Hey all, I'm sure this has been brought up before but I'm starting to feel a slight shudder when accelerating. This starts at about 30 mph and seems to go away at about 65 mph. Am I looking at a transmission issue, torque converter or something else? 06 H3 120k miles and well taken care of. Transmission fluid seems ok and at proper levels, oil changed frequently, differential oil just changed in front and rear. Am coming up on doing transfer case fluid and transmission fluid within the next few thousand miles. Unsure if I need to be doing something different or looking elsewhere but I'm starting to get worried about this becoming more of an issue. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate = check your tire pressure.

And

Only during accel? What if you accelerate to 60, put the car in neutral and coast back down?

 

Will check all tires when I get home this evening, and from what I can tell I do still feel and hear the shudder and vibration even coasting back down I did notice that when going above about 73 to 75 mph it seems to come back.. if not transmission could an out of wack alignment cause similar issues as well? Haven't had an alignment in about 35,000 miles and only do mild off roading, meaning no rock climbing or stuff like that just dirt roads and some trails up north very rarely. Feel like I did notice some weird noises (almost like squeaking and clicking) when driving down the road a few hundred miles ago but that has since completely gone away. I just know that the 06 and early 07 models of the H3 did have some drivetrain issues. Also haven't had a chance to get under it to check and see if there is any play in the drive shaft though either.

 

06 and 07 drivetrains are identical to the 08+ I5 drivetrains which are also shared with the Alphas (except the motor).

The most obvious question I can think of (since I got no idea what "kind of shudder" you are trying to describe) is, when was the last time you cleaned your TB and MAF? If your motor is surging, coughing, or running rough, it can be felt in the drivetrain at times.

 

Ahhh... I have not. Running rough would be a good describing word, I have no loss of power when accelerating, just a slight vibration! Noted and will take that into account this weekend! Thank you!

 

I am an amateur when it comes to auto triage and repairs but...
Could it be your tire(s) need to be rebalanced?
I had lost some weights on a tire in a previous vehicle and it sounds like your situation....
Run smooth upto about 30, then a thud thud thud - then level off - then thud thud thud until I got onto the highway and a certain speed, it went away. I brought it to a mechanic who was honest by pointing to a clean spot on my wheel and said "your off balance".
He rebalanced wheels and problem disappeared

*Just a thought

 

Don't think I have lost any weights but now that you mention it I have not checked them lately. I would think you might see a little bit of wheel hop but not really counting anything out at the moment. Totally sucks though, damn thing feels like it's falling apart when driving at less than interstate speeds! I will check that out this weekend as well! Thank you!

 

torque converter clutch? read

 

Where do you feel the vibration? Steering wheel or your butt?

 

A backyard mechanic would say tire balance if you can drive through the shudder.

Just sayin'