Q: Hard shake a minute apart while car is in idle.

asked by on September 07, 2016

Just ran bypass belt, since compressor is out and I get fixed. When I'm at red light, car does a hard shake like a minute apart. What is it?

My car has 108243 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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This could very well be the compressor coming on. Your A/C compressor puts a very heavy load on the motor, especially a smaller and lower horsepower motor like the 1.8L in your Honda Civic.

When the compressor kicks on and off, it can cause the car to shake a bit and is much more noticeable in a smaller car. If the compressor was not working before you may have not noticed it.

Some shaking is normal, but excessive shaking is not. If you believe the shaking is excessive, I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your home to diagnose it.

The statements expressed above are only for informational purposes and should be independently verified. Please see our terms of service for more details

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