Excessively stiff after market motor mounts are a common cause of vibration at idle - OEM mounts are available from sources such as megazip.net or amayama.com, but shipping from Japan or UAE can be expensive.

In 2021, a 2006 Aerio is long out of warranty, so I don't see a point in attempting to pursue it from that angle.

 

Thanks for response. As the first mechanic noted when he disconnected the front mount the vibration went away. Do you think I could replace aftermarket front mount with a OEM front mount and have a good chance of fixing the vibration at idle issue?

 

For about a year recently I had started to notice a vibration at about 1000 rpm in my 04 Aerio hatchback with standard transmission. Swapping the upper engine mount (on the passenger side, under the airbox) with a better one from my parts car stopped the vibration. My parts car is an 04 sedan, without AC, that I bought new but with twice as many miles on it, so my theory is that there may have been less weight strain on the engine mount over the years. Maybe there had been less engine bay heat as well with no AC system to run and since I live in a mild/damp climate area. (There was a slight tear starting in the center of the rubber in the engine mount from the sedan, but noticeably less than the tear in the one I removed from the 04 hatchback.)
Previously, I had been noticing how heavy the rust flakes were on my harmonic balancer so I had swapped that, but the 1000 rpm vibration had not changed.
If you determine that the vibration is from an engine mount, and you decide not to order a new one from overseas, then maybe you could find a good used OEM one at an auto wrecker.

 

Thanks for your reply. As the first mechanic noted when he disconnected the front mount the vibration went away. You fixed your vibration by replacing the right side mount (under airbox). Since I've already dumped so much $ into new aftermarket mounts and install labor I'm hoping to pinpoint which mount or mounts is causing my vibration. Don't know how you pin pointed which mount was causing your vibration and if you have any info on how you went about this I'd appreciate it. Hoping to do one mount
instead of two/three or all.

 

Thanks for your reply. As the first mechanic noted when he disconnected the front mount the vibration went away. You fixed your vibration by replacing the right side mount (under airbox). Since I've already dumped so much $ into new aftermarket mounts and install labor I'm hoping to pinpoint which mount or mounts is causing my vibration. Don't know how you pin pointed which mount was causing your vibration and if you have any info on how you went about this I'd appreciate it. Hoping to do one mount
instead of two/three or all.

My mechanic drove the car a short distance, with the engine cold, and said it seemed like I had a bad engine mount then he used a pry bar to see if the lower mounts moved. Then we removed the airbox and checked the upper mount and it seemed to move more and so we removed it and saw the big crack in the rubber. It would be useful if you could look at the engine mounts that got removed to see if any of them look worn out or cracked.
On a possibly related note, I am surprised at how rust weakened my Aerios are underneath so you might want to look at the structural integrity of the engine cradle components and subframe assembly and look for missing bolts and/or worn rubber bushings.

 

Most of the OEM Zuki mounts are fluid filled, the aftermarket mounts usually are polyurethane (synthetic polymer composites)

 

Mechanic did pry bar and stepping on gas with brake on in gear (automatic trans) and said there was excessive movement of engine. I do have mounts that were removed. After first repair of just the front mount, inspected and definitely had some cracks around center of rubber mounting sleeve. Did not change vibration when this one cracked front mount replaced with new aftermarket mount. Then mechanic recommended replacing the rest but also didn't change a thing. The removed mounts look to me like aftermarket mounts to me and I'll add a pics if anyone here on forum can identify if OEM or not. See numbers and letters on mounts hoping will help identify.
Guessing my aftermarket mount identification on plastic centering spear seen on so many aftermarket trans mounts but haven't a clue on the other 3.
Like to know more on why the OEM Suzuki mounts are failing long before they should?
Design flaw or poorly made mounts?
In Aquanaut20's post he says most Zuki mounts are fluid filled.
In watching videos on fluid filled mounts and they look a lot more involved with vacuum hoses, wires and large size.
Doesn't look like 06 Aerio SX mounts are fluid filled type mounts but members please correct me if I'm wrong.
Also inspected under car for rust and loose parts and all looked ok to my semi novice eyes.

 

What you care to share with us why you feel a fifteen year old engine mount, especially one on a "new-to-you" vehicle failed "long before it should"? How long should an engine mount last? Do you think driving style might have an impact on the lifespan of an engine mount?

By the way, I've seen fluid filled engine mounts that look no different to any other engine mount - my Grand Vitara has them - no hoses or wires, and no difference in size to the aftermarket replacements which are not fluid filled.

 

Point taken. I acknowledge age and driving style would definitely have an impact on the mounts.
On "long before it should" I was reiterating what my second mechanic's opinion was in explaining how he found instances online (most likely mostly from a 2011 post on this Suzuki Forum) of early Aerio mount failure. He sited the Suzuki warranty replacement of engine mounts in 04 Aerio SX with less than 50K and poster again experiencing similar problems at 52K while asking for advice if it could be engine mounts again. Mechanic sited all aftermarket parts are garbage these days and for 1K OEM mounts are what he would install calling upon his 40 years of experience OEM replacement would stop the vibration but no guarantee OEM replacements would fix issue for sure. Yes 10 years ago but he felt it was pertinent.
Now gun shy throwing good money after bad and already spending significant $ replacing mounts of first mechanics choice to replace all with aftermarket mounts (no fix) although appreciate your comment "Excessively stiff after market motor mounts are a common cause of vibration at idle" and links to OEM parts.
As Admin of this site I'm sure you have massive experience in all Suzuki.

What I'd appreciate and feel would be helpful would be advice on best economical way to proceed and if anyone can identify pics of mounts that were in car when bought and if these are original OEM mounts. Not that knowing will fix anything but if mounts were possibly replaced once before not fixing vibration issue I'd be a little more informed. Upon closer inspection of mounts taken out in pics I'm guessing that they are probably original 15 year old OEM mounts but the silver trans mount with plastic spike gives me pause.

 

First - knowledge & experience with Suzukis is not a prerequisite for being a forum administrator, that is more about having the interest and the available time - having said that, I've been around Suzukis for four+ decades, and owned several - having said that I have no "Aerio specific" experience, as that model was never sold here.

Second - I've been around forums like this one for decades, first as a user, then a moderator, and now administrator - they are what I consider to be "anecdotal pools of collective experience" - anecdotal, because what you typically find is stories of peoples experiences and rarely any "solid data" on which a scientific conclusion can be reached - some of the stories are contributed by trained mechanics (we've had users who worked in Suzuki dealerships), but most come from ordinary, everyday people, some of whom, and I'm sorry to say this, literally have no clue what they're talking about.

Forums will almost always present an unbalanced view of any product - few people visit forums to talk about how happy they are with their car/computer/whatever, a much higher percentage of the users join seeking help with a problem, and in an alarming (and rapidly increasing) numbers of cases, we're seeing people with very limited knowledge & experience working on cars/computers/whatever looking/hoping for a quick fix, a link to a YouTube video that will show them how to solve the problem. Unfortunately, cars are complex assemblies, and have become more & more complex over the years, and diagnosis of the problems requires an understanding of not only how things work, but how they fit together & interact with each other. Other users, what we call the forum "regulars" are those who are on the forum frequently, answering questions, many of these folks are retired, giving back to the community, and these folks bring different levels of experience with them.

Yesterday evening I tried searching the forum for the post you referred to, and did not find it, I found nothing to suggest that Aerios are more prone to premature engine mount failure than any other vehicle, or that Suzuki has been replacing Aerio engine mounts under warranty - a single incident where engine mounts were replaced at 50,000 miles and the user asking questions again at 52,000 miles tells me only one thing, the user did not know enough to state with any certainty that the mounts had failed a second time.

I would not go so far as to say that all aftermarket parts are garbage, but I will acknowledge that within the past decade or so there has been a significant "uptick" in the availability of what I term "cheap CRAP (Chinese Replacement Auto Parts) - it has reached the point where reputable manufacturers, rather than see their market share dwindle, are competing by offering "economy" versions of their traditional product lines - go look at RockAuto, you'll see manufacturers offering the same part at sometimes three different price points - you, the consumer, can choose to pay for a part that will last, or a part that is "all you can afford" - you can get an engine mount for as little as $8, or as much as $42, or you can go OEM for prices ranging from $50~$100

My earlier statement that excessively stiff aftermarket engine mounts are a common cause of vibration at idle is based on personal experience with both Suzuki and "non-Suzuki" vehicles, that experience, by the way, includes deliberately injecting engine mounts with polyurethane to stiffen them in an attempt to "tame" violent axle tramp during hard launches in a front wheel drive sport hatch - it worked but one of the side effects was a horrific increase in what is known as NVH (Noise Vibration & Harshness) transferred at idle - the entire shell of the vehicle buzzed like a hive full of angry bees. Because I knew what had been done on the vehicle, I knew exactly what was responsible for the change - the fix in that case was to bump the idle speed up to move the idle vibration frequency up out of the resonance range of the shell.

Here's my question for you - you have a mechanic claiming 40 years of experience, telling you that based on that experience, replacement of the engine mounts with OEM mounts will solve the problem, but he's not willing to guarantee a fix - that doesn't sound to me like he has any confidence in his own experience, is he diagnosing the problem or just guessing? Is the same mechanic who says all aftermarket parts are garbage and cited the Aerio with the mounts replaced at 50K miles and the user asking about the mounts again at 52K?

As I discuss this with you, I have an "other brand" vehicle with a vibration at idle problem, the problem surfaced when the engine was re-installed after a rebuild, and new aftermarket engine mounts were fitted - on this particular vehicle, the specified warm idle is 650 rpm, lower than most and this is when it will vibrate, ease the throttle open to bring the rpms up to the 750 that most engines idle at, and the vibration goes away, and if you're actually driving, there is no noticeable vibration. Now I do a lot of my own work, but I also use an independent mechanic that I have known for years when the task is more than I feel like dealing with - he was assisting me with replacing suspension bushes, and pinpointed the transmission mount as the cause of the vibration, and did this by putting a jack under the transmission and lifting it very slightly - although I did not share his opinion (my experiences suggests it's the engine mounts), I respect his judgement and ordered an OEM transmission mount from Japan - the mount arrived, I installed it, and the vibration at idle was significantly reduced, I have since ordered OEM engine mounts which I expect "any day now".

Do I feel that your vibration problem is related to the engine mounts - it's definitely a possibility - am I willing to stake my reputation on it - no - and that's primarily because I feel it's impossible to accurately diagnose a noise/vibration problem without physically being there .

 

I don't have any engine mount currently removed to look at since I only had the right front (upper) mount removed from both cars and then installed the more worn out one into my parts car to continue to support the engine while it remains in the car. However I do recall carefully looking at them both and I am quite sure that the rubber guts of both of them looked the same as the mount in the bottom right corner of your first picture, (which you also show in both the other pictures). Mine also had that very thin, curved air space which I first thought was an additional crack until I looked at it closer.

Anyway the actual wear crack in the rubber on both of mine was about the same as yours when looking at the side view, as you have shown. On the mount from my car with the vibration, the crack in the rubber continued most of the way through to the other side of the mount. Whereas in the one from my donor car the wear crack had only just started.

I should also clarify that the engine vibration I had was, in my opinion, not very significant and I would say it had not changed much in about 10,000 km, but I wondered if it could be easily fixed. The engine vibration was only noticeable to me at a high, cold idle. But when driving the car the vibration was always a bit noticeable when coming to a stop as the engine rpm passed down through about 1000 rpm.

Have you watched the two videos made by Youtuber "Boost and Shutter" about Aerio motor mounts? You will probably find them helpful. He first goes through some other issues that can also cause a rough idle, and he shows good re and re procedures as well as pictures of the mounts he removes in his second video.

I hope that you get the problem figured out. It would be neat if you post your solution to the issue if/when you get it fixed.

 

Thank you for your informative response above. A lot of good information on related experiences.
Finding a good mechanic is like finding a good doctor. Once you find one you hope they never retire which has been my predicament. Both mechanics I went to are new to me and I have little idea of their competence other talking to them (both seem competent when discussing issues) and reviews on google or yelp which are similar to forums for solid information and can be a crap shoot. Since I'm leaving the car and am not there when they diagnose issue I don't know what set of protocols they follow to figure out whats going on. The first mechanic said he did the step on gas with car in gear test and sited excessive movement of engine. I think the second mechanic (40 years experience one) drove car and his helper said they would put car up on rack but it was never confirmed they did. With first mechanic I'm not happy with results after putting in after market mounts and never mentioning OEM as possibly being a better fix. But at the time it seemed like right thing to do as he thought it would fix the vibration issue and it kept the costs down. Your mechanic narrowed it down to the transmission mount and sounds quite competent even though you were not agreeing with diagnosis. Glad to hear you had success with this other brand vehicle and getting rid of the worse of the idle vibration. Hope the OEM engine mounts will smooth the whole vibration issue out.
Speaking of trans mounts there is a Dynamic Damper (link below) between crossmember and trans on the Aerio that is the only isolation component that hasn't been replaced on my Aerio. Not sure how whether this is a critical piece of the puzzle in all this. I've asked both mechanics about whether Dynamic Damper could be causing vibration but first mechanic said it was intact and second one gave a non conclusive answer.
Not as readily available as engine mounts but you can get a Dynamic Damper from Japan.
My hypothesis at this point is it may be a combo of stiff after market mounts with possibly with Dynamic Damper included.

Below posted a link to the Forum link you could not find. It was linked in my first post. I agree with you on your forum analyzation and aspects of forums as in post below person doesn't seem to be the most knowledgeable type on cars as he bounces from one issue to the next and seems more concerned about his passenger door not opening . But person did have their engine mounts changed under warrantee by Suzuki under 50K back before early 2011. I mistakenly referred to this Aerio SX as an 04 but it was an 06.
Although pretty sure this is the link second mechanic (one who said CRAP after market parts garbage) found when he sited one of multiple instances of early motor mount failure. I did not find multiple instances in my searching and I've done a lot of searching on this subject. I asked this second mechanic what % chance vibration would go away if replacing with OEM and that is when he sited his 40 years experience and said was sure OEM mounts would make vibration go away but no guarantee.

So at this point I'm unwilling to dump an other 1K into car on chance OEM mounts might fix vibration and with no info on whether Dynamic Damper might be part of the issue.
Even $100 on a OEM front mount makes it hard to open my wallet with no definitive diagnosis.
I can drive car the way it is but it is irritating pulling up to a stop light and having to endure the shaking for a minute or two. Also from info I've found

I don't have any engine mount currently removed to look at since I only had the right front (upper) mount removed from both cars and then installed the more worn out one into my parts car to continue to support the engine while it remains in the car. However I do recall carefully looking at them both and I am quite sure that the rubber guts of both of them looked the same as the mount in the bottom right corner of your first picture, (which you also show in both the other pictures). Mine also had that very thin, curved air space which I first thought was an additional crack until I looked at it closer.

Anyway the actual wear crack in the rubber on both of mine was about the same as yours when looking at the side view, as you have shown. On the mount from my car with the vibration, the crack in the rubber continued most of the way through to the other side of the mount. Whereas in the one from my donor car the wear crack had only just started.

I should also clarify that the engine vibration I had was, in my opinion, not very significant and I would say it had not changed much in about 10,000 km, but I wondered if it could be easily fixed. The engine vibration was only noticeable to me at a high, cold idle. But when driving the car the vibration was always a bit noticeable when coming to a stop as the engine rpm passed down through about 1000 rpm.

Have you watched the two videos made by Youtuber "Boost and Shutter" about Aerio motor mounts? You will probably find them helpful. He first goes through some other issues that can also cause a rough idle, and he shows good re and re procedures as well as pictures of the mounts he removes in his second video.

I hope that you get the problem figured out. It would be neat if you post your solution to the issue if/when you get it fixed.

Have w
not good for the vehicle. :-(

Several issues with Aerio Sx '06 Help?

I bought my 2006 Aerio SX brand new in 2006. The car has 52,000 miles on it and I am having problems all at once. About two years ago, while it was still under warranty, the motor mounts failed. The dealership replaced them with no problems. Now I am having odd engine vibrations, it started when...

www.suzuki-forums.com

Engine & Trans Mounting for 2005 Suzuki Aerio | World OEM Parts Subaru

suzukisubaruparts.worldoemparts.com

 

Since the vibration is quite excessive I wonder if it is also producing a little bit of noise, such that you could pinpoint it with a mechanic's stethoscope?

 

Just my experience, which is not Aerio specific - when the noise is caused by NVH transferred through the mounts, the entire vehicle vibrates, they are going to be a thousand noises from all corners of the vehicle - on the "non Suzuki" vehicle that I'm currently waiting on the engine mounts for, I've fixed rattles from the hood, the back seat, I've discovered that aftermarket air filter elements don't fit as tightly as the OEM replacements.

Anything & everything that is even the slightest bit loose will create an audible ruckus - I'm not telling you not to go hunting, but, if the vibration "smooths out" by increasing the idle speed just a hair, start with the mounts.

 

 

Vibration does lessen at higher and lower RPM’s than 1K RPM
At between 9K to 11K RPM’s I do get sympathetic noises from rear cargo area which tried to pinpoint without much luck. Can live with a rattle noise here and there but when the steering wheel shakes similar to Boost and Shutter’s YouTube video I posted in first post it is somewhat depressing and distressing. At this point gonna have to live with vibration as don’t have an dispensival $1000 to invest in hoping problem goes away.

 

First you need to isolate the vibration,
Is it related to engine , not connected to drive(stationary), or
is it related to a some type of motion..(moving). ?

 

Definitely stationary not motion caused.
First mechanic claimed when he disconnected the front engine mount vibration went away.
That is the only solid information that sounds like it would be worth risking throwing more money at this vibration issue. Also looks like the only mount that is most easily accessible without removing air boxes and such. Could buy $100 OEM front mount and try doing front mount myself but still on fence whether removing the new after market front mount and replacing with a new front OEM mount is worth the risk, time and money and would definitely fix or even mostly fix and make vibration go away.

 

Since we have established that it is engine/RPM, have you ruled out a misfire condition causing the vibration ?

 

When I first took Aerio in I asked mechanic to check for misfire which he said he would. When I picked up unfixed car after replacement of just the front engine mount he said he had checked for misfire but did not specify how he did this. So not sure if he actually physically hooked up a computer, pulled plug wires, checked plugs or tested coils. The engine runs very evenly/smoothly at all RPM's with no audible or physical misfire so he may have just assumed there was no misfire in 9K to 11K RPM window. I doubt there is a 9K to 11K misfire but it would be a good idea to have a second opinion and have it checked out for sure but reluctant to pay for same work a second time. Will call him Monday and ask how exactly he checked for mis-fire. This is same first mechanic who said if it was his car he would replace the other three mounts saying he thought since it wasn't the front it had to be one or more of the other three mounts that was most likely the issue and replacing would rule out mounts but no guarantees of fix. His spiel convinced me to the point I really believed (naively) this was going to fix the vibration issue. Has my $600 and I have a shaky jake Aerio!

 

Oem mounts or aftermarket? If aftermarket id suspect them immediately. When its idling and vibrating, apply a far bit of force to the engine one way it another to load/ unload the mounts and see if the vibration changes. Can you see the engine shaking? Or just feel it?

 

Aftermarket. Can’t see engine shaking just feel it. Do you have a recommendation on good way to load/unload mounts?