7 Causes of Car Body Vibration: at Idling, Accelerating and Run

Last Updated on May 29, 2019 by themechanic

Have you ever been driving along in your vehicle and noticed your car vibrating profusely? Sometimes the vibrations can come from your engine but other times, the vibrations will feel like they’re coming from the entire body of the vehicle. You may notice the vibrations more when idling, accelerating, and/or while the vehicle is merely running. The vibrations may start mildly in the beginning but then will get worse as time goes on. You cannot drive with vibrations like these because they can become a distraction and major inconvenience. Furthermore, these vibrations are a clear indication that you have worn out or damaged parts within your vehicle. If you don’t replace these parts soon, the vehicle could end up having more serious problems which will cost hundreds or thousands of dollars to fix.

Top 7 Causes

Car body vibrations could be caused by any number of reasons. Sometimes you’ll feel the vibrations more when idling and sometimes you’ll feel them more when accelerating. If you pay attention to the intensity of the vibrations in both circumstances, you should be able to pinpoint their exact cause.

Below are the top 7 causes of a car body vibration at idling, acceleration, and at the vehicle run. This will help you come to the right conclusions.

1) Uneven Tire Treads

Tires are the only parts of your vehicle that touch the ground. This makes them very sensitive parts which are the most vulnerable to wear and tear. All tires have treads on them that are designed to grip easily to the road and create a pleasant driving experience. However, the treads will eventually fade and get worn out after a couple of years of driving on them. Once you have flattened treads, your vehicle will start to bounce, shake, and vibrate all over the place. You could try to get a tire alignment or rotation to fix the problem early on. But, after a while, replacing the tires will ultimately be the best solution.

2) Bad Engine Mount

The engine is attached to the body of your car by a component called an engine mount. The engine mount has a very important job because it not only keeps the engine attached to the vehicle, but it also reduces the vibrations felt in the passenger cabin as well. If you have a worn out or loose engine mount, then the entire body of your vehicle will vibrate. This requires you to have the engine mount replaced with a brand new one. To test whether the engine mount is the problem, pay attention to the tachometer and see what the RPM is while idle and accelerating. First, keep your car parked with the engine running. If the RPM is anywhere from 600 to 800 and there are vibrations, then you have a bad engine mount. Second, start driving your vehicle and accelerating on an open road. If the RPM is anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 and there are vibrations too, then it is definitely due to a bad engine mount.

3) Bad Brake Caliper

The brake caliper is comprised of pistons which help push brake pads against the brake discs in a disc braking system. If the caliper is ever stuck or in rough shape, then it will begin vibrating as you continue to accelerate the vehicle. Once you drive over 50 miles per hour and start to apply the brake, you can expect the shaking to be very intense. There may even be some awful burning odors in the cabin too. This is a dangerous situation because it means your caliper may eventually fail altogether if its condition gets worse. Take the vibrations as a warning sign that you need to replace your brake caliper immediately.

4) Bad Propeller Shaft

The propeller shaft, also known as the drive shaft, is responsible for transmitting engine power to the wheels of the vehicle. This is a central component of the entire body of the vehicle. If it were to incur damage or any other types of problems, it would cause vibrations throughout the entire body. Acceleration will cause the vibrations to get worse. Meanwhile, there will be strange humming sounds made too.

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5) Bad Radiator Fan

The job of the radiator fan is to eliminate the heat and hot temperatures from the coolant liquid which has just cycled through the engine. The fan is on whether you’re idle or accelerating. But if you have a damaged or worn out radiator fan, then your car will vibrate consistently. The vibrations will get worse as you step on the gas pedal, though. The vehicle may even wobble to one side as you go faster.

6) Bad Wheel Bearings

The purpose of wheel bearings is to reduce friction and allow the wheels of the vehicle to spin smoothly. The wheel bearings usually last for a long time without ever wearing out. On the other hand, it is possible for the wheel bearings to go bad if they’re damaged or exposed to a lot of heavy impact. Once that happens, the friction might get worse. This will result in more vibrations to be experienced than normal.

7) Bad Axle Shaft

The wheels of your vehicle are attached to an axle shaft. If you drive in rough road conditions or areas that are bumpy, it is possible that the axle shaft will get bent. This is a very sensitive issue because bent axles will cause vibrations to occur as you drive faster.

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