Greets! Looking for input on an issue that's vexed me for a bit and seems to be getting worse. I have an AWD 2011 w/ ~132k on the clock, and the behavior I'm noticing was present both before and after I swapped my snows for summer rubber in April.

I'm having an acceleration shudder/shake/vibration/what have you, especially from about 50mph up. You can feel it at lower speed but only while accelerating and it seems to get a little worse as the speed transitions through ~51mph.

Both sets of tires are name brand with plenty life. Half-shafts look ok (no split boots/seeping grease) and make no noise. Car was well maintained before I owned it and I don't hammer on it much.

I guess at this point I'm thinking aged control arm bushings and/or halfshafts, but it's pure conjecture. Anyone with similar recent experience who has solved the issue?

Thanks,
Robert

 

Just to rule everything out, have you checked the wheel balance and made sure that none of them have lost any counterweights?

 

Appreciate the thought, but that seems a cause unlikely to persist across two sets of tires....

 

True, but they would be easy to rule out. Could also check into the driveshaft itself. My brother's old car use to have a nasty vibration at speed (which he ignored, because he doesn't care as long as the car gets him from A to B), and eventually the driveshaft sheared apart right in the middle. Not even at a u-joint - it literally snapped. I suspect it was out of balance for some time and it eventually fatigued to the point of critical failure. Half shafts are definitely a more common fail point on these cars, but if those check out then the drive shaft is one more thing to inspect just in case.

For my brother, it would have been well over a thousand to replace a driveshaft on a '99 CR-V, which had almost 300k miles already. I told him to tell the mechanic to just remove it. So $150 later and he drove his new front-wheel-drive CR-V around for another several years and 50k miles before finally getting rid of it.

 

Yeah the driveshaft is definitely on the list of potential suspects, but tbh I've never read of an RDX unit going bad. Is it a known thing of which I'm unaware?

 

Not the driveshaft to my knowledge. Half shafts are much more common on the RDX.

 

If it shakes while accelerating, but doesn't shake when you get off the gas and coast at the same speed, it is most likely a divot in an axle, needing the axle to be replaced. My 05 Accord had that around 100k, and when my trusted indie mechanic took the old axle out he said it looked like a materials/manufacturing flaw, thus was expecting lots of Hondas of that generation to start developing the issue (I had been driving 25k miles per year so was higher mileage than most other Accords he saw at the time).

 

I think this happens on a lot of 1G RDX's as they reach 10+ years of age. Mine is sporadic and doesn't always appear - my mechanic couldn't pinpoint it either so I gave up.

 

FWIW I swapped out the control arms (included bushings and ball joints) and half shafts on both sides. This completely solved my issue.

Based on inspection, I don't think the control arms were a contributor so if you're on a budget you could perhaps forego that swap. The grease in both the ball joints and the axles was played out, and was thin and grey, but the bushings looked fine with no obvious splits or degradation.

Took me an afternoon; not terribly difficult if you've worked on FWD Honda setups before.

All parts came from Rock Auto; Amazon was ~$40 more expensive for the exact same parts.

 

I'm experiencing this issue with my 2011 RDX SH-AWD, It happens when accelerating. It started after i went to the Acura Dealership for a wheel alignment and after that, that's when i started experiencing this issue. Let me explain a little further, they also did wheel rotation only the front i think, since my front tires were worn out i though it might be because of that. But instead of driving back and ask them why my vehicle is vibrating, i was dumb enough to blame it on the tires. Well, i bought a set of new tires, went back after a month, they performed wheel alignment, balanced the tires and after they finished they told me my axles need to be replaced. My thing is, after my first visit, i drove there with no vibration what so ever, so how after a wheel alignment is my vehicle vibrating?
Just thinking about it makes me mad because i should of confronted them.

 

I had a vibration on my 07 rdx. The vibration would start around 35-60mph, only on acceleration and then fully on braking from any speed. I changed the front rotors and pads this reduced the vibration but was still there. I replaced inner and outer tie rods and got alignment- vibration cured. Before I did the tie rods, alignment and brakes. I chased the problem. Replaced driver side hub/bearing, lower ball joints, sway bar links and passenger cv shaft "outer shaft". I know replace in pairs but I put a ton of money in it already. Lol

 

Hey OP. I recently purchased a 2011 RDX Base FWD and the car has the same issue as you described. For what its worth, the car had a minor front end accident and the owner basically redid the front suspension. I've gotten down there myself, and judging from my (inexperienced) understanding, everything seems in check. Wheels turn fine when off the ground so i don't think its CV axles either. I know the rear shocks are shot, so I'm gonna replace that regardless. I thought that could be the cause of the vibrations, but from what I understand it isn't the cause of the issue. One of my buddies who's more mechanically inclined suggested i take it to a transmission specialist, and the guy said i gotta get it rebuilt for $2800 lol.

Do you think i might have the same issue? If so, which parts exactly did you end up replacing which solved your issue? And how much should I expect to shell out on the job?
Thanks in advance!

 

if you need the tranny rebuilt, buy a used one from eBay. It'll save time and money. Also get a second opinion on what is causing the shake.