AtlantaMaxima

Ok, so no, there is no fix yet but I did sell my Maxima and got a 2004 BMW 330i with the Performance Package.
I couldn't take the bs from my Nissan dealer about the shimmy problem anymore. Too bad because I loved the Maxima.

Just wanted to say Good Bye.

kirkster57

I just got my '05 Maxima SL last Friday and I have noticed this steering wheel shimmy @ 60 MPH. once I drive above or below that speed, it goes away. Is this the same type of shimmy some of you have been talking about? Is it a complicated fix? I know it was quite involved on the 2004's but I am wondering about the 2005's.

Thanks,

kirkster

NashMax

Have the dealership balance the tires. If it persists, contact the consumer affairs line for your tire manufacturer. They will advise you as to what needs to be done next. They will probably have a local tire shop look at them and determine the appropriate course of action. Document the **** out of all of your calls and visits to places. Get names, employee numbers, extensions, etc. Good luck.

04BlackMaxx

So is everyone with this shimmy also running RSA's? I know it probobly isnt the root cause, but it might be exaserbating another problem. I have F1's on my car and they drive great. Im very fortunate to have not experienced any of the above problems...If you havent bought the car and are thinking twice because of reading this thread: My car has 31,000 miles on it and drives as well as it did when I drove it off the dealer lot with 9mi on the odometer.

Clipper821

After 4 sets of RSA's, Nissan finally paid for the Mich Pilot Sport A/S's as a replacement. They are perfect! Every set of RSA's they ordered in weren't even close to manufacturer's spec when performing the road force balance. Goodyear clearly had issues with many batches of these tires. I sure hope the dealer is going back to Goodyear to recoupe the cash on this. It's been a pain, but the dealer has been very accomodating. The grea thing is that I have 20K miles and a brand new set of tread. This save me a little maintenance money down the road. Maybe I should put it toward some suspension mods.

MaxFan

Here is my shimmy story. I got a '04SE made in 04/2004. I normally didnot have the shimmy until I tried and found it around 60MPH on first run in the morning. Very light shimmy, even my hand didnot feel it.
Then @7500miles I bought a lifetime rotation/balance package. They did the balance on the Hunter9500 and the shimmy was going crazy around 45MPH. I took it back and redid the balance on the Hunter9800 (I didnot do the roadforce). The shimmy moved to around 60MPH but less noticeable. I found the telescope settings can affect the strength of the shimmy. The most bothering issue is the vibration @some point when I accelerate upto highway traffic flow (~80MPH here). My left knee can feel the vibration thru the door.
Then @15000miles, I did the rotation again. This time the original front wheels are back to front. And there is no shimmy !!!!! I've been trying to look hard from 40-80MPH with my hands off now and then. Can't find it !!!
My Max is back. You guys draw your own conclusion.

kirkster57

Mine is gone now. What a mystery. I drove it on tow seperate occaisions today and it disappeared. Maybe I had some ice on a wheel or something. ????

gman26

04 max. never felt a shimmy, and believe me i do over 65 mph lol. altho i do experience a shake when i break at high speeds. got the rotors and brakes checked out today. Mechanic says both are fine. can't be tires????? any ideas??

C17chief

maybe this should be further broken down to distinguishing between SE and SL since they both use different tires. It sounds like the RSA's themselves on the SE's is a likely culprit.

ggman_carolina

My Second post. I am scheduled in 2 weeks for my hearing with the BBB and Nissan. Factory Rep denied all warranty coverage on the vehicle because I replaced the tires. This is a violation of Federal Law the Mangusson-Moss Act. Actually I have put 3 sets of tires on the car in 5k miles. Still have steering wheel shimmy, warped brakes, knocking transmission, and front end alignment integrity. Wish me luck in my hearing.

msoemax

I hate to say it but I have a feeling you are gonna loose big time. In the TSB for the shimmy I am sure somewhere they have a disclaimer stating that if non OEM tires are on the car they will not do the TSB.

However I agree with you and so should a jury and the law. I hope you got a lawyer...Otherwise I have a feeling you will be going to court next. PM me I have some advice and I would like to know what happens. I too am going to arbitration soon.

04BlackMaxx

Does anyone know if misalignment can cause shimmy? It is weird that while i had the cracked RSA's on the car I never had shimmy...After getting my new tires I just noticed a slight shimmy at 60+ MPH, But its not just the wheel its in the pedals too. I have an appoinment to have the skyview replaced, and recently I noticed the wheel has to be turned to the right a few degrees (really minor) to make the caar drive straight..I dont think I ever noticed it before but now I do. It obviously needs an alignment. Ive had the F1's for 2 weeks now and noticed this little bit of shimmy today, If it was not balanced correctly at the GY dealer I would think the shimmy would have been happening since day one. I definately know these tires need to warm up to drive smoothly, Its been 30-40F lately around here and the tires are bumpy for the first couple mins of driving. Is there an idal ambient temperature these tires are to be used in? I will wait till its warmer next season to put these tires on for sure. I knwo the car needs an alignment because it pulls slight right, anyone get one and see a reduction in shimmy?

I also read that uneven tire pressure can cause a car to pull to one side...so I think i should buy a good tire pressure checker because the one i have is a POS and i end up loseing a ton of air. I think thats why this started when he moved only one cracked rsa from the front to the rear, thats when the pull started...but now will all new tires it pulls a bit still.

04BlackMaxx

If you really really get sick of all the runaround, lose your lemon law case...can have anything go your way....Have a 'mysterious' fire occur in your car and then claim it...if all else fails.

04BlackMaxx

False alarm...it musta been the road, or the fact the car was out in the cold for awhile with the F1's...Drove home from work and it drove perfectly no shimmy at all. The concrete highways were just as theyve always been and the quality if the ride and wheel feedback are commensurate with the surface being driven on, which is good. I get feedback through the wheel, not shimmy. BTW, the F1's really hook up, I goosed it on the thruway from 60 to 110 and she felt liek a champ, the tires exhibit an on center feel at high speeds that tells you they want more.


so, nevermind..this car rawks

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

but some people have had their shimmy resolved by Nissan putting Pilots on. that M... Act would not allow Nissan to prevent warrany work simply b/c you chose another tire. As long as you have oem spec tires, they have to do work. Whoever you buy the tires from also needs to include the balancing in their warranty.

Clipper821

The Michelin's solved all my shimmy issues. The car rides perfect now. Not to mention these tires ride so much better and the car handles better too. The tread pattern and profile looks great too!

BLUE04MAXSE

I went through my state's Lemon Law due to the constant shimmy in my 2004 Maxima. I won the hearing against Nissan in March and I returned my 2004 Maxima to the dealership where I originally purchased it last week and I received my brand new 2005 Maxima. I had navigation included on the 2005 model, which I did not have on the 2004 model, so I had to pay the difference, which was $1730 plus tax. Although I was/am disappointed in Nissan for making me go through all of the hassles, my new car was definitely worth it. It 100% better than the 2004. I'm certainly glad the Lemon Law is in place.

brewboy13

BlLUE04MAXSE could you please PM me with what you went through with Nissan? I have a few problems and mainly the shimmy has just begun so I may have an uphill battle on my hands. Any info. would help.

queenzkid

How'd you sell the car with the shimmy?? Didn't the buyer question it or notice it??

queenzkid

Has anyone replaced the Steering rack?? With all this fixing, balancing, replacing, rotating, aligning, etc., there has to be an exact pinpoint of the problem. We are definitely not certain it's the tires or the rotation, since it fixes some peoples problems but not others. Those that fixed the shimmy after rotation or tire replacement are not having the same shimmy as others, obviously.

glennjr

Bought a 2004 with 16,000 miles on it last week. Shimmy is very evident, not sure if original owner ever had it looked at. Wheel shakes alot more while braking which may be a sign the car needs brakes already. Not sure how someone can go through them in 16K but it looks like that is the case. I used all these problems for my negotiation at the stealership. Has anyone ever taken thier car in for warranty work without being the original owner of the car. This is the first used car I purchased and I am hoping I dont get the run around about what the original owner did or failed to do with the car.

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

you still have a warranty. didn't you notice this during your test drive? I know i was in awe and caught in the moment, but i asked about and check for the shimmy atleast and it was just off the truck. for a used car, i would have inspected even deeper.

glennjr

Nismo,

During the test drive I was somewhat in awe. Having read these posts before purchasing the car I knew about the shimmy prob. During the test drive the only time i really noticed it was while braking. I never got the car over 50 during the drive because there was too much traffic on the route. Hopefully everything goes well when I take it to the dealer. I must admit the car is incredible.

queenzkid

get the dealer to fix it. The manufacture warranty is good until 36k miles or 3 years, whichever comes first, no matter who owns the car or how many times it's re-sold.

Go and break the stealerships *****! They deserve it.

willdotcom

Hey.

I bought my car used as well. Got a huge discount because of the crazy shimmy that scared the hell out of the previous owner and he swore he had no idea what was wrong with the car. I took it to the dealer repeatedly to get the problem. Well, the rim was bent. I had it fixed and the shimmy disappeared. So get the dealer to look at the rims (both sides) while they are doing the TSB for balancing and stuff.

Now there seems to be some pull when I brake, so I have to get that fixed as well. (There's a TSB for squeaking brakes. Hmm...)

queenzkid

How'd you fix the rim?? Where was the bend??

BadBlackMaxSL

iTrader: (1)

Hey Blue,
How about an update on your new 05, any shimmy or is it smooth?
Thanks.

jinsatx

Just thought i would throw my two cents in. I've got two 05 SE's, one has the shimmy and the pulsating brake problem and one doesn't. Based on Vin# they are about 4000 units apart. Strange. The problem 05 is at the dealership as we speak. Can't wait to find out what's wrong.

BadBlackMaxSL

iTrader: (1)

Would balancing these wheels be better if the rims had a lip to be able to put a weight on it? I see Lexus has wheel weights on their rim lips. Has anyone who has been cursed with the shimmies and bought new rims, did that fix your problem? Did you get rims with a lip, if so, did you have them balanced with lip weights or not? This problem is making me sick.

Clipper821

You won't believe this. I have taken the Max back in again. Shimmying and shaking again. Now it's with the Michelins. Nissan has determined 3 of the tires to be bad. I asked what caused this since they were perfect when they were installed. They say it's the integrity of the tire. Service manager says it happens with lots of cars now a days because of the stiffer suspensions and low profile tires. This will now be the 5th time the tires have been replaced (1st 4 times Goodyear RSA's). I say there is something seriously wrong with the car and it's causing this. Had the info screen replaced too.

I have had a host of issues with the car. Called Nissan Consumer Affairs. They have assigned a Specialist. I asked then to buy it back and put me in to something new. Don't know if I want a Max any more now. The shame is that I just ordered the RSB from Cattmann. I can always sell it to someone on this site I guess if they buy it back (probably unlikely). Maybe a 350Z as a replacement.

This is so frustrating. At least the lady at Nissan Consumer Affairs was cool. She apologized a bunch and at least seemed very concerned. I made a joke indicating that I didn't buy a Hyundai and expected a lot better from Nissan, especially from a car that stickered for nearly 34K. She laughed and apologized some more.

queenzkid

Has anyone changed the Steering rack and both front struts?? This would mean it's in the steering and not the wheels.

04BlackMaxx

By the time this issue is sorted out ill have a different car...

Clipper821

Had both front struts replaced (pass side 3 times) and the steering rack adjusted.

Monotaur

EDIT: Nevermind... sorry.

queenzkid

Did it help?/

BLUE04MAXSE

I'm getting the shimmy back with the 2005 Maxima. It started at about 1,000 miles. I'm taking it back to the dealer later this week in hopes of getting it fixed. If they don't fix it within a couple of more times, I'll take the same action that I did before, but I would take the refund option.

glennjr

Got 4 new RSA's put on due to the defect. Car stopped shimmying but was pulling to the right. Took it to the dealership and they said one of the tires has a twisted belt? WTF is that. The tires aren't even 200 miles old yet. I am thinking about getting the Pilots but now I just read that blue had a problem with them. Will they charge me for getting the pilots?

Clipper821

Yes I had the same issue with the Pilot Sport A/S's and no the struts, rack adjustment nor tires ever seems to solve anything. There has to be a bigger issue here unless the tire manufacturers just can't make good enough tires to handle the abuse these type of suspensions, rims and roads cause. That seems to be what my service manager claims. I'm so sick of this. I received my RSB (from my pre-order a while back) early this week and don't even feel like bothering with it now.

NashMax

Michelins have not helped me either. 55 mph and shimmy in front and at 70+ mph the rear vibrates the whole car violently. I have had it with this POS.

Twinmax24K

Wonderful. We just bought our 04 this past weekend with 38000 miles (out of warranty). Car had good tires but has the shimmy. Dealership we bought it from (was a trade-in at a GM dealership) promised to align and balance tires to make it right. Car is in the shop today. I have called the tech three times and each time he tells me to call back later. I'm just waiting now for the hem-hawing to begin

Edit, no sooner had I posted this message than the tech calls me back. He says that they think one of the front tires had a slipped belt so they moved them to the back. Then he says, he was just informed maybe five minutes ago that the dealership bought brand new tires for this car right after it was traded in, so I will have to give them time to get replacement tires from the vendor and try back later. Does not bode well if they were trying to correct the previous problem with new tires and it didn't do anything.

This TSB everyone is talking about, is that like a no cost warranty repair? If the car is out of warranty miles will Nissan do the TSB anyway? Steering rack dampers and suspension parts are $$$ :worried: