Topic: 07 Accord SE w M/T and vibrations from the front

[NickL]

I have a brand new 07 Accord SE with Manual Transmission which has less than 4K kms on it.

Soon after taking the delivery of the vehicle, I noticed the vibrations coming from the front of the vehicle while driving at highway speeds.  It is most noticeable on the steering wheel but you can also feel it through the gas pedal and by touching the dashboard while driving. 

My first trip to the dealer resulted in one front wheel getting rebalanced but that didn't help too much. 

The biggest problem is that the level of vibration is not the same all the time and I am not talking about uneven roads. 

The dealer mechanic and shop supervisor took the vehicle for a drive and they concluded that there is nothing wrong with the car.  They refused to take me along for the drive either as a driver or passenger. 

I had a chance to rent a 08 Sonata and I made some 2000+ kms with it.  The car was basically flawless and other than the road bumps there was no vibrations of any sort at any speeds. 

Has anyone experienced anything similar to this?   

Thanks in advance.

[NickL]

BTW.  I forgot to mention that the braking is normal.   

[Squishy]

Has the dealership tried rotating the tires to see if the vibration will move?  Most tires aren't perfectly round, and neither are rims.  If high spots from the tire match up with the rim, you'll get too much run-out and feel a vibration at higher speeds, even though the balancer gives out perfect readings.  If it is in fact the tire, you can either get it road-force balanced which requires a special machine (most popularly the Hunter GSP9700), or take your chances by having the tech rotate the tire on the rim to try and eliminate the high spots matching up.

It could also be a bad strut (tire bounces after every bump) or loose suspension components. 

[NickL]

The dealership did not offer to rotate the tires.  They basically dismissed me with NFF (no fault found) diagnosis 

I guess I have to find another dealer who is willing to take a look at it or talk to Honda Canada and seek some sort of arbitration.   
Thanks for your advice. 
P.S.  The tires are Bridgestone Turanza E41

[Julie]

NickL, this may sound like something I've heard before about the Accord (I'm not really knowledgeable about the Accord, so my recollection is vague)

My advice is to go on Accord forums, and search for this topic. Also, there is a CanadianDriver review on your generation Accord (Used Car Reviews) that lists common problems noted on forums.

The reason I recommend this is because, sometimes, when a problem reaches a certain proportion, there are "secret" warranties out there (for all car manufacturers) and people who have obtained a copy of the actual secret warranty bulletin (or have even printed out pages of people noting the same problem in their own cars) have had success in having their problem acknowledged and fixed for free.

I think your initial thoughts about how to proceed are a good idea though, and should be tried first or in parallel.

[Morteus]

Does the vibration increase during acceleration? If so it is likely a driveline issue. Also I have heard of alignment issues causing these symptons.

[barrie1]

I stongely suspect a possible bad belt in one of the front tires on this car which can and will do these type of problems. If the Tires are properly balanced then thats where I would look to start with as with a belt blown it will be felt thru the steering wheel as well as the floor hump area as well just like a unbalanced tirea actually. If its bad enough you will feel it thru th entire front end which does include the dash area. Check the sidewalls for a outer type of bump on it as thats where the answer may be on this car. 

[ktm525]

Have the four tires properly rebalanced. Preferable to get them "roadforce" balanced (Hunter ). When I got new tires it took three trips back to eliminate all the shakes and shimmys. I think with todays tighter suspensions and lower profile sidewalls that improperly balanced wheels show themselves more.