I know we have discussed this repeatedly with many cars...
If I have a vibration above 55-60 mph, what are possible causes? Let me start by telling you what I can eliminate and why:

Tires: despite replacements/adjustment to pressure, etc, the problem has not gone away.

Road surfaces: can't tell you how many roads I have done insane speeds on to eliminate surfaces as an issue

Alignment: re-alignment has never been able to fix the problem.
brakes: just got them done this past weekend (replaced rotors/pads at front AND rear). No effect.

The integrity of the wheels is almost certainly good.
I haven't taken the wheels anywhere where they can be balanced above what tire shops normally balance them for (60 mph or so, I am told)

I have taken all these steps within a few months of each other, and they have accomplished nothing. The vibration is visible at the steering wheel, and can readily be felt. I have been running 17" Konig Tantrums for almost 2 years now; my stock wheels exhibited the same vibration, but it was less pronounced (the larger wheels seemed to have amplified it.)

Anything I am missing?

 

I'm running with 18's and had a noticable noise/vibration on the expressway. I was going insane trying to find out why... That all changed one day when I took the max in to get the tires rotated and balanced. They said one of my ball joints was shot. I told them to replace it and WHOA! QUIET on the expressway. It was the answer...at least for me. Have your ball joints inspected. Good luck!

 

glad this was brought up, just recently had vibration even w/ new tires installed, but the vibration starts at 70+ mph and just did 4 wheel alignment w/ the OE 16" SE 5-spokes. Would the ball joints really cause all that shake/racket at 70+ mph if new tires and an alignment didn't cure it?

 

bump... if you have anything to add....

 

Worn balljoints or bushings could definitely be part of the problem.

 

Also worn CV joints will allow the shafts to rotate slightly off center, resulting in imbalance and a corresponding vibration. The vibration is stronger at certain speeds because of resonance. The drive shaft may have what rotordynamicists call a "critical speed" at a vehicle speed of 60 mph.

 

poorly balanced tires can be a problem too! you wouldnt believe how square some tires really are.

 

what about just a loose bolt on the rack and pinion.. correct me if im wrong, but wasnt this the source of the problem for the 6th gens? i'd suggest mabye wheel bearings but im sure that would have been something that got noticed with all the other work you've had done.

 

i think its the ball joints or bushings. i know my max's left side's are really worn out cuz i get this creaking noise and 2day on the highway my car was shaking reallly bad.

 

bad ball joints would make the car difficult to align...he states hes been aligned several times to no avail and has switced tires and rims...
Im leaning towards a bad wheel bearing like stuntin 101 has suggested...has this ever been considered by your mechanic?

 

check your motor/trans mounts

 

wouldnt that only mostly occur during shifting??...
wether hes auto or manual hes in the final gear and crusing at 65...he also says the wheels make the problem more pronounced....

 

only other thing i can think of, is that mabye you have a slight bend in a rim, and these people arent telling you.. i mean it would be a stretch cause u said you changed rims, but it is a possibility.. only reason i say this is cause i know i have bent rims.. and these friggin people never tell me that when i get them balanced..

 

stuntin his stockies AND his aftermarket rims are giving him a vibration i dont think the problem is at the wheel/rim......but anything is possible

 

yea i know.. but i have 10 bent rims sittin outside.. so anythings possible..

 

ok, bushings could definitley be the issue; but if you are running aftermarket wheels make sure they are hubcentric; if not, get some hubcentric rings and see if that takes care of things

 

i get the same thing becuase i have a bent rim, when i had this bent rim up front the vibration was sooo bad, so i moved it 2 the back and i didnt feel it ne more. but just 2 day the vibration came back. when i took my rims 2 get balanced the guy put it on the balancer ( i guess) and spun it and it was SOOOO UN-TRUE, it was sooo wacked out. the shyty weather here and pot holes in NY will bend any rim like butter

 

took the Max out on the freeway after a recent snowstorm, we got 12" here in Metro Detroit, freeway was clear, but when I got up to at least 60mph, my Max shook like crazy, even at 70mph, but somehow, on the way home, there wasn't anymore vibration at 60-75mph. I recently had an alignment done at the dealer while I was in for an oil change and an SES light on (o2 sensor), should I take the max back to the dealer even if the problem seems to be gone for now?

 

Will keep everyone posted.. I will be taking the car to Tom (njmaxseltd), who runs a suspension/chassis shop up in NJ. One of the biggest problems with this is that I havent had a consistent mechanic through all of this. I had Nissan do diagnostics every 6 months or so and mentioned the issue (they came back with NOTHING- surprise!) and the problem has been mentioned to everyone from the alignment and tire shops (NTB, Merchant's Tire, etc)... All to pretty much no avail. Tom says he can get to the bottom of the problem, and since he is probably more used to dealing with a Max with a few alterations than any of the other places I have been... maybe I can get something accomplished with him.

 

no, its just cause you have snow or ice frozen on your rims somewhere..

 

If you have aftermarket rims, one cause of the problem is that the hub of the wheel isn't centered on the axles. Most aftermarket wheel manufacturers provide what is called hub rings specified to your vehicle. This should center the wheels on the axles. Good thing about maxima wheels is that they fit perfectly w/o any need for hub rings.

I need to get my 2k wheels balanced again.

 

hey i have teh same rumbling problem. Just got my wheels balance and getting them aligned soon.

 

I have exactly the same problem. I bought car about a year ago with 45000; noticed lots of shaking on stering wheel; the tires were old, so I got new wider tires on my oem 16 rims 225/55/16 and did everything balance and alignment and car was a little better but still shaking; went back again to redo balance thinking a weight felt off, but were fine; had to returned tires and get right size 215/55/16 as per was reading wider tires, specially on narrow 6.5 rims will cause more resistance, weight more, car is taller, make cause shaking, etc..So got new right size tires, shaking is less but still shakes like out of balance. Guys at Cotsco say rims look ok, but they don't know much, I think you need an expensive fancy machine to see if rims are bended a little; is hard to see by eye. Well, I read some place on stickies and seems like it was a Maxima problem. I really hate to live with this problem, specially when keeping car for as long as it lasts me. Alignment guys told me everything looks fine on suspension, bushings, cv axles, etc..Hope someone can find the real problem and solution. I hope my rims are not bended; was told if rims are bended car shakes all the time at all speeds not only after 50mph

 

Its not just a Maxima problem. I had this problem in my other vehicle and the problems could either be wheels, tires, balance, or alignment. Fortunately, in my case, the vibration problem described here were resolved after a good wheel balance. However, when everything else checks out except for alignment then caster should be checked for misalignment. Sometimes even the factory spec alignment is thrown off when you change tire sizes outside the recommended spec or going up a size or two on wheels. It all affects alignment and it could make the suspension unstable at high speeds causing the steering wheel to shimmy. On many lifted trucks, common causes of steering wheel vibration is due to lack of positive caster making the entire suspension less stable due to straight line tracking problems. I don't know if our Maximas have adjustable casters so perhaps someone can chime in and tell us.

Anyhow, when this type of problem is encountered, you'd need to find a good alignment shop with knowledgeable technicians who are willing to listen to your concerns and possess the skills and knowledge to identify what is the cause. If the cause is wheel alignment, then he can fix that issue and get your car running smooth again. Many good alignment shops use the Hunter GSP9700 balancer. Go to this link to find a Hunter balancer near you. Some car dealers actually carry this type of balancer as well.

 

Tom confirmed the problem for me:
Bad rack/pinion. He took about 10 seconds to diagnose it. I've taken this car to Nissan for service SEVERAl times, and have never even heard this might be a problem. Get it checked, or pm njmaxseltd... he can give you a better idea of the symptoms than I can.

 

hehe.. do i win a prize for callin rack and pinion first?? j/k