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Apologies if I'm not posting this in the correct forum as I'm very new to this.

I have a 2005 Honda Civic with about 125k miles on it. At some point earlier this year I started noticing this vibrations while I was driving, which generally would seem to appear around 55 mph and get more intense as I increased to 60-65 mph. The first mechanic I took it to replaced the left front wheel bearing, front pads, and timing belt (I can't remember which he said was the source of the vibrations).

After that, I was still getting the vibrations, and I was thinking perhaps it had to do with the fact that I had skimped and only gotten my rear tires replaced a few months before, when I really should have gotten them all replaced at once. So I took them to a mechanic who replaced the front tires, and weirdly, it felt like the vibrations were slightly less prominent after that, but still present.

Then I took it back to the original mechanic, who said it was the rotors that needed to be replaced, since I'd told him I was getting vibrations when braking. So he replaced those, and when I drove it after that the vibrations DID go away when braking, and once again seemed slightly reduced overall, but after driving it for a few days I was convinced that there was still a problem. One of the things that seems most baffling to me about this whole phenomenon, is that each time I get something fixed, the vibrations DO seem to be reduced afterwards. And for a while I wonder if I'm just imagining that they're still there. But then it actually seems like in the weeks following each repair, they slowly increase in their intensity again, and it gets to the point where I know I'm definitely not imagining them (although this saga has started to make me question if I'm going insane).

So after that, I took it to another mechanic hoping they would identify the issue, and they said that the AC compressor needed to be replaced, and because of the parts it was connected to, it was causing the clutch to shake, which in turn was vibrating the entire vehicle. So I got that fixed, started driving again, and once again it seemed almost like the vibrations were gone, but in the last couple weeks of driving they have seemed to become more intense again. Also, on my last couple drives, I think I may have noticed that I'm starting to feel vibrations when braking again, like I used to before the rotors were replaced. Though I still need to verify that.

Also, I have no idea if this all could have to do with alignment, but a friend recommended to me that I could test my alignment by driving on a straightaway and then briefly letting go of the steering wheel to see how quickly the car drifts off course. I tried that, and it does seem to be drifting to the left fairly quickly (perhaps 2-3 seconds before I need to take the steering wheel back to keep it from leaving the lane). So I am not sure if somehow that may be contributing to all of this. But at this point I just really want to figure out what the actual issue is so I don't have to keep making repeat visits only to find the real problem still hasn't been solved.

Apologies for the length of this... I would be deeply grateful for any advice, as I am sort of at my wit's end with this.

 
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swap front and rear tires and see if it moves with tires

 
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Vibrations that appear around 55 MPH are almost always caused by out of balance tires.

 
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Alright, I will try to look into that.
Good to know. And that would be something that would theoretically be solved by a simple tire rotation?

 
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no, vibration would follow tire. Rears are less sensitive, tho

 
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The solution to out of balance tires is to balance the tires. Any tire shop will do it for pretty cheap.

 
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the cheap is what worries me...
My miatas are very light, so very sensitive to balancing... Civics are a lot heavier, especially after 6th gen cars, so... I would go for reputable instead...
An Escalade would say: What vibrations? But would guzzle gas like there is no tomorrow... Actually, first tire burn-out and balancing issues will be goners.

 
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Hey guys,

I finally got someone to check the balance of my tires, and they are all perfectly balance. He also checked to make sure none of the tires are bent and they were all good. Still getting those vibrations. Any further thoughts?

I did see a few other threads that seemed to talk about flushing transmission and replacing with Honda-compliant fluid? I don't know what's involved in that, but was curious if that sounded to you guys like it might be a solution to look into for my problem.

@sdaidoji
@BrotatoChip
@FRSam

 
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Auto or manual tranny? I'm only asking because I have a way outlandish theory since you've already checked everything I would have normally checked, and I was going to ask if it followed speed or engine RPM.

My outlandish theory, and, mind you, complete shot in the dark. Check your motor mounts. My train of thought here: if the mounts are worn just perfectly, some sort of resonant vibration from the engine would make it vibrate at a certain RPM, and possibly intensify at a different/higher RPM. Again, outlandish as hell and a complete shot in the dark, but a visual inspection on those is free, for the most part. Front and passenger mounts are somewhat easy to look at. The driver's side is a gel-filled mount and way out in the open (and usually pretty easy to see if the rubber is cracking or anything), and the rear is going to be the pain in the ***. Also, just dummy checking, the engine is seemingly running fine, right? Not noticeably rougher than what should be normal?

but yeah, I agree with swapping tires front to rear and see if it follows the tires.

 
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Hey man, I'm here for the outlandish theories at this point. I will find someone to look at that. And to answer your question, it is automatic. As for the engine running normally...I mean, I'm not super good with cars but I haven't noticed anything like that? I would be surprised if something like that were happening and the multiple mechanics I've taken it to at this point haven't noticed.

 
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I only asked about MT vs AT because it'd be easier to see if it followed RPM vs speed if you were in a manual. You can definitely stick your head in the engine bay and take a look to see if something is amiss, but a shop would def know what they're looking for. Truthfully, when I did a head gasket change, I had no idea my front motor mount was gone until I went to disassemble the engine, and the center of the mount was discovered to not be connected at all. Sure, I had some increased vibration, but not as specific as yours seems to be. Definitely worth a shot thought.

Kind of a case in point with my friend's 08 civic. One of her motor mounts was shot, and it created bad vibrations particularly in reverse and idle, but fine otherwise. Swapped those mount and all of her problems went away