My rear suspension developed an annoying squeak over the last few weeks. It occurred particularly when driving over a dip and the suspension compressed.

Since I'm out of warranty, I took it to my regular mechanic. He found that the rubber bushings for the rear anti-sway bar were dry and they created a squeak when the bar rotated in them.

The bushings weren't worn, just dry, so he lubed them up. Unfortunately they are not an item intended to be regularly lubed, so they have no grease points. He had to remove then entire bar and the bushings to add some rubber-friendly lube, but it fixed the problem.

I have to think this will happen to other Maximas out there (same thing happened on my previous Altima, too). So if you get a rear squeak, have someone check the sway bar bushings.

 

i was at the dealer yesterday for the very same problem and they are going the replace mine tomorrow hope it fixes the problem.

 

It does

 

thanks. i have the same problem so i will have my mechanic check them

 

Sounds like the same problem I have, And had it ever since I bought the car, I will be sure too make an appointment for this, and now that a few people have the same issue I will make sure they check it.

 

Already had my front suspension replaced with the annoying problem that they had a recall for - I guess it's time for the rear too as I'm experiencing the same problem that the front had.

Has anyone had the rear suspension replaced too? IS there a recall for it?

 

Indeed, this problem is very minor and easily fixable.. bushings need proper lubrication from time to time, and I've had similar issues on two of my previous cars.

Easy fix!

-AJ

 

yep i just had this fixed on monday. my service guy is good, and said there is a bullentin on this issue, but they first have to clean and lube the bushings. if it continues, he told me to bring it back and they would replace them with an upgraded bushing. apparently nissans bushings are terrible. ive had this issue on every nissan ive ever owned.

my noise is amplified by cold weather, and since i got this done monday, no problems. and its been in the 30s at night.

 

Yeah, was just in for this and something else at a different dealer this week and was told nothing was wrong, nothing broke or cracked and they sent me on my merry way. Guess I'll be paying another visit. You said there is a TSB on this? Could you possibly post it or a link to it. I couldn't find anything on nissanhelp except for something about the rear suspension knuckle on 2009 models? I'd really like to have it to bring in with me.

 

i had mine fixed today and all is going the problem is fixed.

 

they didnt put any type of TSB on the RO, but this is exactly word for word what it says:

Me: Noise coming from rear end. Took tech out for ride and duplicated noise from rear suspension

Nissan: Verified noise from rear of vehicle. Inspected rear suspension, found sway bar bushings to be causing noise due to lack of lubrication. Lubricated both bushings and cleaned all sway bar/bushing surfaces. Road test and noise is gone.


The mention of a bullentin was in casual convo, but it hasnt come back since monday and its really cold here right now. If they "cant find" anything, tell them to lube the bushings well, and the noise should go away. The other thing the tech said to me in the car ride was he personally thought it was a bad strut, but apparently not.

good luck bc i know how annoying this noise is, and mine was really bad.

 

got mine fix today. ..

 

Kmoney, which dealer fixed yours? I need to take mine in, and I am dreading the argument. If there is a dealer that is cool with taking care of the issue without a fight, I'd rather go there.

 

my dealer is Sansone's route 1. PM me if you need the address
this is what i told my dealer

Me: creaking noise from rear suspension of vehicle when cold and going over dip or bumps
Tech: found rear sway bar bushings dry, removed, greased and reinstalled bushings.

 

Yup had the same issue.. took care of it today.. hopefully its not a re-occurring problem..

 

its the cause of the cold weather. the cold dry the bushing so quick

 

Thank you so much for the tidbits. This is exactly what I'm going to tell them when I take the car in so there is no jerking around. This dealer fought me on the front suspension so I expect the same on the rear. Its a shame that a 38-40k dollar vehicle is going through such quality issues like this. Nissan better get their act together on stuff like this b/c it unacceptable on any car, but more so on a car that costs as much as the Maxima does.

 

they shouldnt give you a hard time, its not like you are asking them to replace anything. when they lube the bushings, it literally takes them 15 seconds to do them. if you arent satisfied with the results, take it to another dealer. but this is an easy fix, its just knowing what to do.

i got this done about 2.5 weeks ago, and its been really cold here, not a squeek, creak, nothing. good to go.

 

You'd be surprised at how bad some of these stealers can be. A lot of them like to play the game, "oh we don't hear anything!" It doesn't matter how simple a job it is, if your under warranty, they want to do as little as possible since they can't charge you for ****.

 

Hey guys,

Its been a while since I posted anything Anyways, I had this same exact problem for like two months now. I finally had a chance this morning to get it checked out and the dealer was like yeah we have been getting a lot of 7th Gen Maximas with this issue. He said the same thing about the lube thing and fixed it right away. It looks like its fixed, I didnt hear anything on my way home but I hope I dont have to do this often. We shall see.

Also smarty666, I was under the impression that if the car is under warranty, then these dealerships send the invoice to Nissan and thats how they make a killing off of these new cars! I am not stating this as a fact. I am just trying to confirm my understanding....thanks

 

Well, from what I've been told, the dealership only gets a certain amount of money to go towards warranty work. Once they run out of that money, basically it starts coming out of the dealerships pockets. And the Service Managers pocket. Also the technician doesn't make as much for a Warranty Claim, rather then a Customer Pay. But ultimately they don't have the choice, the Shop Forman and Service Manager calls the shots.

 

TintNinja is correct, the service departments only get a little bit reimbursed back from Nissan when they submit it. That is why some of them are so bad and hesitant to help you in any way, b/c they know if something is wrong or they have to do any work under warranty, they are not going to be paid like they would if they could sent out the cash register on you if your out of warranty.

 

Ah! I see! Thanks for the info...I hope i dont have to go back...ever!

 

actually, thats incorrect- the service department gets paid no matter how much warranty work they claim, the only way for them to run out of warranty money is if the manufacturer goes out of business, they do however get paid a fixed amount for the work covered and it is less then potentionally charged to the customer. Also, if a procedure is under warranty, legally the dealer cannot charge you for the work or a diagnostic fee. the problem arises when they do a diag and it is not covered- cause then you feel beat for paying it and getting nothing fixed, and also why the dealer tries to make it sound like it "might" not be covered....just to plant the seed.

 

Ok, I don't know what your source is and I'm not saying I am right and you are wrong but if you think about it logically, if an Automotive Manufacturer pays out an unlimited amount of money to a dealer no matter how many warranty issues there may be, I'm sure the dealerships would be making a killing off the manufacturers with "false warranty claims".

What you're saying is an Automotive Manufacturer is going take every dealers word for every warranty claim, send the part out that could potentially cost Thousands, then reimburse the dealership for whatever dollar amount is needed so everybody can get paid?

Idk about that...

 

I agree, I don't know about that reasoning at all b/c then sealerships could put in warranty claims all the time, especially if business had been slow and they needed money. Also, it doesn't make sense or explain why the stealerhips are being such a ***** at times with wanting to even look at your car or do any work under warranty. I'm frankly getting tired of the "oh, we don't hear anything" or the "all Maxima's and Nissan's are like that" or the "that's the way the Maxima was designed and there is nothing we can do about it" excuses. Its poor customer service, and even more so, with how much they charge for this freaking car. I've said it again and again, if Nissan wants to charge luxury division prices for these vehicles then they need to start stepping up and offering the same service and care and so far I have seen that they don't. If anything, that is what is going to cause me not to go with Nissan the next time around!

 

One aspect of this warranty discussion is not beeing addressed, and that is every warranty claim submitted to Nissan corporate by a dealer must first be authorized by Nissan or that claim will not be paid.

 

this is usually a common problem...these maxes have some common ones but nissan has been improving greatly...the rear bushings...front strut tower mounts....struts of course...and i dunno y but i gotta change my rack n pinion....but these are some insights for yall

 

That could explain some of it but a lot is just poor customer service and laziness on the part of certain Nissan dealerships. They do this by the "oh we don't hear anything" or "all Max's are like that"

They seem to forget pretty quickly what the msrp on the window sticker is for this car. When a car costs as much as the Maxima does now, you expect a higher level of service and care then you would if your driving around in a base Altima or Sentra, Rogue, etc.

 

Is this covered under the 36,000 miles 3- year warranty?? I have hit 43000 miles in less than 2 years. I have has this problem for a while. Before the 36,000. The dealer that I bought it from, is about an hour away, and really dont like taking it to them. THere is a dealer on the way home that I can go to. Does it matter which dealer I take it to?

I also had this problem in my 03 Altima. But never figured out what was wrong with it.

 

Drove my car today after a month...damn the squeaking was loud(rear)..1st time i'm hearing it...in the process of getting a new RSB..so will change and grease at the same time..do i need to change anything else guys? since i will be under the car..