Hi all.

I have a 2013 SV with 15k miles and Michelin AS3 tires. The car is not modified.

I live near Myrtle Beach and have enjoyed the car's handling and cornering.

I recently took a long trip through Virginia and PA (about 150lbs of luggage between the trunk and back seat). On several parts of the trip, I encountered those awful cross-lane road gaps, the worst being on I95 below Richmond. While driving in those areas, I noticed that the car's rear end seemed to hop to the passenger side and then snap back. This was more than a minor thing and while manageable became unsettling. Especially where the road had these gaps for 10-20 miles. I felt like I was driving an old pickup at times.

Because of the better roads here in NC/SC, I haven't really run into this problem before. My goal is to reduce or eliminate this 'squirrelyness'. I was thinking a RSB might help, but I don't really know. I am taking the car to the shop to have them checkout the suspension for problems first.

Have any of you experienced this? Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Craig

 

Just wondering did the traction control light ever come on?

 

No. At least I never noticed it.

 

Hopefully your shop will find something. If your tires get cupped it can cause issues like this. Also a tighter suspension can create wheel hope not eliminate it IMO so a RSB may not solve it. Do you have the SV with sport pack?

 

Do not add an RSB. That will not solve the problem it will likely make the issue worse. 4th and 5th gens suffer from this issue but that's just the nature of the beam suspension. In your case alignment and/or tires is the problem here. The 6th and 7th gen have very stable rear suspension setups. First try your alignment, a slight toe in will help in the rear, it will make the car understeer slightly but will make it a lot more stable, most cars are setup like this from the factory. if not try new tires, a stiffer tire with a less aggressive tread design might help.

And VA roads just suck i always can't wait till im back on smooth NC roads.

 

No sport package.

I'll be getting my alignment checked this week when I get the car into the shop.

Thanks for the replies.

Craig

 

Mine did the same thing after putting news tires on it. After balance and an alignment it fixed the issue.

 

I have a 2010 - mechanically the same. I have had the same problem. I think it's inherent in how the suspension is designed. The rear of the call does this bizarre sort-of kind-of fishtail maneuver when hitting a pothole with one of the rear wheels. Only notice this when the rear of the car is loaded down (luggage in trunk or rear passengers). Add this to the fact that the steering gets EXTREMELY sensitive with a load on the rear and the car feels pretty unstable at time. I don't noticed the rear end fishtailing so much as I noticed the steering gets crazy sensitive. These two things aren't a problem without a loaded rear end (pun no intendere).

Late,
Trav

 

Thanks for the input everyone. I am taking it to the shop today to get the alignment checked and the tires rotated. I'll ask them to go over the suspension in case there are any other problems.

Craig

 

Pretty disappointing. I would expect that with the large, wide, tires/wheels and a firm suspension the car would ride like it's on rails. 150 lbs is not much, just one good sized rear passenger. Makes me wonder what the design engineers were thinking. In many ways my 98 SE with 16 inch wheels and the beam rear end suspension felt more stable than my 7th gen.

 

Well,

Just got back from the shop. The front left toe was out very slightly, but all other alignment specs were ok. The suspension is in good working order as I would expect for only 15k miles. No problems with the tires or pressure. I guess the problem is inherent in the car's suspension design as someone suggested. Maybe it had something to do with the extra weight in the trunk on this trip (150lbs or so) Oh well, I'll just have to stay off those nasty northern roads. I'm pretty sure my next car will be a RW drive cruiser like a 300 or something similar.

Thanks again everyone for your time and input.

Craig

 

The front end can be pretty squirrely also. There are many reasons to like the Maxima but a solid ride over anything but flat road is not one of them.