Honda - Accord :: 1997 Shimmy When Driving At Highway Speeds And Hit The Brakes Hard
Dec 16, 2011
When I'm driving at highway speeds and hit the brakes hard-ish (e.g., if the car in front of me stops or if I suddenly realize I'm going too fast on an exit ramp), my 1997 Honda Accord feels like it's shimmying from side to side. It only happens for a moment, but in that moment I feel like I'm on the verge of losing control of the car.
I've only noticed this in the last few months. What this might be? I'm going in for an oil change tomorrow and would like to ask my mechanic to take a look at this, but I'd like to have some theories/guesses in my back pocket before I go in.
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I've noticed that at speeds of 60+ (especially 65+), the Prius control doesn't seem "tight." I wouldn't go as far as saying it has a "shimmy" but it's harder to keep straight on the highway. I absolutely adore my Prius but this bothers me. I had the alignment checked and it's perfect. I know all small cars tend to be less grounded than, say, an SUV, but I'm still curious if this is normal before I take it into the dealer.
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2004 Honda Accord sedan, 4 cylinder, approx, 95,000 miles, uses oil rapidly at highway speeds (one quart in 90 minutes), in town driving will not use any oil over 3 to 4 months of monitoring. What the problem is and how to fix it?
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My 1993 Honda accord coupe is kicking In and out of overdrive from 55 mph and up so what's the problem?
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So, for the last week or so my cars has started dieing while driving. First time it died randomly when approaching stop signs a couple years ago. Now it seems to have progressed and dies while on the highway and now has become more frequent to date. I checked for vacuum leak and spraying all visible lines that I could see from engine bay. Engine codes...the array of engine codes. P0420 catalyst system efficiency, P0706 trans solenoid 'C' clutch, and P0430 another catalyst system inefficiency to join it's brother P0420. The car starts up fine in the morning. Car does not ride rough.
Today I changed the spark plugs and noticed oil in all 4 wells and a lot of oil in the 3rd one. I changed the spark plugs because they were 20k miles and figured I might as well replace them while I'm diagnosing the car. So turned back on the car after doing the job and got a puff of smoke...go to o'reillys and new codes. P108(MAP Pressure Circuit High Input), P110(Something about coolant being high input) and still the P0420. (Shop I took it to must have removed old codes. Not sure why).
So there shouldn't be oil in the wells because my shop did head gasket job 2 years ago. I'm pretty confident in their work, so I'm thinking it must be blowby and because the amount of oil in all 4 wells. (But then again this is the cars second head gasket job, so who knows) If it is indeed the rings causing blow by, is it safe to drive around with oil in the wells? If I drain it regularly can I continue to drive it safely? Is there a test to determine if it's blowby?
I ran car for oil cap off looking for smoke, nothing. I did feel a steady stream of air though, not sure what's normal and abnormal on that front.
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My father in law gave us a car to use so my husband can get back n forth to work. Recently it started dying on him while he was on the highway and we don't know whats wrong with it. His father told us its a brand new batter that was put in it before he gave it to us. The car is a 1990 Honda Accord. The radio already doesn't work so its always off. The car dies no matter if heat/air is on or off. I don't think it could be a battery problem. There's 2 lights that come on when it dies: battery and oil. We put oil in it. The weird thing is that after it dies, we put it in park and turn key in ignition to off position and then restart it and it starts right back up with no problem. We really don't know whats wrong with it but cant afford to take it to mechanics to tell us 100 other things wrong with it..
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Having trouble with a shimmy at 65-75mph .....
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2010 FJ Cruiser has an intermittent shimmy that you can feel in the steering wheel at highway speeds. Noticed it not long after new tires. Go around a long curve and it starts, then stays until you go around another curve and then stops. It is as if the wheels have to align a certain way for some harmonic effect. I had the tires rebalanced and rotated. My mechanic said they balanced up very well. Shimmy is better but not gone. Wierdest thing is that when it happens, if I keep my foot on the gas and gently press the brake the shimmy stops and the returns as soon as I let up on the brake. When I asked my mechanic if it could be 2 slightly warped rotors he said the shimmy would be worse braking not better.
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My '01 Aztek has a very odd shimmy. It only happens when turning right, at highway speeds, and when accelerating. Not when turning left, and not while just 'coasting'. Only when accelerating.
The mechanic replaced a tie rod end, and that seemed to fix things for a few hundred miles. But now it's back and is happening at lower speeds.
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My Honda Accord 2002 feels like brakes apply themselves when driving. Car slows down and brake pedal is really sensitive meaning it feels harder than usual and easier to brake. Dont know if it is the brake master cylinder, brake booster or something else.
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So I have been noticing a shimmy/bouncing at highway speeds (between 60-80mph) for a couple of months. It started right after I had a local indy tire shop swap my sliver stock wheels for the chrome version of the same wheel I picked up locally.
Funny thing is I did my front brakes last Sunday and after putting the tires back on, the ride felt smoother at highway speeds. I figured perhaps the indy shop didn't torque the wheels properly (which I'm sure they didn't as they didn't ask me the torque spec and didn't look it up, and used an impact gun to tighten bolts). I torqued my front wheels to 103lb by hand after doing front brakes.
This Thursday, I did my rear brakes and torqued the rears to 103lb. On the highway the shaking/bouncing is back and dare I say more noticeable.
Could it be that I did something incorrect when installing the rear wheels? The tires are Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 with about 15k miles on them. Look to be wearing evenly.
I have an appt. on Monday to have the tires balanced at Discount Tire. I asked about their machine and he said it's a Hunter which I take to me Hunter Road Force balancing machine. Is there anything particular that I should ask or know prior to going in?
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I have a 2007 Honda Element. When I am driving at slower speeds (<20mph) and turn sharply the vehicle shudders very hard. What is causing this?
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I have a 2007 Sante Fe Limited that has 93k on it. Within the last year I have noticed the steering wheel will shimmy when you apply the brakes at high speeds, it's slowly came to the point now that anything above 40mph will cause the steering wheel to shake while applying the brakes. I am guessing I have warped or unevenly worn front rotors. The car supposedly had a break job done at 74k and this started happening at about the 90k mark.
I was looking at these : Front Performance Brake Rotors Posi Quiet Ceramic Pads for Santa FE 07 09
Second question, any tool list or required sockets sizes to complete a front rotor and pad replacement? I have a floor jack, jack stands, a set of 3/8 deep metric sockets. I also have a breaker bar. This is my only car so I want to make sure I have everything I need before I start taking stuff apart.
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I drive a 97 Honda Accord and just recently started experiencing an issue where while driving, my ignition suddenly shuts off. Sometimes when this happens I'm able to turn the key and get the ignition started right back up while coasting, but usually forces me to coast to the side of the road instead to throw it in park and restart ignition (instantly, no sputtering). This problem seems to occur most frequently while driving at low speeds or stopped at a light or sign. Despite the ignition cutting, my headlights and radio, etc remain on leading me to believe that the battery is fine. I've taken it in to get it diagnosed at two different mechanics so far but they've been unable to replicate the situation and couldn't do anything. The problem is occurring more and more frequently (as much as 4 times for a 10 minute drive last night) and I'm going crazy trying to figure this out. Anything similar seen before? (spark plugs, alternator, blocked air filter, etc?).
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I'm a bit concerned about my faithful old 1997 Honda Accord DX.
I noticed a particularly slow start a few weeks ago, so I went to Batteries and Bulbs for a quick check. The battery, which was a little over a year old, was already half dead. They swapped it out under partial warranty in case that was the cause.
This morning - same deal. It turned over 4-5 times with a particularly large squeal in the middle of the cranking, but it finally started. I drove it ten minutes and parked it at my normal mechanic (met a friend there to drive her to work, since her Honda has a check engine light on) and it cranked up immediately there. Turned over once, and fired right up.
The last time I thought I heard a funny noise on starting and took it to get checked out (and get an oil change at the same time), my mechanic swore everything was fine. In fact, he said "Your car is perfect." I'm concerned if I take it in without having some suggestions on what to check this time that I'll be dismissed as a car hypochondriac.
The car has 222K miles on it. Last tune up was around 200K miles, last timing belt change at 190K miles.
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1999 Accord V6 randomly decelerates while on the highway. Pushing the gas peddle does not work. Hazard lights work. Check engine light on but goes away on occasion. Needs new engine mounts and O2 sensor according to diagnostics
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Alright, car's overheating, but generally not at under ~55mph or so. When I hit the highway and accelerate, the thermostat climbs and hovers 3/4s of the way to red. But only sometimes. Sometimes, often when I'm going down a hill, it will swings down to normal. Once it's gotten hot, if I take it off the highway and am idling or driving in the 15-40mph range, the temp gauge will spike. But only sometimes. Sometimes I'll hear the fans kick in while it's idling/overheating. The temperature will go back to normal, and then rise again and stay there or spike (seemingly randomly). It's never reached all the way to the red, but it toes the line. And I take the darn thing into the shop and it refuses to overheat.
I've taken the radiator reservoir out and there seems to be green fluid (antifreeze/coolant?) in the water (have flushed it repeatedly)...and over the course of several weeks, the water level itself will go down. Both fans and the thermostat have been replaced in the last 6 months. Additionally, the timing belt and serpentine belt have been replaced within 5 months, as have affected pistons.((S/N--RPMs are really....low? ~2500 @ 75mph? but don't seem to correlate w/temperature. would they effect it?)
I took it into my shop and they said "we ran all the tests and couldn't find anything wrong." Cool? I'm at a loss..
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I recently bought a 2007 Sonata V6, and the brakes pulsate (when applied) at highway speeds, so I am looking to replace the front rotors & pads. I have been told that the OEM rotors/pads aren't great & that as a result many owners have a brake pulsating/vibration issue.
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My 2007, Honda Accord, 6-speed manual, 6 cylinder EX Coupe vibrates when I accelerate between the speeds of approx. 50-65 mph and then smooths out above that speed. Slightly higher when going uphill.
It only happens when accelerating and not if I'm just cruising without applying the power. My wheels and tires have been checked for balance and are in good shape. No bent rims, tires are in balance.
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I have a 2014 screw 4x4 v8 that has been in the shop 5 times now for something that the dealership can't duplicate, and that is intermittent enough for me that I can't determine what the conditions need to be in order to duplicate it myself.
My transmission will shift hard under two different situations:
1) when rolling through a stop, or a momentary stop at a stop sign, the transmission holds up between 3 and 1, and when I bring the rpms up, the transmission shifts down into 1, making a hard clunk;
2) at highway speeds, more so when using cruise, if I accelerate and the truck shifts down from 6 to 4, there will be a hard shift as well. In fact, when I'm on a long stretch of flat, open road using cruise at 70-75, I can feel a slight bump through the steering wheel and floorboard, as if the cruise is trying to engage the throttle a bit more, but only for a split second. But that will happen quite a few times within a couple miles until I come up on a grade and the throttle has to engage for a bit longer to keep speed. Sometimes, the hard shift will do occur going to 5 as well, but 90% of the time it will be a 6-4 shift. If the truck decides to shift from 6-3, there's no issue and it shifts and accelerates like it should.
Again, this is so intermittent, but when it happens, it happens several times. I've had the service tech ride in the truck with me, all the while not being able to duplicate the issue. I understand that these are learning transmissions, so the only thing I can think of is when I try to duplicate it by accelerating over and over, that the transmission adjusts the shift pattern or fluid pressure to compensate.
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I have a 92 Honda CX hatchback, 5pd with 140k on it. Since I bought the car used about a year ago it's had a low speed stumbling/bucking issue. For the most part, it's only when driving slow and steady but occasionally at highway speeds it'll do it as well. It's as though the whole engine just cuts out for a second. Giving it more gas always brings it back but it's incredibly annoying, especially in a parking lot with a cup of coffee or something in your hand.
For starters, the rotor, wires and cap are all very recent. I pulled the ECU codes and it indicated #7, Throttle Angle Sensor. Bought a new one, calibrated it, reset ECU and drove on. No change. Car still bucks and the CEL comes on occasionally. At first, I suspected the plug to the TPS since it was loose. I pulled new wire and soldered directly to the ECU and TPS. No change. Of interesting note, when the CEL would come on, it seems the TPS falls offline and the car runs great! I disconnected it for a tankful and noticed my 40mpg/hwy go down to 25mpg. Completely unacceptable for a car so painfully slow.
Another observation, the stumbling doesn't start until the car warms up. Also, if it's particularly humid/raining, sometimes it won't do it at all. A lot of people have suggested the O2 sensor, distributor, fuel pump/filter. I don't have money to just start throwing at this thing and of many similar issues I've read of others with the same car, nobody seems to have a solid fix.
I've replaced the TPS, completely cleaned the throttle body and IACV, checked for vacuum leaks and even opened up the ECU looking for cold solder joints. It looks newer than new inside. Like I said, with the TPS disconnected, car runs great but the mileage goes south.
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