Problem with 2012 Honda Accord 5sp transmission?

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Hello guys,
I have a 2012 Honda Accord with the VCM V6 and 5 speed tranny. I bought it new and it has exactly 60,000 trouble free miles on it. I have noticed recently that the car has developed a slight vibration while driving between 25 and 45 MPH. It appears to be directly tied to the gas pedal. if I'm just coasting and not applying the gas pedal at all, it is nice and smooth. As soon as I apply a tiny bit of pressure on the gas pedal(like 1/8" of depression) I can feel a slight vibration in the whole car especially the steering wheel and seat and I can also hear it. It sounds like the engine increases power and growls a tiny bit and is a vibration sound that is not normally there. I feel it mostly right around the 35mph mark.
If I accelerate fast or press the gas harder it does not happen. Only happens when being extremely light on the gas and adding enough power to barley increase the cars speed. It is not consistent at all and some times will not do this. If is does not do this, the cars is super smooth and quiet like normal. Because of this inconsistency I'm fearing something is wrong. All shifting seems smooth and strong otherwise. I have performed transmission drain and fills at the 15K, 30K, 45k and just now at the 60K mile marks all using the correct Honda ATF. The fluid is super clean and always has been.
Any ideas what this might be? I'm afraid to take it to the dealer because it is so slight they will probably say nothing is wrong. I can definitely tell something is up but it is very slight and not sure what might be going on? Thanks for any advice!
 
Rotated or done anything else with your wheels/tires lately? Loose lugnuts will create all sorts of weird noises and vibrations.
 
Many times a trans will respond oddly to the state of tune of the engine.
Engine tune ok? U May have fuel metering issue. Are all original intake plumbing intact? The funny "tumors' on the intake plumbing are there to quell resonances.

I had to do a air sensor clean and get a mouse nest out of my airbox.

Make sure all is well.

Also make sure oil is not overfilled or wrong viscosity.

Honda 4 use massive EGR IDK if V6 uses egr - possibly no if it has VVT where cams can be phased to induce EGR.
 
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Originally Posted By: Chris B.
Yes I rotated tires and they are new. Should be good to go but I'll double check.

I'd have the tire balance checked, and inspect the tires for defects to rule that out.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Many times a trans will respond oddly to the state of tune of the engine.
Engine tune ok? U May have fuel metering issue. Are all original intake plumbing intact? The funny "tumors' on the intake plumbing are there to quell resonances.

I had to do a air sensor clean and get a mouse nest out of my airbox.

Make sure all is well.

Also make sure oil is not overfilled or wrong viscosity.

Honda 4 use massive EGR IDK if V6 uses egr - possibly no if it has VVT where cams can be phased to induce EGR.


Fuel system is still 100% factory including fuel filter. Dealer did P/S, coolent and break fluid flushes. I have done oil and tranny fluid changes my self using correct fluids. Engine seems to be running like that day I bought it.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: Chris B.
Yes I rotated tires and they are new. Should be good to go but I'll double check.

I'd have the tire balance checked, and inspect the tires for defects to rule that out.


I just did. The car was doing this before getting tires rotated and balanced and still doing this after. Only does it when slightly depressing the gas pedal and stops immediately after letting off the gas like mentioned above.
 
Check the engine/transmission mounts. FWD cars do really screwy things when a mount goes bad and the drivetrain moves around under loading.
 
What you're describing sounds like "fish biting" due to an intermittent misfire under load. This is often mistaken to be a tranny issue.
Could be a faulty coil or plug(s) but it's not bad enough yet to trip a CEL.

Wouldn't hurt to clean the MAF and run a tankful of Techron cleaner. Does this car have VCM?
 
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Usually a misfire under load will get worse w increase in throttle, so probably not a coil/wire breakdown. This may be a low speed pre ignition problem. Try hi octane fuel for one tank and see if it helps. Switch to M1 oil (more magnesium, less calcium) as a possible long term solution. IMO you're changing your ATF way too often. Every 60k should be plenty.
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Check the engine/transmission mounts. FWD cars do really screwy things when a mount goes bad and the drivetrain moves around under loading.


This was going to be my recommendation as well. The Honda V-6 engine mounts in general don't have a squeaky-clean track record, and the active mounts on your VCM application add another reliability variable. 4 years old and 60k miles is a little early to be having engine mount problems, but it wouldn't be unheard of, either.
 
Appreciate all the info gentleman!

Tires were balance and rotated recently. This was going one before and after this was done.
 
Too late to edit. I would give the rear mount a good looking at, it will cause all the symptoms you describe.
This is how it looks if its not blown, it supports the engine by a bolt through the bar on top to the rear (actually the right side) of the engine keeping the engine from sitting on the top of the mount frame.


When its blown the top collapses down and the engine will sit down on the mount in the middle and the rubber piece in the front and cause vibration. This one is totally blown out.

 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Is the vibration mostly in eco mode?


Both eco and non-eco mode. I can feel the vibration start while it's an eco-mode and continue on interrupted out of eco-mode and vice versa. I've noticed the last few days that sometimes the vibration will only last a second or even a fraction of a second and then stops. It comes and goes in about one second but is still tied to the gas pedal. Vibration only starts when I gently push on the gas pedal. As soon as I let off it stops. Sometimes when it starts as press the gas pedal it will stop even though I'm still holding the gas pedal down. Very odd and very inconsistent behavior.
 
If it only did it in eco mode then its probably not a mount the fact it does it regardless looks more like a mount has failed or is failing is a real possibility to me. If your rear mount looks like the one in the picture its easy to check.
The separate rubber piece in front of the mount must have a gap, shine a flashlight at it if the engine is sitting down on that rubber its collapsed and shot if there is a gap the mount is still properly supporting the engine.
 
is the engine any louder---? if so take a look at the J (exhaust) pipe flex part of the pipe for any leakage (black carbon deposits). It is amazing the amount of vibration this can induce when it starts to leak--I guess they call it a flex pipe for a reason--when it doesn't flex (leaking/starting to tear)it vibrates.
A failure of this part is almost unheard-of at 60K, but next time you are under there take 1 minute to look at it.
On the trans fluid changes---you are playing it extremely safe on the intervals-- I would keep this the same only if you are planning on 200K miles plus for this car--otherwise every 30K is more than enough. DISCLAIMER--I am doing 15K / 1 year fluid changes cause I am at 245K and absolutely need this car to last to 300K due to tuition bills
Steve
 
Thanks very much gentleman! Couple questions In case it is hidden and not obvious but where exactly is the mount located in the engine bay and where is the j part of the exhaust located? I'll check both and report back.

Do you think it possibly might be related to the transmission? Like possibly the torque converter starting to malfunction?
 
What are they saying in the Accord forum since you seem to start identical threads over there?
smile.gif
 
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