My '09 Maxima has been to the dealer shop several times for what I feel is poor ride quality, not what I remember on the test drive car. At low speeds, 5mph to 45mph, I can feel the rear end rise & fall on almost any road surface except the smoothest concrete. When the asphalt is the least bit coarse or wavy, the rear end bounces enough to disrupt the ride quality, and sometimes I feel the handling is compromised. The dealer says nothing is wrong with suspension. The tires have been balanced endlessly, with only minor effect - sometimes worse, sometimes better. Also, I feel some days the car rides better than others, but it doesn't last. Also, the car bucks a bit as the CVT coasts to a stop (I hesitate to say "downshifts" but that's what it feels like). Tire pressure is closely managed. I've tried various levels from 32 to 38, and have settled on 35.

Any ideas what the problem could be? I don't hear others complaining about the ride.

 

How many miles are on your car? Someone mentioned to me the other day that you can expect to replace the stock Goodyears on the Maxima at 30,000 miles. Tires do in fact make a huge difference with handling especially if they are extremely worn. Although tires won't help you with your tranny/CVT issue so I can't help you there.

 

30K on my car, but the RS-A's on front are not very worn (well rotated), and I have new Michelin Primacy MXV4's on the rear at the moment (10K on them).

 

Get an RSB and an FSTB and lower that puppy, believe me you will notice the difference.

 

My '09 has ridden very smoothly, even though I currently have 37 psi in front and 35 psi in the rear. I keep a lower psi in the rear because there is far less weight on the rear tires. Are you sure your tire gauge is correct? 35 psi should ride fairly well.

Did you buy the car new? If not, are you sure no one has replaced any suspension parts with 'sportier' equipment?

The Maxima definitely has a reasonably firm ride, and those folks who are moving to the Maxima from a more softly sprung vehicle will notice this. Those Maximas with the Sport package will have an even firmer ride than Maximas without the Sport package. You know you have the Sport package if you have the 19" wheels.

I suspect you may be aware of everything I have said so far, and that something else may be happening. The Michelin Primacy MXV4 is supposed to be a fairly comfortably riding tire (per the Nov '10 issue of Consumer Reports), so I don't think those should be a problem.

I would suggest having your dealer let you drive another Maxima (Another Sport if that is what you have, otherwise, a non-Sport). If the ride is definitely better than your car, have the dealer do the same test, and tell him something is not right with your car.

 

Bouncy rear ends has been a Maxima "trade mark" since the 5th gen....4th gen had it just not to that extent.........Every 5th-7th gen, especially with and adult or 2 in the back seat tends to have a more bouncy rear end over bumps than I would like from SE/Sport to GLE/SL/S/Premium.

 

A few more details:

This is a an '09 Maxima S with 18" wheels. I bought it new in '09 and have complained about the ride to the dealer since around 8,000 miles. I don't think it is the tires. I've tried many tire pressure combinations, and do agree that 37 front and 35 rear works well. This winter I've been using 35 in front.

I've driven one other Max at the dealer for comparison, but unfortunately I did not take it on the roads I am most familiar with so I had a hard time comparing the ride quality.

Way back in time, I did hear a single loud metallic pop from the rear window area when I was backing out of my garage one cold winter morning (not going over any bump, and probably only 2mph in reverse). I reported it to the dealer service, but they couldn't find anything. Could that be a strut popping or a spring breaking? If I had to characterize the problem, I would say it feels like a weak spring, but the service manager says no and they've checked 3 times. Dealer thinks it is tire related but they've Hunter Road Force balanced numerous times, and aligned, with little effect.

Do I escalate to higher levels of Nissan service? Should I spend more personal time at the dealer driving other cars, swapping wheels, trying to prove it's not the tires?

 

Dapper - I seem to recall there was a TSB on something breaking in the rear suspension on the '09. I didn't have the problem, but some here did. If you can't find this TSB somewhere in the TSB section in the 7th gen stickies, maybe someone here can recall this, or maybe your dealer can check his TSBs for a rear suspension problem fix.


EDIT - I just checked, and the list of recalls in the strickies is only a partial list, and does not include the rear suspension problem. Maybe someone her will remember . . .

 

I'm back with an update. Since my last report here, a humming noise from front end developed at 50-70 mph. I took the car to my dealer shop, still under warranty. I suspected a bad wheel bearing, right front. Service dept agreed and replaced it under warranty. I also paid for another alignment (3rd in 33,000 miles). I also had NTB09-138 done to reprogram the CVT, because I definitely had the vibration between 30-42 mph, worst at 38 mph.
I am happy to report that ride quality feels somewhat better after all this. Still not quite right, but that might be a tire issue I have to take up with the Michelin man.
I hope the bad vibes don't come back. There have been days in the past where it feels good, but then the shakes start again. We'll see...

 

I'm glad things are looking up. Let us know if you finalize what may be a tire issue. I had a belt go bad in a Pirelli on the rear of one of my two 1985 Maximas, and it took the dealer and I three months to finally pinpoint the problem.

 

One thing to mention-I have had poor results with mixing makes of tires on a car. I would suggest you go to one brand and model tire to ensure the handling is consistent. Every tire maker uses different compounds and tires handle and ride differently-its the reason many people on this board moved away from the RSA's and are more satisfied with something else. With the setup you have now, your front and rear suspensions are using different grip and ride characteristics which could contribute to degraded performance.
It's just been my experience that this could be causing some of the problem as it relates to unpredictable handling.

 

I had a problem like this with an 84 Toyota Cressida. This car had 4 wheel independent suspension and it turned out to be the rear wheel alignment. The rear toe-in had shifted and it made for a terrible ride. The car shook, I had a lot of humming and road noise, and I felt a loss in power. I let it go on for a while before I fixed it and my tires had noticeable cupping so you might look at your tread wear. I'm thinking the alignment fixed it, but your tires may have some uneven tread that should settle down in time.

 

+1

 

Absolutely true. I learned over sixty years ago that just having the same size tire on both sides is not enough. Tread patterns differ, sidewall flexibility differs, tire grip differs, the ability to handle water differs, cornering differs, stopping distance varies, and handling is inconsistent.

I have found that even having the same make, size and model of tire on both ends of the same axle is not always enough. I remember having a tire destroyed with about 25% of its tread left. I put on a new one that was exactly the same except it had full tread, while the older tire at the other end of the axle had only 25% of its tread. That difference in tread depth made a discernable difference in handling, especially in wet weather.

Another factor is psi. We can carry a different psi in front than we do in the rear (I almost always do that), but it is VERY important that both tires on the 'same axle' have exactly the same psi.

We can get away with cutting corners on a car we simply drive to church and the grocery store, but if we want consistent handling at freeway speeds, tire setup is critical.

 

+2 for sure!

 

Thanks for all the input about mixing tires on the car. I switched to Michelin Primacy MXV4 on the front when I had a blow out on a pot hole 16 months ago. The Primacys (Primacies?) on the front were vague in steering. They had difficulty getting balanced, too (3 times a charm?). I rotated them to the rear mid-winter and the difference was dramatic. The ride smoothed out maybe 70%, and the sharp steering I enjoy with the RS-A's returned.
I'm now in a quandry because I really don't need tires yet, and I don't really want to get 2 more Primacy to match. And I don't think I want a new set of RS-A's either.
I'm thinking of going to the dealer one more time, asking to try a new set of tires/wheels from a Maxima on the lot. This is just to prove that any/all of the poor ride quality isn't coming from the rubber or wheels.
Bottom line is that I've had this problem even with all 4 RS-A's, from early in the life of the car.

 

If you need a good set of tires, take a look at the Continental Extreme DWS's. They still turn quickly like the RS-A's but they stick like glue! I'm in the south so the Snow designation won't really get used, however the Dry & Wet can be attested to. Besides that, they have a 50,000-mile warranty. I was reluctant to pay that much for a tire, but I'm pleasantly surprised. I broke them in on The Dragon and the Cherohala Skyway and never worried a bit about the grip. Road noise is down a bit as well. Just a thought...

 

I'm back with another update. After the dealer replaced right front wheel bearing, I got the car home, drove to work and back, and then noticed copious amounts of black grease spattered inside the wheel, migrating to the outside. Huh. Not right. I cleaned it up, thinking it may have been residual from the bearing work. But the grease came back again after driving. Took it back to dealer. They found there was play between the bearing hub and what they called the axle. I looked up the schematic and best I can figure it was the RF Knuckle Spindle which connects to the bearing hub assembly. They replaced all under warranty. Car seems to ride much smoother now. But only 20 miles traveled. I still reserve judgement, since I've always said some days the car rides smoother than others. Going on a road trip this weekend. Will report back again.

 

I read all the tire reviews I could find (and there are a zillion tire reviews floating around the web), and decided my next set would be the Conti Extreme DWS's. I must admit, however, that I have had excellent service with my RS-As, and if there were no Conti dealerships in the area in which I lived, and if I was able to get a really good deal, I could live with another set of RS-As. I never thought I would be able to say that.

You mentioned the Cherohala Skyway. Last time I rode that thing (several years back), the only toilet facilities the entire route were very primitive 'one-holers' with no water involved, and an absolutely overpowering odor of feces. The only available gas was back in Robbinsville.

I love communing with nature, found the scenery very beautiful, and my Maxima loved those mountain roads. But when 'nature calls', my wife and I prefer not to wallow in other folks' 'residue.'

I had more than enough of that during my 13 months in Korea while serving in the Army back in the 1950s. Of course local customs vary, but in Korea in the 1950s, folks saved their excrement all fall and winter and used it to fertilize their fields in the spring. Then ate those crops, which produced more fertilizer. Sort of a 'closed system' which worked well. But I stray . . .

 

Here's my final report (I hope).

The front bearing replacement reported above did not cure the bouncy rear end. This fall, I to took the car to a different Nissan dealer's service department , reported everything going on with the poor ride quality. This was the place from which I purchased 2 Michelin Primacy MXV4. They "suggested" maybe it's time to replace the rear shock absorbers, because the right rear was easily compressed (press down on the rear fender over the wheel). Of course they couldn't guarantee that would be the magic fix. I stewed on this for a while, my car being out of warranty. I then test drove 2 more new Maximas to be sure I felt a difference. Almost traded mine in, but instead sprung for new OEM shocks. This has improved the ride very significantly. It is close to what I remember from driving other Maximas. I still feel the tires are less than perfectly balanced, but that is another issue that I'm also dealing with. Even with all these problems, I still like the vehicle and plan to keep it.

 

I have a 2011 with 5k on it and I have always though the rear springs don't have the right spring rate. They squat too easily on hard acceleration and that's a no-no for a FWD.

Kinda off the subject but I suggest always putting the new tires up front when only replacing 2. A blow out in the rear you have a very good chance from recovering from but a blow out in the front could ruin your day...big time!