Quick vibration(shimmy) in front end, slight surging

[bootsakah]

Hey guys, new to the Forum. I searched for my issue first, but nothing seemed to fit so I started a new thread. I appreciate all your help in advance. I just picked up a 2003 Honda Civic EX 4door, automatic, 108k miles. Since picking up the car it presented itself with a few issues. Issue #1 (since been solved) was a random thump sound in the front end going only at slow speed when hitting small bumps. I took the car to a local Midas, they replaced the struts (which apparently were OEM) and the upper strut mounts and problem solved. No more thumping at slow speed. Issue #2 is a random vibration coming from what feels like the front end , hard to tell if its right or left. It feels like a quick shimmy or vibration feeling, and only happens for a second or two and goes away. It happens most around 35-45 mph. When it happens you can hear it, feel it in your feet and in the steering wheel, it is real quick lasting only a few seconds at most. I sometimes can drive the car for 20 minutes and not have it happen, other times it happens every few minutes or so. It’s really only noticeable at around the 35-45 mph range. Midas also replaced the left front wheel bearing and left CV axle when they did the front struts. They also did an alignment and checked the wheels for balance. Thoughts? Issue #3 is a slight surge or miss feeling when driving at a consistent speed. Around 35-45 mph the car feels like it skips a beat, it just surges slightly or almost like it misses slightly. It is very slight, and doesn’t happen all the time but it fairly annoying. Also sometimes when it happens the steering wheel will pull to the left very slightly, just a quick little pull. Maybe this issue is related to Issue #2? Some suspension, tranny, engine, transaxle issue? Thanks for any help! Boots

[martij]

Hi,,I also just signed up on here as couldnt find an answer to my problem,,,which seems to almost be the exact same as yours..I have a 2001 Civic. I had my timing belt replaced a couple months ago..routine maintenance and a couple days after..I got this vibration( I descricbe it as going over a cattle guard) I have had it to 4 differant places..spent a fortune having things fixed that they all seem to think are wrong and it is still doing the same thing...at roughly 60-70 km( I live in canada) there is this quick vibration.It is not consistant all the time and also just before..at same speed is this hesistiing..pulling sensation....I have had a wheel bearing replaced, all 4 engine mounts replaced, a transmission flush and my EGR valve replaced..and the current mechanic I am dealing with has checked numerous other things. I am at my witts end...weird thing is though...it started day after timing belt replacement(maybe conincidence) but my car ran perfectly before......sounds similar to your problem...any suggestions you get would be great to pass on...thanks and hopefully will find someone who has some answesr

[bootsakah]

Thanks for responding Martij, sorry you have the same problem. That is odd that it happened to you after a timing belt was done. I cannot confirm if my timing belt has been done, I grilled the dealer who sold me the car and they never found out of the previous owner had it done, I have 108k on my car.

Driving over a cattle guard is a good description. It's just a quick vibration that goes away after a second or two. Sounds like you are getting the same thing as me, the hesitating feeling and the random little pulls. One thing I have noticed is a slightly bumpy road is what it takes to set off the vibration thing. The random pulls and hesitation thing happens all the time.

I'm also going crazy with this problem, I don't want to try every single sensor in hopes of finding the problem. The more I think about it, it seems like a transmission problem. Is your car and automatic by chance? Hopefully someone else has had this issue and can pass on some suggestions to us.

[martij]

Lucky I have found an awesome mechanic who is endeavoring to find what is causing this problem...as I had said before, it is a strange coincidence that it started within a couple days of having the timing belt replaced. I will keep you posted when if and he finds the cure

[bootsakah]

If you do find the cause please give me an update, I would appreciate it greatly.

In the meantime I have been trying to find all of the TSB (Technical Service Bulletins) for the Civic. TSB 10005019 in particular has me wondering. It states: Engine and Engine Cooling:Engine , Bucks, Jerks, Shudders between 20-60 mph. Unfortunately I haven't found any actual details on the TSB as all of the websites don't list details or want you to shell out $$ to see them. If someone knows how to view details on the TSB's I would appreciate it. That one i mentioned is certainly worth checking out.

[martij]

I will check with the guy working on my car ...apparently you need a special program to view these..I will see if he can access it...meanwhile he has my car for the weekend..again, trying to figure out what is wrong....will keep you posted

[toucansam333]

Cattle guard, the grooves on the side of a road? If so, we call them rumble strips but interesting term. To start with Boots' issues; issue 2 can also be caused by broken bands in a tire. Also have seen others talk on here about axles causing such problems. If you take a tight turn slowly if you hear any noise coming from either side could be an indicator. Issue 3 seems like the one related between you and Martij. Might be unrelated though. Do you have any idiot lights on? Does it run normal at idle? The slight pull you are stating could be a bad front-end alignment. These cars don't have any camber caster so either the toe is out, but since you had an alignment; maybe they overlooked a bad joint or bushing causing it.


With your situation Martj, don't have any answers or ideas for that strange vibration. I do have to state that your mentioning of coincidence dealing with the timing belt seems to throw a red flag.. I would check to see if the engine is hesitating to rev up with ease. If you are consciously aware of how it used to rev in say neutral is a quick way to check. Step on the gas in neutral and rev it half way up at least. If it seems to lag and not want to freely rev as normally, there is a good chance the timing is off when that was done. If so it will seem to hesitate and run poorly with lag comparatively to before. You say your mechanic has it and is good, so ask if he has a timing light. If he answers with a question or says he has not, I would be very skeptical and would take that car elsewhere!!

Also check out this link which was a thread a couple pages back seeming very similar to both of yours' situations. Check the color of your tranny fluid and the level that it is at.
http://www.civicforums.com/forums/36-mechanical-problems-vehicle-issues-fix-forum/343586-vibration-35-40mph-1700-2000-rpm-help.html

I know someone who can access the main TSB%u2019s and will see if anything comes up as that, others%u2019 here might have some insight.

[bootsakah]

Toucansam, thanks for the response and the link to that other thread. I had read through that thread when I first was searching the forums but now that I read it again, and I am more aware of my issue, its very very similar to what I am seeing with my 2003 EX.

I am planning on getting the tranny flushed today and replaced with genuine Honda AT fluid. I will let you all know the results. Thanks again!

[mrchowmein]

check your lower control arm bushings. they rot pretty quick and its a typical problem with alot of hondas. once the bushing breaks, the arm slides up and down by an inch. the sliding drives the arm into the metal mount creating either a grinding sound or a metal against metal thud. the bushing that usually breaks is the front round one. good luck. you can also check your balance of your tires. that causes vibrations too.

[bootsakah]

I found a solution to my problem. First thing I did was a valve adjustment. This fixed most of the slight surging or hesitation feeling when driving at a consistent speed. There was still a little bit in there however and I still had the shudder problem (what I originally described as a front end shimmy feeling, like going over a cattle guard).

The more I felt the problem, the more I had a feeling it was a tranny issue. Following the advice of another forum, I had the transmission flushed and replaced with compliant Honda transmission fluid. Immediately after doing that I still had the problem, however, as every day passed it was less and less. After 1 week it stopped happening, and now its been about a month, and I haven't had the shudder issue since. My guess is the Ford dealer I bought the car used from, did a "typical used car service" and put in the wrong tranny fluid, not knowing Honda needs a specific grade.