i own an '04 SE and when i first got the max, i didn't have this shimmy/shake thing happening at all. But in the past month or so i noticed the steering wheel shaking when i hit 55-65 mph but as soon as i hit 70 or above the shake went away. I took it a nearby Nissan service center yesterday and told them the situation. Left the car for the day, come back to pick it up the guy tells me that the reason is that I my front right rim is bent. ??????????? How??? Not like I hit anything and caused damage to it without knowing. Well he tells me he put that Rim in the back and the shimmy isn't as significant. Tells me the only way to fix the problem is to buy a new rim (priced at $600). Dont know.. i feel like these guys are being somewhat shady about it. Mind you these are the same guys that couldnt figure out that an unplugged wire was causing my airbag light to flash, even after three seperate visits. Each time a new part was ordered and each time that wasn't the solution. I have an appointment with another dealer tomorrow so l'm going to wait and see what these guys have to say!

 

How many miles do you have? I am reaching 1000, owned for 2 weeks. If I encounter this shimmy crap I will be at the dealership going apesh**
Is this shimmy really bad? I mean we are always going to havea slight vibration in the car right?

 

I have about 6700 miles on my max.. not sure what the long term damage to the car would be.. i'm sure it'll eat away at the tires.. but like i said i want to see what these other dealers are going to tell me.

 

Do you not have the full size spare tire? I have a full size in my SE.
Same tire, same wheel.

 

If you do somehow have a bent rim, don't race out and buy a new one. Most good wheel shops can straighten a slightly bent wheel and make it good as new for a modest charge (I've heard figures as low as $20-25., but it depends a lot on the wheel and the extent of the damage).

I suppose it is possible your wheel had a slight warpage all along, and the extra tread on the tire absorbed most of the "wiggle" ... as the tread wore away, it wasn't able to do so. That's just a theory ...

Mike

 

not sure if i have a full size spare.. pretty sure its not but i'd have to check on that... def not going to buy a new rim at the moment.. waiting to see what dealer # 2 will say..

good call with asking wheel shop to fix it.. gotta look into that

keep you guys posted

 

Get the rotors checked... that's what solved the problem for me. It's a start...

 

Is there any type of lump on your trunk mat with the full size spare? Or does it fit perfectly?

 

Got 7500 on my max and I started to notice that when I'm braking from 50+ mph, I feel the shimmy, but that's all. And I can't imagine that the rotors are warped. Should I go to the dealership, if it is the rotors, is it under warranty?

 

just got back from the dealer... they said they drove it and couldnt find the shimmy but they did balance all tires and the shimmy was gone.. i took it for a spin and the shimmy was pretty much gone except when i was cruising at 60mph... and it was much less significant than it was before.. shall wait and see if it comes back...

 

I would still take it to a local tire-shop to check whether the RIM has bent or not. Just to make sure and to have a peaceful sleep

 

Have the dealer check them... mine were warped, and they fixed them (under warranty). But the shimmy problem seems to be caused by different things for different people.