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Engine mount wear at idle

medium
Coverage reviewed

Safe to keep driving. Fix it when convenient.

If ignored: Left alone, one collapsed mount loads the rest and sends more vibration straight into the cabin.

Affects model years: 2004-2008

Symptoms

  • Steering wheel and dashboard vibrate at idle
  • Vibration gets worse with the air-conditioning on
  • Clunk when pulling away or when the automatic engages Drive
  • Engine rocks visibly when the throttle is blipped in neutral

Cause

The rubber engine mounts harden and tear with heat and age. Once one mount collapses, the engine moves further than it should, which loads the remaining mounts and sends vibration straight into the cabin. The S4PH's idle is not especially smooth to begin with, so worn mounts make it feel much worse than it is.

Solution

Ask a workshop to inspect all the mounts, not just the one that looks worst. They age together, and replacing one while the others are soft means paying labour twice. Genuine or good aftermarket rubber mounts restore the original feel; stiff performance mounts make the cabin buzz more, which is the opposite of what most owners want.

Estimated cost:~RM 280(Moderate)

parts and labour · as of Oct 26, 2026

Mount wear is progressive, so the cheap moment to fix it is when the vibration first appears. Left alone, the extra movement damages hoses and can crack the exhaust flex section, which turns a mount bill into a fabrication bill.

One owner-level clue: if the vibration is mild in neutral and much worse with the air-conditioning compressor running, the mounts are a better suspect than the engine. The compressor adds load at idle, and a worn mount cannot absorb it.

Ask for the mounts to be checked with the car on a lift and the engine loaded, not just revved in the workshop. A mount that looks fine at rest can be torn underneath.

Cost band checked 2026-10-26 against Malaysian parts and workshop pricing for Gen-2 engine mounts, per mount, with labour.

Community notes

Engine mounting is on the short list of Gen-2 faults in the Lowyat.NET owner thread, alongside the idle vibration that owners often mistake for an engine fault.