A very peculiar thing happened to me over the weekend. It took place on saturday one of the hottest days we have had in a long time. I usually keep my car in an underground garage but that day I had to leave it outside for I would say 5+ hours. Needless to say it was roasty toasty in the all black interior. Anywhos, I let the car sit for about 5 minutes with all the windows down just to get some airflow. It was after that 5 minutes and I was on my way that I noticed my rearview mirror vibrating rather excessively. It wasn't so much the entire unit but just the mirror itself. If I applied a tiny amount of pressure with the tip of my finger it would stop and I couldn't feel the vibration transferring through my finger. I also put the car into neutral at a red light and revved the engine to see if it was engine vibration and it was not. Has anyone else had this problem? I am thinking it must be something to do with the glue holding the mirror in? It was a familiar route so this isn't something that happened from different roads. I am not overly concerned as it was gone after I let the car sit in the garage for a day but just thought I would see what the org'ers had to say.

 

18inch Goodyear tires = severe vibrations at times throughout the cabin
19inch Bridgestone tires = severe vibrations at times throughout the cabin

A lot of the vibration difficulties in this Maxima is Nissan's poor choice in tires for this car. I know not all the vibrations are due to the tires but a large portion of it is. I've heard on hear and other online websites, Maxima owners who replaced their OEM with Michelin, Kumho, or Pirelli tires have eliminated the vast majority of vibrations in their cars and it rides much more smoothly/comfortably with the tire changes!

I had performance balancing done to my Goodyear RS-A's at 7500 miles and it helped get rid of about 70-75% of the vibrations but a good percentage still remains, even after having a top line balancing job done on the tires! Its an inherent problem with the tires, and the Goodyear dealer I take my car to for oil change admitted point blank to me, that at least the OEM Goodyear tires, have inherent vibration problems with them!

 

I live in sunny Florida and the dash has read 101 degrees outside already this year and i have not had that problem. Coulda just been a bad batch or glue. In my younger days when I had a system in the truck I had a hard time keeping the rear view up due to vibrations but never in a car with a stock system. Probably wont happen again if you glue it back good.

 

Interesting that it wouldn't effect you. That might mean the heat being present is just a coincidence. Don't worry, the mirror isn't falling out or anything I just thought maybe the glue holding the mirror in may have gotten a tad bit softer then it normal would be and allowed just that much more vibration. Radio was off too so it wasn't sound vibrations. It just seemed the mirror was ultra sensitive around that time frame and before and after that it was not.

 

Maybe the mounting screw is lose? Check the mirror because in most new cars the mount comes with windshield and not installed by the assembly process.

 

I'll agree with Flip, not the heat. Florida bakes. I've already been sunburned 3 times so far in our nice, hot last 2 months. If it were heat related, those of us who live in places like this would be having all sorts of issues. Canada? ha. Maybe it was cold soak issues before being baked....

 

If the mirror is held on with glue and it soften, it may have changed the natural frequency of the unit. In other words, the softening "tuned" the mirror to the vibrations from normal driving. Once cooled, the glue hardens and the natural frequency rises.

 

True, when having my 2nd replacement windshield installed, the installer didn't tighten the mirror quite enough resulting in symptoms quite similar to those described. A quick retorque and I was good until the next replacement!!!

 

I'd try the retorque approach. Listen to LtLeary when it comes to windshields because he is a pro. The only windshield advice he gives that I would ignore is about how to keep one. I think he might have had more windshield replacements than I have had oil changes. Haha

 

Someone just has to bring up the fact that I live in Canada don't they? Let me go get my makeshift moose antler ratchet out of my igloo workshed to re-torque my maple syrup filled beavers skin tires right?

Oh Smurf, if you weren't a mod........


That was pretty much my exact thinking. The issues is gone now and only happened when my car got as hot as it did.


While the actual unit wasn't vibrating, just the mirror, I will make sure I re-tighten it this weekend when I get a spare moment. Thanks for the advice.

 

Oh, maybe the glue's different in Canada, eh?

Actually Canada is GREAT. Awesome fishing, good folks, beautiful country. I want to go back again someday.

Other than having a little fun (at your expense), I do wonder if it had something to do with being cold then hot like that.

Oh, and I hear those moose antler ratchets are really good quality stuff!!!!! PS Send more Maple syrup.....

 

Haha good stuff! I know it's all in good fun, and I don't mind a good guffaw (as you older folks might say ). I wouldn't be suprised if the cabin temp went from 10C (50 Fahrenheit) to 25C (77 Fahrenheit) in a matter of hours on that day. The week before that had mostly temperatures around -5C (23 Fahrenheit) to 0C (32 Faherenheit). It is possible that the temperature change might have been the culprit although it doesn't seem drastic enough to me to alter the physical state of the glue.

Sidenote: Is our rear view mirror even glued in to the frame? Might they be bolted into the frame somehow and that managed to jar ever so slightly loose?

 

77 degrees Fahrenheit! Holy.......

 

Dripping with sarcasm I presume? Trust me, when you have had about a month of temp in the 20-30 F range with snow on the ground most days to a week of 77+ F weather. It can appear quite warm, well warm for us anyways. If I was climatized to Florida weather I would have said the same thing.

 

Flip's a Floridian too. Anything below 70F and the heat comes on.....

 

Anything above 70F and I am clawing and screaming at my A/C to turn on faster.

 

No harm intended. Trust me, you would think I was a little girl ( or a taco bel burrito) with as many layers as I would be wearing if I were staying in your neck of the woods. I'd probably look like Han solo looking for skywalker on the planet of Hoth. Hahaha

 

Hey Mreim769,

I thought i'd post these picks to see what you thought. Welcome to June in Central Florida
Here is what I get to climb into after its been sitting in the parking lot.

Here is the car after ive been driving a while and gave it the chance to cool down to a chilly 104 degrees

So all I have to say now is....
Can i come stay with you in Canada, PLEASE!!! This summer is too freakin hot! Factor in the Humidity Florida has and you can see sweating does you no good although we will be doing a lot of it. So when can I visit??

 

Flip's driving... I'm riding shotgun. LTLEARY gets the backseat.... We're all coming to Canada where it's gotta be cooler than FL...

 

Sis is touching me!!! I'm thirsty!! Are we there yet?

 

I swear LtLeary! (as I adjust my rearview mirror to face you) Don't make me turn this car around because I will do it!

And Compusmurf, I'm driving and I am perfectly fine with that but LtLeary is sitting behind you because he is 6'4" and I am not moving my seat up!

 

You guys are awesome! Canada would welcome you guys with open arms and wallets (or maybe that is just me )

As of right now it is a nice cloudy rainy day sitting at about 41 F and probably won't get much higher then 50 F for the next few days. You will be impressed that it got up to a scorching 81 F on the weekend! Thats the hottest it has been all year. I was gasping for air as all the moisture seemed to be evaporating all around me. I am pretty sure I lost at least 10-15lbs in water weight. Haha I am just kidding but it was pretty hot for us.