OK so I have had many problems with mine as you have probably read. I want input on this.

In October I took a road trip in the max with 2 other people and a trunk full of luggage. Enough luggage that the rear end was sitting lower than the front and the top of the rear wheels were leaning towards the center of the car (+/- camber - I never remember)

Well ever since this trip at highway speeds my car feels loose and floaty. There is no play in the steering that is tight. But at high speeds it just sort of feels like it wobbles around - sort of like when you're behind an 18 wheelere and the wind blows the car around but way WAY less.

I am curious if I ruined the rear of this car and now the front is sitting too high and the rear too low and its getting lift in the front end at high way speeds...

Any thoughts? Anybody else experience this?

 

The car is very floaty to begin with, especially at highway speeds. The rear of the car does not handle load well at all. I had 3 kids in the back and it was sagging. Sad if you ask me but the car definetly handles different when there are people in the back.

If your road trip was long then maybe you got used to how it handled when it was loaded down?

 

Well my car did not feel THIS floaty before the trip. . .

How do you fix this issue?

 

See what the dealer says... assuming you're still on warranty.

 

I agree if your under warranty take it to dealer. I have the Sv sport and highway speeds or not my rear end feels solid. And I have even Been behind 18 wheelers and still feel great.

 

Also there was a recall or Tsb with rear suspension or something

 

Hmm...Maybe your rear suspension took a toll from your road trip. I agree with Fundem, take it to the dealer and see what they have to say about it.

 

i think you got a taste of feeling a nice stiff rear end because of all the weight of your passengers and luggage, and now that that's gone you think there's something wrong even though that's how it always was.
I would recommend upgrading your suspension since you don't like how the floaty stock feels.

How would you ruin your the rear of your car with 2 passengers and luggage?
This is a 4 door we are talking about right?

 

I agree with you completely. There is an issue. The rear suspension in my car is creaking now, in addition to the "floaty" drive. It didn't used to feel like this when I got the car, so I attribute this to the problem.
Just other other day I had two people in the back seat and I pulled out of the parking lot, which is off an incline and heard the back end scrape on the ground. NOT GOOD! This has never happened before... I was embarrassed that my 2 year old car's suspension sounds like it's falling apart.

 

The only dealer I have access to is absolute **** I'm considering taking it to a performance shop and seeing if they have some simple upgrades they can do.

That being said I did ask about having the TSB for the bushings in the rear to be replaced. But I really do not think that would help.

I really think the springs/struts or w/e the reared is comprised of were "sprung" while on my trip. As in they do not support the weight of the car as they should, which is causing the reared to sink at highway speeds when there is more downforce and causes the front end to lift. Making it lighter and floaty feeling... Just my thoughts.

 

The only thing that bothers me is rear end sag when having two passengers in the back seat , I am considering on buying aftermarket coil springs ( eibach ) which might help a bit !?

Any thoughts ?

 

Yes Eibachs are definitely stiffer and may help. I had eibachs on my 2009 and made several trips over 300+ miles with 4 people and lots of luggage and never had a weird handling problem although based on my experience I expected it to handle differently and never gave it much thought as a result, it was never dangerous. People have to realize when you add 250+ lbs to a car it will handle differently. I notice this is often a complaint with what I term as "young or junior" drivers.

You want to have a hair raising time try driving a 1963 T-Bird through Salt River Canyon here in Northern Arizona that experience will make you lose a few pounds sweating around the corners! Nothing like modern cars!!

 

My 2009 Maxima had a similar feeling to what you describe. After many dealer service visits without resolution, I took it to a different Nissan service department who recommended replacing the rear shock absorbers. This was at 39 months/39,000 miles. The improvement was dramatic and brought the car back to what I remember when it was new. I, too, felt the bouncing on the highway, hopping over road imperfections, the jostling of passengers over any surface disruption in parking lots, etc. Even traffic passing me when I was waiting in a left turn lane would move the car, especially the rear. I felt that the car was becoming unsafe to drive. Replacing the shocks with new original Nissan parts solved the problem, for the most part. Now it's time for new tires. Not sure if the bad shock caused uneven tire wear, but probably so (I think it was just one, but replaced as a pair). As the service department explained to me, you can't see a bad shock absorber, but you can feel it. The bounce test, manually pushing down on rear fender above tail light, will help you judge whether one side is weaker than the other. I also did this on new Maximas, and used Maximas of similar vintage and milage on the dealer's lot. They were all much stiffer on the bounce test, and settled more quickly. Springs were inspected at the time the shocks were replaced and no problems found. Your problem might involve cracked or broken spring if the car is sitting low in the rear. The springs hold up the rear end. The shocks control the bounce. Good luck.
p.s. see my old post in this forum "Poor Ride quality & bouncy rear end"
http://forums.maxima.org/7th-generat...-rear-end.html