maxed

LOL

And here at 45+ I thought I was getting a bit long in the tooth! I've owned and made some very fast cars in the past, but my night vision, need for speed and tolerance have all gone down hill in the last 10 years. We still have a '98 Max that my son drives, traded the 2K2 Black on Black 6 speed/turbo for a Frost white with light grey interior '09 SV Maxima for my wife and I still drive the '07 G35 sport that lit up my life in '07, but now rattles my bones. I fear that my next car my be a Caddy or a Hearse The mods that I do now are for comfort, security and to make the cars more useful.

markargente

iTrader: (2)

still haven't brought in it, work week does not mesh well with bringing this in on weekdays. i'm gonna bring it in on thursday night so they can look at it friday. hopefully it gets fixed (but i doubt it) it's so irritating.

jano1975

my vibration is intermittent. I think this rules out the tires and the balance. likely a computer problem.

victorsi30

No you are cover by factory warranty at to 36k bumper to bumper.

markargente

iTrader: (2)

Unfortunately, the dealer said they went on several test runs and didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. Quite frustrating since I can't come during the week (work) so I have to come in on a Saturday and ride with them. I should have figured that I would have to do this =/

jano1975

this seems to be a problem wwith nissan. the dealers are all clueless and tell you there is nothing wrong. are we all crazy here? I doubt it. it seems that customer service is not in nissans motto. I wish I went with lexus or honda for this reason. no problems with service till nissan.

lightonthehill

Not the same in all locations. I'm with Nissan ONLY because, in 59 1/2 years of driving, Datsun/Nissan was the FIRST make of car with which I felt I had sincere support from the dealer's service department. By contrast, my son fought with Honda/Acura for three years with his TL Type 'S' problems, and never had any satisfaction. As for Lexus, I don't like the styling, and don't care for the image they have in the area in which I live.

To a considerable extent, quality of service depends on individual dealers, not car makes.

MaxMus

Light are you having this issue with your car? We need more responses from 09 Maxima owners either good or bad.

tbosco

I do believe we are talking about 2 separate vibration issues here. I have an 09 w/Sport Package, and I get the vibration similar to lugging in high gear between 25 and 40 mph. I feel like I'm driving a seriously underpowered 4-cyl. car sometimes. And yesterday I got severe whining noise then shaking on passenger side. Hard to steer. Parked car in garage and woke up with bad puddle of oil on floor near front right wheel. Don't know if it's CVT, power steering pump, or ABS pump gone bad. Got to be towed first thing in the morning. *sigh*

lightonthehill

MaxMus, I have had no vibration so far, but have had my car over 80 MPH only very very briefly (less than four miles), specifically to check for any vibration or steering wander.

I HAVE noticed something that tbosco just mentioned in the post before mine. The CVT keeps the RPMs as low as possible, and this sometimes results in a very slight hint of lugging in certain situations. For instance, If moving fairly slowly with little pressure on the accelerator, I often find the RPMs at an exceptionally low 1100. If I push harder on the accelerator, the CVT raises the RPMs and the lugging (slight hint of shudder) stops. I understand that this is the most fuel-efficient level at which the car can be operated, so don't mind this at all.

As to tbosco's other problem, that is serious. His three guesses as to the cause are the three I would also guess. The brake reservoir is on the driver's side, but serves all four wheels, so that could be it. The power steering reservoir is on the passenger side, and so that could also dump oil on the right side. I'm sure the CVT could leak fluid there, also. This may be the most serious mechanical problem we have heard about here on the ORG since the '09 went on sale? I will be very interested in what the dealer finds.

Xeross

I haven't done much driving over 80(though I did make it up to 90 to pass someone, but that was very brief), and I haven't had any vibrations at all. I'll pay more attention driving to work today to see if I notice anything, but so far it's been one of the smoothest rides I've ever had.

I would like to point out that I get some "vibration" when the car goes into what I like to call fuel saver mode, since it drops the rpm to nearly 1k. This is to be expected in any car though, and I'm used to it from my manual when I was trying to save gas.

bk2k3max

Man, Bro-I'm sorry to hear that you're having so many bad things happening with your car. I haven't had any issues (Praise God) with my car and when things like what's happening to your car comes about they usually ruin the reputation for all of our cars.

I pray that you can get your issues with the car resolved and that you can appreciate your car for what you bought it for.

In regular driving, what level are you using your CVT in? D-DS or Manual??

Just asking because I noticed that when I'm in DS that sometimes there tends to be a little lag from take-off (which is why I believe that slower 0-60 times have been recorded using this rather than the D-mode).

Thanks

tbosco

OK... got diagnosis... the power steering pump has an aluminum (hard) line coming from it. Somehow, it was bent and rubbing on the oil filter!!!! The filter rubbed a hole in the aluminum line and of course the pump spewed oil everywhere. So at least it's easily fixed and not a CVT issue. But just think what would have happened if the oil filter had gotten a hole rubbed in it!! Just how did that line get bent?? And I noticed my drivers side wheel well attachment strap had a pin missing from it, as it had been scraped somehow also. I think maybe they had a little "event" in getting my car off the transport (the car only had 2 miles on it when I picked it up.)
As far as the lugging goes, dealer also thinks it's CVT programming related. Guess we'll just have to live with it until a fix may come along.

HEY--- does anyone have heated seats that seem to heat the same in high and low? Mine are pretty weak compared to other seats I have used.

fynack

I have a 09 max with all but the sports pack and the only vibration i get is the one at 65-70mph. Im going to have it checked out soon and see what they say.

fynack

This sounds just like it from the 6-gen TSB

NTB04085

• IF YOU CONFIRM: A steering wheel shimmy (side to side movement), which occurs at about 60 mph. and Balancing the tires with a dynamic spin balancer has not resolved the incident. ACTIONS: · Set the air pressure in all four tires to factory specification. · Drive the car at highway speeds for 20 minutes. · To Minimize "Radial Force Variation" (RFV), 1) "match-mount" and balance the wheels/tires using a Hunter GSP9700, and 2) "match-mount" the wheel/tires to the axle hubs. · Adjust the steering rack sliding force. See this bulletin for further detail.

http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/TSB/T....aspx?id=54573

fynack

My 2 issues seem to have never been fixed from the previous gen

NTB05105

• IF YOU CONFIRM: The seat slide motor or gear assembly needs to be replaced for any reason, ACTION: Replace only the Seat Slide Motor Kit. Do Not replace the entire seat adjuster assembly. See this bulletin for further detail.

http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/TSB/T....aspx?id=54826

mark7070

I picked on my 09 SV last Thursday and noticed the vibration this morning going 40 mph or more. Its disappointing for a new car. I'll be paying close attention to board to see what happens.

lightonthehill

Thank goodness! This was about the least intrusive a problem as the symptoms would have allowed. As for the hole occuring in the filter first, I think the filter has a shell/cover that is far stronger than the fairly soft aluminum power steering line, so I don't think that could have happened.

I have no clue on the missing wheel well attachment strap pin. Maybe the car was built while Nissan still had a night shift last fall, and a worker nodded off briefly around 3AM?

You could be right about a transport 'deloading' event. Many dealers use the car washing boys to unload the auto racks.

As to the 'lugging', a little lugging is a good thing when it comes to fuel economy. That means you are squeezing every BTU from every drop. But there should be just a little lugging. There should never be 'bucking' or knocking or pinging. If you don't like the tendency for slight lugging, then press the pedal a little harder and the tendency for slight lugging should fade.

tbosco

Got my car back today. All is good now. 'Cept still has that gritty vibration (lugging) and heated seats are still sorta not very heated. :-)

MaxMus

what did they do to your car?

note: i do not have this vibration in my car above 50. only the slight lugging noise, which i got used to (and didn't mind in the first place).

lightonthehill

tbosco is probably in bed by now. I'm sure all they did was replace the aluminum tube running from the power steering pump with a new one, making sure it no longer came near the oil filter.

tbosco

Yep... exactly. They say they cleaned off all the spewed oil.... well..... sorta. (I washed my car when I got it back, and there was an oil slick in the water puddle in my driveway... LOL)

Back to the subject... I DO feel a bit of vibe at 50-70 mph... mostly in floorboard and seat, not in steering wheel. Kinda like an unbalanced tire...but not bad enough to have the dealer go on a hunt for some problem. (Seems every time I take a vehicle to the shop I get a nice new scratch on it somewhere...geeze.) I'll just live with gritty vibe of CVT I guess... I'm getting used to the sound of like being in a Stanza. LOL.
But all in all, I really like the car, it runs great and looks like sex on wheels!

Adamax

I posted about my issues in this thread. I recently complained to Nissan. They agree there is a vibration in my car and they are blaming it on the Goodyear RS-A's. They say changing brands of tires might fix it but they are unwilling to cover the cost. I wish someone here could tell me if a different brand of tires would make the car feel smoother on the highway. I drive mostly highway and can not stand this car. I asked about exchanging it, but they say I would have to take the hit. I would try a new set of Michelins if I knew they would make things better, but why should I have to worry about this with a brand new car?

NiteCrawler

iTrader: (1)

OK hopefully u guys can help me out bc i have the same problem kind of my 09 has 20" wheels and she shacks alil in the steering wheel and my passenger seat shacks also do any1 with aftermarket wheels has dis problem if so what could it be. i Got the wheels all 4 balance twice so im thinkn its the tie rods.....any1

CT Maxima

I sounds like you have two seats that don't heat very well. Some owners have only one that don't heat. What did your dealer tell you about the seats?

Adamax

Nitecrawler,

Did you get hub adapters to center the wheels? Or, are the lugs centering the wheels? Sometimes you can get a vibration from not having the wheels "hub-centric". Also, what kind of tires ddid you put on those 20"s?

Adam.

NiteCrawler

iTrader: (1)

Yeah the took off the old ones and put new ones on while i stood and watch them and the black center caps, but now im thinking could it be the lug nuts they all locks and maybe cheap and could not be centering the wheel even though the center cap is on......the wheels are nexen n7000 nice wheel so what i sholud do first the touble shoot

marmstro

I purchased an 09 Black with tan leather Premium with Premium Technology package a little over 3 weeks ago now. Of course the one I purchased wasn't the one that I test drove. They made me a deal on more options so that they didn't have to get the one I wanted from another dealer.
As soon as we left the dealership I had a vibration. I've had it back to the dealer and was told in the first phone call that my tires had flat spots and the tech needed to talk to the service manager. In the second phone call the same guy told me that they rebalanced the tires and the service manager drove it and said it was fine. So now no one wants to talk about the "flat spots" they said I had on my tires.
I took it back up there yesterday and drove it with the General Manager and the service manager and both of them claim to not feel anything. That that is the way the maxima drives. We drove another one and I felt a little vibration but not even close to the way mine vibrates.
I have vibration at almost all speeds. I feel it mostly when going constant speeds. My purse on the passenger seat vibrates up and down so quickly that if it had writing on it, I wouldn't be able to read it. Extremely irritating on a brand new car.
I think I'm going to take the tires to a tire shop and find out if they actually have flat spots or not.
Glad to hear I'm not completely crazy.

lightonthehill

Flat spots are simply spots that were in contact with the ground for a prolonged period (weeks or more) when the car was not moved. That usually happens when a dealer is not shuffling cars around the lot. Flat spots normally gradually disappear within the first hour or so of driving. Your vibration sounds like something else altogether.

The '09 Maxima gives great road-feel, and definitely is not cushy like a Buick. But there should not be a vibration of the order you are seeing. I would check the tire pressure just to confirm no idiot at the dealer filled them to some ridiculous level. 33 psi is recommended; I carry 35. Anything over 40 can offset the designed action of the suspension, giving a very firm and somewhat bouncy ride.

I doubt the psi is the problem. The fact you have this vibration at almost all speeds might indicate that either the balance/alignment is not correct, or you have a bad tire; maybe a tire belt problem. I had a vibration at most speeds with an '85 Maxima, and it took me over a month to find that a belt had broken in one of my Pirellis.

My '09 Premium with tech has no vibration that I have noticed. Tell the dealer you checked with the '09 Maxima drivers on Maxima.org, and they are telling you their '09 Maximas do not vibrate, and you don't want yours to vibrate. It is best to insist on getting a problem of this type corrected early on. The more miles you put on the car, the more reluctant the dealer will be switch cars with you or accept that the problem is with the car.

Keep us informed.

airwolf09

I have the same problem with my MAX exactly what you described. when I drive on a right hand curve I can hear the noise get louder and thumbing noise above 40MPHand get louder above 60MPH. I take it in and they rebalanced the tires as they told me that the tires are out of balanced. that reduced the vibrate but I still hear the thumbing noise and the noise cutting the right hand curve. they said that my tires have flat spot so that noise will go away after 500 to 1k miles of driving. And the right hand front shock sound weird as I drove over the rough road. the sound like a bad shock in the old car that need a replacement shock. I'm gonna schedule another service this Saturday and see what they find out.

Lyon

Sounds like a wheel bearing problem to me.

Lyon

Sounds like a loose nut behind the wheel. LOL
It's possible you have a CV axle out of round which will give you a vibration. The hum noise could be a wheel bearing as well. If you have that little bit of mileage, let the dealership handle it. Good luck.

98GleMax

Alignment?????

airwolf09

no no, I take my car back to the dealer and the replace the front right tire with rim and tire and the noise go away. so it is definitely a tire noise. it either bad tire with flatspot or crappy tire.

awboater

New Maxima owner here - 09 SV w/ Nav package. Purchased July 09. First time Nissan owner.

I also have a vibration problem with my Maxima, but I notice it more at 65 to 70MPH. Below 60 and above 75, there is no vibration, although I can hear and feel the various noises at low speeds depending on the throttle setting others have described, which is probably the CVT. That doesn't bug me nearly as much as the high speed vibration.

But even at 70MPH, the vibration is not severe, and only somewhat noticeable. I do notice, however, that it does seem to come and go. And there is definitely much less vibration on newly paved roads - just about to the point of it going away. But on the typical rough Michigan road, it can also feel rather noticeable at times.

I took the car to the dealer a couple of days after I bought it, and they balanced and rotated the wheels, which didn't fix the problem. Funny that the dealer also road-tested the car on the smoothest road they could find, and it seemed to them that the vibration was almost - if not completely gone. I did not tell them that I found the same thing, so I am thinking they have seen this problem before.

I am glad I found this web site and that others have had this issue, which confirms to me that I am not going nuts. However, with such a common problem, I am beginning to wonder if this might be an inherent characteristic of the particular low-profile tires.

I have never had low-profile tires before, but I can see where the ride might be rougher - especially on less-than-ideal roads. The odd thing is that the vibration goes away above 75MPH, so maybe its compounded by the natural harmonics of the car, I don't know. But since the vibration goes away above 75MPH, I am not sure if wheel-balancing is the culprit.

My tires are Goodyear Eagles, not sure what series though. There may also be something to the brand as well being part of the issue. One of my son's has an '08 Mitsubishi Lancer that came with low-profile tires (I think he said they were Brookstone or something like that). When he replaced his tires, he bought Goodyears and picked up a vibration at high speeds. He also told me that he had heard about vibration issues with those tires on several makes of cars.

I am considering taking it back a second time, as I kind of feel on a $37K car, I should not have this problem. But if the problem is due to tires and roads, I can waste a lot of time at the dealer without any improvement.

After putting 1,800 miles on the car in the 3 weeks I have had it (although I only put 200 miles on it when I first complained to the dealer), I am not sure how much they will be willing to replace the tires.

CO2BRUCE

I was ready to purchase a new 2010 Maxima this weekend, and now I'm worried. How many cars are having these vibration problems, and are the dealers just a bunch of turds that can't fix anything? I keep going between the G37 and the Maxima and now in light of this post I'm undecided again. Any imput is appreciated, as I do not want to deal with unfixable problems for the next few years and an unresponsive dealer. The car I test drove didn't seem to have any issues, but it only had a few miles on it. HELP!

2young2retire

I have SV model with the Sport package and it came with the 19" Goodyear Eagle RSA tires and I do not have any vibration issues at any speed up to 90 mph. I installed some aftermarket splash guards (as the original ones are more cosmetic than functional) and rotated the tires while I had them off. One thing I noticed was the small amount of weights needed on the tires to balance them. I had Bridgestone Potenza's on my Altima and they had large amounts of weights to balance them. When they were replaced I went with Kumho's and was completely satisfied with them. All that being said you may or may not have the problem with vibration. If you test drive the car and it is ok then it should be fine. I drove several Maximas before purchasing and none had a problem.

lightonthehill

I've had no vibration problems, but, although I had the car up to 95 very briefly, and 90 for about a minute, over 99% of my driving has been below 85, and probably 95% has been below 80. There have been a few posters here with vibration problems, but nothing like the large numbers with vibration problems on the '04 when it came out. Even the steering wheel vibrated on some '04s (although I had no problems with my '04).

Put another way, vibration can always be a problem with any car, and some here have had vibration with this '09 Maxima, but that has not been one of the 'hot button' issues. I would guess the 'rocking' driver's seat, vibrating passenger seat, strut noise and paint softness have drawn the most complaints.

Dealerships are all different. I love my nearest two Nissan dealers (both owned by the same man), know the folks there very well, and they know me. I have a great fourteen year relationship with them, and sometimes just stop by to see how things are going. Unfortunately, I always have a sense of 'coolness' at my Infiniti dealer. It is sort of like they see my Tommy Hilfiger shirt and Duck Head chino pants, and would rather wait on a customer wearing a Ralph Lauren Polo shirt and creased Docker khakis. If you know what I mean.

I would suggest you ask to drive the car you are considering buying on a freeway where you can check the ride between 60 and 70 mph (they probably don't want you taking a new car with almost nothing on the odo up to 80 mph). If there is no vibration up to 70, there is a very good chance you will be fine. Be sure to check the driver's seat for any unexpected movement.

If you like 'out front, ahead of the pack' styling, look very hard at the Maxima. If you are the type that prefers to keep a very low profile, you will be happier in a G37.

eddie1681

I had this same problem, I took my Max back to the stealership 3 times had to ***** and whine to have them replace 2 front tires. ( I had to pay 150 buck ) it was good for a bit and now my steering wheel shimmys left to right at 60mph speeds.

they say my tires had flat spots and and crap. At first I was thinking maybe the wheels are a little week and can be out of round. but I took it to good year and they balanced it to zero and the still feel a very slight shimmy

It really sucks to have a car you paid 38K for and it drives like crap

Illini

Eddie- Did you resolve your vibration problem? I have the same problem and am buying some new Michelin tires to see if this helps. I will report back after I get these tires installed.