I have had a 2000 Maxima SE since 2001 that has had a front end vibration the entire time. My attempts to remedy over the years have failed. I would be very grateful if anyone has a suggestion on what could be the source. Here are the conditions and symptoms along with what all I've done to correct.

Felt in the steering wheel above ~50mph
Doesn't change with rpm's
Remains when placed in neutral at speed
No change with new tires or rotations
Replaced CV axles multiple times... even Raxles didn't last
Front shocks start clanking about every 50k miles due to vibration
Had several alignments
No odd tire wear patterns
Replaced both front wheel hubs and bearings
No mechanical looseness in steering linkage


I'm at a complete loss as to what else to check Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

 

Motor mounts

 

Lower control arms. The rear bushing can wear out and cause it to wobble, especially on the right side where it's near the oil pan and you're like me and have a small oil leak.

Not motor mounts IMO

 

Ah, ok I'll def take a look at the lower control arm bushings.

I did replace the motor mounts a couple of years ago with no luck.

Thanks for the ideas!

 

It's strange that this car has had the same problem since new, or practically new. Have you had all your alignments done at the same shop? if so, I would try another shop .... just to eliminate this cause.

 

I've been to a number of shops for alignments and service since I've moved around a good bit. Also had a few try to find the issue while doing other work.

I've never taken it in and said "explore all options until it's fixed" since it's not a severe issue. Guess I'm afraid that kind of exploratory surgery would break the bank.

 

+1 on control arms. Had the vibration/wobble feeling. Replace them and car felt like new again

 

Picking up from almost a year ago and the story continues with this mystery vibration. It's still there and actually worse.
I replaced the lower control arms first along with the stabilizer links and tie rod ends. Also all three engine mounts (again) and transmission mount. The good thing is I now have some new tools that were needed to do these jobs which are the largest I've ever taken on. The front end feels much tighter and besides the vibration the car drives like new.

Now with the worsening vibration it's starting to seem more like a tranny issue since I can feel it at lower speeds esp when accelerating and it's frequency is faster than the rotation of the wheels. I'm thinking torque converter perhaps? Trying not to lose heart here thinking about diving into transmission work

 

You're sure the wheels aren't bent and no one is telling you? B/c that's what the symptom sounds like the most.

 

After so many rotations I'm pretty confident it's not the wheels since it never comes from the rear end.

 

Start here, Road Force Balancer:
http://www.hunter.com/gsp9700

Have seen many scenarios with wheels, in fact, our 2004 Acura TL can't be balanced using a cone, but must be balanced using the lug hole adapter. Many years ago shops would balance the assembly, always a vibration until I told them to use the adapter, no more problems.

Since that time I now have a SnapOn balancer so I do my own wheels and eliminate the problems with incompetent shops.

 

Every one of my maximas had a vibration. I have replaced everything on the front on all 3. Still had the vibration. Had 2 shops tell me my rims were not bent and have had many sets of new tires.
Well I bought my first set of aftermarket rims for my 03 maxima and wow the car is sooooooooo smooth now. Apparently it was the rims. I put the rims on my daughters 03 and sure enough it's smooth with them on there too. (Well when not on the gas as I have a cv shafts that needs to be replaced)

 

I was going to suggest that OP swap wheels with another car just to make sure b/c there isn't anything left.

It sounds like turbonut has a very good point, but even with shoddily balanced wheels by run down used tire shops, I haven't had any issues (several cars).

 

Appreciate the suggestions. I did have it balanced years ago at a shop by placing a glass of water on the hood and doing some trial and error weight placement. It worked ok until the tires needed balancing again. Wish I had stuck with this method and maybe I'd be in a better place.

The problem is now things are much worse with more significant vibration during acceleration. It's not even practical to drive until I can get it repaired. Whatever the issue started out as has perhaps damaged other items. Today I started thinking it might be time to take it to the stealership or just run it off a cliff.

 

I would say most of the time vibration under accel is CVs...but idk, this is nuts.

 

Maybe Fred Flintstone balanced the tires, but if a glass of water on the hood fixed the problem, I'd do it again as all point to wheel/tire imbalance. Maybe you need to use 2 glasses of water on the hood.

Felt in steering wheel above ~50mph
Doesn't change with rpm's
Remains when placed in neutral at speed
No change with new tires or rotations
Replaced CV axles multiple times... even Raxles didn't last
Front shocks start clanking about every 50k miles due to vibration
Had several alignments
No odd tire wear patterns
Replaced both front wheel hubs and bearings
No mechanical looseness in steering linkage

 

Does it vibrate at idle or if you rev it in gear while stopped?

 

have you replaced the inner tie rod ends??? Ive had a vibration on my car at high speeds, and although it needs an alignment, a shop told me yesterday one of the inner tie rod ends was bad on the driver side, and could tell by shaking the wheel.

 

Derrick, no vibration at idle or even rev'ing in neutral. Only in gear when accelerating, and also at highway speed.

maxinout93, I haven't checked the inner tie rod ends but will do so. Thanks for the suggestion!


I should note that when I started this thread the vibration was only noticeable above 50 or 60mph, but in the last few months it started at low speed with acceleration which is much more pronounced. At this point there is no way balancing the tires or an alignment will solve since we're talking < 15mph when it becomes noticeable.

 

That's good because it mostly rules out problems with the torque converter.

Since it's tied to acceleration I'm leaning away from an imbalance and toward worn components like tie rods or axles.

I've replaced the tie rod ends on both my cars and it tightened things up a lot. Mine were showing as a vibration when braking, almost like warped rotors. It's not that big of a repair but you will need an alignment after.

Also, I just reread the original post and noticed this "Front shocks start clanking about every 50k miles due to vibration".

Is it still doing that? It could be the upper strut mounts causing all of this or making it worse combined with worn tie rods.

The Upper mounts are between the body and the strut and allow the whole assembly to turn for steering. If they're badly worn they can allow the top of the assembly to wobble around even if all the other components are tight. They're a little tricky to diagnose but I'd have the alignment shop look at them specifically.

 

So it does rule out the torque converter? If so that is some relief. I'll check the upper strut mount when I look at the inner tie rods. I did replace the outer tie rods when I replaced the lower control arms and stabilizer links.

CV axles have been replaced twice over the years and the first time with Raxles. No change to the vibration.

 

I'm no transmission expert but I have seen cars loose a balancing weight on the torque converter and have a vibration that was there at idle and acceleration. It doesn't sound like that's the case here. The fact that it still vibrates when coasting in neutral really points away from the tranny.