At speeds above 50 the car just feels like it rocks side to side. It's not really pulling in either direction. But it is highly susceptible to winds affecting its course and stability. Recently I had an alignment done and each wheel was off in a different way. It was better for a couple months but now it feels off again.

Why is this car difficult to keep aligned? I've never hit a curb in it...

I also bought new Michellin Primacy MX4V and it feels they are out of balance after only a couple thousand miles, I'll be getting this addressed soon as well, but before this car I had tires balanced once every 3 years. This car needs them rebalanced every few thousand miles...

Why is this car so sensitive to balanced wheels?

I'm sort of concerned there could also be a wheel bearing issue. Will look into this as well and update...


2010 SV Premium with 34k miles, I am the original owner...

 

My guess is ... having Nitrogen in our tires?

 

A few years ago, the company car I had was handling similarly to what you describe. I had hit a 4X4 that came off of a tow truck. They replaced the wheels, but said the tores were fine. I later ended up having the tires replaced as the belts were broken.

Thewinds just depend on the vehicle itself and its overall profile. Even as heavy as my Charger is, I can still feel the wind pushing her at times.

 

I had similar issues with my new 2012 MAX. Vibration and a general unsettled feeling to the car. Mind you, this is my seventh Maxima, with a total of over 850K accumulated miles in 21 years. Never experienced anything like this. Dealer tried balancing/ re-balancing wheels, rotating the tires, and checking/ adjusting alignment to no avail. Just returned from my local Goodyear shop, where four new RSA tires have been installed at no cost to me as Nissan took care of the bill. Original RSAs were all flat- spotted. Car is now handling/ cruising like it should.

 

I recall seeing threads on this in hear a while back on how several complained on how unstable it is at higher speeds, seems the new 13 Altima guys are complaining about the same thing..........http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/201...e-driving.html

 

Yes..On windy days or if a 18 Wheeler goes by real quick..My car gets knocked off the road in a sense. It sways back and fourth. It is actually kind of scary at times because it feels like its throwing me off the road. I don't think there is much you could do about this..add some sandbags in the trunk..then try it lol. But seriously, I have experienced this..just have to live with it!

 

We have had this situation mentioned at times here during the last four years, so this car is apparently bothered by something like gusting winds. I sometimes notice this at speeds over 70 MPH, especially if there is a gusting crosswind, even if the gusts are not strong. The flat front (meets European Pedestrian Safety Code) is not very aerodynamic, and might add to this unsettled feeling.

This hasn't been tied to a tire problem on my car, as I am approaching 36K miles with almost half the tread left on my OEM RS-As, and the car rides as smooth as glass and straight as an arrow when on a smooth road with no crosswinds. I have been so happy with this smoothness that I haven't let anyone touch the alignment or rebalance the tires since I bought the car new four years ago. When something is right to start with, I just leave it alone.

We may have no choice but to live with this sometimes disconcerting wobble at higher speeds when the wind is gusting, even lightly.

 

Because of the shape of the car and the size it has a tendicy to waver in a crosswind!! It is not a very aerodynamic vehicle!! Just look at the front !!!

 

They call it a Boat for a reason...All we need is some sails

 

Now thats funny...lol.

 

Try a Civic if you think wind moves the Maxima!!!! A gnat fart moves our Civic around and knowing the feeling between that and the Max, um, the Max is 1000% more stable in wind.

Guess it is all in how you view things.

 

Just as possibly connected info, when I raised the psi in my tires from 33 all around (Nissan's recommended psi) to 37 front and 35 rear, my very slight (but noticable) wobble at speed in crosswinds clearly diminished. For those who prefer all four tires be the same psi (makes rotation easier), you might try 35 all around and see if that helps.

p,s. -As compusmurf said, there are many cars out there that are far worse wobblers at speed than this Maxima. I owned some of those back in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

 

Coming from a 4x4 with 260,XXX miles on it to the maxima I didn't notice this feeling for the first few thousand miles. I would not buy this car again ifI could go back, really wish I had kept it for longer than a day before deciding to buy. Oh well, hopefully the ***** doesn't break too soon.

 

***UPDATE***

Had another alignment today, went to a better shop, the right rear camber was out. Everything else was within tolerance. I had an alignment done about 6 months ago elsewhere, the car has never been wrecked, never hit a curb, has only hit a couple of potholes... It's had a very easy life, why is it having problems keeping an alignment? I told them this at the shop today and they supposedly looked it over and said the suspension components all looked good and tight...

The fresh balance(last one was 4k miles ago) made an incredible difference. I've never owned a vehicle that had the steering so affected by an out of balance front wheel.

* The car is still (for lack of a better term) wobbly at interstate speed, but a million times better than it was and much more tolerable now.

*Why is my car not keeping an alignment?

 

Glad to see you got it "sorta" worked out. Have you contacted dealer about your issues? My car rides excellent so you would think they all ride good.

 

Dealer is out of the question, this cars been there 14+ times for heated seat failures, 8+ times for sunroof failure, the cars been damaged by the dealer during repairs... I'd set it on fire before I could return to this dealer.

 

Lol... I feel your pain though.