I took my 2003 Honda Accord that has 200,000 mostly highway miles to my machanic because I heard a thumping sound in the wheel (so I thought) He told me it was a broken engine mount (front) and replaced it. When I picked up my car it vibrated all over the place. I was scared to drive it. The steering wheel was bounding around. Anyway I took it back right away and was told that since they replace the front engine mount the others needed to be replaced as well and that was the cause of the vibration. They replaced the other two engine mounts and the car is vibrating even more. Soooooo the decided it was the transmission mounts. So…they replaced the transmission mounts and still my car is vibrating all over the place. Now the machanic says it’s the engine and said that it was at least a 5 hour job to do but could not give me any promises that that was going to fix my car. So, I took it to the honda dealer to have their tech look into it. The tech thought the vibration was caused by a broken air tube, replaced it (at no cost) but the car still vibrating…Honda checked the replaced engine and transmission mounts, said they were okay but noticed that the original bolt on the front mount was replaced by a oversized bolt and they think that is the problem since the vibration did not occur until the machanic replaced the front motor mount. Honda suggested I take the car back to the mechanic since it would cost me much money for them to fix it. I had Honda explain the issue to the mechanic about the bolt and they seem to disagree. I’m still waiting to hear from the mechanic as to when to bring my car back so that they can finally fix it. i think the made more of a problem in the first place. Does anyone have any idea what this problem. I really really need my car or I can not work. HELP
Ever heard of paragraphs? Your post is very hard to read as is, and that’s going to limit your responses.
That’s your problem.
Any mechanic who would deliver a car that “vibrated all over the place” is not to be trusted.
Didn’t they test drive the car after the engine mount replacement?
If not, why not?
If they knew all of the engine mounts needed to be replaced, why didn’t they tell you that in the first place?
I think you need a new mechanic, someone familiar with Honda engines.
And, again, paragraphs would really help. It makes my eyes hurt to read your post.
Questions. When you first took the car in for this thumping sound did the engine idle smoothly, accelerate without bucking, etc.?
Could it be driven down the road without shaking or pulling to one side, lurching, etc.?
Sorry about that text. I’ve never written in to a blog in my life so I’m still learing the rules.
I asked the same questions…Like did you notice the car shaking before you gave it back to me?
I also asked why would you replace one mount when all three needed needed to be replaced??
I took it to Honda for expert advice…now I may have to find another person to fix it.
I can not imagine what this is going to cost.
Wow,
You need a new mechanic or two. One issue is the miles on the car. Alot of things could be an issue. But the dealer should have been a lot more help in finding a vibration issue. I think I need more info on what is vibrating and when. Does it vibrate a lot only when moving? Does it vibrate hard at idle? If you race the engine in neutral does it vibrate badly?
I question whether it was even a broken engine mount to begin with. A “thumping sound in the wheel” sounds like a bad tire, not a broken engine mount. Find a new mechanic.
It vibrates hard at idle (stearing wheel moving) and when moving. It vibrates in neutral
as well, but not as much.
Anybody know a good mechanic in the Macungie PA area that knows how to fix Hondas???
Time to consult the Mechanics Files:
We still need more info to make even a half-guess at this.
Was the car vibrating at idle before you took it in the first time?
What is this 5 hour engine work you mention?
Point being that if the problem is engine related (and possible at 200k miles) one cylinder being down on compression may cause vibration or shuddering, etc.
The car did not vibrate at all before I took it in. It began to vibrate only after the mechanic replaced the front engine mount.
The last thing the mechanic said to me was it “may” be the engine but for him to check it
will take 5 hours labor for him to check the engine.
5 hours to figure out whether the engine is running right? This guy is totally lost.
This will be very difficult to figure out from here. The mechanic could be suspect in my opinion because it does not take 5 hours to diagnose an engine mechanical fault. More like half an hour.
Just to try and clarify something, before you took it in the engine would idle smoothly at a stop light in the DRIVE position and now it shakes badly while at a stop light and in the DRIVE position?
Yes, the car shakes while at a stop light in the drive position and did not do any shaking at all before I took it in to the mechanic. So I strongly agree with what most post are saying.=
The mechanic is lost, broke my car when he replaced the first mount. I have another question.
The Honda tech who looked at the car said that the front motor mount bolt was not the original bolt and that the one in my car now is oversized.
Whould that cause all of this vibration?
Take your car to a new mechanic.
You probably have a disconnected/broken vacuum line on the car somewhere, that is causing the rough running. Or you might have a spark plug wire that is loose/dead.
Find a new mechanic, and ask him to fix the rough running issue.
You don’t need to tell him you’ve have engine mounts replaced, just show him the way the car is running now, and ask him if he can fix that.
BC.