Np300 stx vibration

[D23]

G'day everyone.
I'm new to the forum and hope that somebody can help me out.
I bought my new NP300 STX in January this year. It has had a vibration problem from new. The dealer originally acknowledged this. They have swapped wheels and tail shaft. I've lost count how many wheel balances it's had. I traded a D40 V6 4lt petrol in on the NP300. That was my first mistake, the D40 rode much better on sealed roads.
Now that I'm no longer being helped by Nissan, I took the car to another tyre specialist who said that there is noting wrong with wheels and tyres and as far as he's concerned its a vehicle problem, take it up with Nissan. But Nissan say the vibration is within their parameters. It's horrible to drive on the highway.
Any clues?

 

[happy john]

Could be a multitude of problems, have they removed the front driveshaft and tested it on road with it removed?.

 

[D23]

If they did test it with front driveshaft removed they didn't tell me. They have had my ute for a full week on two occasions plus plenty of day only inspections.
I asked if they have checked engine mounts and suspension etc., they say they have gone over every nut and bolt on the whole thing and couldn't track it down. But who really knows what they did.
It's now a process of elimination ,so I will try your suggestion providing it's something I can do in my driveway. I never anticipated having to play mechanic with a brand new $60k car.
Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

 

[jonney]

no stuff that , the car is only approx 7 months old so what i would be doing would be to have them either fix the car or supply another new np-300 . your car has heaps of waranty time left on it and at its young age plus the cost of this , i would be wanting action now.

 

[happy john]

It's worth a try the fact is your diff is spinning all the time, the tailshaft out of balance or faulty wheels/tyres is the first thing to check. I doubt they thought to check the front driveline, regardless it is poor service. From past experience another dealer may make more effort to resolve a problem. As the wheels and tailshaft have been swapped I'm not able to think of anything else, perhaps someone will have another idea.
Cheers

 

[happy john]

Agree with jonney too, I'd look myself as a last resort.

 

[D23]

The problem I have with the dealer is this.
They couldn't resolve the problem, so they contacted Nissan Australia.
Nissan Australia told them to take the car to a tyre specialist who can do a road force balance. They did this and then got a smartphone app which records road vibration. They took my car for a drive, recorded the readings, sent it to Nissan, they said it's ok so the dealer said my case is closed and they will take no further warranty action.
Trouble is, I don't know where they drove it or how fast. The vibration is really bad at 100kph, just drives me crazy. So much so that I've only done 7000k's since January, I hate driving it. A far cry from the Cape York trip that I bought it for.

I welcome any advice on this issue.
Thanks again.

 

[jonney]

why don,t you go to the dealer where you bought this car and tell him to come for a drive so you can let him feel the vibs its making. this way both you will know yes there is a bad vib plus the dealer will understand your complaint and proceed further from there. unfortunetly you have to nearly lick there arses to get any decent satisfaction these days but and i say but you can let nissan know you will proceed higher with this if the car is not fixed or replaced within 1 week.

 

[D23]

Thanks for that.
But I have been at the dealer and they have come for a drive. I have had the service manager and head mechanic agree that there is a problem.
After they had the tyres road force balanced their vibration meter read "acceptable" so they won't do any more. So I'm in a position that I can't argue with the vibration monitor. To achieve this acceptable reading the front drivers side wheel was loaded up with more lead than I've ever seen on a wheel. They loaned me a ST and an RX and both of these drove really well. So I asked if I could borrow the 16" wheels off one of those utes to see how it goes and in turn see if my wheels turn the ST into a dog, but they wouldn't come at it, saying Nissan said mine is ok, which is a load of crock.

 

[jonney]

Vibration Meter . is that more accurate than a human being or beings sitting in a vehicle at 100 kph coping with an enoying vibration that is not exceptable.
bloody hell whats going on here.

 

[D23]

I wish I knew what's going on Jonney. My wife and I are really depressed about this. We retired and the new Navara was part of our dream to tour around Australia. We were supposed to leave in March.
I'm hoping someone can come up with an answer.
I can't afford to get rid of it, even if I could, my conscience wouldn't allow me to pass this problem onto someone else.
I can only suggest to people who are buying a new car to take it for an hour or so and make sure you get it on a freeway and do 100kph.
The dealer only let us drive in 60kph zone.

 

[jonney]

the dealer is supposed to let any potential buyer of a motor vehicle the privelage of taking this vehicle for a test drive on any bitumen finished street or road up to the maximum speed limit of the said street or road / highway.
so this means you should have been allowed to test drive the vehicle from say a 40kph zone up to a 110kph zone .
i do think its now time for you to write a letter to Nissan Australia stating your issues with the local dealer and there lack of repair knowledge. i am sure someone will do something for you to fix this no doubt rather simple issue [once found ]

 

[D23]

Thanks Jonney,
A letter to Nissan may be my best bet.
In the meantime I'd love to hear from anyone else with this issue and we could do something as a group.

 

[jonney]

i am sure you will hear from others on this forum during the week.

 

[Bakes]

Just a thought as I have had a similar issue with a motorcycle company and I was given the run around for ages. to the point it let a sour taste in my mouth which made me more angry. I'm sure you know what I mean.

What I did was contacted consumer protection, they were great, they did all the work for me and told me to make sure I was happy with the bike when I got it back, if not let them know and take it back to the dealer.

Its amazing how the dealer manage to find the problem and fix it after contacting them.

Its worth a go.

 

[D23]

Just a thought as I have had a similar issue with a motorcycle company and I was given the run around for ages. to the point it let a sour taste in my mouth which made me more angry. I'm sure you know what I mean.

What I did was contacted consumer protection, they were great, they did all the work for me and told me to make sure I was happy with the bike when I got it back, if not let them know and take it back to the dealer.

Its amazing how the dealer manage to find the problem and fix it after contacting them.

Its worth a go.

Thanks Bakes,
I'll give that a go. I didn't realise the Consumer protection laws covered vehicles.

I know we don't have lemon laws like the USA but if they can "persuade" the dealer to find the problem that would be fantastic.
Thanks again

 

[happy john]

Your is a very stressfull situation, I hope a solution is found as soon as possible. Please update this thread when you can.
Cheers

 

[D23]

Will do Happy John.
I have been corresponding with two other owners with the same issue.
One has a 4x2, so I reckon that pretty well eliminates the problem being the front drive shaft. He is also in the tyre industry and has eliminated it being a tyre/wheel issue. I think he's right, because I've had the wheels swapped and countless balances from four different places.

On the weekend I drove on the smoothest road I know, Peninsula Link.
The vibration at 100 is just plain horrible. Hard to explain but it resonates through the whole car and once it starts the vibration is still there no matter what speed you do.

 

[larrymdr]

similar problem with another poster "at my wits end " He got it sorted i think by changing rims .

 

[D23]

similar problem with another poster "at my wits end " He got it sorted i think by changing rims .

Thanks, I read right through that post. He had aftermarket wheels and swapped back to standard to resolve the problem.
I have standard 18" wheels and standard Toyo tyres. The dealer swapped my wheels off a brand new STX and there was no difference at all. Maybe there was a bad batch of 18" rims. How can I tell? The tyre shops say the wheels and tyres run true. There was a recall on my D40 wheels a few years back, but that was five years after I bought it. Can't wait that long, it's depressing, definitely took the thrill out of getting a new car.