My 2004 Max Se has Vin 826198 and has the shimmy.
Last friday i had the dealer try to fix problem. they found tire balance off. Rebalanced took car to work still had problem. I called
and the service writer quickly said I want the service manger to take a look. so this morning sevice manager and myself went for ride he agreed there was a problem. they on there own did a road force variance balance and this seems to have corrected the problem. By the way dealer without asking torgue wrenched the lugnuts instead of
using air ractet.
I want to know why nissan hasn't notfied any dealers of the problem that was identfied at the plant?

 

paul from lyndhurst has the same problem but i have a great nissan dealership with a top notch service department they listen to
the customer. i have a sl,silver sunroof,journey package

the gm and the owners of nissan dealership are very good to work with getting my car serviced and fixed
i drove 1 hour to get my 2004 maxima sl serviced and where i purchase
my 2004 maxima


thank you paul friedman

 

i have the same problem
i have a 2004 sl,sunroof,journey package
i also have a great nissan dealership in ohio
with a service department with 26 full -time techs that listen
dealership owners and gm are helping me out with any problems new max
thank you paul

 

I drove my car today looking for the shimmy. Well, at about 55MPH there is a very very slight shake of the wheel. It's only between 54MPH and 56MPH, not really a wide range. The shimmer is so slight I would have never noticed it had I not read this thread. Personally this is not a matter I will persue to have fixed because it's very minor in my case. I've got the SE model with Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires. The shimmer is only noticable if I completely let go of the wheel and even then you really have to watch close.

 

 

 

I have the same 88 horses under the hood of my 91 Pony.

 

If you check with the 4th generation forum you will be surprised that a lot of people had or still having this shimmy or vibration in the steering wheel while driving at speeds 60-80mph. I am surprised that this problem exists in the 6th gen. I guess that maxima's front suspension design is very sensitive to even a very slightly off balance wheels, and Nissan didn't change a thing to it in order to solve this problem. Don't spend your time taking your car to Nissan service, a lot of people who work there don't know what they are doing. Take your car to a good shop which has this Hunter GSP 9700 Road Force Measurement Wheel Balancer, this is one of the best wheel balancing equipment available today. I rebalanced all tires on this machine and VERY satisfied with the results. I can assure you that after rebalancing your tires using this equipment you will enjoy driving your brand new maxima with a big on your face. Don't wait any longer, now is the time to enjoy your new ride!

 

I have a 2004 Blk/Frost SL Maxima that had a very slight shimmy problem while driving with no hands on the wheel at 50+ mph. I noticed it when I first bought the car and assumed it was the road. Because the shimmy was so minor and was not noticeable while holding the wheel it didn’t concern me until I started reading the posts in the forum. I figured bad balancing was the problem, so I went to sears and purchased their lifetime rotation and balance. Afterwards, I had a very bad vibration. I then took the car back to Sears to correct the problem. This time the vibration was better, but it was very very noticeable with both hands on the wheel. Sears suggested that I take the car to the Nissan dealership in town and they would reimburse me for the charges. The dealership balanced the tires with a load road force variance balancer and the shimmy was reduced back to its original level. They determined that 3 of the tires were slightly out of round. The Dealership ordered the tires and they plan to install them next week. Hopefully, this will be the end of my shimmy problem.

 

 

I previously had a 97 SE (4rth gen) and now have a 5th gen (02).
Neither have had any sort of shimmy at any speed. I recently took my 02 on a road trip (1500 miles) with an average speed of 82-85 mph......and noticed 0 shimmy. This is just a n FYI since you mentioned a 4rth gen in your post......hope you 6th gen owners get this very annoying problem corrected soon.

 

For all of you who are having problems getting these vibrations/shimmies to go away. I suggest you find a service facility that has a Hunter GSP9700 balancing machine.

It's different from the average tire balancing machine in that it has a roller which runs against the tire tread, which measures imperfections in the carcass of the tire. It then takes these imperfections into account when it tells the technician what weights to place where.

This machine resolved a problem I was having with with vibrations at very specific speeds (in my '00 Passat). The dealer couldn't resolve the problem, so I got the wheels/tires balanced (at my own expense) on one of these machines.

The Hunter company has a web site specifically for this machine, which allows you to look up the facilities in your area that have invested in one.
http://www.gsp9700.com

Concerning the issue of balancing weights: Some of you reported not being see weights on your wheels/rims. The reason for this is that on the Maxima Nissan uses self-adhesive weights, which are placed on the inside of the wheels. They do this, instead of weights that clamp onto the face of the wheel, so that the appearance of the wheels is not ruined.

To my knowledge, not all service facilities have these self-adhesive weights. So you should double check with the place you are considering using before booking an appointment.

Chris Hart

 

OK.. I've been chasing this for 3 months now. I finally called Good Year and told them of the problem. They opened a file and asked me to go to a Good Year owned outlet. I saw the problem. 2 of 4 tires have a really bad wobble (up and down) when spinning and the other 2 have it as well. Looks like the RSAs are defective, so I am getting a free replacement. Will report on progress.

 

Well. I thought I'd give it another try... how's that for integrity?

I went back to Village Nissan and took it for a drive with the shop foreman this time in the passenger seat. He understood immediately and still felt it was a balancing problem. He figured their RFV machine wasn't properly calibrated and he would ask the rep from the RFV machine's manufacturer to come in and take a look. He said mine was the first car they could not balance with their machine, and he would need my car for a couple of days and offered me a courtesy car. I took it in just last Tuesday and got it back Thursday.

Prognosis: they had to re-calibrate the machine and it seemed to solve the problem. I only drove it once on the highway since then and at first I thought the problem was still there but after driving a while longer I realized what I saw was a result of road imperfections. After further observation, no shimmy. It actually feels a lot smoother to drive. I am now a very happy customer and commend the professional attitude at this dealership in the Greater Toronto Area.

 

tullios, please keep us updated! I sure hope there will be some sort of recall for these batch of tires.

 

Maybe the tire pressure is effecting the shimmy.
I've had my 04 SE for 4 months and 8500miles and I did not have a shimmy until... Recently I had a flat. After repairing the flat and having the tire pressure aired up to 35psi I noticed that the car began to shimmy hard at 55-60mph. Also when baking from 60mph it would shake hard at the wheel. So I checked the tire pressure in the other tires and found them all to be aired up to 28-29psi. After lowering the air pressure in the repaired tire to 30psi there was no more shaking when slowing from 60mph and the shimmy has become mild. Maybe this has worked?

 

I called Good Year on this, and they sent me to a Good Year store to have it checked out. Two of the 4 tires had a wobble on them, so Good Year replaced all far (free).... I no longer have the problem. IT IS THE TIRES, GET THEM REPLACED....

 

I agree with tullios. Get the tires replaced. You shouldn't have to carry less than thirty pounds of air in order to negate the shimmy.

I have driven nothing but Maximas since 1985, and I almost always end up running one size larger tire than came on the car, and carrying 36 pounds in the front and 32 pounds in the rear. This seems to give me the best combo of ride, control, gas mileage and tire wear. Other folks will, of course, feel diferently.

 

I picked up my SL last week and now have 600+ miles on it. The steering wheel shimmy is present between 50 and 75 mph. Took to dealer today, the tech test-drove it, we both agreed shimmy was there. He checked the current (factory) balance on front wheels, found one was out a half ounce, and the other, an ounce and a quarter. Balanced them, then for some reason, put them back on the balancer and they both indicated that they were out again (this time, one read that it was out two and a half ounces!). Neither the tech or service manager could make any sense of this, and the tech was being very careful throughout (I watched him like a hawk). To me, this is proof positive that their balancing machine is either broken or that it is not capable of balancing these wheels. They want to try balancing another SL's wheels (one on their lot) before sending me to an independent shop (which they will have to pay for). So, back again tomorrow... Although I had to stand about 15 feet away, it looked like the tires were not significantly out-of-round, and the tech also said he suspects that my shimmy is due to improper balancing, rather than defective tires. The best that can be said so far is that they didn't immediately blame the tires. It is kind of scary that they have been selling this car for 6 months now and this is the first that they appear to have heard about this problem. Thanks to all the posters to this thread for calling my attention to it! I'll keep you posted--I am going to run this to ground.

 

I had the tires replaced and the problem is gone. It is not the balance, look at your tires when they spin on the balance machine, you will see a wobble on 2 or more tires. Good Year replaced them for free and without hesitation, kind of hints that they know of the problem. I guess they had a bad batch of tires. Also the new tires have the coloring on the tires, indicating that they were QAed, vs the original tires that did not have the lines, indicating they might not have been QAed.

 

The dealer sent my SL to a Firestone shop; they rebalanced all four wheels. Two test drives later, it was luminously clear that the shimmy was now worse. So, I took car at my expense to Discount Tire, who used the Hunter 9700 machine mentioned by Chrishart 1 (see earlier post this page). I had them check the road force variance and it was well within tolerance on all four tires. They then checked the balance, and on three of four wheels, it was significantly (1 ounce or more) off. The fourth (front) tire was O.K. (So much for the Firestone store balancer). Back out to the highway, and it seems O.K. now. BTW, the tech and I at Discount carefully examined the wheel-tire unit for out-of-roundness and belt misalignment; they were all fine. I think Chrishart 1's advice is sound: find a shop with the Hunter 9700. Write to Nissan. Last thought: this car (mine's an SL) seems to be quite senstive to minor variations in the road surface. At times over what LOOKs like smooth pavement, "shimmy" can be observed. I found it very helpful to use the cruise control to maintain a set speed and then observe the steering wheel for several miles at that speed, then move up another mile or two per hour and repeat the observation process. It is possible otherwise to observe shimmy that is merely reaction to road surface variations.

 

Did you ask the dealership if they would pay for the balance you did on your own?

 

So much for Americans building the max, they can't even balance the tires right. I miss the Japanese precision, at least the engines come from there still.

 

Yes. They said they couldn't directly reimburse in cash, but that they would grant me a credit toward any future parts/maintenance (e.g., oil changes) that are not covered by the warranty.

 

My dealer called me shortly after I posted this asking me how my car was going and I mentioned my shimmy aswell. He asked me how many miles Ive got on the car (Just broke 1000). He said he would talk to service center and get back with me. I mentioned the balancing issue and he said nissan recommends you putting so many miles on the car first before they look into it thinking the issue will fix itself. I asked him how they balance the tires and they said they do not have the machine mentioned in the earlier posts but they balance it too the "gram" he said. I asked what if their balance was not correct and still caused issues the dealership said they would send it to a "high speed" balancing center in the area to check out the tires.

 

I agree. When I first got my Maxima, I thought something was grossly wrong when I first drove it on groved pavement (concrete pavement with lots of little groves in it). The steering wheel shimmied back an forth. It felt like you were driving over one of those bridges with the steel grid driving surface that allows rain to fall through, and the grid moves the car slightly one way and then the other. After I exited the groved pavement, the shimmy went away. Now that I have over 7,000 miles on the car, the effect on groved pavement is not so noticable (or am I getting used to the effect?).

 

For those still addressing issues of shimmy, check out this link describing the various aspects of wheel balancing that can be addressed using the Hunter 9700:

http://128.242.141.111/pub/technical/4127T/4127t.cfm

 

Does anyone else have this same problem? Anyone knows what's causing the shimmy? I had 4 rotors cut already and shimmy still continues. I may have to take it to a http://209.176.154.132/ and see what happens.

 

For all,
I picked up my 2004 Max the second week of August. The drive home from the dealer was not pleasant due to bad vibration and shimmy. The stock tires were balanced 2 times on 2 different Hunter 9700 machines - vibration continued. Dealer installed 4 new Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires, balanced on Hunter 9700 - shimmy still there, vibration 1/3rd better. Rotated tires front to back - no change. My vibration feels like its in the whole car with the shimmy coming from the left front. Starts at abot 50mph and only gets worse the faster you drive. It still feels like a tire issue but all that has been done causes me to think otherwise. I really like this car but I feel like I paid $30K for a used car with issues (vibration being only one of my warranty concerns).
I fully understand the possible effects with low profile tires, a firm suspension, and road variations - but this is a constant irritating vibe. Dealer has told me they don't know what is wrong. I plan to give it one more trip to the service dept then its a letter to Nissan for repurchase or replacement. This is my 5th Nissan and second Maxima, definitely not what I expected from the "flagship" sedan.

Not much more to say.

Smitty

 

I'm beginning to think you may be right; there has got to be more to this puzzle than just the wheel balance. The car is just too jittery.

 

fyi: i put 20" rims on my 04 max...lost the shimmy and vibrations...(i use to have the shimmy and vibrations with the stock 17" rims)

 

Do you remember who you talked to? A specific reference would be greatly appreciated in order to avoid all that initial red tape and constant re-explaining of the issue...

Also, what Goodyear # did you call?

 

Has anyone found the "real" fix for this issue..? If their actually is one..?
Try spinning the wheels at 50-70 mph when the car is on the hoist (engine in drive etc) . Your car, if like mine, will vibrate like crazy. The front end will have a bad humming type noise from the vibration. Next we took the front wheels off, added spacers under the lug nuts, torqued them and did the same test - just spinning the rotors, drivetrain etc without the wheels. Guess what - not as bad but front end still had bad vibrations from just the drivetrain!! Both axles wobbled badly, though both rotors appeared true, the center hub area looked out of round.

This isn't just a tire issue folks. Nissan needs some quality control and or engineering/manufacturing fixes here.
Let me know what you are pursuing as a resolution for this issue.

This is ridiculous.

Thanks Smitty

 

Ok good news Smitty. Thanks for the homework info. Well i had four rotors cut already, tire balanced and still shimmy problem continues. They ordered two new front rotors. I know it's not the rotors anymore, but when problems continue, they will have to find the fault eventually and i will be in the service department every week until they do something about it. I don't know how come Nissan did not do a recall on these 04 maximas yet. Like someone said above in this tread, " feels like i'm driving a used car with issues" and i don't blame him, because everyday i feel the same with mine.

 

is your 20" lighter than the stock 17?

 

"feels like i'm driving a used car with issues"

Morning Deven, That was me :-(.

I too have had my car in the shop every week since August 12th, the day I purchased the car. The Silver SE I purchased was a dealer trade right off the truck and not the car I test drove. The car I test drove also had the "shimmy" but at the time I was informed it was just in need of balancing.... I didn't even give it much thought due to tire balancing was definitely what it felt it needed... I would have never taken possession of this car if I had known of this issue.
Four balance jobs and new Michelin tires and the vibration/shimmy continues... Only problem is now the dealer wont work on it. The regional rep supposedly drove the car and informed the dealer owner/service manager that its "not as bad as most" so he would not authorize any more service visits for the issue! Truly outrageous! That’s why I have already sent my buy-back letter to Nissan Consumer Affairs. 1500 miles on a $31K new car and they wont even fix what is obviously a wide spread problem
For those of you considering this vehicle after reading this thread - thoroughly test drive the vehicle before closing the deal. This is a systemic issue that needs to be addressed by Nissan. This is my 5th Nissan/Datsun vehicle and second Maxima, they are quickly loosing a current and future Nissan customer.

Good luck all

Smitty

 

hi :
tell the dealership to check the tie rods
i went to tirekingdom in lakewood ohio and that is what they found bad in my 2004 sl maxima

 

How many miles are on your SL?? My question would be are the tie-rods worn out due to the rims/rotors/axels etc having excess run-out and vibration or are they just plain bad from the factory. I would bet they are bad from all of the vibe-n-shimmy going on over several thousand miles... Precisely why I feel I shouldn’t be driving my 2004 “sport vibrator” until its fixed… If they buy it back from me thats one thing, but I like the car and just want it not to vibrate/shimmy.
Is the dealer agreeing with Tirekingdom and thus performing the replacements or is it at your own time and expense??

Thanks

Smitty

 

no clue on the weight, but i would assume they are...i have 20"lexani VP single piece...it was like driving a totally different car after i put the 20s on...i feel the road MORE in the steering wheel on rough roads, but that shimmy when you are cruising along a smooth road is eliminated now.

 

My dealer early on with my car mentioned he was informed about a possible issue with the factory rims not "centering" properly on the hub/lugnut area. I myself could not see (with the naked eye) any wobble etc when spinning the tire/rim on the car. But take several thousands of an inch error and apply an 18 inch rim and 50-70 plus mph and you could have a pretty good shimmy/vibe. Maybe this is valid and thats why your new rims fixed the issue..

Nissan nor the dealer have investigated this any further... It was only mentioned once.... Things that make you go Hmmmm.

Smtty