeville that the cupped tires were the result of the road conditions where I live, which I find very hard to believe as I live 5 minutes from the Honda plant in Alliston. I am furious that this ongoing issue with Honda has not been fixed. All I had to do was start researching this problem to learn of the class action suit in the US for this very issue, along with being swarmed with complaint after complaint on the internet. Honda claims to be about safety, I beg to differ. Driving on cupped tires is very dangerous and my only remedy at this point is to keep changing my tires over and over and over again, I am sorry - I do not expect to have to lay out the approximately $1,000.00 to fix this issue (quote from my mechanic) on a car that is less than 2 years old and continue to pay for four new tires on an ongoing basis. It also saddens me that I have now lost confidence in driving my car in any sort of inclement weather for fear my tires will not grip.

My 2009 Honda Civic EXL sedan purchased in Canada started to develop handling problems and vibrations near 30,000km. I had removed my summer tires to install winter tires when I noticed excessive diagonal and edge wear. I immediately had the vehicle suspension checked and a four wheel alignment completed. I had followed the vehicle maintenance schedule and rotated my vehicle tires when required. Vehicle handling improved while the winter tires were installed, but as soon as the summer tires were installed the same poor handling and vibrations returned. More alignments and tire rotations followed and soon the winter tires started to develop the same poor handling characteristics. At 80,000km after installing my summer tires I went back to the Honda Dealer for another tire rotation and four wheel alignment and was advised that an alignment was no longer possible because of excessive and uneven tire wear. I was concerned there was some sort of defect because of the vehicle history of poor handling. I checked the internet and found that Honda Service Bulletin # 08-001 attempted to address a defect affecting the alignment/geometry of the Class Vehicles' rear suspension as noted in a Class Action lawsuit against Honda in the USA. When I called my Honda Dealer in Canada with this information I was advised that the service bulletin only applied to Honda vehicles in the USA. Also, after completing a VIN check on my vehicle, the service adviser stated there were no Canadian service bulletins related to my vehicle. A Honda Canada customer service representative also completed and VIN check on my vehicle and found no relevant service bulletins. I am concerned about the poor handling, excessive and uneven tire wear characteristics of my vehicle and would like to hear from any other Honda Canada vehicle owners with the same concerns. I hope Honda Canada takes responsibility for any suspension defect before any more tires are wasted!

Wife brought veh in for regular routine maintenance/oil change tire rotation etc.. Upon leaving the dealership she noticed front end vibration @ constant speed, then heavy vibrations @ hard stops.. She Immediately called the Service MGR & was told she needed new tires...... WHAT???.. The veh has 19K & I need tires??? They said We did not rotate the tires every 5K so they became "Choppy" & out of balance .. All of which was never relayed to her when she picked up the veh.. Again Whadda bunch of CRAP.. She brought the veh in today 2/21/2011 for an "OIL CONSUMPTION PROBLEM & was told the tires were dangerously low on tread & they needed to be replaced, as well as a brake job & cabin air filtration system... The Veh now only has 24K on it.. The Service MGR's response "It's common for new tires to wear" I could recommend a different tire for you" I said "Wait, I thought it was because we didn't rotate the tires every 5K.. Please I am a true Blooded American Thru & Thru & Have Served my State with pride & Honor.. But if this is the crap I have to put up with to have my Veh built in the USA then PLEASE Build these cars back in JAPAN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!