vibration on acceleration
 

whats up everyone,

i drive a 2004 accord ex couple 4cyl with an auto. the car has only about 28K miles on it so far. the problem im having is a very noticable vibration ONLY during brisk acceleration (like pulling out into traffic or any other time i goquickly from a complete stop). ive read other threads about tire balancing, which i have already had doneand will have done again when i rotate my tires this week. this seems to only slightly relieve the problem. the car is under warranty and they have test driven it at the dealership and admit to feeling the problem: however, the technician who works on my car ( and is also a friend of mine) says theres nothing wrong with the suspension, tires, etc. im taking the car back in this week to have the brakes serviced and i was wondering if anyone knew of any other reasons i would be having this problem. maybe something i, or the dealership, has overlooked.

any suggestions would be appreciated
thanks

RE: vibration on acceleration
 

Where's the vibration? Pedals, steering wheel, whole car, front end....

RE: vibration on acceleration
 

vibration under take off can be a worn cv shaft joint, that only vibrates under weight shift like a launch, you wont feel wheels/tires out of balance until you get up to higher speed. Sometimes a shimmy can be felt if a bushing (control arm) is failed or collapsed (not preloaded if rubber) prematurely. You can look under the car and see if the suspension is at fault, its hard to diagnose without actually driving the car.

RE: vibration on acceleration
 

let me get this right,, they feel the problem and they gave you the car back without fixing it ????WOW times must have changed , when i used to work at a dealership and car was under warranty ,, we left no stones unturned till we fixed the customer complaint , giving customer a rental car ,at times we lost our rear end on a job working on the flat rate system..on some stupid little rattle ,
Like Super suggested , it could be a worn or out of grease INNER cv joint .....have the tech take a close look at them, have him inspect them for looseness and if they feel ok, have him remove the inner cv boot clams and stuff the inner cv boots with grease, put it together and go on a test drive .......
car is undwer warranty DEALER has to fix it to your satisfaction ,,

RE: vibration on acceleration
 

thanks for the suggestions,

sorry about the vague "vibration" description. when i take off, it feels as though the entire front end is wobbling back and forth. i guess the best thing i can describe it as, is the feeling it would have if the wheels were coming loose (obviously theyre not).im taking it back in tomorrow and i will suggest that they check the cv joint.

as far as being under warranty, DesertHonda, i think youre right, times have changed. this particular dealership changed ownership in the last yr and service has gone straight to hell. it just happens to be the closest one. if they cant fix the problem i'll take it to another dealership and get a second opinion.

thanks everyone

accord shimmy on acceleration
 

I have a 2003 accord w/90000 miles, that has a definite shimmy/shudder (felt in the steering wheel, and all around basically) around 40mph, it's more definite when accelerating at a slow rate as I'm a hyper-miler, I've rotated and balanced and then replaced my tires, and still feel the shimmy, any suggestions and maybe comments, would be helpful!!

I'd take a good look at the inboard CV joints on the axle/driveshafts. Then maybe loose suspension bushings or balljoints?

Similar issue with '99 Accord LX
 

My '99 5-spd with 195K has similar shakes under acceleration and then at about 60+ mph. I've rotated the tires; all suspension & steering components are tight; the hub bearings are smooth and quiet.

I jumped on what I thought to be the obvious and replaced the left-side axle assy when I noticed that I could move the inner CV up & down with my hand. After replacement, the problem remained - that's when I realized that the radial movement was not in the inner CV joint but in the connection between the axle's male spline and the jackshaft's female spline. The old CV was fine.

With the car on the lift and in gear, I see slight but noticeable up/down movement of the left wheel which is coincident with movement of the axle shaft (between the CVs). I'm suspecting that the radial movement at the axle/jack shaft connection is causing the axle assy to 'whip' resulting in the noted wheel movement & vibration.

Nothing I've read has pointed at a worn out jackshaft. Indeed, I see no real signs of wear. If it were worn, I would expect to see some metal filings, dust, rust, etc. There is nothing like that. The carrier bearing on the jackshaft is not loose and makes no noise. The play that I'm seeing and feeling is definitely in the junction of the splines.

The service dept. at the local Honda dealer was of little help. When I spoke with the service manager, it was clear either I wasn't explaining it clearly or he had no clue; probably somewhere in the middle ...

I can find no spec's on what an acceptable radial play should be. The jackshaft is expensive at the dealer ($279) and there would be a 20% restocking fee if I found I didn't need the new part because it was as loose a fit with the axle as my old one. Having already unnecessarily purchased the replacement axle assy., I'm trying to avoid further parts swapping.

So - (finally) a question: Has anyone else noted the axle/jackshaft spline radial play I've described and determined it was normal? Or, perhaps it was the cause of these vibrations but never documented it? I do note that a fair number of the vibration problems I've read about on various forums appear to never be closed with whatever the final resolution turned out to be.

Welcome newbie!

One of my pet peeves is that people don't come back & tell us whether it's fixed, what worked, what didn't, etc. So I understand your last sentence exactly...

Your description makes a lot of sense, but I haven't seen it on MY cars. DesertHonda or HondaDude may share some experience because they operate shops & work on lots of customer cars.

thanks to everyone for all of their insight,

i apoligize for not posting with any results about my issue, but I traded my 04 accord awhile ago for an 05 xterra SE. Mainly bought it due to a new job where I was going to be spending a good amount of time on construction sites, and had to have something with some more ground clearance, 4x4, etc.

I recently changed positions within the company, and switched back to an Accord! Have an 05 sedan now, no problems so far (including the aforementioned vibration), but I gotta say sometimes I miss the Xterra's 4.0! Despite the Nissan's various other problems, that engine was a beast. Anyway, I am glad to be part of the Accord world once again!

That's always one way to get rid of a problem on a car...Replace it :D

vibration
 

I bought a 2005 Accord about a month ago and it has slight shakes in almost every speed but you can really feel it on 50mph and above. after 2 visits to the dealership I got it from. 2 times balancing alignment and a brand new set of tires... the problem still the same and the tech can't find the problem. anyone has any idea? its a LX 4 cly auto. with 64000 miles.

Have they looked for looseness in the drive axles? That would vibrate when you're on the power, & get smoother when you lift the gas pedal.

Another thing to try is find someplace with a Hunter GSP9700 balancing machine. That presses the tire against a roller while balancing. It's supposed to be able to find problems within the tire belts.

Here's Another Idea
 

Have them also check out the Engine mounts and the Transmission mounts...I see and sell alot of those for that kind of problem . :)

What do you think Jim?

WheelBrokerAng

Yeah, engine mounts are another good thing to check out.

problem unsolved
 

they looked at the car yesterday and put new set of breaks. it didn't solve the problem. I feel like it is the engine mounts and they said they checked everything and all checked to be OK. a day before they agreed the car has vibration but yesterday they told me it is characteristic for the car...wow, I drive an accord for 9 yrs...I guess I have to drive it like that for now and once my extended warranty kicks in I'll take it to a different shop. all this was done for free at the dealership I bought the car from. I think they tried to find the problem but couldn't and just dismissed it as the tech that was working on it was a 22 yr old know it all... after all this I'm almost sure it's the engine mounts. thanks for your time.

Dont forget to check if it's the axles...

Vibration Problem Also
 

Does anyone know if it is ok to drive with the bad inner cv joint problem? I need to drive it about 160 miles this weekend. Thanks for any help.

Depends on how bad it is... hard to judge over the net.

Wow, that's incredible! Everyone complaining about the problem on here, but not one of them came back and posted what the problem was!!
Yea...Major pet peeve, no body ever comes back and posts what the problem was after they get it fixed.

So did anyone ever get this problem solved?

Hum! I've got the problem as of this week, and i promise I'll come back and post. Reading this and the other thread makes me suspect motor or trans mount now - there is a "clunk" on disengaging the clutch.

Which mount is most suspect?

Forrest

Took the car to get it aligned; they pointed out that first I needed to get the passenger inner tie rod ball joint replaced - the boot was torn and the joint had a decent amount of play. They wanted too much to fix just that joint; I ordered the parts to replace all four joints and both boots for less, but won't be able to get it all installed until next week at the earliest.

Further, I've just checked the motor mounts visually; they LOOK fine per what the manual says. Then, I put the parking brake on and the hood up; looking under the slot at the base of the hood from the driver's seat and started the engine.

Slipping the clutch in forward or reverse, even pretty abruptly, I couldn't get the engine to move or jerk relative to the body.

I didn't jack up the engine a bit to wiggle the mounts as instructed - anyone a big proponent of that?

The reason I started to suspect motor mounts is that as I shift through the gears, there's a definite "klunk" as I disengage and re-engage the clutch.

Model : Accord LX COUPE 4 CYL

At first i thought that the tires were out of balance. Got them balanced - problem remains.

Second I found that there was looseness in one of the tie end rods, got both replaced. Problem remains. I will have to get the wheels alligned to see if the problem persist.

What are the odds that the actual cv axle is bad..... how do you diagnose that ....

Both front and rear mounts are prone to wear out and fail.

Inspection with car in D or R and punching throttle will ID a worn/broken mount.

R discloses the rear mount by lifting. You will see a large displacement.

You may be able to detect a wobbling CV axle by elevating front wheels and running in D to 20-30 mph. Make sure car is carefully supported and e-brake set firmly. Look for wobbling CV axles and vibration to confirm.

good luck

Vehicle: 2003 Honda Accord EX 4-door Manual 4-cyl; 192,000 miles

I was having same issues as described in earlier posts. Vibrations at speeds over 45 mph when accelerating. First tried new tires (needed them anyways), but didn't change a thing. Took to a mechanic and he first replaced the right front drive axle. Again, didn't do anything. Replaced the front left drive axle and vibration is now gone.

Thought posting a solution would be useful for future readers

Sometimes noise & vibration travels around the interior of a car in funny ways, so it might sound like right-front when it's really left-front.

Hi guys loooooong time lurker on these forums. I had to join really quick and post the fix that worked for me.

I ended up going to 2 different shops before the fix. The symptoms were like everyone is having. A definite wobble under acceleration from about 35-40mph on up. Once I ease up on the gas the wobble goes way and everything smooths out. The first shop guaranteed it was worn control arm bushings as they had a little wear. They checked the motor mounts and CV joints everything looked good. Also there was no CV joint clicking or anything like that either. Longer story shorter... $200 bucks (discount because they were wrong and couldn't figure it out.) later the control arms were not the problem. They gave me a run around so I went to another shop.

Good ole Southern Motor Works in Duluth GA, Jimmi (good guy). Immediately drove it, then lifted it and saw a slight vibration on the left CV axle while doing 35-40 on the speedo. They replaced the left CV Axle and walla!! The horrible wobble is gone, back to smooth acceleration again. He said it could have been bent from hitting a pot hole or curb just right, or from some bad tire hop on acceleration. That's all I've got guys, have a good one.

Thanks for posting. What year/trim Accord?

good luck

2005 lx 2.4 sedan

The fix to this issue
 

So I had the same issues as described in my 2004 Accord, 4cyl ex, had vibration at both 40 & 60 mph only on acceleration. What I did to FIX the issue was first, replace both half shaft/axels. Many talk about doing just the left side, do both there cheap $80 Pass $70 Driver, just make sure they are new and not rebuilt, you don't need to get them from honda just your local parts store. They are also pretty easy to install. There was no visible wear on either shaft, but they were one of the causes of the vibration. At first I only replaced the left and still had the vibration so that is why I did both. Next, I replaced three of four motor mounts. The two side mounts were trashed and the front was boarder line. Honda is very proud of these mounts, they wanted $457 for just the front & back not including the two side mounts. So I bought 4 after market mounts, two from O'Reilly's which were the two side mounts, and the front and back were from Amazon, the DEA brand. I will caution you, if you read the threads there is some mention of the (DEA)mounts not being the same height. I did not have that specific experience with them, but when I installed the back it gave me fits just to get it threaded on. Then once I had it bolted down it created another vibration that was bad on idle and worse when the A/C was on. So I used the old rear mount as it seemed to be ok, when placed back in position there were no more vibrations at idle or with the a/c on. I had no issues with either of the side mounts or front mount. If I was going to replace the rear mount, I would get the OEM from Honda, though be prepared to pay up and call around to local honda shops in your area for the best price.
Replacing the mounts on the 4cyl is not hard either, though it does help to have a 1/2in drive and get yourself and swivle socket and long extension to help make some of the tough angles. You should not have to remove any hoses on the 4cyl though I did have to remove the battery and housing to get to one of the side mounts as well as pull the break fluid reservoir off its clip. You are also going to need a jack, jack stands and a 2x4 to take the pressure off the mounts. I also suggest putting a little light grease on the bolts when putting them back as it makes them go in a bit easier.
Making the above repairs solved all the vibration issues, good luck and I hope this helps!
:cool::cool::cool:

Hi, my accord 2011 also has enginr vibratin prob esp when slow accelation. I took to honda service and they said nothing is wrong. It just the model 2.0 is under power, kind of ridiculas to believe. Btw, can a scan useful to see the actual causes? Tq linges