Civic CXi Aircon on Idle Causing Engine to Shudder

[p3p5y]

Hi Guys,

I have an issue with the Civic CXi where when I turn the aircon on whilst driving, and when the car comes to a stop at the traffic lights, the engine begins to idle quite roughly and then probably about 10-20 seconds later, the engine begins to shudder... hard, to the point where I have to turn off the aircon, because I think the engine is either going to stall or something will blow. I don't bother allowing this shuddering to continue as I'm afraid it will cause further damage.

One way to get around this rough idling/shuddering is to press the A/C button so that the aircon is off, therefore only the fan is on. I can turn the A/C back on only when the car is moving.

Does anyone know what the issue could be? Anything I need to clean/change/replace? E.g. Sensors?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[CB7_OWNER]

Its normal for the car to shudder/vibrate when the a/c compressor/fan kicks in but not to the extent your describing i think.

Check the tension on your belts.

Check your engine mounts.

[90LAN]

sounds like teh ac compressor

[grifty]

i would check first if the belt is tensioned and also if the mounting bolts for the comprerssor are tight.

[p3p5y]

Cool ppl, thanks for the tips.
Looks like I've got a few things to try. I'll post back with some results when I get round to looking at this.

[MikeyG]

this happened to my cxi when i put the aircon on... its a box of shit engine and having the aircon doesnt help either!

[mocchi]

Cool ppl, thanks for the tips.
Looks like I've got a few things to try. I'll post back with some results when I get round to looking at this.

why dont you adjust your idle speed? when you idle at what rpm does it sit?

[p3p5y]

It's a CXI. No RPM meter unfortunately. And I believe adjusting the idle speed is a quick fix and won't solve the issue.

[vinnY]

yeah adjusting the idle will adjust it over the entire range, no good
clean out the iacv pep and see how that goes, quick to check anyway
after that look at the spark plugs and possibly timing i guess(let me know if you need a hand with the latter)

[tsg88]

My CXi doesn't even feel the air-con, even when idling... sounds like what most of above have said, loose belt, loose mount or dying compressor. My sisters Nissan rattles and rolls when the air con is on and idling. Its pretty common for smaller engined cars to do it, my mums Hyundai used to drive like a pig with the air-con on, so does my sisters pulsar, I turned them off unless cruising on the freeway. I don't feel the air-con in my CXi, and it even runs fine when idling... so I would say its something more serious from your description... mechanic time?

[vinnY]

jesus cxi and you say the aircon doesn't make it feel any different? even my b18 is horrible with aircon