Well folks,
whether you've been reading my bit@#ing about the shimmy/vibration in my 04 SE or are interested in purchasing an 04 Max yourself, please be forewarned!
I just received word from the Better Business B. ie "BBB", that Nissan doesn't have to do squat for/on my Max due to "the manufacturer" claiming: "we have a vibration problem in the 2004 Maxima and we, NISSAN, are calling it a NORMAL characteristic of the vehicle at this time"

That is a quote from Nissan during my arbitration hearing to have Nissan buy-back my Max!! So whether you have the issue or not, whether anyone gets it fixed or not, it is NORMAL for NISSAN's $29K-$35K Flagship Sedan to vibrate at highway speeds!!

So if your on a test drive and the salesperson tells you its anything other than normal,,,,, their lying. Balancing the tires most likely will not alleviate the annoying vibration/shimmy.

What a crock regarding both of the above organizations.

I am now left with a terrible issue that Nissan no longer has to address. Sure glad money grows on trees....

Time to see how the state lemon law folks handle "Normal Characteristics" of this nature...

Best of luck

Smitty

 

well I am just glad mine is not doing that! Sorry to here the news...and if mine was doing that I would blame goodyear anyway......I Hate those damn tires!

 

I guess its one of those options that other car companies dont offer..... hmm.. maximas get better everyday...............

 

Thats why my SE had $1100+ worth of Michelin's installed the second month I owned it... Only problem is, replacing the tires didn't have any effect on the vibration. It's something else in the drivetrain! While I continue the legal saga,,,, I plan to have the front rotors checked at a local speed shop for balance issues. Others have had luck with Nissan replacing them, but now that its been deemed "NORMAL" for my $30K vehicle to vibrate, I am on my own with this issue.

Overall ride/performance quality improved with the Michelin's though..... Taken from around town driving since I can't hardly stand to drive over 60mph.......

Smitty

 

I just got my 2k4 SL a couple of hours ago but noticed the shimmy as I drove home on the highway. Sorry about your problem but I really hope my wheels just need re-balancing, if not I'm just stuck for the next five years.

 

I'm over here lurking (I've a Gen5) and could not help but access this post and quite frankly, this is beyond ludicrous.

I would have your lawyer call Nissan and suggest that given that Nissan's official response on this issue, would they have any objections if he communicated it to every car magazine, consumer magazine, Nissan forums on the Web and any other public forum he could find.

 

Now would you have a case regarding the salesman telling you its something other than "normal?" Wouldn't that be considered a violation of "truth in advertising" somehow? If your salesman tells you that the vibration is just "the bad roads around the dealership" or "something with the tires that we'll take care of after you sign the papers," couldn't you make a claim that since you did not purchase the vehicle under truthful circumstances, that it technically should void the contract somehow? Maybe I'm way off, but if there's any validity to that, it might be somehting worth looking into if that's what happened in your cases.

 

Great idea!

 

I don't have any vibration whatsoever at any speed. This is NOT normal for this car. Anyone that has this issue should take it as far as it needs to go to be resolved. I'd bet most Max owners don't have the issue.