The steering wheel on my 97 SE has started to vibrate occasionally when I get to 70 mph. Every so often the vibrating stops, then I start to feel it on the gas pedal. This only happens between 65-75 mph; when I gas it a little more to 80 mph, the shaking stops.

Any ideas as to what could be causing this? I thought it might be a bent rim or axle, but that would cause the shaking to continue regardless of what speed I'm going. I got 2 new tires a few months ago... maybe they need to be re-balanced or re-aligned?

Any input would be helpful. Thanks.

 

the 99% chance you just need to balance the tires, that should fix the problem

Vinipux

 

yeah - my car does that also

 

Rotate the tires front-to-rear. If the vibration moves with the tires, it's either tire balance or a bent rim.

 

I second that, it's probably your rear tires are out of balance. Usually high speed vibrations come from the rear tires being out of balance. Also make sure that no tire has double weights or too much weight, that is a sign of a tire that has been mounted incorrectly or a bent rim.

 

how much is it to balance the tires and can u go to any auto shop?

 

www.gsp9700.com

Those things never fail

 

i couldn't believe it, but when I got my front rotors and pads replaced the rattling stopped.

 

Rattling and vibrating are two different things though. He probably has an out of balance issue with a rear tire.

 

If balancing doesn't cure the vibration, and if you're an auto, drop the trans out of OD into 3rd. If the vibration goes away then, your tranny may be on its way out. Get a flush and see if it helps.

Hopefully you won't need to perform this experiment!

 

i think it would be better to diagnose the tranny by going about about 80 on the highway, then place the tranny into Neutral and let it sink thru the 70's into the 60's. if there is no vibration, then as jhurst said its the tranny.

 

when i used to get about to a 98-101 mph mines would vibrate , but after i added a strut bar it stopped doing it for some reason, could be teh strut bar makin it stop, i really dont know...

 

I don't think it would be the transmission. I've got about 70K miles on it; I had the 60K tune-up done and everything seemed to be fine.

It's probably the rear wheels out of balance. I replaced the rear tires about 4 weeks ago and have noticed the vibration since then. I've already made an appointment to have it looked at after work today. If anything else is the issue, I'll be sure to post.

Thanks for your help guys.

 

4th generation Maximas are prone to front end vibration at speeds above 70 mph. (My car is smooth up to 70 but beyond that shakes like a chattering windshield wiper. I suspect this problem (having balanced and rebalanced the tires ad nauseum is that the problem is attributable to the rack and pinion unit and the wearing of the tie rod ends. I'm replacing mine with a remanufactured unit ($250) this month and will let the org. know if this remedies the problem.

 

It's probably the rear tires, as you said they were just replaced. They should be rebalanced. If it's not another possible problem could be your CV joints are starting to go. That will set up a vibration at high speed also.

 

red112: do you have aftermarket rims with plus sized tires?

 

same thing happened to me when i got new re730's.
steering wheel vibrating at 65-75mph.
it was driving me crazy! had to rebalance them
4 times before it was done properly.

get the tireshop to do a "dymanic" balance vs.
the "static" balance. the dynamic puts weights on
both the inside lip and just inside the spokes of
the wheel. the static just puts all the weights
on the inside lip only.

hope that your problem is as simple as mine was
to correct.

 

Just got back from the dealership this morning before work. Didn't get a chance to test it the highway yet, but everything seems to be fine now. If I'm running into any more problems, I'll ask them to do a "dynamic balance" next time, for free of course.

Thanks for all the input... didn't think this thread would be such an informative topic.

 

Join the club. I have had this problem since I purchased my 97 GLE. I have changed the tires 3 times (sets). I have had my car realigned several times and have had tires balanced quite a few times as well. There is nothing wrong with the front end. It just shimmies anytime I go above 70. No one seems to know why. I would have expected much better performance from the Maxima. Very disappointed. I will drive it for a year or two more than I will get rid of it.

 

Your problem may be with the wheels and not the tires. You didn't describe your vibration very well but if you changed the tires and it still vibrates and the suspension is not out of whack, then it is either of two things: The rim(s) is bent or maybe the tire shop doesn't know what they are doing. Did you know that the same exact tire mounted just slightly different will net two different balancing results? Break down the tire, turn it 180 deg while still on the rim, and remount. The balance (weights) requirements are going to be different. The less amount of weight required to balance a tire means the tire is closest to it's "sweet spot" (for lack of better word). I was a mechanic for 7 years and encountered this a ton of times.

 

That's funny. I have the steering wheel vibration problem as well, but I was unaware 4th gen Maxima's were considered to be prone to front end vibration. Other than the steering wheel vibrating I've managed to push the car near 100mph (not that fast, I know, but gimme time - I've had it for nine days ) and it's completely smooth other than the wheel.

 

The wheels have been checked also. They are not bent nor do they have any runout. I am going to take it to a shop that has a Hunter GSP9700 as a last resort.

 

please let me know how that goes, I have had my balanced a few times too - gets annoying!! mine is from about 70-85 above that its dead still... hope you have found something

 

do you have a front mask bra? if you do, try to remove it first. I got a similar problem with an aftermarket bra.

 

A) your car was in an accident at some point or the front end was damaged somehow (severe pothole, curb impact, etc.)

or,

B) you have a bad tie-rod end or something wrong with the steering rack

The vibrations you describe are not typical of a 4th Gen. Maxima. Something is wrong with your specific car, whether the shops you've brought it to have been able to diagnose it properly or not.

Dig deeper.