1997 Civic LX Shakes

CINCYCIVIC

MEMBER
1997 HONDA CIVIC

I currently have a 2000 Honda Civic DX, 2 door, 101,000 miles and am driving my mom's 1997 Honda Civic LX, 4 door, 113,000 miles to see if we would like to switch. I have a baby now so the 2 door is hard.
Anyway, the 1997 Civic shakes when you are driving it slightly but when you speed up to around 50 you can tell more. She did say she thinks she needs new tires but her husband says that older cars "just shake." Mine is not that far behind hers in miles so I don't see this making sense. So, before we switch I would like to know if this is common and what can be done to fix this/how expensive it can be?
Thank you very much!

1 Reply

BRUCE HUNT

MECHANIC
3,754 POSTS

They do not shake. Dad is dating himself to some older cars. For a cheap thing to try, rotate the tires and see if that helps. I suspect the tires. Look at the tires closely. You are looking to see any slight bulges or look at the tread and note anything that might be disfigured. For instance, straight lines of tread that waiver. In short, a cord problem can cause a shimmy. Another cause is a balance problem and finally another cause is an alignment being needed. There may be other more involved things like ball joints but they are less likely to be the problem.