2012 Civic EX coupe has a shudder or shake at 17mph. After that, it's fine at all other speeds. I had the tires rebalanced but that didn't help the problem. The mechanic who did the balancing said the left rear shock was leaking fluid and thought that could be the problem. So, earlier tonight I replaced the rear shocks but that didn't take care of the shudder/ shake. It's not coming through the steering wheel, but rather through the driver's seat. As fast as it shows up at 17mph, it disappears. This one really has me stumped. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. The car has about 60k miles and I bought it new. Tires are a year old and are Michelins.
Thanks,
Duane

 

a slow speed shutter usually has to do with bad or unbalanced tires. bad shocks would have nothing to do with it. i would suggests you find an honest mechanic because thats complete bull ****. im guessing your tires were not balanced properly. also just because they are new tires doesn't mean they are perfectly round ive seen new tires with wobbles.

 

Had the tires rebalanced, today, and the shudder is still there. Tomorrow I'm going to pull one tire at a time and replace with a spare to see if maybe one of the tires is bad. Maybe a defect or bad belt that can't be seen on the outside. The tires are only 6 months old and they're Michelins. We'll see tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Duane

 

Checked the tires today, one at a time and that was not the problem. I now have an appt. to take the car to my mechanic next week so he can drive it and see what he thinks it is. More next week.
Duane

 

the only other thing i can think of is a bad wheel bearing. you can jack the car up and grab the top and bottom of the wheel then shake it. there should be zero play vertically in the wheel.

 

Wheel bearings and all other suspension parts are fine. Tech took it for a ride, today, and said the shudder comes on the shift from 1st to 2nd gear. And that's the bad news. He feels it's in the transmission. He's going to change the fluid tomorrow and see if that helps. Car has just turned 70k miles and never a problem. I'm hoping the fluid change takes care of it but I have a feeling it's going to me much worse than that. This is my daughter's car and she bought it new. Right now she can't afford to put $$ into the tranny so we'll just have to wait and see.
Duane

 

I'd have your inner cv joints looked at. Wheel balance unlikey a concern at your problem speed. Does vibration change frequency when operated at problem speed in different gears? that would tell you if its wheel speed or drivetrain. I own and run a brake and front end shop in Cleveland , OH>

 

This particular speed shudder could be indicative of a transmission hunting for a gear-up? If you can replicate and throw the car in neutral quickly see if the shudder goes away. Does it do it only when accelerating slowly? Does it do it if accelerating quickly? Most rotational things that I can think of, i.e. CV joints, bearings, tires, flywheels, etc would most likely exhibit worsening, or at least constant conditions at higher speeds. (Squeaks/rattles/etc are a different animal as they can be drowned by road noise.) Such a specific speed would lead me to look at the driveline very carefully.

Just a hunch.

Ed in Dallas

 

My mechanic changed the fluid and that did the trick. The shudder is now gone. Hopefully it lasts. Thanks, everyone for all the suggestions. This is a terrific forum.
Duane

 

Your mechanic changed what fluid? Transmission? That, at 60K miles, makes me a little nervous especially when coupled with a shudder. If that indeed shows to be the long-term fix I think I'd put the transmission service on a much tighter schedule, say every 50K.

I'm glad that the problem went away, and appreciative that you reported back.

Ed in Dallas.