2008 RDX Shaking. Help?
 

Hi, this just started a couple days ago. When accelerating above 30km the whole car starts to shake and vibrate. As soon as you lift off the throttle it's nice and smooth again. Tranny shifts good and coasting at any speed is fine. Only when accelerating. There is no clunking in CV shafts and no clicking when going around in circles. No CEL so I don't think its a engine problem. Tried putting back snow tires in case the summer tires were the cause and still shakes. Anybody experience this? Thanks,

The front joints go out without clunking while turning. But I felt it in the steering wheel and you felt a thump thump thump at times, under low speed acceleration.

The drivers side shaft is the one that usually goes.

My car had the same problem where it would shake at 30mph and after 30 it would stop. I replaced both front axle and now its running perferct. 1 of my axle was bent and thats what caused the shaking. Hope this help.

If the steering wheel shakes, then maybe its the brakes/pads issue.

My 2007 RDX has the same problem as 08rdx mentioned. Shake around 30mph when accelerating. Dealer says replace both axles, and struts, and lower motor mount. $3,000. Ouch!
I didn't do anything yet.
Can this create other problems in the near term?
I don't think the struts need replacement, the covers are cracked, but the car handles very well. I looked the lower motor mount and it looks good, no visible cracks from the side when I checked it.
The axles I can't see. But at 133K does it make sense? How do they fail?

Here's a https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...ea45b1f24d.jpg
photo of the driver's side joint. It looks ok I think.

None of those jobs require special tools that an independent mechanic can't access. Go to a private mechanic and have him take a look, if it turns out you do need those fixes, see how much he'll charge and see how much he'll charge if you buy the parts yourself online.

Do you feel the thumping in the steering wheel? Axle or axles. Start with the front two.

This is a known problem.

You can't tell by looking at the joint or the boot covering it.

Honda has made the old part unavailable. We used napa. So far so good.

I had a similar vibration on acceleration for about a month. $70 and a new Driver side CV half shaft and nothing since.

My CV and axle looked perfect. I felt bad throwing the old one away but the new one fixed it.

I had the same issue after getting my RDX from a dealership. They replaced both axles twice, the passenger side 3 times. I called Acura about this and I was told it was a software issue and there was no updated software at the time. I have learned how to drive around this and most times it doesn't happen.

Hmm, I don't think their story makes any sense....
How old was your RDX?

How do you check for a bad axle or cv joint?

You can't check. It usually doesn't show anything. You only feel the vibration during acceleration.
I had my driver's side axle replaced. This only reduced the vibration by around 20%. The indie mech thinks it was the passenger side axle which is the problem, and should be replaced too.
It is strange that the vibration was mostly felt on the left side. That's why the dealer usually replaces both axles.

Great, thanks, Stathis. We have an extended warranty on our 2012. I'll be taking it in tomorrow morning to have a tech drive with me and so they can throw it on the lift and take a look. I had all of the wheels off this weekend, as to replace the rear struts, which were leaking and to take a look for any physical damage up front causing the bad vibes. I pulled back and forth on both of the front half shafts and the pass side seemed to have zero movement, while the drivers side had a bit of movement while pulling back and pushing forward. Hopefully my diagnosis is correct and it'll all be covered. Its been happening since towards the beginning of the year and we only have 53xxx miles...come on acura!

I would start with something easy like a road force balance that usually works for me if I get vibrations at highway speeds.