CHAZMAX

Some of the things I love about my (completely stock) ride is the relatively smooth ride, silky engine, and the extreme tranquility of the cabin.

However, for the last two days, I've noticed a significant vibration at idle. It does it w/ the A/C on and off. I put it neutral and give it a little gas to see if it goes away at higher rpm's, and it seems to become less apparent, but it's still there. Again, it seems to be most pronounced at idle. It's not my imagination, for it vibrates my whole hand! I know it wasn't there before. It reminds me of my old Mustang SVO, which is not a good thing.

What gives?

SupaFly

iTrader: (2)

I'm curious as to how low your idle rpms are...

CHAZMAX

Right at about 500 rpm's. Maybe a tad lower. The weird thing is... as I increase the rpm's slowly to about 2000, it still vibrates, just not quite as pronounced. I keep hoping it's gonna go away, but doesn't.

Young04

your idle speed is way too low. it should be around 700 rpm. this may be the culprit. if fixing this doesn't help, i've heard of some people going with iridium spark plugs (even on a 2002), and the rough idle went away completely. hopefully one of these two ideas will solve your problem. good luck!

ABS

For M/T 2K2, I believe the spec is 625 +/- 50 for the idle rpm. With all accessories off, and hot, mine will idle at about 600-625. With accessories on, it will idle around 700. In all cases, the idle is usually a little uneven. I don't think it's anything to worry about . . . I had the dealer look at it, and I think it's normal for this car. Not to mention that V6 engines are not "balanced" due to their design.

Stereodude

I had the idle raised in my car by 50rpm and I'm going to get it bumped another 50rpm.

For the record a 60 degree V-6 (which the max has) is balanced.

Stereodude

SHPatel

iTrader: (1)

My car idle's around 700 rpm when warmed up but it still vibrates although not terribly but not as smooth as the Camry V6. The bad part of this vibration problem is that it seems to be getting worse with increasing mileage. I hardly had any vibration when I bought the car but now with 11,500 I can definitely feel it.

Who knows what it's gonna feel like at 50,000 miles.

ABS

Stereodude,

Not to disagree with you, but I just did a quick search and came up with this link:

Balanced Engine Designs

According to this article, V6 60 degree engines ARE considered balanced but still can introduce longitudinal vibrations. According to the article, this is why some V6 engines get a "balance shaft . . . and/or specially designed engine mounts. Regardless, by default, an in-line 6 is smoother than any V6 discussed in the article.