Vibration at idle

55

Asked by ianhillsman1 Jul 12, 2009 at 01:56 PM about the 2002 Honda Accord LX

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My 2002 Accord 2.3 VTEC A/T has an unpleasant vibration at idle with the car in gear and my foot on the brake. The vibration comes right through the steering wheel and is worse when the a/c compressor cycles on. Also, turning on the lights and putting a load on the alt makes the vibration worse. I have replaced the lower front motor mount directly behind the radiator. If I gently rest my foot on the gas pedal and raise the RPM's to just under 1000 things smooth out. My idle seems to hover around 750 rpm. What is the correct idle speed and can it be adjusted? Any other ideas as to how to eliminate this vibration?

27 Answers

3,115

When was the last time you did a tune up? Sounds like you may have a misfire. You can spray the spark plug wires with water and observe them. You may see sparks jumping from the wire to any ground. I would start there. It could also be an injector but i havent seen too many go bad on hondas.

6 people found this helpful.
260

I have replaced the timing belt, plugs, motor mounts, but not the wires

9 people found this helpful.
3,115

check the wires. Im not sure whether it has a distributor cap and rotor or coil pack. if its cap and rotor replace them too. If its coil pack pull the wires off and check for corrosion. If there is corrosion build up on the terminals replace as well. Good luck

8 people found this helpful.
130

If your car has new motor mounts and idles smooth without a/c you do not need a tuneup . It has to do with the load of the a/c on a weak 4 cylinder engine . Sould have had a v6.

13 people found this helpful.
240

I have the same problem with a 2009 Accord with 32000 miles. It rode smooth for the first 3 or 4 months then the vibration started. So it is not the weak 4 cylinder engine. Dealership cannot figure it out. Honda America has definitely heard of the problem but until enough people complain they will not put out a bulletin. So I'll be complaining.

24 people found this helpful.
190

It is that top engine mount close to the power steering fluid bottle.

19 people found this helpful.
300

2002 accord i4 same issue - just spent $300 on a tuneup that did smooth out the Park Idle, but idle in Drive with foot on brake - car still shakes. Mounts are just fine. Distributor cap & rotor replaced & injectors / throttle body all cleaned thoroughly. Open to suggestions....

30 people found this helpful.
170

Not sure about the 2002, but the 2003-2007 4- cylinder Accords have this problem. Some service writers at Honda know about it and others don't. These cars have vacuum-operated motor- mounts that are supposed to harden or soften based on ECM input. They made a kit to fix it which included motor- mount upgrades, dampers for the radiator mounts and something about the front bumper mount. I was going to do this, but after a lot of Internet searching, I found few people who ended up with a completely good result so I decided to live with it. The idle is set by the ECM and can't be adjusted. It's a design flaw that causes this issue. You'd think they could have solved it over the 5 years that model was built. One mechanic told me that Honda OEM mounts will mitigate it somewhat, compared with aftermarkets.

17 people found this helpful.
140

I have a 2014 Accord with 28K on it that has the same problem. Mine shakes intermittently when stopped in drive with the AC on. I took it to the local Honda dealer and they said it was normal..I've owned four Hondas previously and have never had this problem. I am going to take it to an AC shop to see if they can figure it out. Will keep posted

14 people found this helpful.
180

My 2005 Honda Accord shakes when I turn on the A/C on and I come to a stop but feels normal when I drive . I have replaced eng mounts all and the throttle body but don't knw what else i can do,please help

18 people found this helpful.
360

I read a lot of article about the problems: I fixed my 2005 Accord 2.4 EX with 145K miles, by replace the spark plugs and clean the TBS body. First I diagnose the problems: My car only VIBRATED at idle IN D drive, if in P or N is fine. Car dive over 70mph is fine so that will not be the Engine Mount of other Mount wore out (if the Mount is bad the car will shaking over 65 mph). I though may the power steering pump or the belt miss align and it is not when it at higher RPM. ONLY thing is the RPM at 800-900 then will not Vibrate. SO GET A GOOD TUNE UP and MUST reset the TBS (by doing that is turn the key on for few seconds then START the car RUN @3000 RPM until the cooling FAN on or Drive the car at 65 MPH (not faster or slower) for few miles THEN ALL DONE. I posted this because I had been mislead or ripped off in the past.

36 people found this helpful.
50

I've just started to get a ruff idle on my 02 v6 accord. It has 218k on it and also i had problems with the lights getting bright then dimming.. Also there's all kinds of different dash light's coming on when it does it like the battery,seatbelt light and a couple others.. I replaced the alternator thinking that would help and it did for a couple days then the dash lights still flash on and off.. Seems like only when i hit the brakes, and it has a new battery.. Headlights aren't getting bright then dimming so idk what's up with this thing..

6 people found this helpful.
40

Check the EGR valve. I didn't get a check engine light but there's a pending code after putting the scanner machine obd2.

4 people found this helpful.
110

I also have thatbsame problem with my honda cvr. When brakes on inbdrive it vibrates and even cuts the engine but ,wen in park or in neutral it wil b running very smooth. What is the problem

11 people found this helpful.
40

I have a 2017 RDX. No vibration in the first year, but started to vibrate in Nov 2017. Vibration has gradually gotten worse over the last number of months. Had the vehicle into the the local dealer 10 times since March 2018. They replaced tires twice and also tried a set of rims and tires once. Vibration still continues. Replaced one bad motor mount and made adjustments on the balance. Did not make any difference. Vibration is bad a 1,500 to 1,600 rpm at lower speeds and around 1,700 to 1,800 rpm at highway speeds. When vibration starts it’s basically constant until you get out of stated rpm ranges. I believe Honda knows they have a problem and are giving customers the run a round. JJ. Regina, Sask.

4 people found this helpful.
30

my honda accord v6 2016 is just 2.5 yrs and giving vibration when i drive at 40 km/60km/80km speed dealer did many advance test but not resolved yet

3 people found this helpful.
90

Was facing the same issue in my 60k 2011 accord with the 2.4l, vibrations at idle, weird surging when fans on, etc. Changed the plugs, wires, oil, etc... never went away until I added a sound system to my car. Found out it was all due to the basically motorcycle sized battery that these things come with. I essentially doubled my battery size and power by putting in a autocraft platinum agm group 24 battery from Advanced Auto, there are plenty of tutorials online on how to accommodate this larger battery size, took me a while 15 minutes to do the mod and install with the only cost being the new battery. Didn't even think to check my battery in the first place since it was almost brand new directly from the dealership. After upgrading, everything is amazing! No more flickering headlights on my 2000w rms amp under load and for my 45 minute drive to and from work and idle is smooth! I really suggest looking into the battery upgrade, my originally battery tested perfect and was an actual honda battery but still had these little annoyances. I've read that this can be an issue due to Honda's effeciancy and how little power is required to run "essential" systems and save on manufacturing costs which is why Hondas are competitively priced.

9 people found this helpful.
40

Engine mounts.BUT YOU HAVE TO USE GENUINE HONDA MOUNTS. ALSO CHECK HOOD STOP SCREWS MAY BE TO LOW CAUSING EXCESSIVE VIBRATION

4 people found this helpful.
20

2000 accord ex (ulev) car's been running just perfect, gives an average of 27 mpg, haven't check the compression yet ..'cause it's been consuming oil and that "suggested" a problem with the oil pump? Anyways, the shaking and turning of eventually...suggest a bad cable, rotor or spark plugs, it came at once last night. Towed it home. I'm waiting for the mechanic to scan it, will see

2 people found this helpful.
80

I have a 2004 acura tsx and it vibrates when I am at a stop light but if I put the car in neutral, it goes away.

8 people found this helpful.
80

I have the same problem with my Honda 2.4. I have changed all the motor mounts and the vibration is still there. I checked the vacuum and I'm getting good vacuum to the motor mount. I just put a new one on from the dealer and I didn't make any difference. Any help and what I should do next?

8 people found this helpful.
60

I'm having the same problem with a 2013 Honda Accord Sport 4 cylinder. I got the car at 35,000 miles and it ran like a charm then just recently like 4-5 months ago I started getting a lot of vibrations coming to the steering wheel. When it's in park its okay, but as soon as I put it in Drive or Reverse I get the crazy vibrations going. It's even worse if I put my foot on the break and give it some gas. I only notice it when going at low speeds or when approaching a stop sign and or a stop light, but when on the freeway my car drives perfect. I took it to a Honda dealership and they said I had a collapse motor mount which they repaired, but I ended up with nothing changing. They then took it back and said my throttle body was dirty, so they cleaned that and still nothing changed. I then took it to another dealership and they said that I had corrosion on my spark plugs and said that must be the problem which I did get them to replace them and still nothing. The same problem continues,,, I don't know what to do when the Honda dealerships can't even fix the problem or they're acting stupid about it.. I wish someone had a legit answer and how to solve this issue..

6 people found this helpful.
40

Check your IAC valve. Same issues as all you guys. Clean it. Now my idle does t change at all when the AC is on and when I’m sitting at a stop light with my foot on the brake. Here’s a pic of it. Hit both ports with carb cleaner and a toothbrush on that screen until it’s immaculate again. The picture is from before I cleaned it.

2 people found this helpful.

Honda recommended 105,000 miles done at 95,000 all recommended items serviced or replaced. Honda recommended replacing all seals in engine and transmission while in for service on 01-20-2020. Also replaced water pump, timing chain and other replaceable internals on the engine and transmission. This was at 119,000 miles. Driving the car home from the dealer, we noticed a pretty severe vibration, enough to shake the steering wheel. At the same time, Coronavirus hit our town and our doctors told us to stay inside and not go anywhere except for essential trips Which we did. I called Wessel and told them about the vibration and we would bring the car back when it was safe to do so. No problem they told me. In eight months, the car was driven less than 1200 miles. The battery went dead and when I tried to jump start it, it didn't work. So we called the dealer... only the dealer had worked on this car... bring it in, while we are here, I said, it still has a vibration. And I started to tell him the story but he said he could pull up my records. so I said ok and left. August 16 we had the car towed to the shop. August 20 the shop called and said the A/C compressor had locked up and was causing the vibration. We said ok, thinking we want to keep our car with honda parts. Then he calls me back and says he needs another part for $400. I balk. He gives me big explanation how compressor locked up and contaminated the $400 piece. I told him the ac was fine. Then he called me back and because I was such a good customer he was going to pay for that piece himself out of his pocket. I said I want to talk to the service manager. $1660 later.... the car still vibrates. I'm mad because everything Honda said this car needed, we had them do it. We bought the car from the dealer in 2000 and only the dealer has worked on it. It had 30,000 when we bought it in December 2000. It now has 120,000 and until this vibration, I considered it to be excellent condition.

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