Greetings all,

I currently own a 2004 Maxima and have been a member since I bought the car back in '04. The reason I'm posting now is because I have this rattling/ratcheting noise coming from the engine bay area for several months now. The sound is much like a card rattling against a bicycle wheel spoke, but audible when driving at highway speeds. The noise usually occurs under acceleration at no specific speed range. I don't believe the ratcheting noise has hindered the car's performance and/or safety features, but one can never be too sure. I've brought the car into the stealership before, but they weren't able to locate where the sound is originating from nor the cause of it.

If anyone has any past experience with this type of problem I would greatly appreciate any advice/solutions. Thanks again.

 

I get a rattling sound at 1750 - 1800 rpms. Sounds like bee's in a can. Took it to a couple different shops and they say the heat shield and cat look fine. I think it may be loose pieces in the pre-cat?

 

I heard similar sounds from the front side and took it to the dealer. They retorqued the wheel and changed the heat shield. Covered under warranty for me.

 

I have the same problem man.... been going on for like a month ..... i hope it is the heat shield thats loose....

 

Fixed - There is a Nissan technical bulletin out on this. If it is the bracket problems, it's a fairly easy fix.

Read this thread for your answers: http://www.6thgenmaxima.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2273

 

Apollos2 - thanks for the useful link you provided. I wasn't sure if this problem was a repost in the past or not, but I'm glad other people have gone through the same problem.

Couple things I'm still not sure on though.

1) Is the heat shield and rear "gusset" the same thing?

2) Where is the heat shield or rear "gusset"/bracket located exactly? The pictures were too zoomed in for me to tell where the defective piece is located exactly. To me, it looks like its under the hood near the left front wheel, but I may be mistaken.

3) Is there a TSB on this issue that someone can link for me?

Thanks again guys.

 

FWIW - I think I found the TSB for the heat shield rattling problem here: http://www.nissanhelp.com/Ownership/.../NTB05-095.htm

If anyone else has some other information/solution about rattling under acceleration problems please post it up, thanks.

 

Quickly found the other TSB regarding the possible front/rear gusset problem here: http://www.nissanhelp.com/Ownership/.../NTB05-021.htm

 

wow im glad its not just me thats having this prob...

I have 38k on my car and have a warranty to 100k... should hte dealship fix this ...???

 

Probably the best idea unless your familiar with car repair.

I would mention these two TSBs incase they claim "to find nothing wrong with your vehicle" to make sure they fix it before you leave. Good luck.

 

I have something similar, but my noise only happens when the car is not warmed up. if i turn it on and go i can hear it when i accelerate, but if i warm it up enough it does not make a sound.

Has any one else have this prob? mine is an 06 i see all these tsb are 04 and 05.

 

Mine's an '06 and the sound does come mainly when under duress or when I first start it up. Difficult to pinpoint what is actually wrong.

 

just took it to the dealer and they gave me some BS about it not being covered... wear and tear... gussets not covered... bla bla bla...

told me it would be 104 dollars if they look at it and what they find is not covered under warranty...

I think im going to hold off till i hear what others have been told etc... keeep me posted please

 

1. No, the gusset is the bracket pictured. When it is broken, you hear the rattling or buzzing.

2. It's towards the pulley side of the car, look around the exhaust parts attached to the engine. Kind of hard to see if the car is not on the a lift.

3. I see you found the TSB. Good, some dealers cover it, some won't. Call around. I had my cracked bracket welded for $25.00 My dealer was out of the part and I was so tired of my car sounding like a POS, I had to do something. I will get the bracket replaced sooner or later.

It can be an easy fix if the car is on a lift. Your local tire shop ect (if you have a good relationship) can probably put it on for you if you show up with the part. It's like an $18 dollar part, the part numbers are listed on the thread I posted above.

Call a dealer and ask how much the part is... pick it up, go get it fixed. If you have any more questions you can post up over there they can also help you.

 

Good looking out man! I was just about to post the link too

 

I have an 06 as well and started to hear this rattling recently.
Funny thing is that it also rattles only when the car is not warmed up.

 

I was having this problem also and was convinced it was the bracket issue. I crawled under the car and saw both brackets were fine. What it turned out being was that the heat shields on the top and bottom of the pipe showing in this picture were touching each other so when i was hitting the gas they must have been rattling against each other. All i did was stick a flathead between them and bend them back so they weren't touching anymore. Car is back to normal now.

 

ElementK,

When you say heat shields are you referring to the metal skin wrapping the pipe beneath the bracket labeled "Catalyst/Front Tube Support Bracket - Towards Rear of Engine"? I notice there's a significant gap between the top and bottom skin - is this where you mention the heat shields touching?

 

Yup mine were touching I bent it back a bit to make it have a gap like in the picture and the rattling stopped.

 

What year is your max?

 

I have an 04.

 

For what it is worth, I had 145K+ miles on my 04 SE when I traded it in last weekend. That noise is a BIG reason why that car is long gone for me. Took it to dealer and they couldn't locate the source. They did check the cats for particles and nothing was found there...so that was good as that is a $1500 dealer repair job.

Took it to my good local shop and they checked plugs and coil wires, which were quite good shape. So, without diving into the engine and replacing parts at random...we had no good course of action.

My gas mileage dropped to the low-mid teens. Car had no power above 5K RPM. I noticed the power loss across the rpms as did the second shop. The engine wasn't leaking oil (although car regularly burnt 1QT per 1K miles), the fuel pressure was perfect, fuel injectors tested fine.

My personal opinion, there was a major problem/defect with my engine. I do not think this was limited to my car either. As more of you put the miles on the car, I think this will come up more. Hopefully, somebody's car will have the mysterious part break under warranty (sending a code) and this will lead to a TSB!

In any case, be on the lookout for a red maxima with 145k+ miles on it...get a long warranty from the used car lot!

 

i have an '06 and makes this rattling noise only until the car heats up

 

mine does it even if its warmed up or not... not like SUPER SUPER LOUD ... but u can hear it... im going to take it to a muffler shop tomorrow

 

Same here. At first I thought it was a belt slipping (similar sound), but it turned out to be the exhaust gusset. I think the dealer charged like $30 (parts and labor) to replace it.

Also, mine would usually only do it before the car had warmed up, and usually only when making turns (another reason I thought it was a belt). I have an 04, and this occurred at around the 50K mile mark.

 

I am not sure you have the same problem that I had it before.

My car was making rattle noise when I accelerate and start driving my car.
I was hearing that rattle noise for 1 to 2 second during my gear shifts from 1 to 2

I took it back to mechanic who was repairing my brakes and he showed me the heat shield was loosen.

He clamped my heat shiel and I am back to normal.

 

I had the same problem.... the stealership found the problem after going in for 5 times..... it was the first and closest part of the exhaust near the engine ... a shield near there was loose... They replaced it for 140 ...

 

Had my gussets replaced at the dealership today and the rattle is now gone. Like I posted before, I have an '06 and it would rattle around 1700-1800 rpm when the engine was cold. The rattle would go away once the engine warmed up. Thankfully it is now gone for good.

 

What is a gusset and where is it located?

 

I have a 2004 with 78k, and I have this same exact problem. took it to the dealer and they can't find anything wrong. bought it used, only warrantied until 60k. Two mechanic friends both think its something with the timing chain, but its going to run me $700-$800 for them to just check it out, nevermind fix it.

 

The two metal brackets shown in the pictures a few posts up.

 

Just wanted to update whoever's interested about my rattle issue.

I took my max to a local stealership (Action Nissan in Blauvelt, NY) to try and get my rattle under acceleration problem resolved. What I did was come in with BOTH TSB's mentioned above (a catalyst/heat shield and front/rear gusset issue) printed in color with full instructions and pictures. I talked to the service rep, handed her both TSBs and told her about my problem. She said it would cost $95 for a "27 Point Inspection" to "figure out the issue" when I was thinking to myself: I basically handed you the solutions and repair instructions to the two most probable issues and you're still charging me 95 bucks? GTFO

Anyways, she told me that the heat shield/catalyst repair would be under warranty (even though my mileage is 35800+ ish miles) because its an emissions issue! Also, she said the $95 inspection would be waived if it turned out that the catalyst/heat shield is the actual problem so I left my Max at the stealership and hoped for the best.

Couple hours later the service rep calls and tells me that my rattle problem is a little bit of both (catalyst and gusset problem) and both repairs should be done. I agreed and then she tells me a laundry list of "problems" that should be addressed (ie. tranny/coolant flush, in-cabin filter is dirty, cracked drivebelt, alignment issue) and said she would waive the inspection fee IF I did some work! After the fact that she already told me upfront the fee would be waived if it turned out to be the catalyst/heat shield problem. I'm thinking to myself, she's trying to on repairs that I don't need immediately and steal every last penny from my wallet. (*Note*: I didn't need an alignment...I just got one done less than a week ago, replacing an in-cabin filter shouldn't cost me the $60+ they were charging, and a <$20 drivebelt shouldn't be over 150 bucks to change). So I told her that I would do the repairs to fix the rattle problem and checked to make sure the inspection fee would be waived, as she told me when I brought in the vehicle, but she was being such @!#$@ and said that she wouldn't waive it anymore, WTF is that?!?

My repair bill came out to be a little under $200 just for the gusset and catalyst replacement (catalyst/heat shield repair was under warranty so no out-of-pocket cost). I drove my Max home and was so glad to finally hear nothing, but the wind blowing past as I drove home. The rattle issue was solved and it definitely drives a lot smoother and quieter than before. A $200 repair could've potentially been done for less than half that, but worth the steep price in the end.

Moral of the story: inspect the car yourself, if you can try to figure out if it's these two issues. 1) If it turns out to be the heat shield/catalyst problem bring it to the dealer with the TSB and tell them it's an emissions problem and should be covered under warranty. 2) If it's the cracked gusset issue buy the part(s) yourself and either do it yourself or bring it to a friendly mechanic, also with TSB in hand. Save yourself money and the hassle with dealing w/ stealerships.

Sorry for the rant, but hopefully the rest of you with rattle problems can solve everything with less money outta pocket and deal with no-so-greedy individuals/companies. Drive safely .

 

LOL, I want to know also?????????????????????????????????????????????? ???

 

hey guys i had the same problem and i took it to nissan and they changed the whole pipe that runs to the catalyctic converter and it suddenly stopped....they told me that it was disolving from the inside....for some reason i heard it up front also but yea that was my expirience

 

where did u go and would u mind scanning a copy of the service paperwork so i can go there and get mine done...


if i have yorus they will for SURE do it for me...

 

I think im experiencing the same rattle in my 04 maxima, and now that you mention it, it does mainly happen when I first start. so your saying to have heat shiels on catalytic checked?

 

Had the same issue with my 04 se at 115km when I picked it up, It was a small heat shield located at the top of the exhaust/cat. Throw the car on a hoist and take a rubber hammer and tap up and down on you're exhaust, you should come across the sound, and hopefully its that , good luck!.