kennedy1111

Several people in my opinion have correctly diagnosed the "Shimmy in the Steering Wheel" problem having its root cause in the "Steering Rack Assembly". Nissan's Service Bulletin now includes "Steering Rack Adjustment" and Tire/Wheel balancing on a Hunter or equivalent balancer, which for some has not been enough to fix the problem or the vibration comes back. It appears that the "shimmy" was resolved in the 2005 cars by two means; Nissan is to have redesigned the "Steering Rack Damper" to be more beefy. Second is a possible strut redesign for 2005, can someone please confirm both items were re-worked for the 2005? I'm also hearing that a new TSB will soon be issued to replace the "Steering Rack Damper" in the 2004's with a new heavier duty one used in the 2005's? Can anyone confirm? Thanks --Bob

Playadave

I am currently waiting on the screen for my LCD display and Nissan Consumer Repairs contacted me and told me it was still on back order. In the meantime I asked about the new TSB regarding the shimmy and they said one was being done and should be out in a couple of weeks. That was over 3 weeks ago.

MaxMus

I wouldn't hold my breath on a TSB for this.

Playadave

WHY? I was informed by Nissan Consumer Affairs that this was going to happen. Call them at 800-647-7265. I was informed by Alan at X3778 regarding this.

kennedy1111

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 learned 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, however I believe most of us are having to perfectly balance our wheels and tires to "over-compensate" for the under-sized "steering rack damper". This explains why the 2005 Max's don't have this problem where they installed a beefer damper, I'm told (see poll on this thread). I've seen at least 3 people write here that a second TSB would be issued on the "shimmy" problem for the 2004 Max, this would replace the damper with a beefer one that would dampen the vibration. For now I've been able to get my 2004 max SL to ride "smooth as glass" at all speeds by performing the above. It is an ongoing battle however to make sure the tires and wheels are absolutly perfectly balanced and air pressure is right, if not the "shimmy will come back". So far I've been "shimmy free" for 12 months and lovin' it Good Luck --Bob

maximage

Agreement 100%.

Most folks don't understand that when you buy a new car, the tires on them are not "A" grade. Meaning that they are as cheap as can be. They may be good, but they are not the same grade that you but from a tire store (best (only place I'll go to BTW) store near me is R.W. Tire in Bordentown NJ). So think about this: 1 million cars sold times 5 tires equals five million tires. And what if they make a million cars of the model in one year. You think they crank out the highest quality tire for that car manufacturer to purchase? No way. It like bidding on sneaker sales to China- you are not giving them the best grade that you make your money off of, you are selling for volume so you make pennies on the dollar. You won't want to invest anymore QC than needed on the volume sales. Its the A-grade tires that you make the $ to speciality dealers on.

Look at your car invoice for the tire cost. Five tires MSRP is like $120. For 5 tires !!! And you and I know that a good set of radials are $120 EACH!

So yes, buy the best "shoes" you can, and at a reputable, up-to-date tire place. And don't insult them by getting the treads online to save $50 and have them install it.

"You get what you pay for"

2004redse

Doesn't explain the people who have never had a shimmy.
I know what you're saying about the ultra senstive feel of the steering, but I've had no shimmy issue and have 2300 kms on the car. Will be putting snow tires on 17" wheels on the Max in about a month, so we'll see if these cause any problems.

MaxFan

I had no shimmy with my 04SE when new. Since people are talking a lot about this issue, I started to see the light shimmy @60-65MPH around 4000miles. At 7300miles, I went to American/Discount tires Stores and bought a lifetime balancing&rotation package for $60 (regularly $40 for 17in or less). They have a Hunter GSP9500 and a GSP9800. The Tech balanced my tires on the 9500 and it starts to shimmy badly @45-65MPH. I brought it back and the Manager re-balanced the tires himself on the 9800. It really improves the shimmy a lot (only lightly @50-55 now). He said if I want to apply the "road-force", it will cost $20/tire (forgot to ask if it's lifetime). He said 'cause they may need to remove/re-install the tires a few times to get it right. I just asked him to redo the normal way @no charge. Heck, if I don't pay attention, the light shimmy doesn't bother me. Just want to drop a good word for them. They're very courteous and inexpensive. Also I think good balancing will fix the shimmy problem. By the way, the stores has give-away tire gauges from Yokohama.
Just drop by to grap a few. The clerk just asked me to take as many as I want. They're made out of good quality material.

akaxmrxhammer

can you tell me where that shop's located at? i live in garden grove and $60 for lifetime balance/rotation sounds pretty damn good

MaxFan

That's their websites. I like tirerack.com better. But I think they're getting better and more competitive. You can go to their stores and have them order and put on tires for cheap out of the door with full lifetime service included.
There're many stores around Garden Grove, check the websites. I like the one on Warner&Brookhurst in Fountain Valley near where I work. They're in many states around the country. And if you got a flat tire, just come by and they will fix it for free anytime (that's what got me to know them). They can honor warranties and pro-rate bad tires for you (according to my brother who got some bad Michelines). Oh, and they do custom wheels too, just like tirerack but at the stores.

MaxFan

Sorry to mention, the store is right next to Sam's Club, a few minutes from Garden Grove. I don't know about other stores, but the guy there told me they got 22K of those Yoko's promotional tire-gauges to give away. I paid $2 for one at target and it's looks&felt like crap. These gauges are heavy and solid and free. They guy insisted the customers to take some and more. I just took a handful for my friends and myself. I don't think you need to buy anything.

akaxmrxhammer

you don't have to purchase any tires in order for you to have lifetime balance and rotation for $60 right?

Smoken'04

iTrader: (2)

While this all sounds convincing and all...I'm not happy with the fact that I paid 34k for Nissan's FlagShip vehicle to have to go out and spend another $500 on tires. Even my last car (02 Oldsmobile Alero GLS Coupe) never had this problem....that car cost me 23k new....My car is actually goin in on Nov 1st for the 2nd time on the shimmy, first time on the warper rotors and first time for the cold shift shock tsb.....I don't know. I traded my Olds in because it was in the shop all the time. First visit was at 8k.....the max has been in now for 3-4 times in 8k....you do the math?!?!

JayMAX22

Took my Max in for the Shimmy Fix once. They turned my rotors and balanced the tires. Shimmy was still there. I took it back and I told them about the TSB and they found that I had 3 bad tires. Nissan is replacing them for free and I have 13K miles on them. Hopefully that will fix everything or I will be back for a third time.

Tvetti

Wow, only 3 had their shimmy problems fixed? (kennedy1111, me&maxine, silvermax04). I fixed mine with hunter 9700 with roadforce balancing... for $60/4 tires/lifetime including rotation in a good year shop.

MaxFan : your tire shop quote seems to be expensive... try to find a goodyear shop with hunter 9700 ... and dont get carried away by those freeb's.. they are distracting you...

MaxFan

Wow, $60 with roadforce is really cheap. but you're in MN, I'll call my local GoodYear to check them out. The way my guy told me about roadforce balancing it could get ugly if your tires&wheels are both imperfect. They might take out the tire and carefully re-mount in a certain spot.
I won't ask for freebies from them. I actually want to feed them right so they can be in business and keep providing nice services to people. They fixed my flats twice for free. Rotate my tires for free. And keep refusing to take tips. I bought lifetime balance/rotation packages for all my cars just to pay them something. They usually charge me $32 for my 97GLE and 99Pathfinder on every new set of tires. I didn't even buy the tires from them (may order a set of Falkens for my 04Max next time from them). They're nice and attentive. I just drop by @lunchtime and have the car worked on almost right away. Just enough time to read the car mags and enjoy coffee. Ah, did I mention Kragen autoparts is next door. By the way, don't bother to call Firestones for the same package. They actually break it in two and the combined cost is around $150 (if I remember correctly)

Thereal411

I sent my Lemon letter into Nissan this past monday. 91 days in the shop in order to have my shimmy fixed and it isnt fixed! WA law says over 30 days to fix a non-conformity or serious safety defect is a lemon. So I am not sure what Nissan is going to do, but I'm sure they will try to find some way to not buy the car back. I've had my tires replaced and balanced over and over again.

I am currently driving a 2005 dodge magnum, and i like the fact that it doesnt shimmy.. I loved my 94 max, but now my 2004 maxima and 2005 magnum are both made in america. I like driving the Max on the weekends, but the shimmy reminds me of all the crap Nissan has put me through.

Still gotta take the Max in to get my CD's out of it and a new CD player since this one won't eject.

Monotaur

I've driven a Magnum before, it's a nice car. Tell me though, does yours 'shudder' when you apply the brake while in drive (if it's an auto)? The one I drove did, especailly at intersections, etc.

Also, I thought the Magnums were not built in America?

Thereal411

I'm not sure if it is built in america, I just assumed. No shudder here, you mean when at a complete stop or while stopping? Neither one have I experienced. The only thing that is a little odd on the magnum is when crawling, with no gas or brake but in drive, it moves forward kinda chunky-like

SilverBelle04

The Magnum is built in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Brampton is north west of Toronto.

Bob

Monotaur

Well just as I was coming to a complete stop or after when stopped while pressing the breaks, the car would kind of 'shutter'... just a little weird. But, overall I liked the car. It was actually a rental (so that might have had something to do with it), and I got it when it had like 250 miles on it (doubled that during the time I rented it). This was the most base model you could get - I think it had the 2.5 L engine (they also offer it in a 2.9 and 5.7, right?). Only other thing I noticed was the orange peel... much worse than my Max.

Actually, when trying to find the hotel one night we got stuck in a sobriety check point... when I was pulling towards the front, I could see all the cops pointing and saying "Is that the new Magnum?"... kind of reminded me of the way people acted when they first saw my Max.

jasonjm

iTrader: (1)

I go in this Sat. for Shimmy AND blown strut.

We'll all see how it goes...

I will drive right back if it shimmys...

Maxidriver

I got the shimmy fixed twice, it only lasted about 2000 miles each time. It's back to its old ways. Even the driver and passenger seats shake. I'll take it in for the 3rd time soon.

davesipaq

I have been in the shop 5 times with no fix. I hired 1800mylemon lawyers and going to file a lawsuit against Nissan. They are full of CR*P with all the excuses. Last excuse they gave me was that they didnt feel the shimmy but replaced the rear tires and put them on the hunter for a precautionary measure only..

jasonjm

iTrader: (1)

My shimmy is gone. Was caused entirely by the blown strut.

New struts have NEW valving. BUT...they will still blow because the struts are WEAK!!!! blah! such pos

Replacing with high quality aftermarkets, some eibachs, and aftermarket rims and tires I'm 100% i won't have any shimmy/vibrations.

I like the max, but not enough to get rid of it. Besides all the aftermarket stuff will make it handle better than almost anything out there. I have given up on Nissan's parts though.

jasonjm

iTrader: (1)

With the current setup and the quality of the struts nissan uses (even with the redesign in the valving) i'm positive the shimmy will come back.

davesipaq

Thats why I am working on a lawsuit. They have done nothing to work with me,

04 maxse

I have aftermarket springs ans shocks... STILL SHIMMY.

jasonjm

iTrader: (1)

sheesh... I am going in for service again to fix the shimmy. So this is...3rd time now... we'll see what happens..

bablu04

Just bought my Maxima about 3 weeks ago and noticed the shimmy during the test drive. Was hoping they would have fixed the shimmy before I picked it up. Well I was wrong and two visits later it's still got the shimmy. I've been reading this and other threads for about a week now and it seems to be due to a variety of issues, including bad tires/rims, bad steering rack damper, and improper balancing. While I'm certainly not an expert on cars, it fairly clear that an improper balancing will cause the shimmy, probably because of the steering rack damper and that a proper balancing should significantly help/resolve the shimmy or at least identify if there is a problem with the tires/rims.

While my dealer indicated they did apply the steering rack adjustment TSB, they forgot to mention that they do not have a Hunter GSP9700, which is specifically called for in the TSB. After making a few calls, I found a shop that does have the machine and with the "road-force" test, it would be about $25/tire (kinda pricey but probably worth it). The Nissan service manager indicated he'd be willling to pay for the service but I haven't gotten confirmation of that yet. I'd also like to see if another TSB is released for the strenghened damper. I'll be calling Nissan tomorrow to find out about that. If I hear anything, I'll post the news.

While the service manager indicated this is the first time he's seen this, it fairly clear that there is a problem with some 04 Maximas. They're a pretty small dealer so he could be telling me the truth but you never know. Just make sure that if you get the Steering TSB applied, make sure they have the Hunter 9700. If not, then they'll only half-*** the work and waste your time, which doesn't do any good if the balancing is off or you do have bad tires/rims. For a list of shops with the hunter gsp9700, go to www.gsp9700.com and click 'Locate a GSP9700'. Hope this helps some people. Worst comes to worst, I can apply the lemon law but that's not something I'd really like to get into if possible.

Other than that, the cars great and I love the added hp and options (had a 98 Grand Prix before). While I'm sure I could live with the shimmy, for 29 g's , I shouldn't have to.

Maximized Jiggs

iTrader: (1)

How did they fix this problem in the 2005 maxima? Any changes at all to get rid of the shimmy? That is why I didnt want to buy an 04 max, hopefully its fixed in the 05.

jasonjm

iTrader: (1)

They didn't do jack. Shimmy shimmy shimmy.

The alternative route has begun.

Thereal411

I sent Nissan a letter asking repurchase of my vehicle. sent it registered mail and have proof it was recieved on Oct 27th. Called yesterday and was told they got no letter. Filed today with bbb.com a dispute to Nissan, hopefully it gets this thing rolling and I can get out of this Maxima. Still love the car, but hating Nissan

bablu04

Well, after three days in the shop, they finally fixed the shimmy!! They diagnosed it as a bad left front tire (using the Hunter GSP9700) but for some reason, let me leave with the car. Let's just say the ride home and the ride back to the dealership the next morning was the worst driving experience I've ever had. Felt like the whole front end was about to shake off and the steering wheel shimmy was the worst it's ever been. Needless to say, I was pissed. I told them I wanted it fixed today, that I would test drive it once it was fixed, and that I was renting a car, which they would pay for. They never called me to let me know it was fixed so I eventually had to call them for an update.

When I showed up, I noticed the tire on the car was not the same as the other three (a CH95, not CV95) but test drove it anyway. From my limited test drive (lot of construction/traffic), it seemed that they fixed it but still wanted to find out what they were going to do about the tire. They said they would find one and for me to keep the rental. Showed up the next day but didn't have time to test drive. Thankfully, the shimmy is no longer. The car actually drives very smooth with 4 good tires.

I bought the car a month ago so this has not been a very pleasant experience. May even write Nissan since this could have been prevented if all their dealerships have the right equipment for their TSBs (tried to get the shimmy fixed twice at the purchasing dealership). I had to go an extra 50 miles roundtrip (twice) to get the shimmy fixed. That's 100 miles and gas I shouldn't have had to waste if the dealership where I bought the car was properly equipped. Let's just hope it doesn't come back. If it does, I may have to go through the legal route, though I would like to avoid that. I love the car, just want it to work the way it was meant to. If the shimmy comes back, I'll be posting here again.

beemreatr

This car is not worth all that!! I really wish I didn't get rid of my 2000 max for this! My IS300 is such a better car that my wife is about to jump ship and sell our max for another lex...thats too bad cause I have been a max fan for years till this model. I can see following strict guide lines for tire care if it were a Porsche or something like that, but is a family car!!!

Maxidriver

After three days in the shop, my Max is fixed, I hope. Well it is, it doesn't shimmy yet. They told me they ran it through the GSP machine then test drove it. It wasn't to there liking so they ran it through again, after 3 days it's done. The steering is really tight, almost need two hands to turn the wheel. But I'm happy. After leaving the dealer I drove about 95 mph on I75 in Ft. Myers and no shimmy. Took the car to the Nissan dealer in Ft. Myers FL. We'll see in a month if the shimmy comes back. This is the third time in, twice in NJ and once in FLorida. I recently moved down here.

queenzkid

I am getting the shimmy, but haven't really noticed it until about 10k miles on the car. However, I put 20" rims on the car when it had about 6k miles. My first reaction was that it was the size and weight of the new wheels, but after reading this forum, it looks like it is the vehicle with some part due to the tires (from what I am reading). My shop, who I have gone to do all my aftermarket work, indicates it is the tires. I have balance tires twice. I have aligned the wheels twice. What next? i bought the wheels with tires as a package, since this was the better deal. The tires are "Wanli". Who the hell has heard of this? me either. Anyway, if it is the tires, I don't want to spend another $600 on tires, since I could have bought the wheels without tires. Now, i am spending double.

Furthermore, since I have put 20"s on, the dealer may say the shimmying is my fault, since I am not using OEM's. I can't even put the original wheels on because I sold them. What can I do about relieving this problem.

Furthermore, I don't see a TSB on any website. Where are you finding this, so I have proof that this is a problem when i go back to the dealer? thanks.

BLUE04MAXSE

I've been having the shimmy problem; thought my problem was resolved since I've been back to the dealership 6 times already, but the shimmy came back yesterday with a little over 5,000 miles on it. I have four brand new Goodyears RSAs that I've had replaced on the car and it's been balanced so many times. The Goodyear RSAs do not seem to be problem and I believe the steering rack damper was replaced on the last service visit. Question: Has anyone had any luck on the BBB hotline in resolving this particular issue since my dealership and the 1-800-Nissan1 hotline have been unable to resolve this persisent problem? I believe it's the only left I can do. Thank you!

msoemax

If you what you say is true, Blue, you got a lemon. You need to get a lawyer. You should not have to pay for anything. A lawyer will evaluate your claim and let you know what to do. They will tell you that Nissan is liable for all fees, which is true, at least in most states. For a good start get the book "return to sender" by nancy barron. Check the local library first. A lawyer will be your best bet to get stuff resolved. Good Luck, send me a PM if you want some help to get you started.

Thereal411

Currently using BBB Autoline to get this CRAP resolved. Got an offer on friday from Nissan thru my BBB rep. Nissan is willing to pay me $2000 for a chance to bring a rep out to try to fix my car. I am still thinking about it but probably will let them do it. My other choice is to go to arbitration to fight Nissan to rebuy the car. What to do...