All,

Another problem with my 2009 Maxima SV w/ Sport pkg. When coming to a rolling stop or when breaking I can hear sound coming from the front wheel(s). It sounds like when you get a flat tire and the rubber is squealing/rubbing against the pavement. I brought it in to the dealer and they didn't hear it until I went for a ride with them, of course. He got out and I drove by so he could hear it. It's most pronounced when I'm on highway in traffic just rolling along next to a barrier. He said he was going to lube the calipers, but I didn't think that was the right thing to do because it the sound doesn't lessen when applying any pressure the break, but he insisted.

Another problem is that when going over bumps at slower speeds, I can hear the suspension making a noise like that of the springs on a trampoline when jumping on it. Is this normal for the sport suspension? It doesn't sound good and is very annoying.

I'm so fed up with going to the dealership with a problem and them not fixing it the first time around, or anytime around for that matter. For the nail in my tire they (one dealership once and one dealership twice) couldn't find. A local tire place found it in ten minutes. Both dealerships told me the TPMS light was coming on from the temperature change, well nope it was a nail. Anyways, I'm almost ready to put this thing up for sale. Sad because I love the looks of the car, but the quality is just not there.

Please help!

 

The springy noise when going over bumps is a blown shock, most likely.

 

Damn sorry to hear that man. Well to make you feel better, when I was still on OEM struts and springs, I had the same noise coming from the suspension like your having. It's perfectly normal and it's NOT a blown shock My old 95' Altima did that and my boy's 2012 Maxima does the same with 7500 on the odo.

And the noise from the brakes, I have no clue what's wrong. Well lets break it down.... You have a 2009 right? So when was the last time the break pads or rotors were replaced?? Are you the original owner?? how many miles???
Quality wise, it's up there. I know A LOT of 7th gen owners and neither complains about it. A few have some minor problems as well as me but doesn't mean you have to go out and sell the car for little things like these I heard more horror stories.

BTW a way to determine if a shock is blown is to conduct a bounce test on your car. With your vehicle off ,step or push down on each corner and then let go. If your car bounces more then twice, there is a possibility you need new shocks or struts.

 

Ummm, just had a shock changed on my 09 maxima that was blown, and causing a squeek.
Also, was a mechanic....

 

gbooth - And remember that all those extra trips because of the TPMS light were due to dealer incompetence. The car was telling you the truth - that a nail had punctured a tire, and you had a slow leak.

These are very well-built cars. My '09 was built in September of 2008, and has been the most dependable vehicle I have ever owned (and I have been owning vehicles since 1949).

 

I had squeaking noises in the rear of my car a couple of years ago. They replaced the bushings in the shocks and it's been fine since.

I have a different viewpoint than lightonthehill when it comes to the dependability of the 7th gen. I had a 5th gen for 6 years that I bought preowned and I had one issue over the entire lifespan of that car (a fuel injection computer chip died).

I've had my 7th gen close to 5 years (bought it in July 2008) and I've had the following problems (I have only put 33000 miles on the car to date):

1. Seat fixed due to a large amount of vibration.
2. Bushings replaced in the rear shocks.
3. Power steering module/rack replaced due to wheel shuddering (wheel would jerk in the opposite direction when turning -- this wasn't torque steer, it happened even when not under accelleration) and high pitched whines coming from the front wheels.
4. Car has shut down on me twice while travelling 60 to 70 mph on the highway. It had to be towed to the dealer both times. The first incident was due to a wire breaking and shorting out the fuel injection system, which killed the car. The second incident, which the car is in the shop for now, is going to result in at least the transmission valve body being replaced and the dealership claims they are not quite sure if that will actually fix the problem. It's simply their first attempt.

In addition to the above issues my dash is very squeaky and the trunk doesn't shut flush with the rest of the car. I've taken the car to two dealerships for the latter issue and they were unable to fix it.

There is a lot I like about the car despite the above problems. However, I highly doubt I'll be buying a 3rd Nissan at this point.

 

Sorry to hear that pearle. My dash is very squeaky too. I owned three Acuras before this Nissan and I can only compare the quality to those. I didn't have one thing go wrong with the Integra GSR, CL Type s, or TL. They were all cars that were built very well and had nothing to do than regular maintenance. Was it the passenger seat fixed that had the vibrations? Mines pretty bad. Also my car shakes at higher speeds on highway. Brought it in for that and dealer told me my tires were very uneven (same dealership who sold me the car 7k miles ago at the time). They refused to do anything, but give me two tires on them and I buy the other two. How does a dealership sell me a CPO car with uneven tires then expect me to pay for some? Craziness.


The brake pads and rotors were changed when I bought the car in October 2012 as a CPO wit 36k. I have 45K on the odo and I'm not the original owner. Car had one owner before who leased it. I was a little hesitant about buying it because the owner traded it in at a place in Mass and they brought it auction and sold it. I ended bought it in NH. Why would the original dealer bring it auction? It made me think something was wrong with it. It had 35k on it when the lease was up. Why wouldn't the Mass dealer kept it on the lot and sold it? Iffy if you ask me.

Thanks for the info about the shock test I will do that today.

There's also one other problem. The same day I brought it in for the weird sound in the wheels I had them do a diagnostic test on the airbag. Every time my gf sits in passenger seat the light comes on, which means the airbag won't deploy if in an accident, very scary. She weighs 108lb's, and to me thats plenty of weight for her to sit in the front seat. Dealer did diagnostic and nothing was wrong. They called a Nissan Tech and he/she said there was nothing wrong and this was normal and that the side airbags would go off, just not the front. Well, this does her no good if we get in a head on crash. When we went for a ride with the mechanic he saw the light on, and after he got out to hear the noise coming from the wheels he got back in and the light was off on the way back. I just feel like I can't trust anything they tell me. Just another reason this should be put up for sale. Can't be driving around if the airbag won't deploy for her.

 

Yes, it was the passenger seat. It still vibrates but not as badly as before. It rocks side to side. It's fine when someone is sitting in it, of course.

I also experience lots of shake at highway speeds. However, I only noticed this when I bought a new house last year with a crushed stone driveway. I'm blaming the fact that rocks are getting stuck in the thread of the tires and that this is causing the vibration. The vibration isn't consistent and often goes away after driving for a while. I'm having my driveway paved this year and I hope that will be the end of the vibration problems.

Edit: I should note that I'm no longer using the stock tires. I have 19" Yokohamas on the car now.

 

Yea, I might bring my car in for the vibrating passenger seat, but I'm just apprehensive because I don't want to bring it in and have them not fix something again. I still have the RSA's on there which could be the problem, plus the uneven tire wear probably doesn't help. I will be putting the Michelin Primacy MXM4's on very soon. I hear those tires are superb.