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enter image description hereenter image description hereWhen attempting to pull forward car stops & wheel does thisenter image description here

I have a 2003 Honda civic that was recently wrecked by my husband. After the wreck, my car was pulling to the right and my steering wheel had to be held firmly to the left. My step dad said my sway bar linkage, on one side, had broke but I would be fine to drive it still.

Well, today, I noticed a significant sway or like a weird movement in my front wheels on both sides. I pulled over and noticed the wheel at a complete stop was no longer turned towards the left but sitting normal. When I tried to pull out of the gas station it was hard to turn left, and I could feel and hear a noise in the wheels. I continued to try to drive to make it home and the car pulled to the left so hard and completely stopped. No longer moving forward. Reverse was still working I was able to reverse enough to manage to turn the wheel enough to put it back in drive and continue to make my way home.

Every light I stopped at proceeding to go the car would pull to the left come to a complete stop not move even put in neutral the car would not budge when pushed and as long as I reversed I could eventually get it to go forward. What COULD this be? I was told the linkage, ball joint or tie rod? Any ideas? Please I am completely in the dark on this.

Nick C
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KDee Underwood
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5 Answers5

21

Based on the pictures that you provided, there are three things that are clearly damaged right off the bat.

  1. Your lower control arm is broken. This is the mechanism that houses your lower ball joint and provides upright stability to the wheel. With it broken, the wheel "folds" under the car as there is nothing holding the bottom of the wheel in place.

Picture of a lower control arm enter image description here

Lower control arm on a vehicle enter image description here

  1. Your tie rod assembly is gone. The tie rod assembly is what controls the steering of the wheels of the car. Each side of the vehicle has its own tie rod assembly that forces the wheels to turn in unison as you steer. With the assembly gone on one side, that wheel is able to turn freely without any guiding force to keep it in line with the other wheel. This is why one wheel turns as you want it to but the other stays in place or goes in an opposing direction.

Picture of a tie rod on vehicle enter image description here

  1. Your stabilizer links are destroyed on this side. While some may argue that stabilizer links are not mandatory to replace immediately, they do still play a vital role in the suspension components of your vehicle. They are designed to absorb some of the shock from the road as you drive normally. This is to prevent the car from heavily swaying as you turn and possibly lose control of the vehicle.

Picture of a stabilizer link enter image description here

The lower control arm and tie rod assembly are both mandatory components of the suspension/steering system. With either of these broken, it is too much of a risk of injury to even consider driving this vehicle.

Dalton D
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16

I agree with resident_heretic - DO NOT drive the car again until it has been properly repaired. It sounds like you have multiple bent or broken suspension parts, and if the crash was bad enough to have done that much, there is a high chance the frame could be bent too (rendering the car irreparable) - get it properly checked by a competent mechanic to make sure it's square before having any repairs done.

Nick C
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11

Based on what I could understand of your description. I am surprised that that the vehicle would move let alone be driveable. Despite what your stepfather said I would strongly advise against driving anywhere until it is fixed. You would putting your life at risk in doing so.

Sounds like multiple issues- linkages,tie rods, steering rack and pinon unit, possible transmission issues and a host of other issues. I am speculating because you left out details concerning the crash. Personally I would recommend scrapping the vehicle because the cost of the repairs would be more expensive than what a thirteen year old vehicle would be worth.

Old_Fossil
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11

Everyone else has said it already, but to reiterate:

DO NOT DRIVE THIS CAR ON PUBLIC ROADS!

This car is a danger to yourself, and everyone who shares the road with you. Continuing to drive this car is irresponsible, and more than likely illegal depending on your jurisdiction. I imagine the damage is fairly obvious whether stopped or moving, and any police officer who saw you could cite you for "Improper Equipment", or even "Reckless Driving" depending on the extent of the damage. The officer would also be able to impound the car at your expense.

What your step-father said is completely wrong, this problem cannot be caused by a broken sway bar linkage alone. Have the car inspected by a QUALIFIED mobile mechanic, or have the car towed to a certified shop. Again, to be clear, do not drive this car on the road, you are putting yourself and others at unnecessary risk.

MooseLucifer
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I may be crazy, but in the second picture it looks like either:

  • You only have two lug nuts holding that wheel on
  • Two of the lug nuts are so loose they are about to come off. It's hard to tell which.

In either case, the broken suspension parts, the chunk missing from the wheel edge, plus the missing lug nuts, the car is downright dangerous this way. Really glad you had it looked at.

cdunn
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