Have a 2002 Honda CRV since new. No accidents, no major problems ever. About 151k miles. All original drive train. Automatic xmission.

Started noticing a shimmy / shudder when accelerating from a dead stop that disappears as soon as I lighten up on the throttle and car drives normally at speed. No abnormal vibes or noises after that. Transmission shifts smoothly through all gears.

Have taken a cursory look at all motor and differential mounts except the front one that requires taking off the underneath cowling. They visually look ok and don't move when applying a crowbar.... but I know this might be misleading.

Drive shaft doesn't seem to have any abnormal play...... no chirping or vibration from this area.

Friend of mine says he is convinced it is motor mounts. Would like to get a second opinion......

Wondered if it could be worn CV joints. Don't think I have ever had a car that lasted this long with the original CV joints before I tore a boot or something.....

Any opinions?

Dave

 

Both motor mounts and CV are good places to look. If your experience is like mine, you're due for new motor mounts and new front CV axles around that mileage. If you can afford it, choose new or remanufactured Honda parts, the tolerances are weird and people have reported a wide variety of problems with aftermarket CV axles in 2nd gen CRV's.

 

on my 04 Pilot and 06 CRV, both ~200K mileage had the same symptoms. The front lower control arms and struts were shot. I put in new KYB strut assemblies and lower control arms which solved the issue.