I have about 1050 miles on my car and I realized that when I cruise or coast at around 50-55 mph, I can hear a slight hum and my gas pedal vibrates a little differently. Has anybody else noticed this? Should I be concerned?

 

Rut roh!

This could be the CVT tranny natural frequency hum. I think it is inherent in the design. Some people are more sensitive to the vibrations.

 

I have a slight vibration at 80. If I go to 83+ or under 80 I don't have the vibration anymore. I guess I have to keep it above 80 all of the time

 

sounds like the CVT. My Z28 would sort of vibrate at exactly 50mph too, like it was about to shift or something, hard to explain.

 

I would feel more at ease if someone else felt it too with their max. maybe I'm just being paranoid. this is the first car I'm paying for on my own

 

I get this vibration at a low speed. Really annoying sometime.I will have the dealer check this out. I drove another prem vehicle and it didnt have as bad as mine but I felt the vbration a little bit.

 

Since the car is a lease, would I have to pay anything to have the car looked at, since I don't have a warranty on it?

 

I had some slight vibrations since new and i had the dealer rebalance the tires. Seems good now. I noticed the vibrations at 50 and up.

 

I had a slight vibe at the same speed, I noticed in the first few days of driving, it seemed to go away. 750 on the odometer now. Just put my winter tires and wheels on yesterday.... slightly squishy now in the twisties but better that I thought it would be going down to 225/55/17 Have to deal with it for the next 3 months or so.

 

Hmm.. I will see if I can get my wheels re-balanced. I can do that on my own since I know someone who has a wheel-balancer.

In order to be more descriptive, the hum is not a consistent hum, but like humm hummm hummm, so i think that the wheels being off balanced might be the issue.

 

I wanted to start my own thread on this, because I have had an ongoing problem with my new Maxima with vibrations and a noise from day one. When I first got it, I had a thumping noise that started at around 35MPH and got louder when I went faster. It also got louder when I went around sweeping right hand bends. The dealer agreed that the noise did not seem normal and also said they noticed a weird wear pattern on the rear tires. The car only had 500 miles on it. Of which I only put on 150 of. I got the car with 350 miles on it. That is another sore spot for me. Anyway, they put new rear tires on and realigned the rear end. I got the car back and the noise was still there. So, I brought it back. This time they replaced the front tires. With the 4 new tires I was getting a shimmy in the steering at around 62 mph and a vibration in the seat up to 70 mph. The noise seemed to be gone except now the vibration was causing a similiar noise when the shaking/vibration started that coincided with the harmonic of the vibration. Back to the dealer. They had the car for three days. They ended up doing a road force balance. This seemed to greatly reduce the vibration and got rid of the shimmy. But, I still feel a slight intermittent vibration in the seat at 60 to 70 mph. You can actually see the passenger seat shake with the vibration, however it is not excessive. The service department manager says he drove another 2009 Max to compare and that was the same and that I must be sensitive to the Goodyear RSA tires. He said they were very hard and that a different tire may make it better. They contacted Nissan and they would have nothing to do will replacing the tire with a different brand. I don't believe it is the tires at all. I think it is a noise in the CVT. But, in searching the internet, I have not found any similiar stories concerning the CVT. I also get a clicking noise when I first get going in the morning that sounds like a bad CV joint. That quickly goes away after you start driving it. My old Camry with 207,000 miles is quieter on the highway.

 

Sounds like someone beat the crap outta that thing for the first 350 miles. I'd head back to the dealer, hand 'em the FOB and reference your state's lemon law (if you have one). That's just BS to have to put up with that.

 

At this point I am not sure what I want to do. Luckily I leased this car. But I will have to live with the payments and the car for 3 more years. When I picked up the car and saw the mileage I should have said I did not want it, but the papers were already signed. After I complained about the mileage. They said, "oh, it was probably out on a few test drives and maybe Nissan road tested it." How do you like that B.S.? New Jersey does have a lemon law but I heard you need to get a lawyer to get any results. I think I am going to ask the dealership to extend my warranty, because I go 20K/year on my lease.

 

Adamax,

If you don't mind me asking which model did you get. I am looking into getting a SV Sport with Tech and will probably do a 25K- 30K miles a year lease. What are your monthly payments if you don't mind.

 

I got the SV. I got the cold package, splash gaurds, bluetooth, and the spoiler. Basically everything the sport pack comes with without the bigger wheels. My payments are $490/month including tax. 39 month lease.

 

I'm so not used to this CVT thing. i don't feel vibration but while i drive in city, sometime, car seems like it's pressing brakes (i just let accel go to slow down) by itself. it's hard to explain with words.. it's like

when you try to slow down without using brakes,, at this point, car seems decelerate
by itself (a bit). can this be from VDC thing? it's bugging me a bit.

 

I feel what you feel in this case. I think it is engine braking to keep the car under control in anticipation of actual braking...if you keep your foot off, it seems to me the car will free wheel at lower speeds ...as it would in neutral... after the initial feeling of braking.

The CVT isn't perfect but way closer than a geared automatic would be. The driver has complete control in manual mode and the transmission is 90% perfect on its own.

 

I have an SV Sport, as loaded as you can get.

The car has an awful vibration/resonation at 40 or so MPH. It is the same as lugging the motor. Like taking a manual transmission, and putting it in 6th gear at 35. The whole drivetrain is under load.

If I get the RPM's up over 1400 or so, it goes away, as the ratio in the transmission changes. I can not live with it, glad my wife drives it.

Anyone have a software upgrade yet, or anything along those lines.

Mike

 

Have an appointment on Saturday 8am (EST) Will give out an update when I hear from them. It's driving me nuts.

 

My wife's car has a vibration at about 40 ks (24 MPH). It seems to me the engine is lugging but you can feel the vibration in the wheel and it does not feel like tires. It's only minor so will wait to take it to the Dealer when it needs the first oil change.

 

I would love to hear what the dealership has to say. I have had my Maxima for about a month now and have 1,000 miles on it. In about the last 200 miles I have noticed the vibration you speak of. I can really feel it through the gas pedal. The only things that make it go away are getting up above 60 mph, or taking my foot off of the gas pedal. It is very annoying.

 

This is pretty ridiculous if it is in any way related to the shimmy of the 6th gen at 60mph or so. Its a come and go kinda thing but ive been ok and pretty much forgot about it.

 

sadly, the weather was really bad this wknd and I couldn't take my car to the dealership. I also happened to leave my car keys at work, so that hampered my trip.

I'll take it there this Saturday. Happy Holidays everyone.

 

Steve - I don't think this is the CVT. You are describing the thing about the 6th gen (specifically, my '04) that took me a while to get used to: Nissan has programmed things to use engine compression to slow the car down if you lift your foot off the accellerator pedal going downslope. Once I became used to this, I liked it. But it was definitely a change from my 5th gen. I guess they have carried this forward into the 7th gen.

 

I have an 09 for the last 6 months. I have had it in the dealer at least 5 times for what everone is describing. for me it happens between 70-74 mph. the dealer balances the tires everytime and states that there is no other problem. funny that the seat and the steering wheel vibrates at this speed only. they say it is not a tire problem but a balance problem. My issue is why are the tires coming unbalanced so often, and also, if it is a balance issue, why doesn't balancing fix the problem. glad other people have the issue too, but anyone know what to tell the dealer to fix the issue? thanks.!

 

same thing here... very annoying... anyone know how to fix????

 

I think the vibration problem is endemic to the CVT design.

View the link below to see how others have talked about it. You will find the similar type talk on Altima boards.

http://www.topix.com/forum/autos/nis...GCOKP2TPUP5GTA

All the Nissan salespeople I have talked to said they never heard of this problem.

 

@CT Maxima

Thanks for that post. The vibration/moan is pretty much exactly what I'm experiencing. I haven't gotten to take it to the dealer, because they said they need to work on it on a weekday (that sucks since I work) but I will try and get it to them. After reading those posts, I guess I shouldn't really expect anything from them other than a tough luck stance.. Absolutely terrible IMHO.

 

The reports on that link were almost all about '07 and '08 Maximas. The CVT in the '09 has been redesigned, and magazine testers who tested this '09 last spring and summer said the '09 CVT was much-improved over the '07/'08 CVT.

The 'feeling of downshifting' mentioned in many of those posts is not related to the CVT; that is a 'feature' Nissan added with the intro of the 6th gen, and is very pronounced on my '04 (5 speed auto tranny), as well as other '04s I test drove before purchasing mine.

The vibration they are reporting, however, is something different. It may indeed be related to the CVT. Of course the '04 Maxima (and some '05s) was notorious for a vibration that some folks never did get rid of. A weak steering rack caused some of those vibrations. A wheel/tire setup that could only be balanced on a particular Hunter balancing system by someone who was an expert with that system also caused a lot of grief with the '04.

 

The sense of the car downshifting at lower speeds is one of the 700+ programmed shifting algorithms. Get used to it, flip into fake manual, or just feather the gas and the car may learn when not to use that particular feature.

Excluding our first 4th Gen Max, all the others that we own(ed) suffer from high speed vibrations that can be minimized with Road Force balancing and careful installation of the wheels to assure perfect centering of the wheels. The stock wheels usually aren't that bad, but I've had mixed success with aftermarket wheels and centering rings. I always drop the car until the wheel barely touches the ground and then spin it to find hi/low spots before torquing it up. PITA, but I am **** and I like a smooth ride.

At low speeds you don't notice a tire that is a bit out of round or off center, but at higher speeds the tires will develop harmonics that cause the shimmy to come and go and quite often dissappear on rough roads altogether (unlike a tire that is truly out of balance).

 

I've done some more research in this are. You are correct in that the 09 Maxima has a redesigned CVT transmission. However, one theory for the cause of the vibration is "dwelling in high gear" at near lugging speeds. This of course is software related and derives from the need to attain high mileage ratings.

I pick up my new 09 SV this Friday. Wish me luck.

 

I would not be surprised if your lugging theory proves correct. MPG becomes more critical every day, and will definitely receive more emphasis every year.

Here's wishing you luck. Based on today's emails from my dealer's internet manager, it looks like this may be 'the weekend' for me, also.

 

interesting was there ever a solution?

 

What are you considering option wise lightonthehill?

 

CT MAX what did you get?

 

Yeah I noticed this too especially in "Sport" mode. I kind of like it as it gives a more controlled feeling to the car. My 5.7 litre V8 Camaro would just roll faster and faster. However my friend drove the max and didnt like the feeling that you were "braking" when you took your foot off. I guess a good LONG test drive is necessary whenever you are seriously about to sign papers. I took the 09 they had for a drive, but next time I'm going to take it out for a longer run to be SURE. It's hard when you test drove a bunch of cars and are trying to really learn the car before buying. Really have to test everything. Then again, a car can always be sold/traded in. A family member of mine traded a car back in 4 days after buying it due to comfort/drive issues and it was a very expensive car.

 

I am about to pick up my Navy Blue with Charcoal seats SV + Premium + Splash + Mats + Truck Organizer.

I do not expect any drama, but possession is 9/10ths of the law.

 

Love the color!

 

I really think there are two different issues being talked about here. I have the lugging at low speeds and a vibration at about 65mph. The lugging causes a vibration resonance in the car at just under 40 mph. This is the same lugging vibration you would get driving a manual transmission car in too high a gear, and is definitly casues by the CVT programming. The vibration at 65 mph is more of a problem for me because I do all my driving on the highway. A friend of mine who used to be a service manager at Nissan said that the 6th gen had this problem and he had success curing it by swapping out the tires with Michelins. They already switched my tires with new OEM RS-A's

 

mls - I'm a very old stick-in-the-mud. I was around for the depression of the 1930s. My option days are sadly over. I will custom-make edging for the wheel well openings from 1 inch wide, half inch thick hard black rubber. I have done that for every car I've owned for many decades. Helps prevent dings. I always install rain guards, so I can crack my windows in hot weather without having to worry about the inside getting wet. I will move my big trunk cargo holder from my '04 to my '09; it is the full width of the trunk, and about 18 inches front to rear. Lots of changeable compartments. I replace the valve caps with indicators that tell me when the psi drops below 34 psi. I install the locking lug nuts I have transferred down through my last four Maximas.

I may do a few other small things, but nothing of any consequence. As I said, once one gets really old, one tends to move toward inconsequential, but practical mods. But I still remember the good old 'modding' days of my youth. I could paint up old steel wheels so they looked really hot. I had my '78 Datsun 200SX so 'hot' the college crowd would follow my daughter around when she drove it. Well, maybe it was my daughter that caught their eyes.

One reason I do little modding is that I never keep my car past the first year of the next generation. I pick my '09 up Monday, and I may see a mod or two that this car needs. Thanks for asking.