Mazda2 excessive vibration on cold start

[aruna1]

HI All,

I own a 2009 mazda 2 and since few months back it began to vibrate excessively when I start it for the first time of the day.

In the cold start

It vibrates quite a bit & I can feel the vibration in steering wheel. (I know its usual to increase rpm until engine come to proper temperature hence bit of a vibration, but this is more than usual)

Engine is quite loud until engine come to proper temperature

then when I put it in to D or R this vibration is reduced. but In R vibration is more than while in D

until I drive for 5-10 minutes I feel the vibration in steering and also feels some sort of mechanical grinding. (I dont here any grinding sound but I feel grinding vibration)


after 5-10 minutes of driving (when engine is become hot) everything comes back to normal.


and will run fine as long as engine is hot.

if it cools down again, this issue occurs again.


Any ideas on whats happening?

I did some search on internet and came across 2 possible scenarios

1. bad engine mounts
2. crack in exhaust manifold (in cold start some leak through crack and as its getting hotter , crack seal it self closing the leak hence vibration goes away

I'm not sure how bad engine mount can cause this


I would like your opinion before going to a repair shop, so I will know whats going on and repair shop wont rob me (shady)


Thanks

P.S.

following video shows how my car engine move when shifting through gears. perhaps you can conclude it is a bad mount through this ?

 

[utmorpheus]

99% it's a bad mount. These are the exact symptoms of a bad/worn motor mount. If you're not throwing a CEL, that is.

 

[aruna1]

99% it's a bad mount. These are the exact symptoms of a bad/worn motor mount. If you're not throwing a CEL, that is.

Hi utmorpheus,

Thanks for your reply

But I dont know how it disappears with engine getting heated? I mean if it is a bad mount shouldn't it appear during the entire time engine is working irrespective of engine heat?

 

[hli]

Hi utmorpheus,

Thanks for your reply

But I dont know how it disappears with engine getting heated? I mean if it is a bad mount shouldn't it appear during the entire time engine is working irrespective of engine heat?

I would agree on this statemen . Bad engine mounts will be consistent. However, try opening the hood and while sitting in the car and moving from park to reverse to drive, see of you can notice excessive engine rocking. If not, your mounts should be fine and I'd look elsewhere. Also, I don't think your car is old enough to be having exhaust issues already.

 

[aruna1]

I would agree on this statemen . Bad engine mounts will be consistent. However, try opening the hood and while sitting in the car and moving from park to reverse to drive, see of you can notice excessive engine rocking. If not, your mounts should be fine and I'd look elsewhere. Also, I don't think your car is old enough to be having exhaust issues already.

Hi Hli,

well, the problem is I'm not sure what is the "excessive" in engine movement. I dont have a reference to measure. So I dont know how much a good engine should move.

I'll try to upload a small video with how engine moves when I change from P-->R-->D

perhaps then you can see if I really have a bad mount

thanks

 

[aruna1]

Hi Hli,

I have added a small video showing how engine moves when shifting the gears. Please see if this movement caused by a bad mount.

 

[Dynotronics1]

bad dog bone

 

[aruna1]

bad dog bone

sorry? didn't get you

 

[rsvinylgraphics]

bad dog bone

sorry? didn't get you

I believe he is referring to the rear motor mount which is sometimes referred to as a "dog bone" mount because of its shape.

 

[aruna1]

I believe he is referring to the rear motor mount which is sometimes referred to as a "dog bone" mount because of its shape.

oh he he.
nice naming you guys have

 

[utmorpheus]

It doesn't go away when warm. It's still there but since you're no longer idling at 1k rpm you don't notice the shaking except for a tenth of a second as you start driving from a dead stop and pass that 1k rpm mark. It's much more noticeable on the manual since you can control the rev range in each gear.

 

[Panaplayer]

Same thing is happening to me, my mechanic told me same thing about mounts and I was doubting because of same reasons you were. Vibration should be the same always.

Sent from my LG-D400 using Tapatalk

 

[aruna1]

Same thing is happening to me, my mechanic told me same thing about mounts and I was doubting because of same reasons you were. Vibration should be the same always.

Sent from my LG-D400 using Tapatalk

I got it fixed. it was due to bad gel mount (driver side engine mount). pretty expensive piece of hardware though

 

[Panaplayer]

Is it one of the three mounts which are expensive? Do you have the part number? Did you get it OEM from car dealer or generic? How much it cost. I got a quote from car dealer and one of the mounts cost around $350

Sent from my LG-D400 using Tapatalk

 

[aruna1]

I brought a genuine mazda mount from a spare parts shop. it costed about $175.

It is the gel based mount near driver side of the engine.
I do not know the part number. spare parts dealer gave me it by checking the chassis number.

 

[Panaplayer]

Thanks for your quick response. [emoji106]

Sent from my LG-D400 using Tapatalk

 

[aruna1]

(alright)

 

[Mike in Adel]

I fixed my partner's 2010 Mazda 2 Neo, manual 120,000kms, which had the same - "excessive vibration on cold start up", which settled after a few mins of driving / warm up

I bought & changed out the RHS engine mount with a non-genuine replacement on eBay Aus for $107 (link below) - some forums /sellers suggest the mount varies between auto & manual - this seller says otherwise, &, after messaging them to making sure it would fit our manual, the part they sold me fit & fixed the vibration - the mount they sent came with an additional little black thing on the top, which I don't know what it does, but hasn't affected the car at all)

It was easy enough to change the mount with just my socket set AND a jack & piece of timber under the oil sump (to "sightly" raise the engine / take the weight off the mount) - & replacing the mount about a month ago now, has completely solved the vibration, & doing the job took me less than a half hr (& surprised me at how easy & straight forward it was for a DIY'er - I think I used a 17mm & 12mm socket, from memory, & you'll need an extension to reach the bottom bolts - I put 3 shorter extensions together to be able to reach these bolts)

It seems on start up, on ageing Mazda 2's, the engine temporarily idles quick to get up to running temp, & while it's at that quick idle rev range, the vibration was heard & felt through the whole car (including the steering wheel & everything that's attached to the engine bay) while stationary or driving - due to a tired RHS engine mount (I think people also refer to this one as a "gel" mount)

I was quoted over $600 for the repair at a Mazda dealer (for a genuine $450 part, plus labour)

I am curious, though, if this problem can be resolved without spending any money i.e. without buying any parts - there is some space at each bolt hole (top and bottom attachments - see pic), I wonder if raising the engine, loosening off all bolts & slightly shifting the offending /tired old mount forwards or backwards a little & then re-tightening everything will eliminate the vibration, even if only for a while, until the mount is completely shagged??? If you try & succeed with such a "free fix" or similar, please comment...

Method for replacing RHS engine mount - a common cause for excessive vibration on cold start up;
1) (if replacing mount) buy new mount - I'd suggest new, & not 2nd hand, to avoid installing an already worn / tired mount, & check you have the same part (hold the new mount near the one you are replacing to see if its the same thing before you start)

2) "slightly" raise engine using a piece of timber under the oil sump (to spread the weight) raised on a jack (any sort - I used the car's jack from the boot) - you only need to take the weight off the mounts, so 5 - 10 mm of actual travel / lift will do

Note; for most mechanical work it is best to disconnect the negative battery terminal before commencing any work (to avoid accidental electrical shorting, should you contact a positive component & the engine or body of the car with any tool you are using & shorting it across to any other part of the car, but I managed this job ok without disconnecting the battery)

3) loosen all bolts/nuts on mount making sure that there isn't excessive travel in the engine ( 3 at top & 3 at bottom - you may need to adjust up or down the jack), & REMOVE THE ATTACHED WIRE (top of mount)

4 - A) (if attempting the "free fix") slightly shift the mount forwards or back, re-tighten all nuts & bolts & reattach wire & remove jack before doing a test drive - & share a comment / post if this fixed the vibration

4 - B) (if changing out the worn / offending mount) if not too much engine travel when loosening nuts & bolts & they all loosened easily, fully remove top & bottom nuts & bolts & the old mount

5) install the new mount, & tighten & reattach everything in reverse order - & share your success with a supportive post

Link to the exact supplier / part I bought (& no, I am not linked or sponsored by them - I think they are in Qld, & I am in SA), I found them by using the "cheapest price plus postage" filter on eBay) & it came with the silver mounting arm included, even though it's not shown on their eBay pics;
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/705-...2&toolid=10001&campid=&icep_item=132549381054

 

[kick3r04]

Does anyone know how tight you should make the bolt that attaches the new mount to the bracket? Bought an aftermarket mount with new bracket.

 

[SoundMessage]

So, did replacing the RHS mount solve this issue? I have the exact same on my 2012 Mazda2. It's very rough (my wife says 'growl-ly') on (i.e., when we leave the house or leave after work), but it's normal after 3-5 minutes of driving, or if we are running errands in-between stops. I'm wondering if I have the same problem with the same solution.