fredk

I bought an 04 SE 3 weeks ago and the car has the shimmy problem (65 mp/h)... The dealer balanced the tires once and the problem is now worse. The car is in the shop again today and I brought them the TSB about the problem but they said that Nissan Canada did not issue any TSB for this specific issue...

My question: Has anyone from the Ottawa region (Canada) been able to have this problem resolved and if yes, at which dealership? Mine seems clueless about this...

Thanks

Fred.

adeen2

I personally haven't had the shimmy problem, thank god.
But what dealer are you talking about? I don't like the service at 417, My car in in the shop right now at Tony Graham in Bells Corner.

fredk

It's at Walkley

Tvetti

Try taking to a Good year dealer with hunter 9700 machine. I had shimmy even after balancing the wheel at the dealership and after doing the TSB.

Only the goodyear dealer was able to identify the defective tire. HTH

SilverBelle04

Fred - So far i've had excellent service form Walkley. They had mentioned to me one time that Nissan Canada had not issued a TSB for the cold hard shift problem on the 5 speed autos when i brought my Max in to have it checked out. But when i picked it up they had performed the software upgrade that they perform as per the US TSB for this problem.

So i guess what i'm saying is that even though there was no Canadian TSB for it, the fix was the smae anyways ? Go figure.

Let us know how it turns out for your shimmy issue. I brought mine in for a very slight shimmy issue a few weeks ago. They rotated/balanced my tires and it seems to have gone away for now ??

Anyways...good luck with yours.

Bob

kennedy1111

First off let me tell you, I feel you pain. I used to have this problem with my 2004 MAX when it was brand new; it is now 15 months old. I was to 6 dealerships and had most of the front end replaced, tires, rims, alignments, your name it. I finally then took the car back to xx NC where I bought it (two-hour drive) and had the first "real conversation" about the problem from the Service Manager. The first thing you need to know about the "shimmy in the steering wheel" is that I guarantee you can go to any dealership in the world and test drive either the SE or SL and you will notice what is referred to as a shimmy. This is what I did and after months realized it is a characteristic of the car, don't worry this can be tweaked by several things. First, you must get the continental or cheap Goodyear’s off the car the rims it comes with are fine and expensive don't trade them in like I did. Put on the top of the line Michelins, don't go cheap. As the person above mentioned, YOU MUST get these balanced and road force run-out on a Hunter Machine like he said any good tire company has these machines. The tires must be balanced perfectly; I can't stress this enough I mean dead-on. The reason I believe this fixed my problem is because the front end of the six gen max is super tight and ultra sensitive. The second thing you must do which I leaned from someone on this thread last year, tires front and back must be set at 36-37 pounds cold (buy a good gauge and experiment a little). And last, I thought the Service Manager was blowing smoke when he told me to just drive the snot out of the car and get more time and miles on it. This he said over time a couple things would happen, one the bushings, springs, and suspension loosen up a little bit. Secondly, you will realize and grow accustom to the front end and will no longer feel the shimmy due to the tires, balance, wear on the suspension, and really getting to understand the super high performance that the suspension was developed for. Don't take my word for it, go back to the dealership and pick out the same exactly max like yours and drive it over the same stretch of road, it will be exactly the same. Remember the suspension is designed to give you this feedback in the steering wheel with the above recommendations you will love it in a few months, really. Good luck and send me an e-mail if I can help further but don't give up on the car. Good Luck --Bob

fredk

Well, I got the car back.

They did the TSB that according to them didn't exist in Canada, but they found it somehow...

They did send the car to Goodyear because they could not balance the tires on their equipment.

The car is much better, steering is more responsive for some reason. There is still a shimmy but only on certain roads but still at the same speed, which tells me its more of a characteristic of the car than a problem at this point. I can live with that, for now...

The guys at Walkley are nice and all but both times I left my car with them it was full of grease marks inside when I got it back... When they aligned my glove box, they scratched my dash (wich they replaced). Right now I'm on my 2nd glove box. I had to put back part of the dash together myself because it was not done properly... Sorry to vent, but it's the first time I get a new car that was so badly put together or detailed... Not impressed with that.

And unlucky for them, I got my Nissan survey in the mail today

2004redse

I didn't realize that the Canadian Nissan Maximas were immune from the problems of their US counterparts, are they made in a different plant? (said with a very sarcastic tone)
I guess they SHOULD maybe look up the US TSBs before they attempt any resolutions on the car...

kennedy1111

Can someone let me know what TSB is being discused in this thread, I am not aware of ANY TSB's or recalls at least this is what my dealership in Charlotte, NC tells me this. Also is there a website to go look these up in the future? Also Fred what kind of tires did you MAX come with this makes a huge difference in the ride? Thanks, --Bob

fredk

Look here for the TSBs:

http://www.nissanhelp.com/Bulletins/Maxima/2004/1.htm


Look here for the TSB on the shimmy issue:

http://www.infinitihelp.com/Ownershi.../NTB04-084.htm


The tires are Goodyear RSA 245/45 18"

I have read on this board that some SL models with Continental tires had the same problem. It may not be a tire issue...

Fred.

PeaktraaV

I drive an 04 se and when i'm in the 60-80 range man my car shakes like no other!

kamski

iTrader: (9)

He got it almost dead on.

My car is lowered, with aftermarket rims, brakes, tires, springs, shocks, sway bars and bushings.

I had the shimmy when i got the car new, now I dont. I dont remember which part I replaced but I remember driving the car and all of a sudden comming to a realization.... "wtf the shimmy is gone"

As my service manager told me "its not a $100,000 mercedes, its a Japanases wannabe American 4 door family car built by hillbillies in Tenessee (no offense to Tenessee folks) on the 3rd shift on friday nights."

Get used to it bro, as soon as you do you will realize at the end of the day its a great car with performance thats hard to match".

Kamski

!PrjctMax!

iTrader: (38)

I guess Polski's think alike!

Only thing that still irritates me about mine is the squeaky steering column and something in my strut mount assembly that "clunks" here and there.