holbeink

I'm having some issues with my maxima that appears to be an endless money pit. The car is a 2010 with 25k on it. Back in February I decided the stock tires sucked and needed to go, I ordered a set of pirelli p7 cinturato all seasons from tire rack thinking it was going to be a wonderful 1000 dollars well spent. Now I hate myself and I hate these tires, I think I've decided I even hate the car. As soon as the tires were put on and I drove up the road the shaking and vibrating began. I took the car back to the shop and found that all 4 tires were extremely out of round. Tirerack sent me new tires they had road force balanced for me, claiming it would ensure the tire was not out of round. So that's great I guess, took the tires back to the shop and repeated the cycle. This time they found I had a bent rim, so I replaced that immediately with an oem replacement. The car still vibrated/shook so I replaced the front and rear rotor/brake pads. Not to my surprise this fixed absolutely nothing at all. I'm caving and taking the car to the dealership soon, praying they don't break the bank much further than I already have. Has anyone had a similar experience or has an idea of what the problem could be? My car has left 2 mechanics very puzzled and chalked it up to its likely just the way the tires ride..I definitely don't like that answer or the excess wear the vibration will do to the car over time. It's not like Pirelli makes cheapo pos tires, completely baffled.

Shipwreck

When do the vibrations occur? Did you lower your car? When was your last alignment? Is it your steering that is vibrating or the whole car? Did they check the linkages and control arms in the suspension? Also, consider tire pressure. Keep it at the recommended PSI (I think it was 32 all around) but no more than maybe 38. I'd suggest maybe try jumping in another 7th gen (stock would be best) and seeing if they have that issue as well. There's some vibration but it doesn't feel like anything out of the norm. You may just be overly sensitive to it?

My car is a 2010 S with 41k.

I used to get bad shakes when I hit bumps because one wheel (the left, rear) toe was out of spec and "twisted" the car at every bump over 50mph.

I also had a vibration issue in the steering wheel when I learned my new wheels did not have the hub spacers installed and the lugs were not centered, nor torqued properly.

dmcmahan12

Sorry for your bad experience. Ship has some very valid points and you may try to take it to another tire installer and have the balance rechecked? And you do not know what has been done to the car before you got it. Good luck with the repairs and keep us updated.

Shipwreck

Exactly. 2010 with only 25k and you just got the car. Sounds like it was previously leased or it's a former rental. Either would likely have gotten the heck beat out of it.

Vibration issues could be something as crazy as failing motor mounts. Anyway, keep us posted. If it's really just the tires/wheels, find a buddy with a spare set they can loan you and give it a shot, preferably with the same specs as stock. See if there's any difference.

zoemayne

iTrader: (4)

was it in an accident? was it vibrating before buying the $1k tires... def take it to the dealer.

holbeink

It shakes/vibrates at 45 mph and above. Completely stock,
not lowered, and the car had 6k on it when I purchased but no accidents and not a single shake or vibration before I purchased the new tires. Psi is all at the recommended specs, the car doesnt feel like it needs aligned but im having the dealer check all possibilities. I did actually drive a 2014 maxima rental while I was on vacation a few months ago and it did not shake ( I was starting to think it was all in my head) but the car was perfect. In my car if you look at the passenger seat at 45+ you can see the headrest vibrating and shaking. Hopefully I get it resolved, will keep you all posted and thanks for the advice!

Shipwreck

The whole car shakes? Or is it just the seats? It's important to differentiate this.

There's actually two separate TSBs on the front seats, passenger and driver, about shaking. My seats shake a bit too and I haven't bothered to get them fixed (it doesn't really bother me).

NTB09092 for the driver's seat shifting and rocking.
NTB13063 for the shaking passenger seat at highway speeds.

http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/TSB/TSB_xml/nmIndex.aspx

Anyway, that said, I hope you can figure this out soon. I know, it sucks when you absolutely know your car is not performing right. For me, it was a simple toe issue.

vball_max

iTrader: (5)

These guys all bring up valid points to check. If it only started with the new tires, i would start with those. Find a shop that has a hunter road force machine. They can tell you if the tires are out of round, or if its a bent rim, etc. That will run you $80-$100 for all 4 wheels. I've noticed that maximas are very sensitive to vibrations. All 3 of mine have had issues at some point or another so I understand how freakin' frustrating it is. Sometimes it was wheel balance, other times it was a bent rim.

If you want to check for a bent rim, jack up the front of the car (with the parking brake on and give the wheels a spin by hand (or have someone help you spin them). Look at the inside edge of each rim very closely as they spin and look for any hop or wobble. Then repeat for the rear. I was surprised how small of a bend I could see by doing this. Also, make sure you clean the edge of the rim so you dont mistake some dirt for a bend.

Richard66

I would put the OEM's back on to see what happens. Still shakes then it is probably something listed above. Shaking goes away then the new tires are crap.

holbeink

I didn't know about this bulletin ^ but I will definitely be having the dealer look into this. The vibration may only be coming from the steering wheel then, I assumed it was shaking the entire car because of the passenger seats behavior. I jacked the car up with my dad for the 3rd time and we found a outward expansion in one very small area of the driver side rim. Although it's so suttle and hard to miss, I'm not sure if it really could be the cause. If these stock rims can be damaged so easily I think I need to upgrade to a forged set for these Ohio potholes, as I never had this issue with my Volkswagen. I don't believe there is a road force balancer at any shop in my town but I will ask around if the dealer cant resolve this issue. Being female I don't feel anyone takes me seriously when I take this car to the shop . I really appreciate all of the advice I have received, I will be taking the car to the dealer in July and keep everyone posted on this mystery issue.

vball_max

iTrader: (5)

you can use this to locate a hunter road force balancer near you: http://www.gsp9700.com/search/findgsp9700.cfm

Propa Teknique

Perfect. It just so happens the dealer I brought my car from has StraightTrak but I saw an icon next to that which said "Roadforce Touch" which they didn't have. What is that?

Daaavid

It is a wheel balancer in which it would simulate your wheel driving down on the road with force. Depending on location, the cost to balance one wheel is usually the cost for all four with a standard machine.

Here is a brief video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cUQkBLYbUk

vball_max

iTrader: (5)

its not that expensive.....standard balance runs $10-15 per tire. Hunter road force is typically $20-25 per tire.

Shipwreck

If it's just vibrations in the steering wheel, it's likely the wheels, tires, or, unlikely, a suspension issue. You can try things like rotating the tires around, checking lug torques, etc. That road force balancer they mentioned above should be a standard, I'm surprised more shops don't do that.

Another thing to note: Your Pirelli P7 Cinturatos are asymmetrical. There is a proper inside and outside and these will be marked on the tire. You'd think the shop would make sure about something as simple as that, but sometimes people make mistakes. Take a quick look at your tires and see if they're flipped the wrong way. That could be contributing to the steering vibrations as well.

2014 Max

I had the same problem with my '12 Maxima. I did the lemon law in it and when it went back up for the the wholesaler told me Nissan replaced the motor mounts and that fixed the problem. That should still be covered under your 3mo/36K warranty. Best of luck to ya. By the way the replacement drives like a dream no vibrations.

holbeink

unfortunately my car is out of warranty aside from the powertrain. Its a 2010, so everything will be out of pocket for me. Will have them look into this. My money is on the tires, rims, or balancing issues since the car was fine for nearly a year before these new tires were installed. Thanks for the information though, its definitely a possibility.

MEINEKEMAX

just to throw another possibility in... I have seen bent axles cause that symptom. Ive seen people lift or jack up cars from axles causing them to bend. Going down the car it shakes and vibrates. Its rare but can happen. Sadly I have seen and had to repair the work of alot of knuckle heads. Best of luck.

eesjunin

Rims?....the stock rims are prone to easy denting...I got that issue

holbeink

Update: For those of you that said balancing issue, you were correct! Had the car at the dealer and the mechanic claimed he could not feel any vibration at legal speeds, but road force balanced the tires at my request. I drove the car for an hour yesterday on newly paved roads and the shaking/vibration appears to be gone. One tire was severely out of balance and likely was the culprit causing me to go insane. Surprisingly none of the rims were bent, and everything else checked out ok. For anyone interested, I paid 117 dollars after tax for the road force balance. I'm not sure if that's a good deal but they are the only dealership in my town that has that machine. Also, for anyone that has looked into changing their CVT fluid. I wanted to have the dealer change the cvt fluid in my car while it was already at the shop. I'm a die hard Amsoil fan and they now make a CVT fluid that states it's Nissan Certified and received an 11 stage pass, while Nissan's fluid only received a 7. The dealership was going to do the fluid change for me, but Nissan responded back to them stating it would void my 120k transmission warranty if I used Amsoil and not their Nissan fluid (Even though the bottle states Nissan Certified). I decided not to have the change done considering my luck with this car... So I now have a case of 12 NS2 Amsoil CVT fluid I can do nothing with if anyone would be interested. Thank you all for your help, I appreciate all of the responses I received on this issue.

ThinBlue82

iTrader: (1)

Wow!! Glad things worked out for you. Great info in the Amsoil CVT fluid. I know there are a few folks running that in their CVT's right now that wish they knew that before changing fluids.

Dudemaine

iTrader: (1)

Such a b**ch a** move by Nissan to say it'll void the cvt warranty when knowing it's much higher rated cvt fluid. That's not right.

To the OP, did you hear that from corporate directly or did someone from the dealership just tell you that?? I'm just curious as to the credibility of the source who told you because if that really is the case it really isn't right

holbeink

I know it was from corporate because they showed me the response. The mechanic agreed it was BS but he recommended I didn't screw up my warranty and I would have to agree with him on that one. If I knew they had all the kinks worked out on these CVT's I would have went with Amsoil but as of right now I'll just have the fluid checked about every 30k.