My 1993 Accord shakes violently on startup but runs fine once it gets going. Is this a safety issue? Please help. I’d like to sell it but am not comfortable doing that until I get this figured out.
Probably not a safety issue, but it’s definitely a “this could cost you money if it keeps up” issue. If the shake is caused by a cylinder or two not firing, then you’re dumping raw gas into the catalytic converter, which will eventually wreck it and you’ll have to replace it. There’s some other issues that could crop up depending on why the cylinder isn’t firing, but the cat is probably the big one here.
That, and it’s stressing out your engine mounts, which may already need attention.
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Is the check-engine light on when this happens?
Thank you!
Engine light is not on
It could indeed be a safety issue, so good idea to have it looked at by a shop just in case. If they tell you it isn’t a safety issue, then you can decide at that point whether to defer the fix or not. No harm to come back here with what the shop tells you, maybe there are less expensive alternative fixes.
Could be the Mass-air flow sensors or just work out spark plugs. Nothing serious I hope.
Thanks! Took to mechanic yesterday.
Thanks - it’s at our trusted Honda repair shop now 