After driving my car for bit and getting used to the feel of it. There is some kind of vibration feel from the gas pedal and when I hold the upper part of the steering wheel at around 25-40 & 50-60, at about 70-80 the car smooths out. I have the GY 19" RSA's. For the last service, I had them rotate the wheels only. Now I'm getting the alignment & balance done this Friday. The tech said they would check the shims and also check & update the CVT software if needed. The vibration is not severe but I think it should ride alot smoother than this; but then again it may just be the normal feel of the CVT.
I'll start with this for now and see what happens. I'll post a follow up as the next day I'll be hitting the road for about an hour both ways so it will be a good test to see if the problem is gone.

 

Hey man, there is a Nissan Tech over on the front drive seat fix thread who stated that Nissan is aware of the RS-A vibration problems and that his dealer has been okayed to swap the Michelin's for the RS-As if the car is brought in under warranty! I'm trying to find out if it is a dealer specific thing or if Nissan has allowed all dealerships to do the swap if people are having problems after paying for balancing/alignments with no resolve!

 

+1 for that! If you find out it's the tires ... I'm SO gonna take mine in!

-John

 

Which tires did they put you in?

 

They used the same tire Goodyear RSA the only difference is that it was made in week 46 of 09.

 

My wife bought a 2009 Max last Fall. It has developed a harmonic vibration in the steering wheel at all times...even at a stop light. Nissan has decided to do nothing about it. (My guess is, it is a systemic issue with the CVT and they are trying to avoid a huge recall.) The local dealership deflects all questions to Nissan and Nissan won't tell us how to appeal their decision to do nothing about the vibration. Very frustrating.

 

When you say "at all times" do you mean "even in neutral and Park?" If so, I find it difficult to blame the CVT for this. It really sounds more like firing on 5 cylinders instead of 6 if that is the case. (of course your rear view mirror and passenger side seat should be shaking a bit too.)

 

Yep...even in Park or Neutral. It certainly appears to be something in the drive train. It is a harmonic vibration, not like a miss-firing cyinder.

We took it took a private mechanic when the Nissan delearship started waltzing us and the private mechanic said he couldn't fix it as it was a problem with the CVT.

My wife loves the car otherwise, but we are terribly dissappointed by Nissan's response and handling of the issue.

Our premise has been, please fix it or give us our money back. Nissan has chosen to do neither.

Any ideas or recommendations are certainly welcome. :-)

 

I would try another dealership even it its not local. The private mechanic confirming it was the cvt to me seems odd as Honda was the only company that used cvt trannys back in 96 and the technology being adopted by nissan in 2007 in the altima. Most mechanics including master mechanics can't fix transmission problems and to point it the cvt without further testing like scanner or consult. Did you hit anything or remember any memorable events? If my car shaked and it was in park believe me they would fix or own the car. Let us know the outcome.

 

Nope, didn't hit anything nor any memorable events.

With the car in park, I can lay my hand on the front tire and feel the harmonic vibration...but not on the back tires.

With the car in park and the sun shining on the steering wheel I can see the harmonic vibration. The vibration will actually make your hands "tingle" after an hour or so of driving the car.

For us, Nissan is a huge disappointment in their failure to address the issue. We have escalated the issue to both the corporate and local dealership level and with no solutions and no apparent options.

Is there a good way to get Nissan's attention? I really would rather not have to go through the expense of suing them.

 

Go to another dealership in fact have someone else take the car for you. Maybe there has been some talk and you may have been listed. I have seen this happen before.

 

Update -

In regards to the tires, I got the answer I expected. Like others, my dealership gave me the BS that they are not allowed to replace the tires under warranty with Michelins. I told him that Nissan Master Techs at other dealerships have told me their dealerships do but he didn't believe me. I do believe that its a dealer specific decision and most are going to be aholes about it and not do it. Though he did admit, that when they have customers come in and pay FULL PRICE for the Michelin Primacy's they have in the shop, that those tires do eliminate all the noise, ride quality, and vibration issues that these RS-As have.

Also, he gave me the Nissan PR excuse that, "oh, you know that the Maxima is a four door sports sedan and that the RS-As are sport performance tires and so they are going to have a rough, vibrating nature to them and go out of balance more often." When he said that I just laughed to myself. It didn't make any difference that I told him I just spent 80 dollars on sport performance balancing and it did nothing to solve the vibration/shimmy issues at speeds over 60 mph. Just another excuse Nissan is going to give to try to explain away these crappier then though OEM tires they put on the car. He told me to go back to a Goodyear dealer to get one of their better tires on because this is not a car warranty issue but a tire warranty issue which Nissan has nothing to do with! Great suggestion, only problem is, their other tires suck and are just as bad with these same issues, as the RS-A are so why the hell would I have them put a different crappy Goodyear on the car after he just admitted that Michelin and other tires brands are better and solve the vibration and noise issues? A duh!

The car is going to be brought in for this and other issues next Tues and they are going to check the alignment and balancing of the tires but that has all been done before without any resolution to the vibration/shimmy and noise issues. I'm going to have to live with this crap. Its just too bad, Nissan just can't admit that they screwed up in choosing these crappy tires to pair with the Maxima. Unfortunately, Nissan still thinks that this car drives and behaves like a four door sports sedan and that the RS-As are the perfect match for that classification

 

I think I mentioned it before but Honda had this same issue on the 08 Accord.

Correction I also had an issue with the tires on the 08 Accord

 

Mine did it from the day I picked it up. It was so bad that the passenger seat looked like it was on a shaker. The dealer replaced all 4 wheels and it helped a little bit, but I can still feel it.

 

Does anyone have this issue with the 19"s

 

This is my biggest problem. The tires need to be replaced but my service advisor said he will not just swap them out for a different tires unless I want to pay full price for the Michelin's, which is absolutely ridiculous considering how brand new this car still is and the bigger fact its Nissan's fault and mistake for putting these tires on the car in the first place. He even admitted, that customers who put the Michelin's on got rid of almost all their vibration/shimmy issues.

Once I'm done with them next week, I'm going to have to start going around to Nissan dealers and find one, like some of you have else where, that will swap the tires. I mean, they only have 8k some miles on them and still have 10/32nds on all four.

 

Digging in grave. But I had to share these pictures. Oh an yes that as the almighty GSP9700 road force balancing machine in the background.

 

IH8SPM - Wow! FOUR weights scattered around the inside side of the wheel, and about four inches of articulated weights at the 5:00 position on the outside side of the wheel (visible, of course, only from the inside).

These 6th and 7th generation Maximas can be very touchy to get exactly right. That is why I would never let mine be set up on anything but a Hunter machine.

 

Light, that set up was not my choice that is how the dealer balanced the wheels. The picture is from a Goodyear dealer that pulled all 8 tires off (yes eight 2 cars) and found this set up and the way over inflated tire pressures. I am going to another dealership possibly in the morning to see if they want to keep the cars for a while to try and remedy this still existing problem.

 

looks nice tires

 

Well I went to another dealership this morning and they have confirmed the obvious, there's a problem. I will update as soon as I get and answer.

 

UPDATE 8/4/10
The wheels have been rebalanced,road force balanced and set to the correct tire pressure. I did not get a chance to go past 40mph since it was afternoon rush hour on the highway so I will post that info tomorrow or later if possible. The did feel much better on low speeds but that can be a combination of the lack of driving and no more rocking chair.

 

UPDATE:10/11/10

I went to visit the dealership today as I always do because I have nothing better to do..NAH just kidding I had an appointment today with the local dealer to see if once and for all (hmm sounds familiar) can fix the problem. After about 1 hour of of computer related examinations and a under carriage inspection I finally test drove the car for about 10 miles and confirmed all the shakes rattles and rolls. It turns out that the problem is most likely coming from the tires (no brainer) and they will be getting replaced with the Michelin’s . I was almost shocked to hear the words I was being told and if it was not for the fact that I was driving i would have passed out. They are not yet on the car because they had to be ordered but I look forward to seeing a HUGE difference (hopefully). I will keep everyone updated on the outcome since I seem to be the only one still interested or with the problem who has not just learned to live with it.

 

Are they ordering the Primacy MXV4's? I hope so b/c those are the tires with the better ride quality and noise level. I know there are also the Primacy MXM4's (the ones Infiniti is putting on the M now) and while much better than the RS-As obviously, they are not rated as high for ride quality and low noise level like the MXV4's are!

Hope it makes a huge difference. My local stealer would never do this for me, and has even told me such, despite bringing the car in 3 times since having it about this issue. Your one lucky SOB!!

 

I just purchased a 2011 Maxima w/Sport Package on 09/26. The first few weeks it was smooth riding. For 2 weeks after it would vibrate around 50-60 and then over 80. Took it to the dealer yesterday and had them rebalanced and the RSA's are back to normal.

 

Count me as a a (somehwat) lucky one as well. My dealerhip is great and replaced the RSA's with the MXM4's which are loud but stopped all the other issues including vibration, wandering, etc

 

Are these the right ones?? There on there now.

 

My Max had vibration problems with the RS-A's too. The dealer switched all 4 wheels and 4 tires with other RS-A's but that didn't solve the problem. They eventually replaced the RS-A's with Michelin Primacys and the problems went away. They ride quieter and softer too.

The dealer told me that some Maximas seem to have a problem with the RS-A's and others are OK with them. I guess there are subtle manufacturing variances that affect the sensitivity of the cars. My personal experience with Goodyear products is that many of their tires have excessive road force issues, and you have to be lucky to get a good set of 4. I put Goodyear Comfortreds on our Altima, and 3 out of 4 of them had to be replaced under warranty because of road force issues and steering shimmy problems. Once I had 4 good tires they performed very well. Goodyear do seem to stand behind their warranty.

The Primacy is an excellent tire and I would put them on the Max again, but like most low profile tires these days, they are very, very expensive.

My suggestion to anyone who is having these problems and their dealer is pushing back, is to call Nissan customer service. Nissan is aware of the RS-A problems.

Worst case, many tire dealers will trade in the RS-A's against a set of Michelins, or any other brand. You may get $75 - $100 for each tire, but that would be better than throwing them out and paying the full price of around $1,000 to install a set of Michelins. I'd suggest the Primacys because they are known to resolve the vibration problem.

For anyone buying or leasing a new Max, I suggest that they negotiate the Primacy replacement as part of the deal, or that the dealer agrees to install the Primacys at dealer cost.

 

Well its hard to tell but I can see M4 in the name so that means you got the Primacy MXM4's. They are a good tire. Like I said there are two kinds of Primacy's that are grand touring MXM4 and MXV4. The ratings for the MXV4s are a little bit higher then those for the MXM4 but they both are great tires. If you get either one put on you won't be disappointed. I probably would only get the MXV4s put on simply b/c they are rated the highest for ride quality and low noise level.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....l=Primacy+MXM4

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....l=Primacy+MXV4

 

The Primacy MXV4 fits 245/45R18 and the Primacy MXM4 fits 245/40R19 so the model you have depends on whether you have 18" or 19" wheels.

 

might want to check your facts..You can get them both in either size and I have 18" wheels and MXM4's installed.

 

Just when I thought it was safe to buy a Maxima and that most vibration problems were due to the goodyear RS-A tyres issue and solved by proper balancing and new michelin (or other good quality tyres) - I see your post. This is clearly not tyre related.

I would have dismissed it as a one off except for this seemingly exact same fault found in a comment to a review of an Australian Nissan Maxima 2010:

http://www.carpoint.com.au/advice/20...rs-email-19121

What do people make of this? Has anybody else experienced this "constant harmonic vibration" issue?

Or should I just relax and purchase my Maxima?

 

Here in Australia, I rang up a Nissan dealer service dept. and they said they had not heard of any problems re vibration. The guy I spoke to drove a Maxima himself and said he loved it. I then rang Australian Nissan customer service and the guy said basically the same thing - no known issues. He even checked through the Nissan dealer notices and didn't find anything mentioning vibration.

Then interestingly I range a Bob Jane dealer (the main tyre/balancing company in Australia) and mentioned the Nissan Maxima. Straight away the guy said "they are very sensitive and need to be balanced right". He assured me that their "hoffman" balancing system could fix any problems and not to worry. He also said that goodyear tyres are not good for the Maxima. He said that as long as you have good quality tyres then Bob Jane can fix vibration issues. He said that Maxima's in Australia should already come with good quality tyres, like Michelins or something, but he wasn't absolutely sure. He said Germany and Australia have the strictest laws relating to the tyres that need to be supplied with a car.

So I guess this is evidence that:

1) Nissan Australia officially don't know about any issues (they seemed entirely genuine about this on the phone to me). I even verified what they said re the lack of vibration technical bulletins by googling and found nothing about vibration mentioned in the Nissan technical bulletins I found.

2) That tyre balancing places in Australia DO know about the issue, but its not a big deal to fix with the right tyres.

Anyway, I thought I'd just share this perspective from down under. I think the Maxima sold in Australia and the US cars are basically the same except for styling and gadgets - I think.

 

Update: It was not the tires and the problem continues.

 

So I'm assuming you replaced the tires with something else and the vibration and issues are continuing for you? What tires did you replace the RS-As with?

 

They replaced them with the Michelins in the picture and the car ran great for the first few miles and then I parked it and the issues came back. I checked all the tire pressures and let them warm up you know all the normal bs. The only thing I know for sure is that when ever the suspension is off the ground as on a lift the car rides great when back on the road which leads me to believe that this being a front wheel drive car has poor struts in the front and rear and does not generate enough down force to keep the front end planted causing air turbulance to lift the vehicle and cause the wobbling. I also contacted Michelin to see if they have any suggestions and their response was that they have had no issue with these tires on a Maxima. I cant wait till end of year clearance in March. I plan to dump this car (if the money right) and get a BMW and not for the name or just because I have always wanted a M3 and the old 03's are looking very affordable these days. Given the way I drive its to much of a chore to deal with this and because this car is new most people have no experience with solving this problem. A few years from now a NOOB will be reading this and will post a simple answer and will make this seem like DOH! I have already written this as a none winner for me and I just deal with it because getting new tires and a different brand at that and still having the same problems....

 

Only thing I can think of is what Michelin's are they exactly? Some people don't realize that their are two different types of Primacy's MXM4s and MXV4s. I always recommend the MXV4s b/c those are the ones rated higher for ride comfort and lower noise level. Not that the MXM4s are rated poorly but I know they give a more sporty/aggressive ride compared to the MXV4s. That is why Infiniti is putting the MXM4s on the M and Nissan putting the MXV4s on the Altima. It's possible you got a bad batch of Michelin's maybe. I can't speak from personally experience unfortunately but from the Max owners who got one of the Primacy's put on, all their vibration, noise, and ride issues ceased so I don't know what else to tell you.

 

I would have to be really unlucky for that to happen a third time. Remember they replaced one of the Goodyears early this year and replaced all with the Primacy MXM4's. I have given up thrown in the towel and moved on. I am planning my next purchase. I have also not even bothered to contact nissan about the wifes car which... you all know the story its the same.

 

I might have missed this but, did anyone check the runout on the wheels themselves or on the rotors (while mounted.) Almost sounds as though a wheel bearing is packing it in (don't know if front or back) but if the loading/unloading works for a bit...I'm almost ready to say you have a bad one. Does it change under braking (getting better or worse) or after a turn? Course it could be the rims themselves...had a set of bad rims once myself that sort of acted as you describe...seems the mounting holes enlarged themselves and the lugs wouldn't keep the tires secure. It is a shame they don't balance the wheels while mounted on the car anymore but for a few high end service centres.

 

The last few posts sound a lot like my car's problems. I've been fighting this vibration which comes & goes since early in the life of my '09, now with 30K miles. Balancing, rebalancing, rotating, Hunter balancing, etc. made only minor improvements in the ride, and sometimes made it worse. A year ago, I had a bad blow-out of a front tire on a big pot-hole on wintry roads in upstate NY. I chose to replace the two front tires with Michelin Primacy MXV4 (18"). The vibration problem became much worse. Confirmed the rim was OK after the blow-out. Rebalanced. Somewhat better, but still squirrely. Have lived with it this way since summertime. Wanted to see how the Michelins performed in snow here. Just OK. Decided to rotate the Michelins to the back to see how they feel. WOW, the RS-As on the front feel much better than the Michelins. Much smoother. However, I still get the vibration which comes & goes. I, too, think that wind & road turbulence has something to do with the problem. Every once in a long while the car drives great, like the other Maxima I test drove (this one brought in from another dealer for color choice). The good ride only lasts for a ride to a destination, or maybe a day or so. Then the vibe comes back.

Where I'm at with this ordeal:
1. I like the Michelins on the rear, but not the front. The ride quality is much improved with them on the rear. The steering was vague with them on the front. Steering much crisper with RS-A's on front.
2. I'm wondering if the TSB for transmission re-flash might help some. I feel the CVT is getting rough & chattery especially in the 30-45 mph zone. Sometimes I feel the vibration problem might be same as transmission, but vibrations still there when I shift to Neutral at speed.
3. I'm wondering if I have a bad strut or bearing, perhaps in the rear. That's how I describe the problem to the dealer. They can't find a suspension or drive-train problem.
4. I'm wondering if I have a bad Michelin MXV4, because even with good balancing, they made the steering wheel shimmy, some days worse than others. That went away with the RS-A on the front again.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!