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Car Shakes When Accelerating but Not When Coasting: 10 Reasons

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If your car shakes when accelerating but not when coasting, you're dealing with one of the following problems:

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  1. Damaged motor mounts
  2. Disconnected vacuum hose
  3. Broken CV joint
  4. Bent vehicle axle
  5. Jammed brake caliper
  6. Loose bearings
  7. Faulty propeller shaft
  8. Unbalanced car
  9. Damaged spark plugs
  10. Unsecured lug nuts

Cars are very complicated, and when there is an internal problem, it can be challenging to figure it out unless you're a professional mechanic. However, learning one or two things about common car problems can help you expect your car problems before even talking to the mechanic.

One very scary situation is when your vehicle starts shaking. However, it can still be challenging for your mechanic to figure out the problem unless you provide more details. Therefore, you must tell the mechanic when this shaking happened, and one of the commonly known situations is when your car shakes during accelerating but not when you coast.

This article walks you through 10 potential reasons why your car shakes when accelerating but not when coasting. Read more details and determine which part of your car is causing the problem. Once you figure out the cause, you must have your car checked and fixed immediately.

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Car shakes when accelerating but not when coasting: 10 reasons

A shaking vehicle can make your driving experience very challenging, leading to potential consequences that might get you involved in car accidents. Therefore, whenever your car starts shaking, you need to monitor the situation and see if it's something continuous or happening regularly because it could indicate an internal problem.

When your car shakes when accelerating but not when coasting, you're most likely dealing with one of the following problems:

1-      Damaged motor mounts

The first and most common reason a car shakes when accelerating but not coasting is when you have a broken motor mount. If the mount is not in good condition or if it's not connected securely, it can easily lead to some shaking, and you'll notice this shaking every time you accelerate, but you do not notice it at all if you coast.

However, if the amount is not the faulty components, you'll need to move through the list and figure out what's causing this shaking behavior.

2-      Disconnected vacuum hose

Another potential reason for this shaking behavior is when you have a disconnected vacuum hose. These hoes can get disconnected for many reasons, but when this happens, it will not stop only at the shaking behavior; other consequences could happen.

Unfortunately, a disconnected vacuum hole leads air to escape through the vehicle. This results in very difficult situations in your vehicle where it doesn't have any power, and there are some instances where your vehicle might get on fire.

Therefore, if you suspect your problems are related to the vacuum hose, you got to talk to the mechanic immediately because you don't want to deal with situations that will cost you a lot of money, if not your life.

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3-      Broken CV joint

A lot of shaking problems typically come from the CV joint. The CV joint is connected around the vehicle wheel, and it should always be in good shape. When this joint is worn out or has some problems, you will start noticing some shaking behaviors, especially when accelerating.

There are many reasons for damaging the CV joint, including dirt and contaminants building up through the component leading to faster wearing out than typical. You might also deal with CV joint problems when there is not enough lubrication, and that's where your mechanic might lubricate the CV joint and resolve the issue.

4-      Bent vehicle axle

Another common reason for situations where your car shakes when accelerating but not when coasting is if you have a bent axle. The axle should be in a perfect situation because everything on the vehicle is connected to this axle. If the axle is bent somehow, it leads to a misbalance in the vehicle, causing your car to have some shaking issues.

A bent axle is not safe because it can easily impact your vehicle's drivability and might even lead to significant other situations that could impact the surrounding components around it.

The most common reason for an event vehicle axle is when you get involved in a major car accident or if something hits your car. It's not easy to bend the axle because it's made of very strong material, and when this happens, it's not surprising to start dealing with vehicle problems.

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5-      Jammed brake caliper

If you cannot successfully determine what's causing your shaking issue, the next step is to check on the brake caliper. There are many reasons for situations where the brake caliper gets stuck or jammed, and when this happens, you'll feel that the vehicle is shaking overall, and the shaking stops every time you coast.

It's hard to tell why the brake caliper got stuck until you talk to the mechanic pier there are many potential reasons, including the age of this caliper and dirt or contaminants. However, finalizing the potential culprits is not easy unless your mechanic performs a thorough inspection.

6-      Loose bearings

A loose bearing can easily lead to car shaking when accelerating but not coasting. Therefore, as you're looking for potential faulty components, look at the bearings and see if there are any of them that are not connected properly or are loose.

Once you detect any loose or faulty bearing, you must fix it immediately; otherwise, you can't introduce additional problems that will cost you tons of money to fix. Sometimes, it might even impact the entire vehicle.

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7-      Faulty propeller shaft

The propeller shaft is not a very common component you come across daily. However, this is one of those internal components in the vehicle responsible for transporting the energy from the engine to the wheels. Therefore, if there's a problem with this component, you can easily deal with some shaking in your vehicle.

Suppose you confirm that the propeller is the faulty component. In that case, you must fix it immediately and talk to your mechanic if you have to install a new one or probably use a used one in good condition, so you don't have to pay much.

8-      Unbalanced car

Simple problems like issues with the car balance might impact your vehicle's drivability and cause your car to shake when accelerating but not when coasting. First, check the balance and see if your vehicle is due for alignment.

Improper alignment does not only impact the vehicles shaking behavior but also could lead to additional problems related to the suspension system and other more expensive components that you cannot afford to fix in some instances.

That's why we typically recommend that our readers follow the recommendations in the vehicle owner manual about the potential frequencies of tire alignments. In addition, many articles out there could help you detect whether your vehicle is due for an alignment or not because it might happen before the due dates.

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9-      Damaged spark plugs

Did you know that if the spark plugs are not working properly, they can easily cause your vehicle to shake?! Yes! These spark plugs are responsible for sending the required spark at the right time to the engine, so the air and fuel mixture ignites.

If the spark is not sent on time, it will impact the vehicle's power generation and can easily lead to situations where your vehicle cannot generate any power or move. However, since your car has more than one spark plug, dealing with a faulty one can impact the performance but will not leave you without any power unless you ignore them or have a problem with most of them.

10-  Unsecured lug nuts

Finally, if your lug nuts are not secured properly, you will deal with situations where your car shakes when accelerating but not when coasting. Therefore, try taking care of any loose lug nuts and tighten them properly to see if you can get rid of the problem or not.

Suppose all the potential ten causes did not help you detect the problem or eliminate situations where your vehicle shakes when accelerating but not when coasting. In that case, that could be a time when you should immediately talk to the mechanic because he should have a better tool to help him identify their potential hidden culprit.

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Car shakes when accelerating but not when coasting: potential solutions

If you confirm that your car shaking problem is continuous and it's not something happening one time, you have to fix the problem immediately. Depending on the root cause, your potential solutions can be different.

Let's take a closer look at what you need to do to fix a car that shakes when accelerating but not when coasting:

1-      Tires related problem

If the problem triggering this shaking behavior has to do with the tires, then you need to do the following:

  • Take out the tire weights
  • Remove the tires
  • Perform a detailed cleanup of your tires
  • Put the tire back and follow the right procedure
  • Confirm that the wheels are well-aligned based on the recommendations in your vehicle's manual
  • Confirmed that the tires are connected securely

2-      Joint related problem

On the other hand, if your problem has to do with the joints, then you need to figure out whether your problem is related to the CV joints or the potential close components that need lubrication. Applying simple lubrication can help you resolve the issue, but if this doesn't help, then your mechanic might provide you with additional recommendations.

3-      Spark plug-related problem

If the problem is the spark plug, you need to investigate your vehicle's owner's manual and confirm that your vehicle is not due for a spark plug change. If that's the case, you must immediately replace the spark plugs.

There are some solutions where your mechanic might help you clean up these product plugs if there's a chance, but this is not always a solution, and you need to be prepared to replace certain components as you're dealing with your problem.

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Final thoughts

When your car shakes when accelerating but not coasting, it can be very frustrating and might lead to additional consequences that could impact your safety.

Therefore, you need to take care of the problem and understand the potential causes behind this shaking behavior. This article walked you through 10 common causes for car shaking when accelerating but not coasting.

As you might notice, some of these causes might be very simple, and you could fix them yourself, while others might be more complicated and require a decent amount of money to get fixed.

If you realize that your car requires a lot of money to get fixed, it could be a perfect time to sell this vehicle and buy a better one that doesn't have any shaking problems. Are you looking for someone to buy your car? Why don't you reach out to your cash cars buyer today?!

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  • Describe your car's type and condition
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