Hi guys,

I have a 1997 Honda Accord EX which I got towards the end of July (Its my first car). It was previously owned by a doctor who was quite old, and the car was in immaculate condition for its age. It currently has 144,500KM on it, it had 141,000 when I got it.

Now for the problem...
Between about 1900 and 2000rpm, the car runs 'rough' It makes noise which is hard to describe -- its like a soft grinding or kind of squeely grinding noise. I can also feel the accelerator pedal vibrating. It seems most prevalent in second gear, around 60lm/hour.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

Auto or manual?

 

Almost identical problem on a 95 accord LX i been working on.. Auto
Not entirely sure what it is

 

Without a roadtest, this is going to be a long series of guesses; but here goes.

Have the motor mounts checked. (I told you it would be a guess)

P

 

It is auto unfortunately.

 

Are the motor mounts something I can check relatively easily myself? I'm at university so I don't have any substantial tools apart from sockets and screwdrivers.
I just did a quick test in the parking lot and discovered that it only does it while under load...if the car is in park, it does not make the noise at all.

 

It sounds like you've run afoul of the rear Transmission/Engine mount which Honda uses with the Automatic applications. It's vacuum assisted and has a tendency to fail after many miles. In your case, it's just beginning.
What happens is that it becomes increasingly weak(er) causing progressively worstening vibrations. Some getting so bad that the steering wheel shakes violently. I've actually seen a front bumper fascia loosen from it.

It's allowing the motor to shift in it's location, allowing it to rub/vibrate against something which is transmitting the vibrations back into the passanger compartment.

Repairing it is relatively quick and straightforward, but requires getting the car up in the air, really tiny hands and some basic automotive familiarity.

P

 

Thanks for the insightful reply! If I were to take it to Honda, do you know approximately what I would be looking at to get it fixed?

 

It varies from dealer to dealer, depending on prevailing labor rates. I would suggest that you ask them to confirm the suspected condition b4 you give them the go-ahead.

P

 

Motor mount for sure. Happened to my Mom's 93 after an accident.

 

Thanks for the awesome help and quick responses! I'm going to make an appointment to get it fixed tomorrow. Now this is just me being curious, but why does it only happen at a within a specific RPM range?

 

IF it is what I suspect it is, that is the particular 'sweet spot' where the drag that is being produced is being balanced by the power that's being developed by the engine; and that power (being torque) is tryng to twist the engine opposite the rotation of the drive axles.

P

 

Thanks for the explanation, you've helped me a great deal and saved me a lot of money in the form of expensive diagnostics

 

That is, of course assuming that I'm correct.
Good Luck

P

 

Let us know how it goes! I have a similar issue as well.

 

I took my car to Meineke today and the mechanic took it for a test drive, and told me that he thinks a motor mount *may* be causing it - Hes replacing the front motor mount tomorrow. He seems to think its the timing belt causing the problem, I'm not sure if it would cause such a noise though. I'll see how the new motor mount works out for the mean time anyway.