maxam

Good day all

Iam having very bad days with my 04 trying to solve this vibration issue.

Starting from 50 mph and the more fast I go the stronger vibration I got on the steering wheel.

Tires are good and balanced .

Axes clearance repaired

And still have this issue.
Pleas help before I burn this car.

rayrobot

wheel alignment?

maxam

Alignment?? How this can make vibration?
Any way the alignment is good.

crimsonsamurai

anytime you're moving (ie driving) the alignment is going to affect it even if it is only offset by a few mm you will feel it. and since you said you had an axle clearance issue? not sure what was done/worked on but anytime you replace suspension parts, especially in the front, you need to get a wheel alignment, if for nothing else than at least safety reasons.

rayrobot

Yeah My 96 Eagle Talon needs a wheel alignment and without one; lets just say its not so safe going 80+.

MONTE 01&97 SE

iTrader: (1)

Also have your rims checked, you could have a bent rim or two etc.

Terrentius

I had a vibration at that speed before. It was because of the tires. I was running Falkens.

They were great up to 40mph and after 70mph, but anthing in between that range, then the steering-wheel just danced all over the place. Made for very crappy highway driving.

maxam

I will do alignment after I finish this issue.
Regarding tires and rims . I swapped the front to back and back to front but nothing changed. and I think it is too early to change tires I just bought them 8 month's ago and im using Yokohama.

Terrentius

Yeah, that could be a camber issue. The alignment will sort that out.

MONTE 01&97 SE

iTrader: (1)

Well rotated rims are not, if its a warped rim you will feel it. Only way to find out for sure is to put it on a balancer machine and have them spin it, if it goes from side to side instead of a smooth straight roll its has a bend in it.....

twentyeggs

It is none of these things. This is a common issue with the maxima and many MANY people on here have had the problem. I am one of them, I have a thread about it already. There are many "tricks" that do not work and you will waste your time and money like the steering rack quarter turn camber ect..

Unless you have been messing with the camber of your car it is not the camber

Alignment does not seem to do anything for this issue.

What it is my good man is your tires. Your tires are the culprit. They are not good. balancing them the traditional way will not solve your problem either. I know this because after everything i tried, and i tried it all to fix the vibration issue, i gave up and decided to just live with it in shame.

I one day bought new tires. I did not get the falkons, but instead some michelins. All of a sudden, on the free way back home... no vibration. It was an amazing moment for me. and I have not had any vibration issues ever since.

I have heard of some people getting their tires road force balanced and from what I hear many had success, but this is a few hundred bucks and i cannot attest to it.

What I would recommend is grab yourself a nice pair of rims with some decent tread. I know many people who use this excuse to grab a set of rims instead of forking over 600-900 bucks on new tires. If you are smart and get some light weight rims, you will decrease rotational inertia, allowing for more HP to be put to the ground, faster acceleration, faster braking, and better gas mileage. We have insanely heavy stock rims because it counteracts torque steer in our stupid FWD setup. If you decrease this amount after a few years your rims will pay for themselves in gas savings.

maxam

I bought my 18" Yokohama tires six months ago and it's in good shape. And the prices here are very expensive for mishellines. I was using mishellines before my Yokohama. it was excellent but with the time it start to waining. so I replaced it within one year of usage.

po8pimp

I have ran Yokohama, Falkin, Continental, Michelin, and Sumo tires. Have had this problem with just about all of them, most of the time it was from tire pressure difference. Doesn't have to be that much either. Other time it was an alignment issue.

twentyeggs

You know, I am thinking more about this and I am remembering it was both the tires and the rims. I bought my first set of rims and reused my old falkons. The vibration went down considerably but was still there. I bought another set of rims with no tread and then bought a new set of tires. When I got the car back there was no vibration. I still think the problem is the tires, but the stock rims really exacerbate it. So all I can tell you is what I did to solve the issue. New rims new tires. And yes, my vibration was strong too. It made my hand itch after driving a few hours, I used to have to switch hands while i drove long distances just to keep from being uncomfortable.

Anyways I feel for you man, this issue made me hate my maxima for a long time.

acercomp71

1. Bent rim
2. Out of balance tire
3. Cupped tire (if you don't know what it is, google it)
4. Shot wheel bearing

Items 1 through 3 are done on balancing machine and by visual inspection.

To test front wheel bearing, you need to pull the axle out and takes brakes and rotor off. Rotate spindle by hand, it should have zero play, produce zero or close to zero noise, and have some evenly distributed resistance when turning.

maxam

Wheel bearings tested when axels were in the machine shop. And I found them good .

I swapped the wheels from back to front and from front to back but nothing changed.

acercomp71

Not sure what you are trying to say. You tried to test bearings while axle was still in the spindle or while your axles were in machine shop or what? Long story short, the only way to test a bearing is to let it completely free from axle, brake hardware, and rotor, then turn spindle by hand.

04BlackMaxx

There is no cure for this problem, there is a design flaw in the car, I went through a set of the original RSAs, GY Eagle F1's, Riken Raptors and finally Continental Pro Contacts...all great tires, and the problem came, and went regardless of tires, wheels, alignment or balance...I gave up and it happened until I traded it in after 9 years. My solution, a new car.

maxam

I mean that I have checked the bearings after axles removal. and found them good.

Last night I swapped rims with its tires of a Kia Optima 2013 18" and installed them in the front end just to make sure if it's a tires issue or not. But again vibrates at 50mph and become stronger at +80mph .

That means it's not tires issue. it's something ales.

I still doubt about axles. I will replace them soon and see the result.

Does any one have an idea about aftermarket axles?

D.Stillwell

Oftentimes this can and will happen when one doesn't have all 4 of the same tires on the car, but have different tires on. Just a thought, not saying that's what it is. But all it takes is just ONE tire to be out of spec, whether not enough PSI, or it's out of alignment, the slightest thing can cause vibration at speeds. Does your car pull to any one side when you let go of the wheel?

I have Continental Extreme Contact tires, they were road force balanced and I've had zero issues ever since. Before I got the Continentals, the car had the Bridgestone RS-A's which were horrible, and did vibrate at certain highway speeds. I attributed that to the RS-A's having crap rubber. I run my Continental's with 38/36psi front/rear and as stiff as they are there is never any vibration unless you're on an unpaved road. I ran Yokohama on my I30 before, and can say 100% they are louder tires and have more vibration. For what it's worth, I think the Continentals offer the best balance between handling/ride noise/comfort. I've been a fan of Continental ever since I had them on my I30, and they're really coming out with some nice tires right now.

acercomp71

I had vibration issue when I had a bad rack, rack had a mechanical failure and too much free play, which, obviously, transferred to front wheels. After brand new rack, vibration was 100 percent gone.

I run Goodyear's RSA and have zero vibrations. I did hear though, that early productions of RSA had some issues. No wonder, it is the cheapest tire for this car.

To OP- you can leave axles alone, unless they leak grease or have a torn boot. Otherwise you are just wasting time and money, axles will not cause vibration. I have read somewhere that axle can cause vibration, but I think it's BS. And yes, you can buy aftermarket axles at any parts store if desperate to change them now.

Richlee

iTrader: (1)

you need to do high speed balancing and road force but check if rims have any dents. Had the same problem with my 04 maxima rims so i changed them to the 07 and no issues since. plus the 04 rims dent very easily.

maxam

Continental will be my next tires. I have bought the car with continentals and never drove the car better when I replaced them.


Rack?? do you mean a power steering rack? I dont think it's bad at all.

I have swapped my rims and tires with a friend. and nothing changed.


The New thing now that I feel a vibration when I hit road buttons or road cat eyes on the steering wheel to lift and right. so what's that could be? do you think that related to high way vibration?

Richlee

iTrader: (1)

may need to check inner or outter tie rod ends. while doing that check your brake calipers if they are stuck. this will cause vibration if pads over heats. good luck. when putting wheels back on make sure you tighten lug nuts in star pattern.

Chris Alexander

I had this problem for 2 yrs go to discount tire and get a road force balance it fixed it and I had to rotate them a few times to get the perfect balance. Also I upgraded to 22 inch wheels and the problem went away. Knock on wood. Also the tires make a difference too. When I had the 4 stock 17s they wore out fast. I upgraded to 22s and haven't had an issue since and i've had these 4 set of tires almost 3 yrs.

po8pimp

usually the rubber band tires are made of harder rubber making them last longer.

Chris Alexander

That shimmy drove me crazy for a while it would not go away on my SL. The dealer kept trying to convince me it was a bent wheel. Somehow or another I think the factory 17's and 18s are too small for these 6 gens. I had alignment problems and uneven wear with mine. My brother did too and eventually had to replace the bearings on his 06SE. It just seems like the bigger rims did a miracle or something Because having these for 3 years and no problems and my stock whels for a year and a bunch of problems like that is weird. Over with the bigger wheels better ride handling just the potholes are satan for me now.

maxam

How about front lower control arms? I went to an other shop and they say your control arms are dead.

Chris Alexander

I doubt it this is my best advice for you get a 2nd opinion because sometimes these shops just want money.

maxam

I agree with you but that man didn't waste his time asking for money. because he really want to repair it and solve the problem.
And all of my control are dead for real. I will show you when the New parts arrive

Chris Alexander

Nah it's alright I believe you I just don't want you to have to spend extra money if you dont have too how many miles you have I'm at 86000.

maxam

Im now @ 200000 mile.