Front wheel looks pushed back and not aligned correctly. I figured I hit a nasty pothole.
Mechanic #1 says the control arm needs to be replaced.
Mechanic #2 says the strut needs to be replaced. No comment on control arm.
Could it be both? Or neither? I would appreciate some help/discussion/anything, thank you.
If my car, I’d take it to an inde alignment shop. They have the expertise on this kind of thing that a non-alignment-specialized mechanic wouldn’t. I expect what you’ll find is that both of these parts will need to be replaced.
Inde = independent?
If it is in fact pushed beck, that would most likely be the control arm. It could be a bent frame also. There is a drag link from just below the radiator to the control arm that could have damaged bushings or the the frame where it attaches under the radiator could be bent.
Yes, inde == independent. If you ask your mechanics, they’ll probably both agree on which inde alignment shop is the best in your area. Ask them which shop they’d take their own car to for alignment work.
It could be that both are damaged, along with the sway bar, hub, or even the subframe.
The control arm is the usual suspect on pothole or curbstrike damage but that’s not always a given.
My bad, there is no drag link, That was in the previous generation Civics. The sway bar goes through the hole near the outboard end. If the control arm is bent, the sway bar will be bent also.