nikolai00

After having my trusted mechanic inspect it today - both on the lift and driving on the road - he said that there was no noticeable issues with the engine mounts. He advised to continue driving until it gets worse instead of chasing vibrations with parts. He also mentioned that if it was his vehicle, he wouldn't do anything with it quite yet, that it wasn't a big deal.

I do plan to replace the rear brakes this weekend to try to tackle the braking shudder - it definitely needs pads and will certainly do the rotors as well.

Thanks again everyone for all the advice!

LSBen

I have experienced what you had described in #1 and figured out the fix for this. I had what you would describe as a very rough and loud idle in the mornings, especially when its cold out. Car would vibrate upon start up, and engine was noisy but would get better as the car warmed up down the road. This didn't improve even after major service ( new spark plugs, new filters, replaced all fluids, timing belt and water pump, throttle body cleaning) at 188K miles, which is when I acquired the vehicle.

What I discovered was the fuel system hadn't been cleaned or serviced and the Mass Air Flow Sensor was really dirty (half the diode was covered in grey dirt) so it was unable to measure the oxygen air flow properly. I used a bottle of Berryman B-12 Chemtool Carbuerator, Fuel System & Injector Cleaner ($4) in the gas tank and a can of Berryman Total Combustion Cleaning Kit ($13)thru the brake booster. Then I bought a can of Mass Air flow cleaner ($7) and sprayed down the MAF sensor. After this, my RX330 no longer has the rough start in the cold Mornings. Start up is quite and smooth and now idles much more quietly. If you don't want to use the combustion cleaning kit, use the Berryman Fuel System Treatment ($9) in another tank of gas.

You'll be glad you tried this out.

Good Luck!

realkrs

^ Agreed.

I was never one who'd believe in any of the magic elixers available for cars but in recent years have come to accept that sometimes substantial and usually noticable improvements can be gained by the use of some products in modern closely regulated fuel injection and control systems, particularly if a car has a level of neglect in those areas.

I do not mean to imply that any owner has or has not been neglectful - it can sometimes be the case that an owner pays for a service never done and goes along believing that because he has a document stating a service done that it was in fact completed. Mechanics know that in most cases there is no way to prove or disprove completion some of the items they are requested to do, and it is all too common that a repairman will take advantage of the fact.

nikolai00

Thanks for your advice - this is something I will certainly try out.

Additionally, I went ahead and replaced the rear brake pads & rotors this past weekend and still feel the vibration/shudder upon stopping....I plan to do the fronts this coming weekend to hopefully address that issue.

m0chafrap

Might be your alternator too - my family member's old camry had a pretty weak alternator & the engine would vibrate a bit and the headlights would dim slightly when rolling up the windows/defrosting or basically anything that was taxing on the electrical system.

tomr51

check that the transmission fluid is at the full mark... Engine running, warmed up and in park. Maybe even drain the sump and refill, (about 4 qts of ATF)