1996 Honda Accord Front Axles

LGERHARD

MEMBER
1996 HONDA ACCORD
6 CYL
4WD
AUTOMATIC
150,000 MILES

Can towing a car that has the doors locked and is in park break the front axles? Recently a tow company towed my car in this position. One month later I had 2 new tires put on the front and the mechanics informed me that the front axles had just recently been broken as the grease around them was still very wet. They estimated the cost to repair around 477$. Thoughts? And Thank You.

1 Reply

BRUCE HUNT

MECHANIC
3,753 POSTS

No. Coincidence, I don't know. The tower would have lifted the front off the ground and the rear would have traveled on the road as towed. The age of the car is due for CV axle replacement. The new ones you get will and should be warranteed for life of the car. They will run about 80 to 100 apiece for the axles. The price is maybe a bit too high but reasonable.

One thing to clarify, the axles are not broken. The boots on the joints are broken allowing the protective and lubricating grease to escape. This causes the joints to not be lubrcated properly and contaminents to get in. The joints will then wear out very quickly. The car will still drive and the axles and not broken, but they will fail in the end and should be fixed. The car is a great vehicle but these are the things about older cars. They need to be fixed occasionally.