Well I just bought an 01 s2000 with 69k miles on it for $13,500. Seemed pretty good. I test drove it a few times up to about 80 mph and everything felt good. It idles well and no sounds or smells or anything I could tell. I bought it today and on the way home I could feel some strong vibrations coming once the car got over 60 mph. It gets worse the higher speed I go. I went from about 60 to 85 and it kept just getting worse. Also whenever I start driving the car as soon as I give it gas from a stop I can hear some sort of click sound from the rear. It goes away after I start rolling. Just one or two clicks. Also the front alignment seems a little off as it will pull the car a little bit to the right. I don't think the vibrations are cause by rpm's as in the lower speeds and high rpm's there is no shacking or vibrations at all. The shifter knob also shakes around a bit when the vibrations are going on. What do you guys think it is? Could something clocking also cause the vibrations? Any known problems that arise like this? I test drove one s2000 that I didn't get cause it seemed to have the same kinda problem just worse feeling.
Let me know what you guys think it might be. The car is so insanely fun to drive through the twisties can't believe the handling. Just can't stand to have people think I'm an idiot for getting one and having it shake and all when on the highway.
---Ryan.

 

This might be your problem.

 

Are the axles a common problem with the s2000? Will it usually cause that sort of vibrations? Would it vibrate more when on the gas then just cruising? It seemed like it makes more vibrations when on the gas but not sure. Kinda hard to tell for sure.

 

Most of the 00. 01 are having this problem. I've changed both of mine, same signs are yours. Worst on the accel, better off the gas.

BC

 

Ok thanks a lot. Hopefully this is my problem and nothing too serious. Is there a way to check to make sure if that is indeed the problem and which one is bad? Also anywhere in particular thats good and relatively inexpensive to buy them from?

 

Your dealer can check this for you.


Hondaautomotiveparts.com is the best place.

 

BTW: Get it fixed as soon as you can, once it goes bad, it will make the diff go bad...

 

I really prefer not bringing my cars to mechanics. Always seem to get screwed over. Is there anything I can check or test to see if it is indeed the axle so I can just replace it myself?

 

i'd investigate the tires. check they are still all round, no cupping, have a high-speed balance. it could be just the tires. BTW, there is a TSB for that clicking sound, was about 160. bucks to fix it at the performance shop

 

All of your concerns and your cars symptoms are well documented on this board. If you search for "vibration" and "clicks" you will get more threads on the topic than you can handle.

The S2000 is a highly tuned car and if one thing is out of spec, it's very noticeable. The S2000 mush have:

1. Good tires (a lot of people who don't know any better put crap tires on the car as replacements)
2. Exactly equal air pressures side to side

Now, the vibration if it occurs only under acceleration is a problem with the axle inner joints. The cup of the CV joint wears and pits form. The way to fix this is with new axles... most likely, it's on the driver side only. Don't ask me why.

If the vibration occurs all the time (on or off throttle) it's probably a wheel/tire balance issue.

The click is axle nut related. The axle nuts have to be torqued down very tight to prevent this click. Search function will give you all you need to know about this noise.