rawbutt

I'm hearing this mysterious "rotational" noise from the front end that seems to occur just after I drive off from the car sitting a while. After it does it for a few seconds, it doesn't seem to do it any more...even taking off from stoplights, etc. until the car sits again for a while. It's almost like the kind of sound you'd hear if you taped a little object onto one of your front wheels or something...just some kind of rotational pulsating that doesn't last long. It's not like a tire or anything out of balance or something in the tread b/c it would be occurring all the time I would think. I figured I'd run it by this forum b/c it's one of those things that I know they probably wouldn't find at the dealership but is annoying to us **** folk. Aside from the noise itself, no handling or other issues at all to indicate a problem. I've got 4,100 miles on it and it's an 09'.

I figured it's a long shot that someone else would be having this issue, but thanks in advance!

Adamax

My car used to do the exact same thing. It seems to have gone away. Once in awhile it will still do it after it has been sitting.

Mreim769

Man Robert, it seems like you are not having very good luck with your Max. It almost sounds like a bearing or something to me not being lubed up enough. Maybe give the nipples a couple shots o' grease?

rawbutt

It's got grease fittings? Not a sealed unit?

Mreim769

Sorry. That was two seperate thoughts. As far as I know you cannot get at the bearings. That was just my first diagnosis. My second diagnosis was to just put some grease into any nipples. I have heard so many horror stories of new cars having zero lube in them. Either way it sounds like a lube issue to me, not to the point of seizure but just not enough kind of thing.

rawbutt

Excuse my lack of mechanical knowledge, but how should I go about trying to locate the said nipples...do the tires need to come off and basically just look around under there for anything nipples I can shoot some grease in? Sure seems like a plausible explanation since it's usually after it's been sitting and then not any more after driving it a bit.

Mreim769

A lift would be the best idea in this scenario. Otherwise you could probably jack up either end of the car but just make sure you do it in a safe way. On the other hand, this might be something you want to take to the dealer. I am just used to owning cars out of warranty and doing this stuff myself so I don't really know. Maybe someone else can chime in at this point to confirm this?

lightonthehill

Are you sure this isn't the ABS adusting itself? This happens after the car has sat for several minutes, and then we drive off and the speed reaches between 15 to 17 MPH (and seems most noticable on a slight downgrade). It is sort of a fluttering sound from the front end that lasts only a few seconds. This happens on most 7th generation Maximas, and is quite noticable on many cars, but hardly noticable on others. The 'lay of the terrain' also seems to affect this sound. I always notice it just after leaving my post office if I turn on a certain street. If I go straight, however, I usually don't notice the noise.

If the radio or CD player is on, or there is loud traffic around, or a window or moonroof is open, that can mask this noise. We discussed this several times here on the ORG last fall and winter, and lots of posters have noticed the same thing, but other posters have so far not noticed this in their car.

The important thing is that this particular sound is a common noise present on many, if not most 7th generation Maximas, and is not a sign of anything wrong.


EDIT - I used the word 'fluttering' to describe this noise. Others might say it is a 'soft clunking.'

tpinsocal

I'm not sure if mine is doing the same, but it feels like something is cluncking when taking off. Not very often but it does happen. Sounds like something in the front end pops back when I take off....I know if I take it to the dealer it won't make the noise...

lightonthehill

tpinsocal - Read my post (the one just before yours) and see if the noise I am describing might be the same thing you are experiencing?

tpinsocal

No, mine is right when I take off, not sure but could it be the traction control locking one wheel before the other....

rawbutt

I have heard the ABS sound on various other cars and I don't think this is that kind of sound.

STEVE1214

in addition to the sound just after takeoff, do any of you "feel" it in your break pedal like I do?

rawbutt

I'll have to pay more attention to that part of it, but from what I recall, I don't think I'm feeling it in the brake pedal.

Ridgie1

My maxima is making the same noise i am taking it to the dealer on Monday it has to a recall on something if we are all having this issue

lightonthehill

It is true that we sort of came to a half-consensus here on the ORG last winter that this might be the ABS, but really did not know. All we knew is that this sound was present in most '09 Maximas, occurrs in essentially the same situations with each one (this consistency tells us this is not an 'accidental' sound), and seemed to have no effect on any operational function that we could detect.

So we decided we are hearing something mechanical operating, but are just not sure what it is. It was also generally felt that, since this sound is in most Maximas, we are hearing some function of some process operating, and not hearing a problem. I know I stopped worrying about it as soon as I found it was happening with most '09 Maximas.

Those taking this problem to a dealer are almost surely doomed to disappointment, as I have seen no Nissan literature for the '09 mentioning this sound, much less a problem report.

rawbutt

I wondered if it could be that Front Upper Suspension Insulator recall (2nd sticky from the top on this forum), but I checked my build date, etc. and mine didn't seem to fall into the affected group.

madstylez

I just heard this for the first time on my '10 yesterday. Happened twice after sitting for awhile and when I got up to ~15mph. Seems like it's a normal occurrence so I won't worry about it.

lightonthehill

I am a 'noise freak', in that any sudden noise from my car that I don't understand becomes an immediate concern. But this particular noise is a subtle, common and consistent event in most 7th gens, so I stopped worrying about it last winter. I think you are right to not worry about this.

lightonthehill

Yeah, your deduction is correct. This noise has been around for fifteen months, and, except for that one day in March, the bad insulators were never used until this summer.

I personally feel Nissan knows exactly what causes this noise, knows it is a normal thing, but hesitates to say anything about it. Why would they hesitate to tell us? Because, although there are many folks deeply into cars that would understand and move on, the vast majority of the knee-jerk public tends to over-react to such info, and immediately begins to hear noises all over the car all the time. Nissan doesn't need that.

robf

I posted this in the Strut thread and was directed here. I too have been hearing noise from (seemingly) the right side of the car when I go over the slightest bump. The only way I can describe this VERY annoying sound is that it's a slight rumble of sorts. Not too loud, not dramatic, just there... low... and annoying!

Seems like others are hearing something similar. Key word here... "something". I've got a '09 Max w/4700 miles.

I'm going to verify when mine was built and see if the dealer can check it out, although I have no faith in the dealer.

I'll report back to the forum if I find anything out.

Thanks
Rob

rawbutt

My noise doesn't seem to have anything to do with going over a bump...just seems to be the fact that I'm moving forward after the car has been sitting for a bit.

lightonthehill

Exactly the same with mine; no bump involved. Had a bump been involved, I would suspect a strut problem.

G09madmax

My 2 cents; if it has nothing to do with the recall, then a few parts inside your dash board are not tightened and around the driver and passenger side. I had this same issue from day one. I just ignored it but got annoyed by it after a few months. You may have to test drive it with the tech and make sure he has good hearing. I test drove mine with that tech and his boss. Well the Boss drove it too. They kept my car for about 4 hours and disassembled everything and re-tighten them all. Noise was gone after that.

rawbutt

madmax...

I guess it could be...just seems weird to me that mine is clearly a "rotational" sound..and only happens for a few seconds after taking off in a car that's been sitting a while. Seems like any kind of looseness in the dash that you mention would happen most all the time.

lightonthehill

Yeah. I think these are two different problems. The rotational clunking is not the sharper rattle we would get from something inside the dash. This 'rotational' sound is clearly coming from outside the firewall, which muffles everything. Also, this rotational sound often happens when the car is virtually coasting in a straight line on flat, smooth pavement, and is never associated with bumps or rough ground or turns or things that we often associate with a rattle.

Romin09

My 2 month old less then 900miles 09 has this noise as well. Like RAWBUTT it sounds like rotational coming from the front and it happens both when moving forward or sharp turns (mostly left ones and both only after car has been sitting). It doesn’t happen all the time but definitely noticeable when it does.

STEVE1214 the pedal thing you mentioned does it correspond with the auto locking of the doors after take-off?

1sik4dsc

iTrader: (1)

this noise happens to me everyyy morning, i think i even created a thread about this a while ago, Yes it usually happens after the cars been sitting for a while, and happens right after the auto doors lock. It sounds like a thumping sound, and it lasts for about 3-4 seconds. Very annoying!!

1sik4dsc

iTrader: (1)

^^ but i forgot to mention someone posted in that thread a while back that it was the abs's way of checking itself, not sure if thats true but sounds logical

STEVE1214

yes, usually happens right after i pull out of the garage, about 30 seconds down the street, hear the slight clunk noise and slight feel of it on the break pedal. this must be normal (but annoying) as I can predict it to the second. Only seems to happen when I leave in the morning, doesn't happen if i am out and about and running errands or something.

rawbutt

if i knew for sure it was something normal, like some have mentioned with the ABS checking itself, i guess i wouldn't worry about it that much, but i'm a pretty **** guy about my max and hearing something like that every day is just hard to ignore because i worry that maybe something isn't right, not getting lubricated properly, etc. i just wish i knew exactly what that is ya know?

hardcashsab31

guys there is nothing wrong with your maxima. the clunking noise you here every morning for a few seconds is normal. i worked for lexus for several years and everyone of the models does the same thing. it definitely is your abs and vsc systems running through a check. nothing to worry about. it should only happen after you let the car sit for decent amount of time like over night.

G09madmax

another thought, do you have the stillen intake installed, cause i know that causes an annoying noise. I haven't figured out what to use to stop it from vibrating.

rawbutt

No stillen here...I'm bone stock.

dale512

Hardcash...Both my previous 03 Pathfinder and this 09 Maxima make a clunking sound which is probably the abs checking itself. But also, I get a rotational noise like a rock in the tread but not as sharp in tone and muffled. It's coming from somewhere in front of the firewall. This may be a normal operational sound since it goes away, but I would like to know what it is.

rawbutt

I think Dale's description is an even more accurate way of describing my issue..."rotational noise like a rock in the tread but not as sharp in tone and muffled".

hardcashsab31

the good news is there`s nothing wrong with the new maxima. the new maxima handles like my old bmw 530i. the noise everyone is hearing is normal from the front end when you first get going in the morning.

lightonthehill

I'm positive you are correct, as this noise has been noticed by many, if not most '09 Maxima owners from the time they bought their car. It never changes, and obviously results from some process or checkout proceedure. It may be ABS or VDC or another function, but it is NORMAL in this car.

I am **** about noises from my car, but this noise does not concern me in the least. I stopped worrying about it last January.

Romin09

Since the noise is so consistent I’ve been doing a little experimenting. I first noticed the noise every time the doors would auto lock. So I tried locking them before I started moving but still heard it. Then I tried changing the amount of gas I was giving, this had different results. First I started out at a coast until I needed to give it gas. Although the noise was still there at the same time the doors locked it was very subdued. Then I tried starting out with constant pressure (not flooring it) on the gas. This was by far the loudest and what I’ve been hearing. Next I did a combination of gas and coast. What I did was give gas right up until the point the doors would auto lock then coast and let them lock. Guess what?? NO NOISE. But as soon as I gave it some gas again (AS SOON) I heard the rotation sound but no clunking. So my conclusion so far is movement alone doesn’t cause the noise you must apply gas but when and how much gas will change what you hear.

rawbutt

Romin09....I agree with your assessment completely...I too have played around with how much gas I give it during those key moments and it did seem that I could control how much the noise occurred based on how much gas I gave it. So what do you think this tells us about this issue?