maxs4life

iTrader: (1)

My 03 max is feeling funning. Im feeling a wobblie sensation in the streeing wheel. I told a friend to check out my car, and before i told him what the problem was he mentioned it too me. He said that this is a problem with alot of maximas. He said that the car doesnt come like this, but many people complain about it. Its when i turn the wheel side to side or when i hit lite bumps that i feel the wobblie sensation. I thought that it could be a strut bearing. Does anyone have this problem or even experienced this before.

Not liking this one bit.

VaporHead

Tie rods? Lug nuts tight? tires balanced?

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

could be alot of things:
- bad/worn strut
- bad strut bearing
- worn bushings
- worn tie rod ends
- wrong air pressure in tires
- stock suspension (yeah, it's not that good)
- low power steering fluid/bad PS pump
- unbalanced wheels/tires
- alignment out of spec....
- bend rim
- defective tire
- loose lug nuts
- worn lower balljoint
- bad wheel bearing
and so on.

Can you be more specific about the feeling, and/or eliminate any of the above possibilites?

with limited information, I'd speculate on the worn tie rod ends (if you have over 75k miles), bad wheel bearing (maximas are notorious for this), or wheel balancing issue.

maxs4life

iTrader: (1)

For Example:


With the car ON and the car in park i can even feel the wobblie feeling.
All i have to do is move the steering wheel side to side slighty and i feel it. I dont even have to be driving to feel it, but if i am driving and i hit a bump i can feel it. Other people have driven my car and tell me that something in the steering wheel feels funny.

I just got new tires, with balance.
Aligment is fine.
I thought it could be a strut mount or bearing.
I just wanted to know if anyone had this problem with there car.

† ErV †

not when the car is stationary.... could it be the power steering pump that's just not being consistent and so you get variations in the boost when you turn it?

there is seriously no way you can feel anything when not moving unless you have a major mechanical issue and you will know it once you hit a highway.

Techman

I got the same problem with my 2002 Max. The culprit was one of the universal joint in the steering shaft, inside the car. If I lock the shaft with pliers at the lower ball joint, I can feel free play in the upper joint. Solution, change the shaft, a 600$ issue here in Canada. I tought I was the only one with this problem!

maxs4life

iTrader: (1)

Did u get the problem before or after u got the car,

97Se5spd

I think I have the same issue but much less extreme, maxs4life. I can feel something "bouncing" up and down in the steering wheel when I hit a bump. But, my steering wheel does also move slightly from side to side when traveling at 50-65 mph. I have no clue what this could be.

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

how could he get the problem before he got the car?

BLUEMAX01SE

Good one! I like that! Maybe he carried it over from his previous car! J/K

Techman

I bought my Max used at 70 000 miles. The problem was there before. I think it's premature wear of the universal joint due to the extremely bad shape of the roads in the province of Quebec in Canada. Too many potholes too often et voilà...

jpd

I've got a similar problem on my 02 I35.

About 60-70 mph, the wheel shakes/vibrates. It started after I got 2 new tires on the front. A few months later got 2 more new ones. Had to re-balance 5 times, then got all 4 tires replaced as defective. Also new front rotors and pads. After the four new tires, it still does it. Guess it wasn;t the tires after all, though I won't be telling the tire shop that.

Taking it to the dealer this week to let them take a crack it figuring it out.

So far, I think possibilities are:
Universal joint; tie rods; out of round wheel; some sort of axle problems.

What scares me is I had a front end collision about 3 years ago, with minor damage, but you never know...

5thgenmaxima

iTrader: (1)

How are your tires wearing? evanly or are they cupped REALLY badly? Do you have alot of road noise going down the street?
Since it does it while it's stationary I'm pretty stumped and would think it could be a bad valve or something in the rack. But seeing as how it gets worse over bumps

Since you can't post yet, I'll give you some quick advice on your hi-jack. Take it to a shop that specializes in tire work and has a "roadforce" balancing machine.

I've been working at a dealer for a while and I have never seen a tech check radial or axial run-out for off balanced tires. Not once.
Personally, Vibrations caused from out of balanced or damaged tires are the #1 most frustrating problem.

Try putting the front tires on the rear and rears on the front. See if this fixes your problem.

SEmy2K2go

iTrader: (10)

jpd

thanks 5th gen.

I've done all that. I had it in to the dealer for warranty work and asked them to check the balance, for the fourth time since I got the tires. They were out of balance. Dealer has a HUnter 9500, they said the road force is off. So, then I went back to the tire place, told them, and they replaced all four tires, balanced and aligned. Problem is not as bad, but it's still there. more of a vibration now rather than a shake.

Sorry if I hi-jacked your threas max4ife!