Hey guys, so my poor 2006 civic has been acting out the past few days and I'm hoping you guys can help me figure out what's going on with it so I can try and attack the problem before it kills my car. Gonna be a bit of a long post, sorry in advance!

The issue:

All of this happens first thing in the morning, or after the car has sat for several hours and cooled down 100%. Maybe two weeks ago, i noticed that on start up, i would hear a rattle that sounded oddly like a loose license plate, but came from the far right, basically behind the glove box. Not a clank or engine rattle or even exhaust rattle, just some weird metallic rattle that lasted a few minutes until the car was warmed up and the engine vibration smoothed out. I got out and inspected all the parts that looked like they could produce that sound, and came up empty. Nothing was rattling, and I couldn't even really hear a rattle from the outside.

Fast forward to a few days ago. Upon cranking for the first time, there is a LOUD (i'm talking deafening,) roar that fills the cabin, and that dang rattle is there as usual. HERE IS WHERE IT GETS WEIRD and why i have no idea how tf to approach it.

Car is in park - Roar / heavy vibration
Car is moved into neutral - Roar / heavy vibration, with no change in either.
Car is moved from neutral into gear - Roar / heavy vibration, no change.
Car is allowed to roll forward in gear - Roar / heavy vibration, no change.
Engine is put under load (freeway merging, accelerating for lane change, accelerating from stop light,) - NO ROAR. NO VIBRATION.

I'm stumped with this. It doesn't seem like a transmission problem if it isn't affected by the change in gears, and the vibration and roar happen only on DEceleration. What on earth would cause engine vibration to get LESS when the engine is put under load? There's no misfire, and wouldn't a bad gasket be MORE noticeable as the revs jumped? Some sites are mentioning catalytic converter but the rattling doesn't seem to come from the right place and i haven't noticed any loss of power.

 

You may want to check motor mounts. When the rubber breaks down it makes some ugly noises.

 

i literally just replaced the front motor mount like a year ago T-T I guess i could check it again but i don't see how that would happen so quick. Then again, if that's all it is, at least i'll know how to get it done quick

 

*UPDATE*

Found the source of the rattle, and it was superficial like i thought. Roar, however, remains the same. Did torque test, engine doesn't move and the mount APPEARS intact. I took a video, though, and uploaded it to IG if anyone cares to have a listen/look. It sounds like there's a "pfft" sound when i hit the gas. I have no idea if that's normal, because i've never listened for it before. At the end of the video you can hear the revs drop out, idle kick in, and then immediately a higher pitched roar. IG handle is gina.theresa .

 

take a look at your passenger side mount. If the gap its to closed, that could be source of the vibration. You will have to replace the engine mount.

 

So this was what i initially thought, but i had just replaced the thing less than a year ago. SURELY THE PART COULDN'T HAVE FAILED THAT QUICKLY, MUST NOT NEED TO CHECK IT.



fastforward to me standing outside with the mechanic.
Me: "It sounds and feels like a motor mount but--"
Him: "It's the motor mount"
Me: "But i just replaced it last year,"
Him: "Ya but it's the motor mount."
Me: "Impossible!"
Him: *shifts through gears*
Me: "So it's the motor mount.."

 

Did he use an Oem motor mount? Aftermarket ones are crap. I have one in my car and hoping to make past a year. They only cost $36 on ebay against the $196 for the Oem.

 

He is a She, and she is me, but no it wasn't oem. It was actually the mount the honda forum recommended hahaha. It wasn't THAT cheap (about $100 on amazon,) but the dealership said the part runs $306. Where are you finding it for $196??? Autozone can order the Duralast for me, but it's only a hundred bucks cheaper. I haven't looked up the reviews yet. Gotta ride ugly for another couple weeks til payday

 

At least I was polite and only said it once.
What it comes down to is; Do you feel like an annual project, or fix it once for another 100000 miles?
Not selling for Honda or anything, just sitting here in reality.

 

My bad, reading

I found it on ebay;
Genuine OEM 2006-2011 Honda Civic 4DR Engine Side Mount Rubber Assembly | eBay

 

So awesome, thank you so much! Now i can actually afford to fix it before next paycheck hahah ^^;

 

Good job guys on helping her out!

Sometimes it's best to go with the OEM part as the quality if just far superior. Although some times the aftermarket parts can be better then stock ones... it really depends what it is!