I'm the original owner of a '94 Accord (with close to 360k miles). It's been a wonderful car, generally quite low-maintenance. (I have taken good care of it over the years.)

Recently, when starting the car, the engine sometimes shakes, not terribly but very noticeably. The shaking sometimes diminishes but can also be noticeable.

Today we talked with our mechanic about the issue. The engine did not act up when we brought it in. He said, quite understandably, that there is nothing he can do about a problem that is not present when he checks it (he did look over the car). He said it is not the timing belt (which needs to be replaced after 90k miles and 10+ years). He said it is nothing else that he can see. He said maybe the computer is just not communicating well with itself somehow. He suggested that when this happens, to turn off the car and restart it. But today when I tried that later today, it was just shaking each time.

Our major concern is safety. An uncle of my wife who knows something about cars said that it is no longer safe to drive the car because it could stop at any time. He mentioned the transmission, which he said after 360k miles would probably be shot. FWIW, I think we had some work done on that some years ago.

In any event, I'm just wondering whether anyone might be able to shed light on the situation and give us some guidance as to whether it's really time to stop driving this car.

Thanks in advance for any insight you might be able to offer.

 

spark plugs worn, spark plug wires, vacuum leak, incorrect timing, uneven compression, fuel system faulty, intake manifold leak, motor mounts worn, dirty fuel/filter

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide this helpful list. Really appreciate it!

 

With that many miles on the Honda, be sure to have your shop check the engine mounts if they are the original ones, and he didn't look at them already. If they are original, they are likely deteriorated pretty badly.

 

Motor mounts would be my first guess. Mine needed replacement at 150,000 miles on almost any Honda I have had. The rear and front (I think) are particularly important, but I would replace all of them.