Hey guys sometimes, my car shakes at 55 and above. Sometimes its just the steering wheel, other times its the wheel and you can feel it in the ride itself. I just had alignment, balance, and rotation done not even 600 miles ago, and that didnt fix it. Plus, the shop I had it done at is very good so im sure it was done correctly. Maybe a bent rim or something like that....but im not sure how to test for that. Any ideas?

 

test a bent rim by putting something like a ruler against the side of the rim lightly and spin the wheel... if its bent you should notice the ruler pop off the wheel a touch... i think that works good IMO

 

warped rotors maybe?,... does braking have any effect?,.. i know mine did the same thing and i couldnt figure it out and i put new pads and rotors on the front and it was cured.. just my .02

 

bent rim or a bad tire....plus supension components that I don't think they should be bad so soon on an 03

 

Wheel bearings and Axles also.

My front Axles and bad and that is what is causing my vibration...

 

Are your lugnuts tight? I remeber a friend of mine had some loose lugs and his car did that.

 

did it also vibrate right after you got the rotation/balance/alignment? if your wheels were balanced, it should eliminate the chances of a bent rim unless you recently bent it. to check to see if your wheel is warped/bent, get a dial indicator with linkage to some vice grips and clamp vice grip to something and run the dial indicator along the lip of the rim. see if the numbers fluctuate.

 

Cupped tires maybe. Where they rotated every 7500 miles (or whatever nissan calls for) or was this the first rotate since they where new? Balancing tires doesn't always help if the tread is cupped or there is a manufacturers defect. Have you tried rotating the front tires to the back to see if the problem went away? If all else fails you may have to get them road force balanced, assumming it is a tire problem.

 

I had an intermittent shaking/vibration problem and new tires and a standard balance did not fix the problem. However, road force balancing did fix my problem.

 

When I first had it done, it only did it at 70mph and up when I was on the highway later that day. It was smooth up till that speed. Also, while at highway speeds, the steering seems to get looser and not as tight as it is while driving 60 and below.

 

Well the weight used to balance can just loosen up... Recheck the balance before you do anything else. It could be a balance issue, even the best shops sometimes miss something.

 

Check the air pressure in your tires, make sure it is even in the front two, especially if you have low profile tires. This is what was causing mine to shake, then 50 cents in the air machine fixed it.

 

yea...my 2000 maxima is doing that right now..and im trying to figure out what it could be...i just got my got my wheels balanced and rotated...but yet it still shakes at anything higher than 70 miles an hour...i dont know if its a possible front end issue or the rims? and its kinda wierd too...the shaking is on and off...some moments its real bad..then the next its just tolerable..but still always there at 70 mph or higher

 

Maybe I should look into re-doing the front end?
EDIT: Im at 95k right now, the car was never abused though. I dont know what this could be.

 

1st thing, try some other wheels if you can.
2nd balance the tires and rims. i'm sure it's the wheels.
if it were the brakes you'd only feel vibration when you are off the brakes.
potentially the wheelbearings. take the wheels off and spin the hub, see if it's smooth or if you hear noises.

 

i have a very similar problem and i have taken my 03 max se to 7 different shops including 2 dealers, they have thoroughly gone through the car, front to back, i have bought new tires, front and rear rotors, road force balance. however, one mechanic drove my car on the lift and said that the two front wheels were shaking (he suggested that my rims must be slightly bent or warped) i am not sure and i am still waiting for my friend to do a wheel swap.

 

Tires may be defective (sidewalls/ road force issues).

I had this problem on my 02 I35 for some time. It started after I got new tires at a Tire Kingdom/Merchant's Tire. Bad shaking at 60+. The dealership road force tested them and said they were defective. Got them replaced under warranty at the tire store, then same problem. Delaership again said road force was way off, , new tires defective also. I brought them back, got a full refund, bought new (third set) of tires from dealer, no problems ever since.

 

Yeah it is kinda early for any chassis components to go bad. But check your control arm bushings. Mines got so bad, I could not go over 45MPH without the wheel shaking BAD. Are you the original owner?

 

I'm having the same problem - and I have new EVERYTHING in the suspension at this point. I just ordered a passenger-side driveaxle from Raxles to go with the drivers-side one I put in a couple months ago. I suspect my axle may be a bit bent or the axle bearing is shot (or, likely, both).

Will let you know when I install this weekend...

 

K sounds good Irish. It seems like the "shaking" in the 5th gens is pretty common. I couldnt imagine why. I drove a 4th gen with 144k on it, with everything original, and it was smoother then my car on the highway. Didnt make me happy.

 

Is there any shaking when your car sits idle with shifter on "D"? Mine with 110K miles is pefectly smooth on highway except the funky brakes would occasionally disturb all those serenity.

 

Cant even feel it running at idle, unless I really pay attention.

 

I don't mean to thread hog., but makes no sense to start a new thread for a question that is related to the thread anyway...

Would different PSI's on the tires cause shakes?

On mines., apart from my shifter shaking (normal I think)... All is smooth at all speeds.

 

you said your car shook at 70mph the day you had the work done. this means the rims were out of balance when you left the place. weights fall off sometimes aplifying the problem. it doesn't take much...

if you go back to the same place just ask them to rebalance your tires & rotate them. also if they have a road force balancer get them to check them with road force. this will check the runout of the wheel/tire. sometimes tires are slightly out of round i think max is like .022 or something. i'll double check tho. also ask them to check to see if any of your rims are bent. while the balancer spins you can easily notice a rim that is bent. none of this should be a hassel because it is all part of the same process.

good luck!!

 

this shaking seems to be a common problem. i am also a victim of this shaking. my 03 SE Titanium shakes from 30+ mph and some days it rides fine and other days the front end shakes like crazy and you feel like you cannot control the car and when you press the brake at highway speeds the shake is amplified 10fold through the brake pedal.

unfortunately i am getting rid of my max due to this problem. i have had the shake since march 2003 and nobody has been able to pin point the problem (they all admit that it shakes).

when it shakes its worst i don't feel as if i have control of the car. i am a commuter and drive 70mi a day and after a while you just keep getting P'OD that you can't fix it.

i replaced:

all 4 wheel bearings
all 4 rotors
all pads
front struts and strut mounts
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 2x
road force balanced like 10x

I have brought it to.

NTB (National Tire & Battery) 5x
Nissan 7x (3 Different Dealers)
Midas 1x
Autobody Repair shop 1x (to check frame)
Direct Tire 3x
2 Separate Mechanics 2x ea
A Rim Shop 1x (to check for bent wheels)
Sullivan Tire 6x

All of these places admitted that there is a shake but were not able to locate what is triggering it?

I also have a friend with the same car experiencing the same thing.

I just want to let all of you guys know what i have been through trying to chase this thing.

good luck.

 

Nissan probaly just got cheap again with there stuff. Maybe ill just deal becuase mine is not that bad to the point of not feeling in control....ever.

 

it stinks to be a perfectionist, or at least trying to be one. my car is mint and anyone would love to own it, however i am just tired of sinking money into guesses. i would rather spend 3k to fix a problem than spend 2k guessing at it. oh well. if i come accross anything i will let you know.

 

You probably have a broken belt on one of your tires. If it starts @ around 25-35 and goes away @ around 50-55+ I'll almost guarantee it's a broken belt and is a manufacturers defect. (Should be covered or at least pro-rated on a new set of tires. The vibration felt when braking is warped rotors. They should have told you that when you replaced your pads.


For the thread starter, I'd put a $5 wager that it's a balance problem.

 

Wow, axles could do that too, also if the car has been in an accident and it was tboned the axle inside the tranny that holds all the gears could be bent slightly (or not) causing a vibration. So it's preety extensive... Most of the times it's the tires either unballanced or a shifted belt. In your case i would look at front end.

 

Vibration caused by a front wheel/tire assy. imbalance at highway speeds can become much more noticeable when APPLYING the brakes because the vibration instead of just being transfered/transmitted to the car and the driver via the hub bearings (at the center of the knuckle) it is now transmitted via the brake pads/caliper to the steering knuckle and steering gear which effectively "amplifies" the vibration back to the driver. It's effect is applied at a larger radius plane (the caliper attach point on the knuckle) compared to the radius plane of the hub bearings. Some rotating wheel vibration would be "absorbed" by the normal bearing running clearances anyway. When you apply the brakes you effectively make the rotating wheel more "solid" with the rest of the car if you get my point. This may also "simulate" or fool you into thinking that it may be a brake rotor issue. I have fought this exact issue before and it has turned out to be a damn tire problem like 5thgen. has suggested.

 

i have replaced all 4 tires 2x and just had brand new rotors put on.
i have also had a Michelin rep measure the tires to spec and they are fine.

something in the front end has to be bent, however, no one can tell me what it is.

 

the car was in an accident head on with a guardrail (black ice) @ 40k, however my shake did not start unitl 1.5yrs later (there was no frame damage). it has to be something in the front end but it is just getting too time consuming and a PITA to keep guessing and throwing money out the window.

something has be bent so slightly that it is not visible to the naked eye. i have had so many people look at the front end.

 

It sounds like your axles.

I have the same shake and I just noticed my passanger axle is leaking... So I am getting ready to replace both.

 

Geez! Common guys........In relation to this kind of issue, letting us know that the car had been involved in a prior serious accident, is kinda critical here.

 

Have you checked the drive shaft to hub attach nut torque recently?

 

i am kind of confused here?

as for your previous comment, the car was repaired perfectly and drove fine after the accident for the last year and a half 35k miles, it is very unlikely that this is something to do with the accident. especially since there are several other people on the org. having the same issue.

 

did any of the 23472397 people you brought your car to actually drive the car with an EVA2 or equivalent on board?

 

The front end repairs may have required the removal of shafts, knuckles etc. The drive shaft nuts may have been "undertorqued" enough to have loosened off after a period of time. It wouldn't be the first time. The required torque is 188 - 245 FT/LBS

 

I have a similar problem, vibration, despite new tires and balancing twice. However I do believe I have a bent rim. I will likley wait until the spring and buy 4 new rims.
One thing to try is take the front wheels and swap them with the back, and see the effect. Does the vibartion change (move from mthe steering wheel to the seats). If there is a change, it's likely in your tires/wheels. The rim I suspect was on the front causing steering wheel issues, when I swapped it went to the seats, much less of a problem. The vibration does come and go around 60 mph, maybe I 'll take the wheel I suspect and swap it with the temp spare to confirm it's the rim...

 

irish whered u get ur raxels from?

im having the same shake after ahving everyhting front end replaced with new lcas/ball joints, and all es bushings as well as a balance. i have clicking so i know its my axels. well at least my pass side. might as well just get botha nd have it done all at once.