Adamax

Please refer to the this thread to see my post on the issue I was having with my Maxima since it was new.

http://forums.maxima.org/7th-generat...n-50mph-2.html

This issue was going on since September 2009. They tried replacing my tires with new Goodyear RS-A's re balancing many times. Nissan recommended road force balancing with some special adapter that fit my hub. Nothing worked. Nobody was denying that the vibration was there. They had me drive a few different new ones. But then they told me it did not count because I never drove with a technician, and I could just be making it up, nice. When I drove the last one with the tech it vibrated worse then mine right out of the lot. Then the Nissan representative said that I was not used to driving a sporty car, and that's the way cars with low profile tires drive, ha ha. My brother in laws Z06 doesn't vibrate.

So, it looked like I was at a dead end and I pleaded my case with the service manager. I asked him about changing tires to a different brand then he said they had similar issues on the 6th gen and after replacing the tires with Michelins the problem went away. He spoke with Nissan and they would not go for this. So, I told him I would be willing to pay half, and they bit.

Well, now I am driving on Michelin MXV4 Primacy's (my choice) and the difference is night and day. You could feel it before I even left the parking lot.

Half still came out to $535. I still don't think I should have paid anything because this is a brand new $35K car and it should drive like one. Nissan said they do not warrantee tires that is the tire manufacture's problem. The service manager said they ate the cost of the first set of replacement Goodyears. I was going to buy a Murano for my wife. But because of their attitude about this I would not even consider it anymore.

KillaKam

Wow man I would have taken them to court on that if they couldn't fix the issue. IDK if you knew but if your car is at the dealership for a total of 30 complete days (I think) then by law they have to declare your car as a lemon and they have to replace your car with a new one.

lightonthehill

I have never had tire issues with my new Maximas, but, until this '09, mine had never come with Goodyear tires. I had great luck with my 6th gen, which came with Contis, which I replaced after three years with Yokos.

I have been subconsciously aware since I drove this '09 off the dealer's lot that it has the Goodyear RSAs that plagued some (but not all) 6th gen owners. I keep waiting for them to give me trouble, but so far, so good. Maybe I will be lucky.

The Adamax situation leaves me with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I realize that, in these terrible times, Nissan has to cling to every dime. BUT, when their flagship vehicle has a clear problem from day one, then whatever it takes to make it right should be on their tab. The dealer may be inept (wasn't capable of resolving this on his own), but at least he made some effort, and paid for one set of new tires.

Goodyear makes very good truck tires and 'Buick-style' passenger car tires, but their performance-level tires are known more for being expensive than for being solid.

swatcop

Seems like they could have done more IMO. I guess you get to a point that you just want it fixed regardless who's paying for it. Have you attempted to contact the owner of the dealership?

daragez

nice share!...thanks!...

TBA

My '02 Jeep Liberty came with a set of Goodyear tires, and they were God-awful. Worst wet performance I've ever experienced. They skidded all over any time it rained. They were so bad that some new owners immediately drove their Liberty to a tire shop to have them swapped out.

When I saw the Goodyear rubber on my new Maxima, I was not favorably impressed to say the least. But so far they are not terrible.

Mreim769

I have been less then impressed with the RS-A's as well. They should have given you another set of something. I can never figure out why some (not all) dealerships can be such pr*cks after you buy the car.

Adamax

I originally spoke to the general manager. She told me I would have to contact Nissan because it was a tire issue. Which is what I did. My experience with them was not very good. After calling Nissan, they have a local area Nissan representative call you. She was miserable. She had the nerve to ask me, "didn't you drive the car before you bought it?" Then she disappeared and was replaced by a new rep. Neither one knew anything about cars. They just listen to your complaint and then relay it back to Nissan. Then Nissan replies and they relay that message. The second girl was very nice, but had no power to do anything on her own. The dealer was also trying and they were very patient, although the service manager would never call me back. The dealer just was not willing to incur any charges and Nissan was trying to do the same. The service manager actually told me that they had to pay for the set on Goodyear RS-A's they replaced the first time and then ended up putting my set on a used car.

I just feel that any parts that you put on a vehicle that you sell should be your responsibility. I mean, if I buy a cup of coffee with sour milk, should I complain to the farmer?

I drove four other 2009 Maxima's beside my own. The one I first test drove, I did not notice any vibrations. But the salesman only took me on their standard test cycle of back roads and my kids were with me. I drive all highway and that is how I should have tested the car. A mistake I will never make again. The next one I drove had some flat spots on the tires that quickly went away. The third one had little to no vibration. The last one I drove listed for nearly 40K was the worst by far and vibrated at all speeds. I can't believe the person who buys that one would be happy.

I just think that the Eagles are incompatible with the Maxima. They must be very soft considering they only have a 220 treadwear rating and they flat spot so easily. But the service manager kept saying they are very hard and that is why they exagerate the vibrations.

LtLeary

I too am not a fan of the RS-As. After repeated trips to the dealer, I finally took it to a tire professional I trusted who was able to get "most" of the vibration out (or rather, "good enough" that I'm not going to invest in replacing them just yet!!) I'm begining to think that balancing is more "art" than "science!"

On the other hand, to give credit where it is due, after 34K Miles, they still have plenty of tread on them (8-9) so they seem to be long-lived.

HMAX08

I dont have an 09 but an 08 comes with RSA's in 18, the car was used and had 13K drove fine no vibrations at any speeds, I replaced the rims and tires at 22K miles with 19" M35/45 sport rims and the only tires i could afford was, you guessed it 245/45/19 RSA's which was $85 a piece. I had the rims and tires for about 2 months now and i have no problems wiht the tires, Maybe i am lucky, I dont know. Glad to see you finallyt got it figured out though

nemesis04

I think the Goodyear RSA is a poor tire. It loses its memory with regards to balancing, they get a flat spot if they sit for a couple days that needs to be worked out. The tire just seems too coarse overall.

IFuXwiTuZ

yea i noticed that at around 60mph my front passenger chair shaking a little...and i KNOW FOR SUREEEEEEEEE i didnt hit any pot holes or any bumps that would cause this vibration.... so its the tires for sure? ....hmm interesting because i was actually gonna bring the car back and curse them out.....im a little upset that they would put such cheap tires....the tires i got with the 07 altima didnt cause the car to vibrate like these do.......

what a crock

airwolf09

I just came back from the dealer and I am a happy camper.
the dealer last time try to balance the tires but it still have the shaking and vibrating as well as the thumbing noise. I was at one time about to replace these tires but I said heck let give it one more try. Today I bring in and they test drove it and then replaced the right front tire and rim at the same time.
Once they put the new tire and rim on, my baby run so smooth as a silk. No more vibrating to the passenger seat at all and no more thumbing noise. The only noise is the road and tire noise due to the way the tires design.

so I am all set for now . I'm not looking to replace these tires yet unless I have too. I can tell that these tires does not doing too good in the wet but hopefully I can live with.

IFuXwiTuZ

airwolf how long did you have the car for? (how many miles do you have?) and did they charge you to change the tire/rim?

airwolf09

I bought my car in January of this year and it has been sitting in the garage since. It's only has 600 miles on the speedo as of today.

The dealer did not charge me anything.

MaxLoverAz

iTrader: (1)

It's not your tires go to your dealer and have this TSB installed:

2009 NISSAN MAXIMA; FRONT PASSENGER SEAT SHAKES AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS

ironchefigor

I have steering wheel vibration between 50-60mph and my passenger seat shakes as well.

IFuXwiTuZ

yea thats the same issue im having and the funny thing is my car was made on 05/09....wouldnt you think nissan drives there darn cars before they send them out to dealor????????? see things like this **** me the F off ...

what about my front passenger side shaking a little??? because i do feel it on the steering wheel a little....

vjanoyan

Not that I wont do the TSB, but after going round and round with vibrations at highway speeds and after Nissan balancing my tires a million times I made my case with Goodyear and got a credit to purchase the tires I wanted. I changed from RSA's to Michelin Pilot Sports. All the difference in the world no vibration love my car again!

Max2000SE

iTrader: (2)

could you share the info you provided goodyear? did you write the corporate office a formal letter? just call and complain? i have a feeling this will happen more often.

ironchefigor

Took the car to the dealership two times this week for the vibration issue. The first time I got it back they said they rebalanced the tires, and that didn't solve the problem. So the next time they resurfaced the rotors, installed a new tire, and did road force balancing. That still seems to have not fixed the issue. They said they noticed vibration even after doing all of that, so supposedly a Nissan engineer should hopefully be coming to look at the car soon.

CanMaxima

I would have to agree with those who do not like the Goodyears. Mine are very noisy and somehow feel a bit "detached". Maybe the Michelins are the answer but the suspension was probably designed for Bridgestones.

samita

Great to hear that that fixed your problem.
I've been reading this forum for a couple of days and I'm starting to get paranoid with all the issues that people are having. I noticed today that my car does a soft shake sometimes when it's idling on D (like in a red light), it's like how a car would shake a bit with medium wind. It happened only once today so not sure what's causing it.
Is this normal?

KillaKam

I've been having this issue with my car now for about a month now and dropped it off at the dealer this morning to have work done on my spoiler issue that i've been having and also had them check out the vibration issue. Funny thing is I just started noticing it since I had the 15,000 mi maintenance done on the car. Before that I had no issues so I wonder if I am going to have bad luck with this as well.

lightonthehill

Sometimes a tire rotation will result in vibration. A less-than-perfect tire/wheel combination may give no noticable trouble when on the rear (not connected directly to the steering system), but become noticable when moved to the front. I rotate less-often than recommended because of that.

KillaKam

True but either way they are going to have to fix the issue some how since my car is under warranty anyways lol.

lightonthehill

May or may not be normal. Are you using 91 octane name-brand gas? Even the best gas stations sometimes (but not very often) somehow get contaminants in their gas. This CVT-equipped '09 has a low idle speed, and the lower the idle, the more noticable any skip or miss becomes. If this thing persists, and is clearly noticable, it may be time to have the dealer check things. One thing you might try first is to get a tankful of gas at a different station. Also, don't ever let the level in the gas tank drop down below the last few gallons.

As to the paranoia, just be aware the posts here are worrisome only if you ignore the fact there are many many '09 owners like me, who have never had a single problem to post here. When we consider the countless options I have on my SV with Premium and Tech, it is sort of amazing that everything is perfect.

lightonthehill

Agreed. We MUST be able to rotate our tires without picking up a vibration.

samita

thanks for the response. I haven't had to fill my car up until today, was running on its initial fill up, not sure if they used 91 or not at the dealer but I'm assuming they did since they know the car requires premium fuel.
I haven't noticed this behavior today but I've been on the lookout for the other issues mentioned on this board I'm just very suspicious cause it was a very good deal even though I have zero negotiation skills.
thanks again man

Illini

I also have problems with a vibration in the steering wheel over speeds of 50 mph with my 09 Maxima. I had several sets of new goodyears put on and had the tires balanced about 10 times with no luck. I went through the process of having Nissan buy back the car (lemon) and was very close to doing it when my local dealer put on a new set of rims and tires. The new set made the vibration much less. I went to 3 dealerships and made about 12 visits total.

I kept the car because I love everything else about it, but the vibration is back and drives me absolutely insane. I wasn't smart enough to remember that GoodYear tires are trash. I think I'm going to go out and buy me a set of Michelins. Are you guys happy with the Pilots and the Primacy's? I have to drive in the snow here in Illinois and am looking for a good ride (with no vibration).

Thanks for the post Adamax.