| AKMurano |
Hello everyone. Long time reader, first time poster here.
I currently have a 2006 SL AWD Murano with a little over 10k miles on it. This is the second Murano I owned and I loved the first one so much that I custom ordered another last summer.
Now to my problem:
I live in Alaska and like many people up here switch between summer and winter tires each summer/fall. I just switched to my summer tires (OEM's) and now there is a shimmy in the steering wheel. As is my luck, its the worst type of shimmy - the intermittent one! I noticed it when I picked it up from the shop after tire change (after-hours of course) and had it back in the next morning. The shimmy was "gone" when I took it back the next morning, but the shop agreed to remove all four wheels and check for proper balance. I left the shop feeling the problem was solved only to have the shimmy return after about 15 miles. While paying close attention to the shimmy I rounded a turn and the shimmy stopped. I gave the steering wheel a quick jerk the opposite direction of the last turn and the shimmy returned. This would normally lead me to believe it was a problem in my steering components, but it was not there with the winter tires and the steering feels perfectly tight.
Here is what I do know:
I have never had a shimmy in the Murano before.
The wheels are all in perfect shape and the summer tires only have about 3500 miles on them.
Tire pressure is the same in all wheels and matches spec.
I have known and used the tire shop for years and trust that I am not getting screwed.
So, I have turned to the forum to see if anyone has comments or suggestions before I spend a bunch of money trying to track down this gremlin.
Thanks in advance! |
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| GripperDon |
Getting packed into the wheels?
Have you checked the lug nuts or bolts are they all in fully, are the wheels fulls and correctly centered and seated? |
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| zebelkhan |
| Sounds like a loose something. If not a loose wheel, then a ball joint or a link that perhaps got damaged during the lift? Have the shop check everything and I would be very careful driving it until I find out the cause. |
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| Corin |
Does this happen at slow speeds as well as fast speeds? If not, what speeds does it happen?
I agree, I think something is loose (although I am certainly NOT a wheel or steering expert). I doubt it's a problem with the balance or mud being packed in there, as that would have been pretty obvious when they tried to re-balance them.
If you can ALWAYS get it to happen by turning a certain way, take someone from the shop along on a test drive (YOU drive) to have them see exactly what it is. I've had strange problems like this that I could reproduce but the mechanic couldn't, and when I took them for a drive and showed them, they immediately knew exactly what the problem was. Usually they just need to see exactly how it sounds/feels/etc first hand rather than relying on a description (no matter how good that description is). |
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| AKMurano |
First off, thanks for all the comments guys.
1) Definitely nothing packed into the tread/wheels - they are clean as a whistle and I've been driving on dry pavement.
2) I am pretty certain the wheels are centered correctly and I watched the shop hand torque each lug nut.
3) If it was something loose (i.e. ball joint) I would think the problem would always be there and would get worse with higher speeds - but its not and it doesn't.
4) The shimmy is first noticeable around 50 mph. What's real strange is it does NOT get worse the faster I go; 50 - 100 mph the shimmy is still the same.
I took it for an extensive test drive last night when the roads were mostly free of traffic. Before I left I dropped a few psi out of each tire, as my gauge and the car's sensors were reading ~ 38 psi. The shimmy is less noticeable after the reduction in psi, but I'm not sure if this is simply because the softer tire is soaking up more of the feeling. I tried my best to pinpoint the problem, but could not get it to start/stop with any consistent and reproducible method. It the shimmy seems to decrease during heavy acceleration or braking, but the steering does not pull during either.
I am thinking about having the front tires swapped with the rear's to see and see if there is any difference. I am wondering if there is a flaw in one of the wheels/tires that was not noticeable before because the factory force-matched the wheels and now the tire shop I am using can only dynamically balance them.
I may also put my winter tires back on and see what happens.... I like them better anyway |
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| Eric L. |
| Generally if some sort of vibration occurs when you turn the vehicle in a certain direction, the problem is on the side of the vehicle opposite the turn (i.e. the side where the load is shifted towards as you begin to turn). Based on what you say above - balanced wheels, correct alignment, correct pressure, etc... I'm tempted to go with some sort of balljoint or CV joint as suggested above. |
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| njjoe |
AKMurano-
If you have the time and patience, I suggest putting the winter wheels/tires back on and see if the shimmy disappears. If the shimmy is gone then it is the tires, if the shimmy is back then it is the MO.
Before taking off the summers tires, mark their position so when (if) you put them back on you can rotate them and save a step.
-njjoe |
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| zebelkhan |
| There is a big difference between "Shimmy" and "vibration". Which one do you have? |
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| AKMurano |
If I let go of the steering wheel, the wheel rotates back and forth as if an invisible hand is turning slightly from left to right. The effect is not so strong that is actually changes the vehicles course, but it is certainly not normal. With your hands firmly on the wheel you can completely stop the movement, but you can still feel it.
I have exclusively used the term shimmy, cause thats what is feels like; but what would you call it? :) |
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| Lightninrod |
How long were the OEM tires lying around before you started using them again? How were they stored; upright(on the tread) or lying flat on the side?
You may have a severe flat spot if they were stored upright.
FWIW, I suspect it's a tire problem.
Dan |
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| njjoe |
From Meriam-Webster Online:
Main Entry: shim·my
Pronunciation: 'shi-mE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural shimmies
1 [by alteration] : CHEMISE
2 [short for shimmy-shake] : a jazz dance characterized by a shaking of the body from the shoulders down
3 : an abnormal vibration especially in the front wheels of a motor vehicle
Is it #2 or #3?
-njjoe |
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| zebelkhan |
quote:
Originally posted by Lightninrod
...I suspect it's a tire problem....
After reading your first post more carefully, I agree. A tire problem sounds logical. Try airing up the tires to their maximum safe pressure for a couple of days to see if that helps smooth it out. |
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| AKMurano |
It has been nearly 6 months since the summer tires came off. I stored them in my root cellar which is cool and dry and obviously out of the sunlight. The tires were standing up the entire time; which may be the problem.
I stored them this way because of a previous problem I had with mounting the winter tires. I had stored the winter tires on their sides all in one stack, again for about 6 months. When the shop went to put them on they had an increasingly hard time getting the bead to pop. I was told this was because they were stacked on their side and I should stand from now on....
It seems like I can't win either way.
Zebelkhan - I will certainly try airing them up more. A couple of questions first though: 1) I believe the safe max listed on the side is 44 psi, is it safe to drive the vehicle like that? 2) I assume I should air up ALL the tires to max?
TIA |
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| zebelkhan |
44 psi is the maximum cold inflation so you are still safe driving that way. However, the steering will feel a bit "looser" so you need to be aware. And yes, you should inflate both tires on the same axle to the same psi.
For next season, when summer tires are to be stored, build yourself a little rack using 2x4s forming a rail with something like a foot in between them where tire can drop in and rest. It is also a good idea to turn the tires once every month or so. |
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| Lightninrod |
quote:
Originally posted by AKMurano
It has been nearly 6 months since the summer tires came off. I stored them in my root cellar which is cool and dry and obviously out of the sunlight. The tires were standing up the entire time; which may be the problem.
I stored them this way because of a previous problem I had with mounting the winter tires. I had stored the winter tires on their sides all in one stack, again for about 6 months. When the shop went to put them on they had an increasingly hard time getting the bead to pop. I was told this was because they were stacked on their side and I should stand from now on....
It seems like I can't win either way.
Zebelkhan - I will certainly try airing them up more. A couple of questions first though: 1) I believe the safe max listed on the side is 44 psi, is it safe to drive the vehicle like that? 2) I assume I should air up ALL the tires to max?
TIA
Exactly what I was going to suggest. That's the way tire stores store their new tires.
Dan |
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| GripperDon |
Maybe stored on rims with a bit of pressure to stop cold rubber flow intoa bad shape.
Be interesting to swap front to rear and see the effect. |
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| speedzracer |
My wife's Murano:
Brand new 2005 with slight shimmy about 55, intermittent.
I never knew because i don't drive it, now it has 30k on it and i discover this annoyance!
Now after taking it to 4 different balancers and the stealership it
still has the problem. I wonder if its the steering rack in need of adjustment? I would be leaning towards tires but it does the same thing when you swap the fronts to the back. I even took the tire to be force balanced, those guys i don't think knew what they were doing. I never got a readout or an explaination of what they found. Just that the tires were ok ...
My question to you is did the problem go away with new tires?
Her car is getting very close to needing new tires, and she doesn't mind the annoyance so i'm waiting a little longer for new shoes. |
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| Kris |
75M miles here and no problems. But i did experience similar shimmy a few times in the past. First time when, based on TireRack recommendations I put Yokohamas - despite numerous balancing attempts, including road force, the shimmy could not be removed. After installing new GDY Eagle LS Murano started gliding again! Recently, I had slight shimmy again - balancing took care of it.
I am anal about alignment and balancing. I can feel even slightest problem. I simply cannot live with it. In your situation it might be a problem with tires. But a good tire shop should be able to diagnose it! Did you check alignment recently? Though I think you have tires problem..... |
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| AKMurano |
Hello everyone,
Sorry, I forgot to post back in here once I resolved this problem; which thankfully Kris posted prompting the reminder.
My shimmy problem turned out to be a lazy tire change at my "trusted" shop. I took the Murano to the only road force balancer within 180 miles. I was told that my wheels had been counter-balanced. This is definitely something I should have noticed and will not miss again.
So the cause of my problem - when balancing the tires, the tech was apparently too lazy to peel off the old weights, so had to add weights basically 180 deg. to counter-balance them. I understand that this might work on car with less than tight steering systems, but a no-go on the Murano.
Lesson learned: After having your tires balanced, check to see if you have opposing weights on any (or all in my case) of the tires. |
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| Kris |
AKMurano
this is a BS! I know! I have done many balancing jobs on much more critical and difficult applications! The reason that you want to have the old weights removed is that you do not want too many of them. The reason you had the "shimmy" is that your trusted shop had no clue what real balancing is!
Anyway, the good things is you have the problem solved! ;) |
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| speedzracer |
To many weights? I don't have that problem, but i wonder ..the tires have a static balance instead of dynamic..yesterday they were rebalanced, same exact problem when i drove away. remember this is about the 4th time from the third shop (or so). anyone have any other ideas on the dampining on the steering rack?
also i forgot, since this problem seems to have been since new I have never had it aligned. Could this be the problem? If so what would be the actual cause and effect? |
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