Vibration When The Car Is Stopped In Traffic

[wotson]

Hi Guys,

I have a Suzuki Swift ( Jap, 2003 Dec. Model, Auto) and recently I started noticing a vibration when the car is stopped in traffic, etc. I can feel it from the steering wheel and from some parts in the dashboard.

I asked about it from a mechanic when I went for another minor repair. He said it should be a problem with an engine mount and asked me to come another day to take a look. After a couple of days, I took my car to A*W (Rajagiriya) for the routine service. The adviser guy at A*W, told that it is better to do an engine tune up. Then I told him about this problem and he said the vibration will be gone after the tune-up. He asked me to take the car to A*W the following day, because it was too late that day to perform a tune up. I did not take the car to A*W, because I was not convinced doing and engine tune up will fix the vibration problem.

I kind of confused because of the two solutions suggested by these two places. So it is a problem with an engine mount or can be it get fixed after an engine tune up ? Looking for some insights from the experts.

Thanks in advance.

- Wotson

[Crishan]

AFAIK, Engine tune up has nothing to do with this vibration. It has to be the with the Mounts. Any way hang on until our AL experts come in.

[JadeyBlitzen]

Crishan's right. it could very well be the mounts. but first check if the vibration goes down considerably when u shift from D to N while stationary.

it could be in need of a tune up if the idling rpm keeps fluctuating when the vibration is happening. like if it goes below 600. if not I think the agents are just trying to cash in on the situation.

If its non of these I've heard there's some coil related issue in most swifts. Actually I felt it in only one and its owner who told me this story. So I'll just leave the swift owners to comment on that.

[cruze5151]

its the Engine mount for sure , we had to change the mounts when this thing started happening in our swift (2004). stay away from the engine tune up's since it will be a waste of money, if the RPM is twitching then check the plugs

Edited March 4, 2012 by cruze5151

[Reckless]

Guys my car also has developed this problem, RPM keeps droping below 600 and the car vibrates when in traffic. Funny thing is that this happens when the AC is off, when I switch on the AC the RPM goes high and the vibration reduses considerably. also when I shift from D to N when the car is stationary, the vibration goes down a lot. last year two engine mounts were replaced, so it cant be the mounts. Will changing all the spark plugs and doing a tuneup fix this issue?

[wotson]

  On 3/4/2012 at 8:30 AM, cruze5151 said:

its the Engine mount for sure , we had to change the mounts when this thing started happening in our swift (2004). stay away from the engine tune up's since it will be a waste of money, if the RPM is twitching then check the plugs

Thanks guys for your responses.

RPM value is quite normal, it stays ~750 when idling. Also I did a full check up about two weeks ago and he said everything is ok. And he cleaned up the plugs, etc. I guess A*W guys are blindly recommending its customers to do an engine tune up to earn some bucks easily.

Also they asked me to do service my A/C, which is functioning properly which I serviced about 2 months ago.

- Wotson

[Uditha88]

  On 3/4/2012 at 9:30 AM, wotson said:

Thanks guys for your responses.

RPM value is quite normal, it stays ~750 when idling. Also I did a full check up about two weeks ago and he said everything is ok. And he cleaned up the plugs, etc. I guess A*W guys are blindly recommending its customers to do an engine tune up to earn some bucks easily.

Also they asked me to do service my A/C, which is functioning properly which I serviced about 2 months ago.

- Wotson

Hi,

Happy to hear that you got problem solved.

you tittle says vibration happens in Traffic. But description says "when stopped in traffic, etc." which has very important phrase "etc."

See this is the point. If it's something to do with mounts, it should occure in every idle. But if you mention the issue that this vibration happens when idle in traffic, it tend to think that "Is it something to do with tune-up?"

But even in that condition if you said that idle RPM is normal, it should not be something to do with tune-up.

Have some experience in tune-ups in same place & so satisfied with the work.. (though bit expensive ) They are good for their models.....

Edited March 4, 2012 by Uditha88

[FreakSL]

it happened to me once car start vibrates like anything and RPM drops , changed the plug wires , problem soloved

[kushan]

I'm having the same problem here, when I stopped in the traffic vibration starts, and when I shifted to N from D, vibration stops, Stafford asked me to replace the mounts, since some of their rubber mounts are damaged. I'm worried coz that could be a problem of transmission . Anyway gonna change the mounts soon and will share the details.

Noted another thing, When I released the brakes, vehicle starts to move but not smoothly, but shaking, according to the vibration. (when it vibrates it moves and when its not it stops) hope you got what I'm trying to say.

Edited March 9, 2012 by kushan

[Reckless]

  On 3/8/2012 at 9:38 AM, FreakSL said:

it happened to me once car start vibrates like anything and RPM drops , changed the plug wires , problem soloved

machan, why plug wires instead of the plugs?

[Shehan_WCC]

  On 3/9/2012 at 3:14 PM, kushan said:

I'm having the same problem here, when I stopped in the traffic vibration starts, and when I shifted to N from D, vibration stops, Stafford asked me to replace the mounts, since some of their rubber mounts are damaged. I'm worried coz that could be a problem of transmission . Anyway gonna change the mounts soon and will share the details.

Noted another thing, When I released the brakes, vehicle starts to move but not smoothly, but shaking, according to the vibration. (when it vibrates it moves and when its not it stops) hope you got what I'm trying to say.

. The mounts could be really effective ,in most euro vehicles once the top mounts either the bottom mounts are damaged,they cause excessive vibration .

The feeling is like your engine is about to blow .

I recommend you check the gear box mount as well

[kushan]

  On 3/9/2012 at 6:27 PM, Shehan_WCC said:

. The mounts could be really effective ,in most euro vehicles once the top mounts either the bottom mounts are damaged,they cause excessive vibration .

The feeling is like your engine is about to blow .

I recommend you check the gear box mount as well

hmm... replacing the whole mount or just fixing the rubber bush inside the mount, what the best thing to do, I know only the rubber bush is damaged, not the metal housing. and replacing the inner rubber bush is much cheaper.

[Uditha88]

  On 3/9/2012 at 6:30 PM, kushan said:

replacing the inner rubber bush is much cheaper.

This is what normally doing. you will have to bring metal mount to a place where thing called "rubber bush gahanawa" is done.

[Uditha88]

  On 3/9/2012 at 3:55 PM, Reckless said:

machan, why plug wires instead of the plugs?

This all applicable if you feel vibration with RPM drops. (which is a miss). Not just vibrations.

An electric miss may happen due to bad plug wires as broken, damaged wires will disturb proper current flow.

[FreakSL]

  On 3/9/2012 at 3:55 PM, Reckless said:

machan, why plug wires instead of the plugs?

if there is a tiny leak in the plug wires this can happen, and a leakgae like that can damage your plugs too, so most of the time if the cuprit is plug wires , you might have to change the plugs as well,

[FreakSL]

  On 3/10/2012 at 2:25 AM, Uditha88 said:

This is what normally doing. you will have to bring metal mount to a place where thing called "rubber bush gahanawa" is done.

one of my mounts rubber thing is worn out if you know any good place where they repair the ribber part as you said can you PM me the detials

[Hiran_j]

Can anyone of you tell me how much it will normally cost to replace an engine mount ? Thanks!

[jaga]

  On 3/12/2012 at 3:07 AM, Hiran_j said:

Can anyone of you tell me how much it will normally cost to replace an engine mount ? Thanks!

Genuine mounts are bit expensive. I got chaned tow mounts in my es1 about 2 years ago and cost me 5500 Rs for one mount.

[kushan]

  On 3/12/2012 at 6:06 AM, jaga said:

Genuine mounts are bit expensive. I got chaned tow mounts in my es1 about 2 years ago and cost me 5500 Rs for one mount.

Honda T-Belt side mount and gear box side mounts are around 11K and front beam mount is around 6K

[Fixzit]

If you feel a vibration when the car is idling, there could be few reasons. Engine mounts, Engine is out of tune, or It could also be that the idle adjuster of your A/C is not working...

If your idle speed is around 700-800 rpm and does not fluctuate, then most probably it's your engine mounts, also because your car is A/T, you might feel a jerk when switching from Park to Drive or Reverse. Still it depends on which engine mount has been damaged. You might not feel the transmission jerk yet still It could be mounts.

If your engine is out of tune, in most cases your RPM may fluctuate..After a cold start your idle speed may go up to 1200 RPM which is normal and it should return to something between 700-800 (Idle speed may differ from car to car and It's mentioned on the user manual and also under the bonnet) So once the engine is at running temperature, and while your AC is off and your idle speed goes up and down..then most probably your engine is out of tune.

If your vibration disappear once you turn of your A/C, then that means your AC Idle adjuster is not working properly...

Edited March 12, 2012 by Fixzit

[kushan]

  On 3/12/2012 at 11:33 PM, Fixzit said:

If you feel a vibration when the car is idling, there could be few reasons. Engine mounts, Engine is out of tune, or It could also be that the idle adjuster of your A/C is not working...

If your idle speed is around 700-800 rpm and does not fluctuate, then most probably it's your engine mounts, also because your car is A/T, you might feel a jerk when switching from Park to Drive or Reverse. Still it depends on which engine mount has been damaged. You might not feel the transmission jerk yet still It could be mounts.

If your engine is out of tune, in most cases your RPM may fluctuate..After a cold start your idle speed may go up to 1200 RPM which is normal and it should return to something between 700-800 (Idle speed may differ from car to car and It's mentioned on the user manual and also under the bonnet) So once the engine is at running temperature, and while your AC is off and your idle speed goes up and down..then most probably your engine is out of tune.

If your vibration disappear once you turn of your A/C, then that means your AC Idle adjuster is not working properly...

Great Info. Thanks dude. Will check on those symptoms today

[kushan]

Hi,

Today I replaced 3 engine mounts, those were pretty much broken, but the vibration is still there, .. So is it because engine is out of tune, if that so, please tell me a good place to get the engine tune up, my vehicle is Honda HR-V (4WD)

[Reckless]

What about the gearbox mount?

[kushan]

  On 4/3/2012 at 1:29 PM, Reckless said:

What about the gearbox mount?

Yep, replaced 2 gear box mounts and one engine mount. There are 5 mounts altogether, replaced 3, two of those are good.

[pewix]

Is there any place where i can change the engine mounts as i have the same problem? I did an engine tune up at Adv#nce Car Audio but still the vibration was not stopped. I live in dehiwala so please tell me a good and a place that is close to me. I think before changing the mounts i have to change the plug and plug wire. But please let me know of a good place to change the mounts.

Edited January 10, 2013 by pewix

[Crosswind]

  On 1/10/2013 at 5:14 PM, pewix said:

Is there any place where i can change the engine mounts as i have the same problem? I did an engine tune up at Adv#nce Car Audio but still the vibration was not stopped. I live in dehiwala so please tell me a good and a place that is close to me. I think before changing the mounts i have to change the plug and plug wire. But please let me know of a good place to change the mounts.

Seriously dude... an engine tune up doesn't involve listening to the engine beats and adjusting its musical notes. So I kind of fail to understand how a 'Car Audio' shop can handle engine tune ups (unless they did the way they would normally tune a guitar).

So my friend, you should be shot... and if you survive, you should be shot again...

Start the car, shift to D and keep pressing the brake pedal. Now shift to neutral. if you notice a big vibration when your car when its on D and if the vibration stopped when you shifted to N, then your mounts are shot.

Plugs/plug wires have nothing to do in that case, so leave them as they are.

Changing mounts is not a very difficult job for a Swift. Take it to the garage in Nedimala junction, close to the Bodhi tree. Ask for Pushpakumara. He should be able to handle this.