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Hi everyone, first post here and a huge fan of Eric. I’m running into an issue with my 2009 Honda Civic sedan. I see lots of posts about rough/surging idles with Hondas, but I don’t think my issue matches the description. I’ll provide as much detail as I can but let me know if you need more info.
Once my car is warmed up to operating temperature I’m getting a pretty hefty vibration when I’m stopped at a red light. I’m noticing the vibration does continue while driving, but it’s less noticeable due to natural bumpy driving conditions. I can feel it throughout the vehicle. It’s not specific to the pedals, steering wheel, etc. If I place my hand very lightly on the passenger seat it is very noticeable.
All of my testing & diagnosis explained below is done while stopped at red lights when my car is at operating temperature. The issue isn’t present when first starting my car in the morning.
When I turn ON the heater/AC or high beams the vibration improves. Even more odd, when I’m at a red light if I slightly turn my steering wheel the RPMs increase and the vibration improves as well. This leads me to believe it might not be an issue with the engine mounts. And of course, since this issue is present at-rest I’m doubting it’s an issue with my tires/alignment/brakes/rotors.
At a standstill the RPMs are at about 550-600 (seems a bit low to me), and when I turn the steering wheel slightly it increases to about 850-900rpm.
I do not have any check engine codes. I observed my fuel trims and it looks like the engine is running slightly rich. My LTFT at rest is about -7%. Not ideal, but not too shabby. When I “fix” the issue by turning the steering wheel slightly the fuel trims improve. I don’t know if fuel trims are related but I figured I’d throw that in there.
Many forums suggest the vibrations are caused by the engine mounts, but I think there’s an underlying issue thats causing the RPM to drop too low, do you agree? I’m going to check my spark plugs and throttle body this weekend since I haven’t had a chance to since buying the car.
My question… anyone else experience this? If so what was the fix? Is there anything in particular I can look at? I try my best not to be a “parts changer” and rule out everything until I can positively identify the culprit, so if you have any suggestions I’d love your feedback!
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