smarty666

Your missing the point entirely and that is no excuse (r u sure you don't work for Nissan Consumer Affairs)? For something as simple as a seat not shaking while a car is in motion, it really looks a little bit ridiculous on Nissan's part that they missed this when engineering a upscale car like the Maxima.

Well, with that reasoning, then no one should ever buy anything more expensive then a base S Altima. C'mon give me a break!

Mreim769

Lol I am sorry but that doesn't make any sense, but it was worth a laugh. Theoretically though, the Tata Nano should have 0 problems. I knew I should have went to the Tata dealership.....

STARR

iTrader: (1)

Go work for BMW, MB, Lexus, you will not believe the problems the cars have, and the things that customers bring the cars in for, it's normal just cause you don't see it and don't know what happening does not mean everything is fine.

Go to the Yaris forum, owners getting 40+ mpg on cars with 150k and only every had oil changes.

Higher priced cars have more problems, don't ever buy anything close to 6 figures or an exotic

smarty666

The problem with Nissan, at least my local dealer is, they don't offer any loaner cars and I need that in order to go to work during the week since something like takes a few hours for them to work on. They won't let me bring it in on Saturday because they don't do anything but normal maintenance stuff on Sat so what the hell am I suppose to do. I can't take a day off from work every time I need warranty work done!

Listen, I'm not saying stuff can't happen with expensive cars. My point is this is a simple structural problem with the seat. If it was something with a power feature not working or something leaking, that would be different but to have a seat shaking after I have had the recall fix is ridiculous. I hope none of my friends in the car ever notice it because I'd be embarrassed as hell. Just like, I heard on edmunds a few months ago, that there was a piece of the front fender falling off several brand new 2010 RX350s. That situation is similar to this in that a brand new expensive vehicle having such a stupid issue like that is comical and embarrassing to tell people.

Now, there are people on here who have had some issues with the dual panel moon roof leaking, making noise, or not closing properly. Now that is not a simple issue and much more complex for example!

IH8SPM

If you buy a used Max and it has issues its expected its used. If you buy or lease in my case a $30k car you expect NO issues. The fact is that when you have a baseline (forum) to compare to everything looks worse. Before we had these forums we just had to run into someone at a dealership or a lot to compare issues. Cars like everything else will always have problems. If they didn't we would not need a service department. If they are legitimate problems they will be corrected and paid for by the manufacture so I really could care less in the end. In the medical field there are people called Hypocondriac and until I found this forum I knew very little about the issue but since I have developed all of them. Thanks

Mreim769

As much as it may suprise you I don't really frequent the Yaris forums.I can believe those numbers but those numbers are maybe 50 people out of what 1000000 people? What you are forgetting though is that every car in every car manufacturer will have problems, some are just more talked about then others. Moving Parts + Human Error = Problems. Look at all the problems Toyota has had, even GMs are having problems specially on the lower end of their price range but I don't recall any other those problems on a ZR1. Yeah some of the 6 and 7 digit cars will have problems but look at the stress they are being put under, it's no wonder a Lambo tranny will be eventually swapped out every 10k miles.

Lanzz

Bottom line - my 2009 Maxima has every single "teething" problem - shaking driver's seat, rocking passenger seat, creaking dual panel sunroof and squeaking right rear suspension.

No dealer can fix them, and neither Nissan USA or the dealers seem to care.

I am past the point of thinking that "every brand has issues..." I just know I will never own another Nissan.

IH8SPM

Both seat brackets replaced. The passenger seat still shakes and now the drivers seat motors feels like its jamming up????? WT*.Oh and it still rocks????????????????????

maxima sv10

OMG shaking passenger side seat is driving me crazy I cant take it any more. Thank god I have tinted windows so nobody can see my seat going crazy. I miss my 2004 Nissan. I tried everything balance rotate tires, alligment not sure what else to do. PLZ help 41K car....garbage

lightonthehill

Not good at all that this passenger seat vibration has been around since summer of 2008, and many dealers are STILL unable to fix this. It is a VERY bad sign that the two complaints immediately preceeding this post are 2010 Maxima owners. It is as if Nissan has made absolutely no progress with this problem for between one and two years.

Putting a person or anything heavy in the seat stops the vibration, but that is not a real 'fix.' My passenger seat does not vibrate. It would seem to me that there would HAVE to be some kind of vibration in the suspension caused by tires or alignment in some way (even though maybe not enough to be felt by the driver), otherwise, what would cause the seat back to move at all? But then I'm not sure of anything anymore.

I hope someone from Nissan checks this board at times. Much more info here than they would ever get from their 'customer satisfaction' surveys.

smarty666

Sorry to hear man. I have a 2010 SV and my passenger front seat is till shaking/vibrating like crazy. Took it to my local Nissan dealer last week who performed the TSB bracket replacement last Oct and they said they don't know what else to do and that I should take it to another dealership. This coming from the dealership where I leased the car from! They didn't even want to try and take another look at it or perform the TSB again! Such lazy useless bastards!

There is a much nicer/bigger Nissan dealership about 25 minutes from where I live which I'm going to take it to but I'm not expecting anything different. The TSB was performed and I don't know what they can do differently. I wrote to NCA's last month and they basically in a polite way said F you and there is nothing Nissan can do and to take it to another dealer. Plus I have a knocking/pinging thing with my engine going on still so I have to take it in anyway.

At thing point, I'm getting extremely disappointed and angry with Nissan customer service or the complete lack of it. I can understand why they are ranked near the bottom of the industry now. It is absolutely ridiculous that an almost 38k automobile has a shaking seat that cannot be fixed. It really looks like an embarrassment for Nissan quality!

I had vibration problems with the tires and the car but at the 7500 mile rotation I paid to have all four tires performance balanced on a Hunter GSP9700 machine with straightrak! The vibrations in the wheel, pedals, seats, etc has greatly improved since the balancing but the seat is still shaking a lot. What is happening now is, the seat belt that hangs next to the seat on the frame when there is no passenger sitting in the front, is being smacked by the seat on rough patched/bumpy roads and causing the seat belt to smack into the plastic piece of body panel on the frame of the car making a loud noise.

I tell you, if Nissan is not able to fix this seat shake and noise coming from my engine, I don't know if I would get another Nissan. Its a shame because I love the car overall but quality issues like this on this expensive of a vehicle are just totally unacceptable. I mean as light pointed out, this car has been out for almost 2 years now and Nissan hasn't had a fixed yet? I mean c-mon !

maxima sv10

At this point I'm thinking that all of us might have serious problem with suspension or tires. RS/A's are know for little bit rougher ride and tires are kinda loud so due to the road surface they are causing seat so vibrate. Only on the new road pavement I get no vibration. Also try this. Fit your fist slightly tap head rest and back of the seat. Seat goes nuts and it almost sounds that is not bolted down all the way.

smarty666

Exactly, I think some of it is due to the tires. I still contend that these RS-A's are a terrible terrible tire for the Maxima. Buts its not just this car. Infiniti uses them on the G and a couple of other models and they are just terrible. What is a joke is, almost all the reviews you read about Nissan's and Infiniti's state that a con is a lack of refinement in ride quality and road noise making its way into the cabin. Gee, I wonder why, could it be that they have those crappy RS-A's on them? Of course it does. I'm not saying it is causing all the problems, but the crappy tires are definitely a huge contributor.

I get my synthetic oil and filter changes done at a Goodyear Tire Dealership and I told them about the ride quality and terrible loud noise level these RS-A's have and the guys did admit that a lot of people complain about t
them and Goodyear even admits that they have vibration problems and very hard to balance. They even admit they recommend people get an adjustment with them and replace them with the ResponseEdges which are Goodyear's grand touring tire but I've read people having the same problems with the ResponseEdges like these RS-A's with vibrations and noise level problems because the ResponseEdges are a Eagle series tire just like the RS-A's! This car would have been much better off with a Michelin or Kumho!

Take me for instance, I spent about $70 bucks to have all four performance balanced on the industries top of the line Hunter Roadforce GSP9700 machine with straightrak LFM technology. This is the best balancer on the market and even with this balancing, the vibrations did not go away 100%. I would say there was a 85-90% improvement but the place where I had the balancing done said, these RS-A's go out of balance fairly easily and that you really need to have them balanced at each 7500 mile tire rotation and I think they are right. I had them balanced when I first got the car by Nissan which got rid of most of the vibrations but by 5-6k miles I felt it getting bad again and now its better with another balancing and probably will start to go out again around 12-13k miles till I can pay to have them balanced again at 15k! I mean this is absolutely ridiculous. $70-80 bucks every 7500 miles starts to add up!

You know, I don't hear or read reviews of people with the Altima complaining about ride quality and road noise like us Maxima and Infiniti owners do! Not surprising, the Altima does not use the RS-A's on any models. They use Continental's on the base car, top line Michelin Primacy's on the SL's and Bridgestones on the 3.5SR!

To be honest though, even on freshly paved highway and interstate that is smooth as silk, the passenger seat still vibrates. It doesn't really shake or move as badly but even on smooth pavement you can still notice some moderate vibrations in the seat. If I put my hand on the headrest or hit the seat, my hand begins to shake/vibrate with the seat and the seat makes noise from time to time. I don't know! Just very very disappointing to be going through something as trival as this with a 37K dollar Maxima!

umdpru

As far as the wheels or suspension causing this issue, I'd have to say, from an engineering standpoint, that the suspension and tires are fine. The car, any car, will ALWAYS have a very slight, if even imperceptible vibration. The seat is vibrating because the natural frequency of the seat matches the excitation frequency of the vehicle. What can you do to stop the seat from vibration cause by the car? Make it stiffer or change the mass of the seat. Those are the two ways vibrations are stopped in ANY design.

I've also noticed some road noise. Coming from a car that was impossibly noisy in the cabin at 35 MPH, I can tell you that the roadnoise from the Max is hardly an issue for me. IMAO, if you re complaining of roadnoise in the Max, then I'd say you are spoiled.

smarty666

Give me a break! Those are just excuses after excuses as to why many people on here, not just myself have problems with the seat and vibrations in the cabin and many continue to have problems even after having Nissan perform the TSB on it. Tires make a huge difference in ride quality and vibrations and I've read not only on this blog site but others with Infiniti, Acura, BMW, and Audi what difference changing tires make. My God, Goodyear professionals even admitted to me this tire has noise and vibration issues!

I'm glad the noise level is not bothersome for you but to most it is. I have problems sitting in the back sometimes, depending on the kind of road surface, and hearing what my front seat occupants are saying because of the road noise coming in.

By the way, it has nothing to do with being spoiled, with a car as expensive as this 7th Gen Maxima, you expect a certain level of refinement in certain areas. I'm not saying it has to be ES350 silent but it could be a lot better than what it is.

Please though, don't make excuses for this passenger seat shaking. I mean this isn't just a slight vibration that your trying to explain and pass it off as, especially on secondary road with any kind of imperfections/bumps, this seat looks like it has Parkinson Disease, no offense to people who have it or know people who have it, but that is the best description of how bad it gets and for Nissan to basically say is just unacceptable. But I haven't exhausted all my options yet so I'll report back eventually what happens!

lightonthehill

Now, now, Smartie. I understand your frustration, and if I were in your car, I would be frustrated also. But I think umdpru has a point in that this passenger seat vibration extends even beyond our rough RS-A tires, and actually is tied to the fact the vibration frequency of the seat matches a natural vibration of the car. These Maxima front seats are a little top-heavy as compared with many cars, and that adds to the problem. The mounting system of these seats only exacerbates the problem. Going to a better tire definitely makes for a better ride, and probably a quieter ride. It would also probably ease the vibration, but I'm afraid it would not completely get rid of it.

As for cabin noise level, that is sensed differently by different folks. I have had cars clearly quieter than this Maxima, but also cars clearly noiser than this Maxima. Folks tend to compare with what they have experienced, so our preception sometimes depends on how noisy our previous car was. umdpru may have been a little harsh with the word 'spoiled', but then I have always associated owning the Maxima of my choice as 'spoiling' myself. It is admittedly a tad extravagant, and I love that tad of extravagance.

You come across as a person who wants very much to love this Maxima, but happened to get one with annoying problems. I really hate that. I totally agree with you that you are facing problerms Nissan should have corrected by now. If I was Ghosn, I would have had a long talk with my best engineers by this time, and probably raised the Maxima MSRP just enough to equip this car with Michelins.

smarty666

Oh I do see light where you and other guy are coming from and in my original post I do say that the tires are contributing but they are not the sole and only cause. What I had done recently with the performance goes to prove that, since the overall vibrations in the car were reduce a lot with the balancing yet this shaking passenger seat remains. You are right that it is top heavy and the area that shakes the most is the entire upward section of the seat, including the headrest and probably down to the joint where it meets with the horizontal butt section where we put our butts on. I've noticed the vibration/shaking also extends into the seat belt extender where the seat belt clicks into down by the center console/armrest area.

But like I said, I'm not completely out of options yet. I have two more dealerships to try when I get to it and see if they can fix the damn things. To be honest with you, I'm only having two minor issues with the car, the passenger seat shaking and the knocking/pinging/clinging coming from the engine compartment. Other than that, I was able to fix the rattles myself and there have been no other problems but these two things. Only problem is, no one has thus been able to address them which as you can understand is quite frustrating!

lightonthehill

The passenger seat thing can be very annoying, but I have been more concerned with your engine noises since you first mentioned them. I can understand a few noises when we have the hood open and are near the engine. But I don't feel you should be able to hear the noises you describe when driving the car and using premium Shell gas. I certainly don't, and I am paranoid about engine noises.

I wish more Nissan dealers could be a little more proactive when faced with customer problems and complaints. The fact you brought these problems to your dealer's attention, and neither was resolved, has to be both disappointing and frustrating.

2K10MAX

Hey i know its been along time but got mine fixed last week. Seat rocking problem is fixed. Doesn't move at all. But now i have the problem with the passenger seat shaking. I have to get that fixed.

smarty666

Well actually light, I didn't go into the noise with them. I first mentioned the seat issue and they just came out and said, we already performend the TSB and there is nothing else we can do and that they weren't going to even look or try to fix it again! I just go so disgusted, and I knew I would then have to take it to another Nissan dealer, that I left. I'll bring up the knocking/pinging/clinging noise with the new dealership. I think I need to start off fresh at a new place with new service people.

It's funny though, the engine itself is very refined sounding and quiet, even at idle (unless you turn the A/C on of course) but this noise as I have mention seems to coming from below the engine I think. It almost makes the same noise that you would hear when you put bad gas in the car but as you know that is not it since I use Shell Premium exclusively! You can really hear if you squat down and put your ear into the wheel wells by each front tire or underneath the opening in the front end behind the front lic plate! It will be interesting to see what Nissan says. They better at the least, bring the car in and take a look, and not just hooking the damn thing up to a diagnostic computer!

smarty666

Well light, just for your knowledge, I'm still going to ask my dealer when I go in about the passenger seat, but I spoke online via email last night with Dustin who is a member here on maxima.org. He apparently is a Nissan Master Tech and I told him about the noise coming from the engine compartment. He of course, as I expect the Nissan dealer will do, told me its normal and never going to get better and that most Nissan vehicles do it, especially the Altima!

He told me, its the way in which stupid *** Nissan designs the heat shield and exhaust components on their products. They allow for a lot of expansion and contraction of the shield and exhaust components which allow for a lot of metallic knocking/pinging/clinging to be heard. He said you can even hear it when the engine is at idle! I told him my Infiniti, with the same engine as this Max does not do this, and neither has any of my other products, from various automakers, have never done this! Of course, there was no answer as to why Nissan can't seem to design their heat shield like most other automakers so this noise doesn't occur so its just another quality/design slip by Nissan which just makes it sound unrefined!

I guess the passenger seat is probably going to be the same issue. Very very discouraging. You would think then if it was the heat shield and exhaust components that putting top quality gas and oil into the vehicle would quell the knocking and pinging but apparently not! What a shame!! Its actually kind of embarrassing because I have had two people on two separate occasions over the last few months, who were standing next to my car while it was idling, hear the noises and ask me what that was and if something was wrong with the car!

lightonthehill

I will be very happy if what he said is true, because that would mean the engine itself is fine. We don't want to be replacing a $5,000.00 engine; especially just after the 5 year power train warranty expires.

It may be that the very low ground clearance of this Maxima (only 4 1/2 inches) resulted in squeezing a few components like the heat shields a little too close to other metal parts of the exhaust system, and in some cars, they may actually touch, which means noises. Like you, I have trouble putting such things out of my mind. Just very annoying. You might look underneath the car if you ever get the chance and see if you can see anything touching anything in the heat shield area. But I don't know when you would get that chance, unless you talk to someone with a professional lift. DO NOT trust your life to a pair of jack stands.

umdpru

sorry if I ruffled some feathers with the 'spoiled' remark. I guess what I didn't get across too clearly was that there are MANY cars out there that are noisier than this Max. I don't mean to say that you shouldn't be upset with the amount of noise in your cabin. You have a right to be upset about it as you see fit.

So, I was riding along on a nice new england road the other day (read pot holes and uneven surfaces) and looked at my passenger seat. It has a VERY VERY slight vibration on the upright portion. It ONLY took me LIGHTLY touching the headrest with just the fingertips of one hand to stop it. What did I do that made it stop? I changed the natural frequency of the upper portion by adding the mass/rigidity of my hand to the seat.

I would place a wager on the fact that you could take a .5lb weight and securely affix it to the upright and your vibration would be eliminated. This is, ofcourse, assuming that the components holding your seat upright to the seatpan haven't been deteriorated.

I'll try it tonight on the way home by hanging a shopping bag with some bottles of water in it off the back of the seat by the headrest. I'll bet the slight vibration I noticed will go away.

Also, my post, IN NO WAY was meant to make excuses for Nissan.

As for your engine pinging/knocking sound. I've noticed sounds associated with metal contraction after being heated after I've driven on the highway. After that kind of driving, the car, just idling will be crackling and pinging away from the underneath. I don't worry about it too much. I just turn the 'strange noise eliminator" (radio) up a bit.

smarty666

Actually, man that is the least of my problems. To be honest with you, the amount of loud road noise and tire thumping that is allowed into the Cabin is actually a easy fix. Just get a new set of better riding/quieter tires and that would get better. Thats a easy problem to fix in retrospect.

It seems this passenger front seat shaking is going to be the challenge with this knocking/pinging I'm having from the heat shield. I'm going to talk with another Nissan dealer and see if anything can be done to, if they can't get rid of it, at least reduce the noise, because I mean, especially when I shut the car off, the thing sounds ridiculous (like a popcorn machine is the best description I can give).

You might be right that I have been spoiled with certain cars. I have had mostly luxury makes the last 10 years (Acura, Infiniti, MB, and Cadillac) none of which ever made these noises at all. I had one or two GM products years and years ago that made similar noises to this but ONLY WHEN THE ENGINE WAS TURNED OFF and the car was cooling off in the garage. But this Maxima, for some reason, has it when the engine is running, besides from when its cooling off, and it is the loudest and most frequently occurring then even those GM products years ago! It's not the end of the world and I'm glad something isn't seriously wrong, it just a bit of a disappointment, when you have a premium expensive vehicle like the Maxima that looks super good and you like to drive around, making loud unrefined noises like this that your friends and family can hear and ask you about!

I'll see if there is anything Nissan can do to at least reduce the noise, might not get rid of it completely but maybe make it better! Maybe it will get better over time. That Nissan tech told me that the Altima does this to a even greater extent, so I'm glad then I didn't get that vehicle!

I hope maybe as the car ages, and more miles get put on it that it might get better and maybe as the full synthetic oil works it may through the engine more that it might help reduce the noises as well. Will see!

Michael76

Out of curiosity, did you try the "Ester" oil from Nissan? I know there are skeptics of this stuff (me included), but I would be curious to see if that would aid in reducing or eliminating the noises you are hearing. Like I said, it may be a shot in the dark, but it couldn't hurt!

smarty666

Well I couldn't do anything now since I just had the second oil change and put full synthetic in but that shouldn't make too much of a difference. I didn't put the ester oil in because Nissan wanted over $90 dollars to do the oil and filter change which is simply outrageous and price gouging in my opinion. I might try it at the next one but I don't think that would make a difference, but you never know!

Plus, don't forget, that Nissan tech told me he hears this noise and a whole majority of Nissan products, including his own Maxima, though he did neglected to mention what Gen Maxima he had and was talking about, but since he hears it on a vast majority of various Nissan models, I think it has to then primarily do to how Nissan designs the cars, specifically the heat shield! Oil has little to do with it I think!

lightonthehill

Smarty - When my '09 was new, after a brisk ride followed by parking in the garage, my Maxima was also a popcorn machine. Snapping and popping very loudly. I'm sure it was audible from sixty feet away. But I had this on previous Maximas, and knew what it was, so it didn't bother me. Now here we are 16 months later, and there is almost none of that popping unless I extend the car quite a bit on a hot day.

Because of normal cabin noise (wind, music box, chatting with wife, etc) I'm not sure I would hear this popping if it happened while the car is running. I'm not aware of this sound taking place while the car is running.

smarty666

Well maybe, as I said, and you just pointed out, this car will get better over time. I have noticed a slight improvement in the noise level since putting in the full synthetic oil so will just have to see!

smarty666

light, and anyone else for that matter, I know we have kind of talked about this at length, but I understand its difficult for you guys to comment on something that you can't hear yourself! After having problems, I finally was able to get two 30 second video clips of this noise while the engine is running at idle (with the A/C and fan off) and another one when the engine had just been shut off and cooling off on youtube. Below, I posted the links for each clip so this way you guys can hear the noise I've been talking about at length! I know it probably won't change the situation but I wanted to at least let you guys hear the noise and confirm if it was, what we have been talking about!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O1brN0Ur50

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaDiOYlohzs

09Maxima_Sam

Yep that is the sound of the exhaust system and heat shields when they cool off(engine off) or heat up(engine idling with no air flow around them) I hear it in mine as well. It's normal, nothing to worry about.

smarty666

Of course its normal for a Nissan, but not for almost any other vehicle. My Infiniti and Acura don't do it. You mean to tell me they can design a heat shield that doesn't do this, but Nissan can't , I mean c-mon

I mean normally I wouldn't mind if it just did it a little bit when the car was cooling off, especially after a long trip or in the summer when its super hot out and the engine has to work harder, but this does it even in mild/moderate nice weather and even on short 5-15 minute trips and becomes so ridiculously loud and unrefine sounding, enough that people have asked me if something was wrong!

I mean I think 37k is a lot for a metallic popcorn maker! lol! Luckily I can't hear this stuff in the cabin and I can just use the Bose to drown it out if the windows are open!

I would love to find out if there is anything Nissan can do to move or do something to the heat shield so that the noise, might not be able to go away completely, but maybe be reduce in frequency and intensity so it doesn't sound so bad.

IH8SPM

I have the same sound on both of mine but not as loud. I use 87 regular if that helps.

smarty666

You are using 87 Octane regular with no problems? I had that accidently put in one time by a stupid attendant and my Maxima nearly felt and sounded like it was going to crap out!

The sad part is, I'm putting in 93 Octane Shell Premium in all the time and I'm still having all these noises, as you can plainly hear in the audio clips! You would think that putting in a top quality gas like that would at least help to reduce it but so far it seems to do nothing to quell the noises, though I do get good gas mileage with the Premium.

Your the first person with a 7th Gen Maxima, I've heard using regular and not having troubles. Hope that continues to work out for you! I wouldn't put anything less than 89 Octane mid-grade!

IH8SPM

I have used regular gas since I got them. The dealers don't use premium either. Between the two we have 5000 miles and no issues. I don't even know how the engine would perform with 93.

lightonthehill

Using regular with the 7th gen is a VERY bad idea. You can get away with regular in all generations through 6th, but running regular gas in the 7th gen means your engine and fuel system are having to make such a major adjustment to the fuel that your engine is not operating efficiently, or as it should. The 7th gen is set up for 91 octane. I would not vary from that number by more than 2 octane.

The adjustment to midgrade should be doable with little trouble, but running regular with the fuel and engine setup in the 7th gen is practically BEGGING for trouble. What the dealer put in your car is not relevant. He would put water in the gas tank if he thought that would get the car off his lot before it fell apart.

My heart aches for your poor Maxima.

lightonthehill

smarty - My Maxima sounded that loud with the motor off after any drive during the first six or ten months (especially noticable inside my garage), then it gradually changed until it was snapping only after harder drives. Now, after 16 months, it only does it on really hot days after a really hard run. How many miles do you have? Are you a hard driver?

As to the noise when the car is running, I must admit I have never been under my car with the motor running. I have had the hood open with the motor running, but did not notice any sound louder than the engine. Had I stuck a microphone under the car near the heat shield while the motor was running, I don't know If my car would have made that noise or not. I will try sticking my head down near the rocker panel on hot days and see if I can hear anything under the car.

Such sounds should only happen as the car is heating up or cooling off. They should not happen once the temperature of the manifold, exhaust and heat shield have fully reached operating temperature, or after they have fully cooled off.

If you are getting this much sound after more than 10K miles, then your car and mine are behaving differently.


EDIT - The octane gas you are using will have absolutely nothing to do with this snapping and popping, whether the engine is running or not.

IH8SPM

I noticed yesterday that if I drive it really hard and then park it, the sound will be present. Since most of my driving is casual I guess I don't often here it.

Timmay!

I know everyone is upset about this.

Being a Nissan/Infiniti tech, I can tell you that rocking seats are nothing new. At least you didn't buy a 45K M45 and have the same issue.

Anyway, this is really the only problem that the new Maxima has that we have seen, other than the Goodyear tire issue that has been mentioned here. We have been fixing that by putting Michelins on under warranty and it has been fixing the problem thus far.

I think the new Maxima is a great car, and I think this is the only annoying issue that they will have.

smarty666

I can tell you that a rocking seat is new. I have had multiple cars from various different automakers over many many years and never had this issue until this Maxima! If the car is designed and made properly you should not be having rocking/shaking/vibrating seats. What is really sad is, the TSB performed last October for me did not work on my front passenger seat. If I go over any kind of small, medium, or large speed bumps, dips, expansion cracks, etc, with no one sitting in the seat, it shakes pretty severely!

I'd just love to know what Nissan dealer you work for because I know several people on here who asked their Nissan dealers for Michelin swaps after having multiple balances/alignments with no resolve on their RS-As who would not do the swap, even under warranty! Is is a dealer specific swap, or has Nissan themselves allowed all dealers to do this? Is the swap for 18 inch Michelin Primacy MXV4s?

lightonthehill

The rocking seat is new to us, but I think Timmay! is hinting at the fact that, as a Nissan/Infiniti tech, he has had several kinds of Nissan/Infiniti vehicles, even as luxurous as the M45, arrive at his shop with rocking seats.