Lore

Jerky,

I'm going to need to feel your steering wheel. I can't believe that no one can feel a thing through their steering wheel when their car is on!

Lore

My experience in my 5AT tells me the same thing - when I throw it in neutral, I don't feel a thing in the steering wheel. It's only when I'm in D that I feel something --while fairly slight-- at idle.

TL Fantasy

I had this problem too w/my 04 5AT until I changed brand of gas. I had been using Hess or 76 until I brought this issue up at the dealer. Service rep recommended Sunoco, if I could find it, Chevron, Amoco, or Mobil only. Since changing to Sunoco, no more idle vibrations.

Lore

Here in Northern California we have Chevron, but that's about it. Most of our other brands are Arco, 76, Rotten Robbie, Shell, and the other knock-off brands.

I've never had a problem with any of those in general, and have never noticed better or less performance using one brand vs. the other.

MarcDavidoff

Funny- I notice the same slight vibration as "Bob in Miami". My TL-S is used mainly on weekends so when it sits for a week and I take it out, I sometimes feel a vib at around 55mph, like the tires have a small flat spot. Other than that, it is very smooth at idle. My '93 Accord has some vibrations, but mainly because it is a 4cyl and because it could probably use some new motor mounts...

fasttl

My manual only vibrates slightly, occasioanaly when its very cold and I drive without any warm up at all. Normaly the car should not vibrate at idle at all. If your vibes are not cold induced you should consider a faulty active engine mount which by design essentially eliminates all vibration.

SouthernBoy

With an automatic transmission, it's pretty normal to feel some vibration through the wheel and even the shifter and floorboard. This is because when in gear and stopped, the engine is under quite a bit more load with an automatic than with a manual left in neutral. That and the fact that with a 6-cylinder engine, there is more time between power pulses than there is with an 8-cylinder engine (120 degrees vs 90 degrees).

Lore

SouthernBoy:

Thanks for your comments. I hope that's the case with my car, but I do think it's odd that Jerky says his car has no vibrations whatsoever.

As a general comment, I think people are mistaking "vibration through the wheel at idle" with general car vibrations. I should clarify - I don't mean vibrations throughout the car when I am at idle, or even the cold start vibrations in the morning - I mean the vibrations that you feel only through the steering wheel when you're at a stop light, for example.

willz822

Hey Southernboy,

Glad to know I'm not the only one who is experiencing this. I too have the steering wheel vibration and yes, it is barely noticeable. But it IS there. Maybe I'm a little more sensitive when it comes to these things but when I first bought the car, there were no vibrations whatsoever. So it has gotten progressively worse but not to the point where it bothers me.

Do you also get the rough idle when you first start the car in the morning? For me, when I first start the car in the morning, the car will vibrate and shake like crazy. Once the car warms up a bit, the rpms will drop back to normal and the shakes go away. Except for the minor steering wheel vibration.

Other than these little annoyances, the car has performed flawlessly.

gochan

tested my tl again. nothing. quiet as a desert night.

SouthernBoy

To willz822;

Mine has virtually no vibration through the steering wheel or shifter (two of the most common devices through which you can feel vibrations).

On a cold morning at startup, there is a little roughness, but no more than any other HO V6 engine I've owned. And it very quickly qoes away. So mine is perfectly normal in this regard as well.

phinman

2005 with 2K miles.

No noticeable vibrations in drive or park.

One thing that is annoying is that the engine seems to get loud and soft while in park (loud for about 10 seconds and then softens for about 20 seconds - then continues with that cycle). I've left my car running in my driveway several times while I've gotten out of my car to do something in the garage, etc. The in and out of engine is really bothersome. Anyone else have the same? Is this normal?

rets

Is your AC compressor ON?? Hot temperature outsides?

JLim

thats the cooling fan for the radiator.

mine does that when the engine is hot.