I recently purchased a 2003 Honda Accord LX from a dealership, and I am generally happy with how the car drives. It is an automatic, and has 29000 miles. I noticed one thing that worries me a little, and I want to ask for your opinion. Here is the description:

When the car is in parking mode, and I start the engine, the engine runs smoothly, at about 1400 RPMs, very quiet. When I engage the transmission to "drive", one feels a little increase in vibration in the steering wheel, but I consider that normal, as it happens in most automatics I tried.
The problem appears mostly after I warm up the engine for a few minutes. With the car stopped, when the engine idles between 700-850 RPM, and the "drive" is engaged, there is a sudden increase in vibration one can really feel into the steering wheel, and this is kind of annoying. When the engine works above 900 RPMs, or when it drops around 600 RPM (which is the norm after the car is well warmed up), with the "drive" engaged, the vibration is gone and everything seems fine and quiet. Occasionally, even after a longer drive, when the idling engine happens to wander around 700-800 RPM (say, at a stop light) I can feel these higher vibrations again.
Now if I engage the gears in "reverse", or put the gears in neutral, vibrations I just described seem to disappear. They can be felt only with the car stopped, in "drive" mode, and only at 700-850 RPMs.

As the car is still under all sorts of warranties, do I need to take it in for repairs? Is there something wrong with the gearbox, or such a phenomenon is somewhat normal for automatic cars? May the gearbox or the engine or some part of it is loose, and requires some tightening?
When the engine/gearbox vibrates as described, I don't hear any particular noise increase, or rattling.
Thank you in advance for your help and any advice.

 

Did you do any oil change since you got the car? If not, maybe thats why. Not an expert, but try changing the engine oil and see what happens to it.

 

Since the car is still under warranty, I would suggest taking it in and having it looked at. It could be something simple, or nothing at all... If it was me, I'd take advantage of the warranty while I still have it.

 

I could be wrong, but wouldn't that have something to do with your motor mounts?

 

Thank you, all...
yes, I had somebody else also mentioning the engine mounts. That may be it. I don't think it is the oil, as I only put like 500 miles on the car, and it has the next oil change scheduled at 34,000 miles.

I will take it in next week, to have the dealer take a look at it. Otherwise, everything seems to run smoothly.