I recently bought a 2016 maxima sr with 50k miles on it and I got the 4 year 48000 mile warranty. It’s super clean and runs like a champ but if I hit a bump going slow I get a pop/clunk noise from the rear. It sounds like it’s coming from the back passenger side. I’m thinking it’s a bad shock but I’m no expert. I took it to the dealership and they said they couldn’t duplicate the noise but as soon and I pulled out the lot I hit a couple bumps and heard it. What should I do? Just go buy some shocks and have them replaced or try to argue with the dealership?

 

Well if you can duplicate the problem pulling out of the dealership, take the service tech for a short ride, then go from there. Did the service dept even take it for a test drive?

 

I’m going to assume they did.. I hate using that word lol.. I gotta go back for a SD card so I’m going to tell them let’s go for a ride..

 

Very common complaint on this board with SR's. Harder tires and stiffer suspension seem to cause rear end noise issues. Those of us with the std. suspension systems such as found in the Platinum and lower models don't seem to complain as much. I for one have a 17 SL and I have NEVER heard my chassis complain, even over the worst roads, in the dead of winter. If you search this site a little more you will find numerous things dealers and owners have tried to get rid of the noise you are now experiencing. Some problem areas I can think of include rear package shelf, trunk torsion spring spacers, shock absorber mountings, end links, trunk bumpers, over inflated tires, and on and on. Pitch right in SR owners.

 

I have to disagree with this. This has been a issue for all trim levels. I had it in my 17 Platinum. Took several trips to the dealer to sort it out. There is a very long thread on this if you can find it. If I remember correctly, the issue was a bolt that was contacting something every time I went over a bump. It was in the area of the shock assembly but wasn’t the shock itself. Once the dealer figured it out, it got fixed. Sorry I can’t recall more but if you find that thread some of the successful solutions are located towards the end.

 

Discussed here...https://maxima.org/forums/8th-genera...unk-noise.html

 

I got both rear shock assemblies replaced and I still experience the noise. Now its only when its really cold out and not as bad as before but its still there. Unfortunally this is the nature of the beast... may be some design flaw. This isn't a Volvo where they test the cars in all type of crazy weather and even run dummy crash test. Not enough time put into these cars sadly.

 

I heard that pop clunk on mine and it got worse and worse until like 50k miles. I brought it up at a couple oil changes with the service dept. They determined that it the rear shocks and I had them replace them.
I called Nissan customer service after and since the Service Dept determined it was something wrong with the shocks and not from my driving they reimbursed the cost of the replacement and labor. So try to get a similar determination from the Service Dept.

 

Goldpanda, what year and model Max do you have?

 

2017 Maxima SL with 52,000 miles when I got them replaced.

 

Thanks goldpanda94. I shall be wary. I have about 38,000 mi. on my SL.

 

Yup no prob. If you decide to go my route, basically keep asking about the pop clunk noise and eventually the Service Dept will acknowledge that it shouldn't be acting that way especially so early in the car's life. As long as they diagnose that it's not a result from your driving or from an accident then Nissan Customer Service will basically "investigate" the claim by calling the Service Dept and just confirming their diagnosis.

 

Thanks for the advice I’m going to keep going to the dealership till they fix it. That’s **** is annoying