Engine Vibration

[maddmax005]

HELLO

anyone with a annoying engine vibration? (mostly at idle)
i can feel the whole front end/dash/steering wheel vibrating!!!!

mine occurs cold(real bad) and hot......gets better after a few hours driving.

note: car is a auto trans,if i pop it into neutral at a set of lights,this helps a very little bit(taking load off),

i have not yet pulled the plugs,but see another forum user re-gapped his as they were not gapped properly at the factory....claims car now runs smoother.

sure feels like a bad plug,vacuum leak or similar.

if anyone has same exerience or good detailed info,i would appreciate it.

odometer is just over 16,500 kms


thanks
CM :donno: :donno:

[MemphisRheins]

yeah thats not right...Id get the car looked at...

[robert_tg]

I think we can all feel the vibration. I can definitely feel it in the steering wheel
the question is how "bad" it is, at what intensity is it not normal.
I wish mine is smoother than it is but I don't think it is something wrong witht the car. :donno:

[Zigen]

if u are uncomfortable about it, get it checked out by the dealershp...it is free...y not! :)

[Cyde]

bringit to your daler, it's still covered by the warrenty

[SAZABI]

that is not normal. My car is "quiet" (no vibration no sound) like hell (when idle) even with exhaust and intake.

[robert_tg]

that is not normal. My car is "quiet" (no vibration no sound) like hell (when idle) even with exhaust and intake.

all that chemical is numbing your senses :o

;)

[Noel]

I agree, there should be no vibrations whatsoever. I don't report undue vibrations at idle even with all my modifications. I cann't see how a stock car would. Definitely have a dealership check it out.

[johnej]

I agree with everyone above, get it looked at...

[onequicktsx]

hmmm i have the same problem, every since i installed the dc headers and injen CAI, i can feel the vibration, it gets pretty annoying to the point where at every stop, i have to put it on neutral.....

[Noel]

Hmm ... What the?

[maddmax005]

HELLO

thanks for all the input.........

i hate taking it to the local dealer (only 2 around here).....they are not the
sharpest forks in the drawer,if you know what i mean.........LOL

will post a fix if and when that happens.

i was just curious as i am hearing more and more stories of the plugs not being properly gapped off the assembly line.

CM
(?)

:)

[xxJDxx]

I have a similar problem, my vibration is chronic though, meaning every 2-3 seconds the car will 'shudder' for half a second. Seems fine once its moving, but noticable when stopped with the car in D, N, or P.

[kevinkkso]

any accient????
or impact around engine/sub frame area???
i had a exerience the exhaust pipe touching sub frame.....(customer vehcile)

[pizzaman555]

I get the same thing gets better when its warm out it sucks.

[tsx4life]

had a similar problem took it to the dealer guy told me being that the dash is made out of plastic during winter time it will shrink causing the dash and steering wheel to creak or vibrate...so thats what they say ..who knows if its true or not?..

[socaljdmtsx]

Let me add my name to the list. Been a problem i have had for a while now and i am just not ready to face the music with my mechanic or the dealer. Have an 05 and a cf hood and when i come to a stop 75% of the time, i will see the hood bouncing and rattling. Extremely annoying and i can feel the vibration on the ground. I have to assume that this is a Tranny problem. No?

P.S. I used to have many mods for the 1st year but went backwords the last 2. Only thing under the hood at this point is my cusco bars and a injen sri

[jrhonda]

same thing for me but its only between 690 - 710 rpms. interesting. i think it may because of modding. maybe when we mod, we need to start thinking about what else may be affected, like say for example, if you add a CAI and headers, maybe new plugs are needed or re-gapped. I dont really know but mr car only vibrates when it hits those rpm's and i think that has to do with the Comptech header that i have. its like the CT headers vibrate at a certain rpm level just like certain instruments do when you hit a certain note. just a theory.

[pizzaman555]

Mine has no engeine mods at all.

[jrhonda]

Mine has no engeine mods at all.

I understand but i was referring to more instantaneous recognition. Like if you notice the car is running perfectly smooth and then you install a mod and notice something different immediately. But I'm sure that modding isn't the reason behind a vibrating engine. there could be many things happening. the plugs might be one...you just have to understand what could be causeing it to vibrate and why. might be a tranny thing. i don't know. I notice a difference post-modding in the vibration of my engine. I really want it to not do that though

[pizzaman555]

I understand but i was referring to more instantaneous recognition. Like if you notice the car is running perfectly smooth and then you install a mod and notice something different immediately. But I'm sure that modding isn't the reason behind a vibrating engine. there could be many things happening. the plugs might be one...you just have to understand what could be causeing it to vibrate and why. might be a tranny thing. i don't know. I notice a difference post-modding in the vibration of my engine. I really want it to not do that though

Yeah it sucks my car use to be so smooth when I got it now its not and I only have 33000 miles on it.

[jrhonda]

Yeah it sucks my car use to be so smooth when I got it now its not and I only have 33000 miles on it.

I remember the day that I bought it. I opened the hood to take a look at it and the engine wasn't vibrating or moving at all. I held my hand on top of the i-vtec cover and i could barely feel anything. I was amazed and when I was sitting in it, I thought the car was turned off. But now that I have done some modding the vibration is noticeable but I think I just need to do some tuning, maybe change my plugs. I think mods such as intake will make your car run leaner or richer which may change the way it runs. May need to change plugs then because those plugs were used to a different A/F ratio. I don't know, im just theorizing.

[socaljdmtsx]

It seems like my car has just fallen apart in the last year. I am not a bad driver. All freeway miles, mild speeding in the open freeway and no engine mods in 2 years besides the intake. Just recently, i have had to get alignment done, new battery (optima red top), new stock tires (kumho), shocks and struts because of some weird squeeking noise i was getting from the back wheels when going over bumps. I will be the first one in line to tell you how much i loved the tsx when it came out but i have had plenty of cars with plenty of mods but nowhere as many issues as my tsx. I have regrets sometimes but i will still not give her up.

[xxJDxx]

^Well alignment, tires, and battery are all things that could fail on any car and are really totally normal. Nothing to complain about. As for squeeking suspension, if that was the only problem your probably didnt need to have everything replaced. A simple silicone lubricant probably could have solved your problem...

[griffojm]

Wow, I feel lucky. My car just turned 71,500 miles and she still smooth as ever.

[dcho003]

sooo. was there a fix for this problem? :D

[xxJDxx]

^I think we concluded that it was normal. The only vibration i get it when stopped with the car in D..... Everyone seems to think that is normal tho..

[socaljdmtsx]

I can tell you one thing, its not normal. Some of the minor things that you need to replace around 50k miles yes, thats normal, but coming to a stop and having to put your car in Neutral because it is shaking too much while idling is NOT normal. My friends 66' Mustang is supposed to do this, my other friends Camaro is supposed to do this, and even some Japanese High Horsepowered cars can do this, but not our TSX's that have minor mods. One of these days i will take it into Acura or my Car guy and have him take a look, but honestly, .... i think its a tranny issue. :bawling:

[MxD0CxB]

how many of you installed the engine torque damper on your cars?

[xxJDxx]

I can tell you one thing, its not normal. Some of the minor things that you need to replace around 50k miles yes, thats normal, but coming to a stop and having to put your car in Neutral because it is shaking too much while idling is NOT normal. My friends 66' Mustang is supposed to do this, my other friends Camaro is supposed to do this, and even some Japanese High Horsepowered cars can do this, but not our TSX's that have minor mods. One of these days i will take it into Acura or my Car guy and have him take a look, but honestly, .... i think its a tranny issue. :bawling:


are you sure about this?

I guess it depends on the level of 'vibration' people are complaining about. Unfortunately most 4 cylinders have vibration. This is especially evident at low engine speeds in the TSX as our engines have two balance shafts which help greatly reduce the vibration when the engine is spinning. at low engine speeds however they dont help as much.

[SoCaliTrojan]

Check the motor mounts, as well as your idle's rpm speed. If it's too low, it'll shake. Try giving it a little gas with your left foot on the brake...maybe at a certain RPM you'll notice that the vibration goes away.

Intakes will exaggerate the problem since you effectively change the amount of air it expects. Bigger intakes are for when you're at higher speeds, not sitting around idling.

doc, I don't think alot of people installed the dampener. Alot of people had install issues with it, and it will increase the vibration from engine to cabin...

socaljdmtsx,

How can this be a tranny issue? The tranny transfers power from the engine to the wheels. It's obviously an engine issue, since the engine is sending vibrations to the cabin.

and yes, 4-cylinder cars usually do have more vibration. Every piston does a cycle (get in gas, compress, explode, push out exhaust gas)...with less cylinders, the strokes don't overlap and that causes vibrations. With 6 and 8 cylinders, they can overlap and have a smoother engine. I guess that's why luxury vehicles usually have bigger engines; not to have power to carry around more goodies, but to provide a smoother engine

[socaljdmtsx]

Thanks for your $0.02 Trojan. Fight On! What do you recommend then? Besides a 6 or 8 cylinder car. LOL My first step is to get rid of my c/f hood and get a stock hood back. Lost my first one when i installed the c/f at my motorsports shop and then the shop moved and took my hood. Heavier hood will atleast removing the rattling of my hood.

Next step? Take it to Acura, have them tell me something bad about my engine. What do you recommend, what would anyone do? Nobody wants to face the bad news about something bad about your car.

[dcho003]

does everyone with problems have an intake installed?
when i had my aem short ram installed, i felt the vibration that same day.
being a noob i am, i thought it was normal. lol
but after being introduced to this forum, and finding people having the same problem, figured something was wrong. haha

i have a feeling that it has something to do with my intake.
i've trired reinstalling several times, but vibration doesnt seem to go away.

what do you guys think? mybe its the intake probleM?

[xxJDxx]

Have any of you tried adjusting your valve clearances?

I know in honda motors of the past it was fairly common for the clearances to go out. Honda list much longer intervals for the new K-series motors, but I still suspect that they might go out sooner like they have tended to do in the past.
I've been trying to find info about adjusting them with little luck. Our cars are getting to the age now where it might be a good idea...

[SoCaliTrojan]

Have any of you tried adjusting your valve clearances?

You mean valve adjustment? You know you need it when you can hear your engine ticking (most noticeable when you're waiting at a drive-thru....the sound will bounce off the wall and annoy you). The last time I did it on my accord, I didn't notice any difference afterward.


My first step is to get rid of my c/f hood and get a stock hood back. Lost my first one when i installed the c/f at my motorsports shop and then the shop moved and took my hood. Heavier hood will atleast removing the rattling of my hood.

Next step? Take it to Acura, have them tell me something bad about my engine. What do you recommend, what would anyone do? Nobody wants to face the bad news about something bad about your car.

Yeah, I think a heavier hood might help. There should also be adjustable rubber bumps that allow you to adjust how the hood sits....maybe try to raise them a bit to reduce the amount it can move while in the locked position?

I think you should should take notes to try and track down what's causing it. Does it still do it when the A/C is off? What is your RPM at certain times (neutral with A/C on/off, drive with A/C on/off, etc.) Being informed will give you some ammo to argue with them. Maybe stop by a small shop and ask for their advice on what they think might be causing it. A small honda shop nearby did a free diagnosis for me once.


does everyone with problems have an intake installed?
when i had my aem short ram installed, i felt the vibration that same day.
being a noob i am, i thought it was normal. lol
but after being introduced to this forum, and finding people having the same problem, figured something was wrong. haha

i have a feeling that it has something to do with my intake.
i've trired reinstalling several times, but vibration doesnt seem to go away.

what do you guys think? mybe its the intake probleM?

On my accord, I noticed a few differences when I installed a SRI (short ram intake). Since I spend alot of time in traffic, I get to notice it alot. Most people get to actually get to highway speeds, and that's where they notice the benefit of having an intake. That's why I've been hesitant to install one in the TSX. If I do get an intake, it'll probably be the comptech icebox since it's the most similar to stock. You've reinstalled the intake several times? Try putting your stock intake back, and report your results.

[jrhonda]

Quote from SoCaliTrojan " You mean valve adjustment? You know you need it when you can hear your engine ticking (most noticeable when you're waiting at a drive-thru....the sound will bounce off the wall and annoy you). The last time I did it on my accord, I didn't notice any difference afterward. "

How exactly do you adjust the valves? Is this an easy DIY?

[socaljdmtsx]

dcho003 - yes, i did notice it more after i installed my sri.

socalitrojan - rattling and hesitation happens more at low rpms while the AC is off and while i have my foot on the brake. Goes away if i put it in neutral or park. Rattling goes away at that time but the engine still seems like its on life support giving off little life when the hood is up.

[dcho003]

i wonder how bad this is for our engine? lol.
if i can make time, ill try going to the dealership.

[dcho003]

to those who think they have a problem caused by installing sri, i found this in the other section of the forum.

"After my initial install of the AEM RAM intake, the steering wheel vibrated when in drive. I thought it was the ECU trying to adjust for the new air flow, but my dealer finally solved the problem. The intake looked and felt fine when idling in park or neutral, but when in drive, the engine would rotate on its flexible motor mounts and contact the intake, making the vibration. Some intake adjustment and a few rubber washers corrected vibration. This could happen on a CAI intake as well as my RAM intake. More likely a problem with the auto transmission since the car's in drive while stopped."

i havnt tried it yet, but hope this helps alittle

[xxJDxx]

One thing I've noticed with my vibration issue is that the vibration doesn't start until the car is put in gear.

Meaning that when i first start it it isn't noticeable in Park, once put into drive and then back into park the vibration shows up. ???

[donotan]

o i herd it could be ur o2 sensor, i had that and got mine replaced and it doesnt do tha tanymore

[xxJDxx]

o i herd it could be ur o2 sensor, i had that and got mine replaced and it doesnt do tha tanymore


interesting.....was it the dealer that replaced it? or that told u to replace it? I've actually been suspecting my O2 lately as I my gas mileage also seems to be gettting worse lately....