So...long story short. Brand new car that has had slight vibration when going 65-75MPH. Have had it to dealer 3 times and all they have basically done is tire balance/rotation/spun tires on wheels. They said last time they did road force balance. The service manager feels the issue and said that these cars have sporty suspension and will have some vibrations. I call BS. I want a smooth ride on smooth roads. Anyone else have this issue? Going to be taking it back for the 4th time likely next week. Car had less than 2000 miles on it.

 

Keep after your dealer. This Platinum is probably the first car I have owned that has absolutely no vibration at any speed. It is a new experience for me to feel absolutely zero vibration of any kind, even at speeds well above maximum posted ones.

 

Ask for a senior tech to road test the car with you so they can experience the issue while you are on board. Conversely, you can also road test a dealer car and see how that feels to you. good luck

 

I just hate it when they come back with that kinda moronic BS answer when they have no clue. Since when does "Sporty" suspension equals vibration?? It really gets under my skin to think someone tries to just shluff me off like that thinking I am plain Stupid...

 

Is the vibration felt in the steering wheel or seat? Did they swap the tires to see if it changes? Also make sure tire pressures are all the same, from previous experience Nissans are very sensative to tire pressures. There is always a slight chance a tire is defective.

 

i can feel it in both steering and seat. They claim to have swapped tires around, balanced them 2 or 3 times, used road force balancer, and rotated 2 of the tires on the rim 180degrees. Still same vibration. Tire pressures are where they should be but they have been low and high before and the vibration was still there.

 

If a tire is 'out of round', then balancing it or rotating it on the rim will not eliminate the vibration. I had that happen once several decades ago. After all your dealer has tried, it may be that you have an oddball situation of some kind. I once had a vibration like yours, and it eventually turned out some jerk had left half the valve stem inside the tire when replacing the valve stem, so wherever the valve stem remnant happened to end up after each restart, it added a tad to the weight at that particular point, and resulted in the tire effectively not being perfectly balanced. I have even heard of situations where the wheel was warped, making it almost impossible to perfectly balance the tire and rim. And then there was the time I had a vibration that turned out to be caused by a broken belt in one of my tires. I have even heard of situations where the car being out of alignment somehow caused a very slight vibration.

By putting each of your wheel/tires on a good balancing machine, your dealer should be able to determine exactly which wheel/tire is at fault.

 

Tires that are "out of Round" is not all common as it once was but I have to agree that this is a strong possibility. They used to have a "radial tire run out" test years ago but I'd ask them to swap out tires/wheels on another Maxima and give that a go.
Mine is smooth as silk and yours should be too!

 

it started on mine around 39k miles.. mainly beacuse i have 4/32 left.

somewhat related topic.. dealer keeps putting 40psi on my tires,
even though they write "recommended 33psi"
which made the late drive home tonight dealing with tolerable vibration @55+ mph

 

Many dealers tend to do this. I don't mind because I always check after service, and change the tires to 37 psi in front and 35 psi in the rear. I use those pressures because I have found from owning only Maximas for the last 33 years that I get the most even tire wear with my style of driving with those pressures. The increased pressures cause my Platinum to ride more like an SE, but I don't mind, and the increased pressure stiffens the sidewalls, enabling me to maneuver slightly better at higher speeds.

 

i might try those pressures when i get new tires, lightonthehill.

i should have typed "40+"
after driving 10 miles on fwy, 55-60 mph, 50-deg evening..
tires read 44, 41 fronts, and 40, 42 rears.
so, went to [costco] and dropped all to even 35

 

Maybe a broken belt inside the tire?? I had that in my 14 Mustang and it was only noticeable at highway speeds.

Hope that helps

 

with the tires less than 3/32, i just decided to replace them. no more shaking.
probably like what others are saying, out-of-round... unbalanced tires caused them.

but even with 5/32 threads back then, potenza re050a, summer tires, performed unexpectedly good for me during heavy rain.

 

When I take it back for the 4th time they said they will have a wheel bearing in case it's that. All I know is I'm not accepting it until that vibration is gone

 

Derick,

Any update on this? Im having the same issue with a 4 month old Maxima. Thanks...

 

My vote is for a bad tire/tires. My son had new Continentals and they never could get the vibration out. He made them swap to Michelin's - problem disappeared (My guess is that a swap to a different set of Continentals would also have worked). Always seems to be a risk in getting new tires, there is no way to really isolate the problem without a complete change.

 

My tires were completely changed, even a couple rims...still same issue. nissan customer care is next

Derick, any update?

 

I have the same problem in another thread I started. I’ve been through 3 sets of tires, then test drove 2 more maximas, one brand new, one used, and a brand new Altima. All had the same exact problem. I’m thinking CVT

 

Agree 100%. Every new Max I test drove did it.

 

pWell you would be wrong about it being the CVT. No one wants to depreciate anothers problem with vibration but the issue is not widespread at all.
We have two Gen 8 Maximas with no issues ever and smooth as glass.

 

Considering all the max's myself and others have had, i can't believe that you could find so many maxes that had a vibration, something else is going on.

 

Trade ya?

 

What tires are the ones with vibrations and without? I’ve had Generals AS05, then 2 sets of Continental DWS-06. Perhaps this car just doesn’t like them. Anyone running anything else?

 

2018 SV, 9000 miles, bought brand new. Still no vibration at any speed.

 

There are more factors which could contribute to vibration at HW speed than transmission/rims/tires.
One of the important ones is half-shafts. If you have a bent one, it would vibrate. I heard more than once that someone replaced the half-shaft and vibration started. Tricky to troubleshoot. You may or may not detect a runout with a dial caliper and a good mount. If you get runout in the middle of the half-shaft but not closer to the ends, this is it.
Then there are rotors. These are very easy to rule out: buy a single cheap rotor and replace yours with it on one side, then the other.

 

My 16 platinum maxima vibrates the floorboard on the highway. I tried different tires and roadforce balance tires multiple times and still shake.

 

And you felt no shimmy on the steering? Did you rotate the wheels around the car? Then check if you still have OEM half-shafts and measure the runout on them.

 

Steering wheel shakes a little sometimes. I did rotate tires and same thing.

 

If it shakes more when you brake hard, then your rotors are warped. If it shakes just when you reach certain speed and does not increase with braking, then the reason is different.
I had a defective tire once. It had a sunken spot 3" in diameter which I missed when they installed the tire. Was a cause of all sorts of vibrations. But you replaced tires so scratch that.
Is your hub surface clean? If something like a rust flake gets in between of the hub and wheel mating surfaces, then your perfectly balanced wheel may vibrate.
Are any of your lug studs loose? If they shift under the weight of the wheel as you mount it, then it would vibrate.

 

Had this happen to my 2005 Max, one of the wheels was warped. Discovered that after numerous rotate and balance, road force balance, the works. It was very frustrating. Problem went away when I replaced the wheels ... but it was an expensive fix even for after-market wheels, and the car was already old. But I guess it can happen to a car of any age, if something makes a wheel to warp.

 

A good used OEM wheel from the scrap yard with an Okay tire only rings you about $50-70