Has anyone experienced a knock / ping in the left rear quarter of their Max? I started hearing one about a 10 days ago and it's driving me nuts. Here are the particulars I've been able to determine:

- Sounds like a light knocking, or a ping.
- Happens only at low speeds, under about 35 MPH.
- Occurs on smooth roads with some minor road surface changes.
- Not produced or affected by bumps - that is, hitting bump does not cause the sound.
- Comes from the left rear area of the car; definitely can be heard by both driver and front passenger.

I had my wife sit in the back to try to ID to source of the noise. She said it seemed to come from the left C-pillar area. I only was able to hear it once while sitting in the back, and it did seem to be from that same area.

I have the SV model, with the split seats. I initially thought it might be the seat latch rattling, but it didn't come from that area and I drove around with the seat folded and still heard the noise. I also confirmed that I don't have one of the rear knuckles that needed to be replaced.

Anyone?

 

check out Nissanhelp.com

sign up and look up uder your car, there is a recall on that rear knuckle

 

yea theres deff a recall i received my recall leter in the mail about 2 weeks ago, something to do with the rear left knuckle

 

I've done that, and read the rear knuckle recall last week. According to the bulletin, there is a specific lot of knuckles that were bad. Only knuckles stamped with that lot code are subject to recall. I checked my rear knuckle and the lot codes are different. The bulletin also does not list the symptoms - only that certain adverse traits are exhibited under certain driving conditions.

Ergo, I don't think my knocking issue is caused by the rear knuckle, unless someone that had the problem can confirm their symptoms were similar to mine.

 

Sounds like a test drive at the dealerships service department is in order...

 

Yup. Scheduled for a week from tomorrow.

 

If your luck is normal, there will be no ping while the service tech in is the car, but the ping will resume after the tech has given up and you are on the way home.

These type sounds car be frustrating. I had a very soft, indistinct, intermittent rattle last week, and finally had my wife drive while I searched for the cause. Turned out to be a loose piece on a pair of old eyeglasses in the back of this very deep '09 glove box.

You said your ping sounded almost as if it might be in the left 'C' pillar. A sound in the left front area of the trunk might give that impression. Have you tried lying in the trunk while your wife drives?

 

That sounds a little dangerous, no? No for my wife's driving, mind you. I did take EVERYTHING our of the trunk to make sure that wasn't it. Didn't work.

I also poked around, taking off the cover on the roof of the trunk - nothing I could see. I was reluctant to take of the C-pillar cover, as it says AIR BAG on it. It would be an unhappy day if I managed to set off the side airbag - the ones on my Jeep are activated via a cable if the door deforms by a certain amount. I would hate to pull the cable.

But the rattle is still there and pretty consistent.

 

Well, that post was Tuesday of last week, so today (Wednesday) should be the day your dealer gets serious about this rattle. Tell your dealer that if you had wanted a rattle, you would have skipped by the $30K to $40K MSRP Maxima and bought a $30 to $40 rattletrap.

 

Well today was the day. Went in for the two seat issues and the rattle. On order are the parts for the passenger seat fix and the driver's seat frame/assembly.

No resolution on the rattle, but the techs definately heard it. The drove around the parking lot while one of the techs lay on the trunk trying to find the noise. The suspension was checked, the trunk checked, the rear c-pillar cover removed, and more. They have not been able to find the source yet but seemed really interested in fixing it. When I go back to have the seat parts installed they will spend some more time chasing it down.

 

Sounds like your dealer is interested in making your Maxima right. Having an interested dealer is half the battle. After the seats are fixed, let us know how they work, and whether they found the rattle.

 

I posted my seat resolution in the seat fix thread, but am following up here as well.

The dealer installed the bracket for the passenger side, and it has greatly reduced the shaking.

They also installed a new seat frame for the driver's side, which also seems to have eliminated the rocking problem. They actually installed two - they deemed the first replacement to still have too much play so a second was ordered and installed. Kudos to the dealer for being proactive.

Now for the mystery knocking / ping sound. The dealer found it! It seems that a bracket in the rear seat was not installed properly at the factory. A bolt that secures the bracket was cross-threaded and not properly tightened as a result. This allowed some play in the bracket which created the noise I heard. The dealer removed the offending bolt and properly tightened the bracket. Noise gone!

I have to say that my dealer (Nissan 112 in Patchogue, NY) has been very good about these three items. I was expecting some push-back or to be told they could not find the noise. Not only did they acknowledge the problem, but continued to look for the root causes. Very pleased with them.

 

Lucky you, I keep getting this ping knocking noise but it seems to be coming from the sunroof. I have the Sv Premium with the dual view sunroof and I think the roller that rolls the cloth to open and close the ceiling is loose as the noise drives me crazy when any speedbump or sudden movement comes from the car. Anyone else hear of this problem? Also the suspension or the springs make a sound from the movement of deadstop to acceleration as if the springs settle or something, not a big deal but yeah can't stand little tedious sounds coming from the car.

 

YES MAXDOUT ! I get the same noise from the springs , this was getting on my nerves, i was gonna pm you cause i know your the other member with the eibachs, and i was gonna ask you if you hear the springs poppin and making noise after the installation. Like i know these sounds are common when you first install them, but ive had the springs installed for about 2 weeks now. This happens usually on a acceleration and even sometimes on a turn. I guess i wasnt going crazy after all lol

 

Yeah same problem here, I will check again and let you know where the noise is, if i'm not wrong I believe it is coming from the passenger side, just don't remember if its front or back. Let me know where your noise is coming from if you can.

 

I notcied the same problem. Sounds like it's coming from both the sunroof and the rear suspension. Also after my first oil change, I noticed a minor knock from the front. Will take it on Monday for a 7:30 appointment and see how it goes.

 

WOW, 112 Nissan,its amazing how I brought car there for the same problem with rocking seat and told me they can't duplicate the problem and they never heard of the rocking seat.

 

yea last night i was listening closly to the noise and everytime i accelerate i hear clunk , doesnt always happen but mostly happens when i come to a full stop, and yea it might be coming from the rear. I never noticed this sound before i installed the springs. Ive been hearing all kinda weird noises since the eibach install. Also the sunroof as well is very noisy, but i noticed that since i bought the car. When i back into my driveway thats all i here is swqeek swqeek coming from the top.

 

When did you go? They never gave me a minute's problem. My service advisor is Ed.

Of course, I did go in with a detailed printed list of the exact problems and how to duplicate them. I also provided the seat frame part number as a possible resolution. I gave it to Ed after he had written me up, and he attached it to the work order. He actually thanked me for the list.

 

I got a call from Nissan yesterday after I dropped my car off and they said they had to order a new "sunroof track" because the one on my car was broken. They needed to keep the car overnight since they had to remove the entire sunroof. Nothing yet on the front end noise or the vibrating passenger front seat. I should hear something by today.

 

are you getting the front end noises, while your at a full stop then accelerate, and also making left/right turns?

 

Yes, both. I usually get the front end noises while turning and after accelerating after a complete stop. It sounds and feels like small knocking under my feet during those driving situations. The service advisor "Michael" said he feels like it might be one of the control arms, but no official word from Nissan as of this message.

 

I just had my SV Premium into the dealer for the front knocking issue. Both the front strut and the front bearing on the driver side are bad. They didn't have the parts so I have to go back. I'm just thrilled that they actually found it this time.

Also found the passenger side rear tire to be out of round with the wheel which wasn't helping all of my vibration issues.

 

yea im getting the same problems

 

same here! also, going over speed bumps creates some nasty noises.

 

I also hear front and rear knocking, only at low speeds, usually if backing out of parking space. Never at high speeds and usually before the doors even auto lock. It has kinda been driving me crazy.

 

Anyone see resolution on the banging noises? I notice it particularly when it is hot outside, say over 80-85.

 

i have front end knocking noises also...i took it to dealer they said its my HID ballses i was like wtf??? ok then i straped those down and took it to dealer again thursday and it wasnt happenening!! i had to drive the car for 120 miles for it to happen again....finally got it to happen @ 4 30 pm and took it back to them to hear noise....he drove it around the lot and heard it also...and it happens every time i go over a speed hump, turn the wheel then press gas, and sometimes when i make U turn.

i find it funny how it only happens after im driving the car for a while though....

thank god i didnt put these springs in yet other wise =O

gotta go back on monday for them to do further diag and see whats up....its either 1 the shocks 2 the control arm (lower) or 3 tire rods.....how do you guys drive are you aggressive drivers???
normal drivers? grandma drivers?? i personally think its either my control arm or tire rod...

and this is suppose to be a 4dsc tisk tisk what kinda 4dsc is it when i cant take a 90degree turn @ 25 mph without breaking tire rods....

 

I have a 2009 Maxima with the dual sunroof and I can't stand that roof squeek! It seems to come from about 6+ different locations on the sunroof (i.e. a-pillar left/right, b-pillar left/right/center, and c-pillar left/right). It happens every day of the year, but only after the car has been parked for more than about 3 hours (I guess the dual sunroof needs to settle back to its original state before it will make those loud snaps/squeeks again). It will do it during turns (even low-speed turns), going up/down driveways, etc. It seems the torque on the chassis (even VERY light torque) will cause the loud noises from the dual sun roof.

Does anyone have a confirmed fix from a Nissan dealer for this problem? Is it really a broken sunroof track?

 

With sounds coming from all parts of your sunroof, there almost has to be something broken or derailed. Mine hasn't made a peep yet in over ten months.

The reason Nissan replaced the body frame wall with large openings which is normally found between the back seat and trunk with a stronger, more solid wall on '09s with Premium or Sport packages was to reduce the torsional twist. The 'S' and 'VS' Maximas without Premium or Sport packages have the old style wall between the rear seat and trunk, with large openings.

But this double-panel roof sort of concerned me from day one. Even with that body frame reinforcement, all cars do twist when the car moves across speed bumps at an angle, turns into driveways at an angle, etc.

Many dealers are not qualified to work on these double panel roofs, and send customers to body shops. Replacement double-panel roofs cost around $5,000, and are shipped by freighter from Japan (this can take a month or more).

I'm keeping my fingers crossed mine doesn't begin making noises.

 

I have the same issue the tech first said it was a motor mount issue and went back to install and they even said that wasn't the cause, and further looking into it was a strut insulator.... We'll thats total bull**** cause its back again.......This is very annoying!

 

I've got the same issue going on, verified by the dealership yesterday. Car going back in 2 weeks so they can start taking apart the roof. They stated they'd never taken one of these roofs apart, so I'm very nervous what's going to happen. I"m hopeful someone else comes across a solution between now and then so I can at least give them some direction.

 

Ok so i've had this ping sound coming from the left rear ever since I got the car.... Never knew what it was and it only happened when I drove up the entrance to the Home Depot/Stop and Shop plaza - A right turn uphill. Oh and i've been to the dealership countless times for oil changes/major service/courtesy checks/Eibach install, etc.

When I went under my car to install the STILLEN RSB, I noticed that the OEM driver's side endlink WAS NOT ATTACHED to the suspension!!! It was attached to the sway bar JUST DANGLING! I was absolutly ripsh*t, but it was a sunday so the dealership was closed. When I went to confront them about it, the manager said that 'there is no way of knowing when it happened' even tho the bolt was covered in rust, and I had heard the noise since day one and now its gone now that the bar is properly bolted... He said they would have seen it cuz it would have stuck out like a sore thumb. I'm not sure how to handle this, but he basically wouldn't take any sort of responsibility for it. My service advisor is great, but if his manager is going to take the stand of "oh wow thats weird" then I'm not sure if I should continue giving them my business. Man, just telling the story gets me all fired up again....

Needless to say, now that the STILLEN bar is installed, and ACTUALLY BOLTED TO THE CAR, she drives like a dream!

 

Absolutely incredible (as well as very irritating). I hate to think this could be true, but your car may have left the assembly line in Smyrna with that endlink dangling. I can't think of any reason anyone would have had to unbolt that thing until you were ready to install your Stillens.

I know assembly lines are not perfect, and this situation would not have been caught by any inspection that did not look closely under the rear of the car. Unfortunately, almost all routine maintenance involves the FRONT half of the car, and this problem could have gone unnoticed for years had you not actually needed to work with exactly that part.

There really isn't a lot your dealer can do about this, except to apologize for Nissan, and if he is really customer oriented, offer a free oil change or so. There isn't much here that could be billed back to Nissan.

I am glad you are finally actually experiencing the true ride of a 7th gen Maxima. Better late than never.

 

You are so right that it is scary to think that it has been dangling like that since day 1. I must say tho, the car drives incredible now. MUCH more 4DSC-ey, especially with that stiffer bar.

The manager was very apologetic and assured me they are thorough with their work. What are ya gonna do... sh*t happens. I'm just glad that I decided to install the STILLEN bar.....

 

Anyone get this fixed ? I have eibachs and racingline rsb, hearing knocking noises when backing up in driveway bumps and my dealership checked it and said it was the eibachs rubbing against each other. Dunno if I believe that