What's causing my Honda CR-V to judder at 60mph?

My 2.2 Honda CR-V CDI is five and a half years old and has done 87,000 miles. It has developed an alarming judder at around 60mph which disappears at about 65mph. I thought it might be wheel balance, so I had the front tyres balanced by a reputable dealer. It still judders and the strange thing is that it seems to be coming through the bodywork - there is only a little judder through the steering wheel. My Honda dealer has serviced it at every required service interval since new and have never reported any problems.

They have told me that I need two new driveshafts at a cost of £1400 and they don't seem to be sure that this will solve it. This is a big job so I have asked another independent dealer to check, and they have said that they can't see that new driveshafts are needed and new outboard joints might be the better initial option. At the same time they found a rattle at the rear axle. This seems to be coming from a metal bar that sits in the rear axle and may be a damper. It's not connected to anything. Do I get both driveshafts replaced or try the option of new outboard joints?

Asked on 5 August 2010 by Gerry1

Answered by Honest John
I don't know. The judder might be caused by the way the automatic 4WD system engages through sensors and a clutch to the rear axle. Older CR-Vs had a lot of trouble with water ingress to the rear diff. Alternatively, it might simply be due to different circumference tyres as they can confuse the sensors for the 4WD system. If you recently replaced two tyres then that is almost sure to be the reason.
Similar questions
I have a 2005 Volkswagen Touareg 2.5TDI with 30,000 miles, which has developed a transmission fault. Moving slowly up a gradient, the transmission seems to wind up with a loud clicking from near-side rear....
I have not long taken delivery of a 2005 Volkswagen Golf TDI 4-motion with 67,000 miles that also has a most awful droning noise at approximately 2000rpm or 68-70 mph. It's as if the vehicle shouldn't...
I live in Kenya and want to buy a cheap car with 4 wheel drive. I wanted ask whats the difference between limited Slip differential and all wheel drive?
Related models
Low-down pull from refined chain cam engines. Walk-through cabin on CVT auto models. Large boot can be increased by sliding the rear seats forward. Lasting very well.
 

Value my car

Save £75 on Warranty using code HJ75

with MotorEasy

Get a warranty quote

Save 12% on GAP Insurance

Use HJ21 to save on an ALA policy

See offer