Lately I have been experiencing a moderate buzzing vibration in the gas pedal. It always happens between about 1800 and 2000 RPM's. I have read some posts on this issue that were posted about a year ago, but no one ever posted whether they had this problem resolved. I was wondering if any of you out there have heard of this problem and if so, how was it fixed. Thanks.


2002 Maxima SE

 

I feel a vibration in my brake pedal at a stop sometimes. My gas pedal is fine.

 

Mine has gotten worse with the 19's... time to visit Mossy !

 

hey kloogy....I need to take my max in soon too for misc rattles and wind noise probs. Do you want to meet up there this week?

 

I know it's a little late on this topic, but I did the illustrious search and this is what I found. I thought I'd fish for some thoughts.

I've got the same issue as hansolo1 wherein there's a vibration or harshness at 1800 to 2200 on my 2K2 SE Automatic. It started at about 3000 miles. You feel it in the gas pedal, but it really is an overall harshness that you feel in every gear at that RPM range. If you stay at that speed and put it in neutral and rev the engine through that range, you don't feel it. So, it's not the engine. It seems as though it's how the torque is put through the drive train to the wheels.

What bugs me is that, what used to be a smooth as silk experience, now has this low quality band of harshness at that rpm range and it seems as though thats the RPM I always end up cruising at in traffic. Some people in harsh 4 cylinders probably wouldn't notice it, but for how smooth the Max is, I know all of you would notice it.

I don't think it's a lock-up torque convertor issue as it happens in all gears. It's got to be a change in something, because it kind of started overnight (really maybe a week)at 3K miles or so. Could it be motor mounts? Could someone explain how electronic motor mounts work? Does the computer loosen or stiffen them up at different RPM?

Thanks

 

 

Yeah the vibration in my car started also started after I had bought the car. I'd say I had it for a couple of months or so before I noticed it. I know that it didn't do it when I bought it, I would have noticed that night away. NetDoctor, does the hood on your max vibrate at highway speeds? Mine does and I've been trying to fix it myself with little luck so far. I was just curious if your does this as well. Thanks

Thanks

 

As for the hood, what exactly have you done as self fix attempts?

 

My hood seems OK, but I really don't have a reference. It vibrates a little, but no more than some other cars I've owned. There's a TSB on it, see: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=104748

About the pedal vibration, it's more than just the pedal(although it's where you feel it the most). It's definitely a harshness in the power transfer through the drivetrain to wheels. I have an auto; does anyone feel it on the 6-speed?

 

I have installed the hood bumber and both headlamp packs

 

There have been people on the .org that have the 6 speed that have also had the problem. So it most likely isn't the transmission and probably isn't the engine. Some seem to think that it might be something to do with the exhaust. Possibly a heat shield or something like that. I have only visually inspected the exhaust and I can't see anything wrong but I probably wouldn't be able to tell without putting it on a lift.

 

Hey NetDoctor, do a search on "pedal vibration" with out the quotes and you will get about a dozen or so threads on this

 

Yes, thanks, I did a search on "vibration" and this is the thread I found; I didn't search on "pedal vibration".

The more I thought about it yesterday, it could be the exhaust. Possible exhaust gas flow charicteristics at those RPM's cause a bad resonance. Anybody with a Y-pipe see the same thing? The Y-pipe doesn't have the pre-Cat, so it should react differently. Anyone with a before and after experience?

I think that's why some of the magazine reviewers are saying that the 3.5 vs. the 3.0 is becoming rough around the edges. I've seen that said about the G35 as well as the Max. It's not the engine, but something else.

Thanks,

 

Are you sure its not a coil problem? While your car may not be missing entirely on one cylinder, it my be having detonation problems on one. That will give you a slight vibration.

Go find a HUGE ARSED HILL, try to go up it at about 2k rpm the whole way. You might hear some knocking or shuddering. If so, you found your problem. Coils.

 

Has anyone got this vibration problem resolved? I have it and it's making me like my car less and less. VERY annoying. My dealer said he felt/heard it, BUT there was no TSB or any info on it, and they said they drove another Max and it also did it, so they couldn't help me.(I think they phrased it a "normal characteristic" of the car, which is supposed to make you and me feel better I guess AND get them off the hook). Thanks for NOTHING Nissan!

I'd like to know if anyone has figured it out though. Before I rid myself of a Nissan forever. ( 2 bad experiences with Maxes is enough!)

 

if its your brakes, it could be your abs....

 

doncha,

Do you have the vibration from 1800-2200 RPM? I found if you pop it into neutral and rev the engine it is smooth in that range, so it's definitely under load. I have the TSB, but it really only talks about 5th gen's with the 3.0 engine, not the 3.5. I'm about to take mine into the dealer and insist on coils. I also tried a little trick to "ensure" they change some coils... I pulled the #1, #2, and #6 coils while it was running to make sure it would throw some codes, so that they would at least see some errors.

Your right about it being annoying; it really distracts from the car's smoothness.

 

Net Doctor,

Yes, I have the vibration in the 1800-2200rpm range. And at times I have a vibration all the way down to when I come to a complete stop in traffic. I can feel it in the floorboard, the steering wheel, the gas pedal, etc. NOT very enjoyable driving for a supposed "flagship" vehicle and one that also claims to have one of the smoothest and best engines out there. Can't prove it by me. But hey, if one other Maxima does it, then it's normal and they won't bother to fix it. The car "only" cost 26k, why I should expect to get any satisfaction. This is all in addition to an absolute horror show with a 2001 Max. It was different issues so I won't bother you with the details right now, but I SHOULD have learned my lesson and stayed away. I guess I'm a slow learner but Nissan can be assured I won't be back to bother them in the future. So.. are we assuming this is related to the coils at this point? Is there anything else that is defective on these cars? I have 2 cracked fog lights (in less than 6 months), I have pitted paint on my rear door jams, and I have the vibrations. But other than that the car is holding up well for a car with less than 5,000 miles on it!! If I was Nissan I'd be embarrassed to build something like this and call it my best. Terrible quality.
And then they just ignore you and hope you go away as far as service and support. Class act wouldn't you say?

 

I just had the cv shafts and 4 struts replaced and am experiencing the same problem.

 

haha wow and i thought i was the only one with the problem .. 03 max auto same roughness between 1700 - 2000 .. the thing is after 2000 it begins to become very smooth again .. before that its fine and after that its fine .. its just then when you go blah ... makes you just want to go faster to get rid of that irritation =-x

 

NetDoctor,
I have the problem with the 2K 3.0 engine. Which TSB were you referring to? The one on the ingition coils or is this one specific to the pedal vibration? Thanks.
-Cab

 

I experienced the same problem about 3 weeks ago. I was driving the car one day, and all of a sudden i start feeling this vibration through my gas pedal, and it was really annoying. My car only has 3000 miles on it and is as smooth as can be. I thought i was just crazy and that it would go away, but it didnt. I know im not crazy cause 6 months after i told nissan about my hesition they came out with a TSB on it. Anyway i brought my car in and told them about the vibration in my pedal, thinking that they will probably come back to me and tell me that its normal and they cant duplicate the problem. Much to my suprise i spoke to my tech after he took it out for a test drive, and he told me that my motor mounts were "sloppy" causing the engine to vibrate, and thats what im feeling through the gas pedal. He also said the front mount is electronicly controlled. Anyway they had to order my parts, that was about a week ago, and im still waiting for a phone call that my parts are in. Ill keep u updated once its done.

 

Lazzo70,

Any update on this vibration problem? I'd like some more info before I approach my dealer. Thanks.

 

I have an appt. Tue. 5/27 at the dealer. My parts were on backorder they just came in the other day. Ill let u know soon as its done.

 

So how did the appointment go?

 

Unfortunately i still have the same vibration in the gas pedal i had before they replaced the parts. They replaced the rear insulator/bracket and the buffer assembly. I guess u can say front and rear motor mounts. My tech could feel the problem and new what i was talking about, so obviously were not making this stuff up. I give my dealership Nissan 112 a thumbs up for trying and recongnizing the problem. The service is really great over there. It helps when they give u loaner car too for the day. So as of right now im clueless as to whats causing the vibration. Im Hoping theyll come out with a TSB on it, like every other commom problem weve had already. When i get a chance again ill stop in there and talk to my tech again, and see if theres anything else we can do. For now i guess i just have to live w that annoying vibration under my foot.

 

Thought I'd give an update. Finally took the car in to complain about the pedal vibration. The head mechanic drove the car and I had him drive up a big hill; he said he felt the vibration. The whole time I talked to him about coils to sort of talk him into it. I had even pulled several of the coil wires the day before to make it throw some codes. I picked it up and they said that there were no coil errors (hard to believe). All they did was flash the ECU. Is it better? Maybe. A little less annoying and actually seems to have moved down to 1600-2000. The gas pedal doesn't seem to have the same resonance, but you feel it more in the floorboard now. Oh well.

 

My 02 SE has the same gas pedal vibration at ~2000 RPM. I've only had the car about 4 months, but I don't think it did this when I bought it - at least I never noticed it. Has anyone had this successfully resolved yet?

 

I have this same problem and I can't stand it. I was thinking that it might be the motor mounts but a fellow .org member had his motor mounts replaced and that didn't fix it. This problem has appeared on six speed and auto max's so it doesn't seem to be the transmission either. Anyone found a fix for this?

 

besides using cruise control, no