We purchased a pre-owned 2007 Matrix with 12K miles on it and managed to add an addition 17K miles in the span of 6 months (do LOTS of commuting for work and also did a trip to Florida to and from NYC). Lately, I noticed that every time I stop at a read light my car starts vibrating. Also, notice this when I’m braking the car. However, when I put the car in neutral the vibrating stops. Before I bring it in for servicing, what o you good folks think? I suspect it may be breaks, alignment, or just the tires (I heard the tires are poor on the Matrix). Thanks.
“every time I stop at a read light my car starts vibrating”
If the car is vibrating while it is stopped at a red light, then the brakes are not the issue–especially since putting the transmission into neutral stops the vibrating. On the other hand, if this occurs while you are in the process of stopping the car, then the brakes are an issue. Thus, there may be more than one problem with the car.
I would suggest that you have the brake rotors checked for the issue of vibration while braking, as this sounds like the symptoms of warped rotors. For the problem of vibration while stopped, you should have the motor mounts checked. Other things that could cause engine vibration while stopped include a disconnected vacuum hose under the hood, or an engine in need of maintenance (spark plugs, air filter).
Thanks for your quick response VDCdriver!
I will keep those all in mind when I get serviced and let you know what it ends up being.