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2001 Civic Shudders intermittently while driving...only has 55k. Please help?
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Guest
Anonymous Poster
jillhansen@gmail.com
May 15, 2008, 7:54 PM
Post #1 of 4
(2746 views)
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2001 Civic Shudders intermittently while driving...only has 55k. Please help?
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It started a few months after I got new (Walmart) tires. At first the shudder was so rare that I attributed it to bad gas, but once it started shuddering more often I started making the rounds to mechanics. The shudder is similar to someone walking across your grave (I can feel it in the steering wheel, the seats, the floor, etc). So we did another rotate, balance, oil change, transmission flush, and other basic maintenance stuff over the year, while the shuddering continued. This past year it has gotten much worse so I've started getting worried. Walmart said the tires were fine but I needed an alignment (and they seemed so freaking clueless and unhelpful that I decided to have all work done elsewhere even if I had to pay for it). Mechanic 1 saw a flat spot on my rear passenger tire and advised new tires (which his shop didn't sell). He also thought Walmart did a crappy balancing job.
Mechanic 2 said that didn't make sense since the shudder was not constant, and thought it was the engine (busted manifold maybe...but he wanted a few hundred in diagnostic fees so I didn't go back). I finally took in into the Honda dealership and paid for their diagnostic. They came up with $3K worth of things, including new brakes, new timing belt, flushes of various fluids, and they said the shudder was an almost broken tie rod/ball joint on the front passenger side.
The next mechanic said the tie rods are showing no movement and that at most I have some dry rot of the boot. Those guys were convinced it was the flat spot on the rear tire. Today's mechanic said they didn't think either of these made sense, and "after 15 years of selling tires, he had never seen a flat spot like that on just one tire". They were stumped, but felt the shudder and are worried that they can't find it. Oh yeah, and I'm supposed to drive cross country in 2 weeks. Can anyone please give me advice?
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dave284
Enthusiast
/ Moderator
May 16, 2008, 5:26 AM
Post #2 of 4
(2732 views)
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Re: 2001 Civic Shudders intermittently while driving...only has 55k. Please help?
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Well theres are things I wonder did any of the mechanics check?......wheel bearings for one, and does the shake more when you hit the brakes?
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dave284
Enthusiast
/ Moderator
May 16, 2008, 5:33 AM
Post #3 of 4
(2731 views)
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Re: 2001 Civic Shudders intermittently while driving...only has 55k. Please help?
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http://www.autozone.com/...nfo/getInTheZone.htm this site gives you some clues what your trouble could be and where to look.try this.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
May 16, 2008, 5:53 AM
Post #4 of 4
(2730 views)
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Re: 2001 Civic Shudders intermittently while driving...only has 55k. Please help?
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This all seems to stem from the tires. Of all the things in any car the only things that touch the road is the tires - hopefully
A tire is quite a bit of engineering all by itself. Belts, seams unseen and pattern is actually high tech. They can have a soft spot and wear oddly and then have behavoir problems. This could happen with branded or non branded tires. If unabused, a 55k car would be on it's second set. The pattern or wear of the first set tells a lot and now again with these. A real tire and wheel expert should look at the tires, rims for trueness, and the balance which if perfect with an imperfectly worn tire will still make problems.
It stinks but I think a whole new set of tires proper for the car will solve the problems with known good rims and alignment,
T
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