I have a 07 fa5 and I've been trying to track down this problem for the past week and I can't figure it out. Last week I noticed whenever I went above 75mph it felt as if my wheels were going to fly off. They were shuddering,and my whole car was shaking. At first I thought it was broken/loose studs but they were all torqued properly and had no play. I checked all the wheel bearings with the brakes/rotors off, and they were all tight and rotated smoothly. I have brand new brakes and rotors so that's out of the picture. All my suspension components and bushings are tight and not broken. So I thought my tires could just be out of balance or just shit. I got brand new tires today/balanced and aligned and it minimized the normal (out of balance) vibration but when I hit 75+ it starts shuddering like crazy. The only thing I can think it may be are my motor mounts, cause they're soon to be do for replacement but visually they aren't ripped or broken. Or my axles, but again visually they seem to be in good shape and there's no unusual play.
Vibration/Shudder/Death Wobble
More info: it even shakes/shudders when I throw it in neutral going 75. So I don't think it can be a transmission issue.
Usually that's a wheel balance issue, or fucked up tires, or something wrong with the alignment. Especially if it gets worse at high speeds.
That's a headscratcher.
tires check out to be fine. got the alignment checked by two shops today. car drives straight as arrow. I ordered motor and trans mounts hopefully that will fix the problem. If not i don't have a damn clue.
Have you hit any potholes lately? Check your wheels/rims. Even a small unnoticed dent can really affect your driving. Inspect the inside and outside, and then the edges of the rims. I had the same problem, I was really freaking out because it became noticeable during a 2 hour trip. I had it looked at, and the techs said it ran fine, but it still wobbled. So that was $50 gone. It wasn't until I actually took the wheels off myself that I discovered what was wrong.
i checked all of them multiple times and the shop where i get my tires mounted they would've spotted something irregular as well. They saved my ass a few times on some other cars I've owned.
Sounds like you are missing a wheel weight. It's usually a small piece of metal welded to the inside edge of each wheel, keeping it weight balanced.
I just got them balanced again today. Rules out all wheel/tire issues.
Check that your exhaust is on all it's hangers
Once my exhaust managed to rattled part of itself free after some spirited driving even though it was still on the end hanger, the subsequent vibrations made it feel like i'd lost a wheel weight
Will do, I've been running a 2.5 midpipe w/o muffler but i welded a hanger on the end so it wouldn't bang around. But I will check that tomorrow morning, thanks for the suggestion.
>welded a hanger
you're using a rubber piece to attach the pipe to the hanger right?
if it's metal to metal then that's what's causing your vibration
yes of course haha. I've been running this setup for almost a year now.
Control arm? 06-07 8th gens had a recall on those. Had to replace the front control arm on my 07 LX after I noticed some weird vibrations but it didn't sound exactly like yours. They also supposedly do have issues with the engine mounts going bad early.
Have you checked your axles for excessive play/movement?
trips for truth.
sounds like a CV shaft taking a dump.
Axles more than likely, I knew a guy with a S80 that was doing the same thing above 65mph and that cured it.
The axles seem fine. There's no vertical movement, and when i rotate them it just spins the wheel. But I'll look into replacing those too eventually, hopefully the mounts cure it. If not that or the axles I don't have a damn clue.
I had the same problem on my Cherokee, is your track bar loose or broken? If that's fine I'd say you might want to check your steering stabilizer if your car has one.
If it's none of those I honestly have no idea what could be the issue aside from the ones listed.
Good luck OP
Swaybar and stabilizer end links are all tight and the bushings are also solid as a rock. Thanks for all the suggestions so far. If this thread is still alive, I'll keep you updated. I'm planning on switching out the axles tomorrow to see if it makes a difference.
Mounts are more noticeable at idle, highly doubt that's what is giving you problems while at speed.
if it was a problem with bushings, lose steering would be evident.
as it's only at high speeds it'll be an axle, CV or differential problem.
this shudder is common when the rear diff goes on RWD cars. but since the civic is a FWD car it wont be that.
broken motor mounts will present as a sudden jolt as the transverse engine flies back towards you if you blip the throttle.
I'd be removing the axles from the transmission and inspecting the meshing splines.
axles wont present in any way externally as being broken. or if they do then you will know about it without inspecting them.
were your tires bald anywhere before the change? on a particular wheel on a particular side?
Tires had uneven wear before i changed them because poor alignment. But thats all settled. And there is body vibration at idle so I definitely need the mounts no matter what. But I agree i can't rule out axles so I'll be changing those today, I have feeling they're most likely the culprit.