2012 QX56 New Purchase!!

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Josephd79

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2012 QX56 New Purchase!! Few questions

Hello All, finally got myself the king of all rides, a brand new 2012 QX56. White with the wheat leather, soooo sweet... Got some questions for the fellow owners:

I get a slight shimmy in the steering wheel at high speeds on the highway, usually a sign of tires not perfectly balanced. This happens at 80mph, is that normal for this size truck? My tire pressures show 36psi but one showed 35... Which brings me to my next question, they came filled with Nitrogen. Can I just top it off with air now?

Another question, are we all using Syntheic or conventional oil? Also, regular or premium gas?

Btw, 20in wheels, theatre package, illuminated Infiniti kick plates, bench 2nd row, stainless steel bumper protector & rubber mats...
 
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I can chime in on a couple - Synthetic oil for me do it every 6000 miles, premium fuel as recommended, haven't noticed a "shimmy" when doing 80+
 
Time shimmy

I also have the same problem with my QX. When I drove it off of the lot 3 months ago, I got on the highway and it had a shake between 75 to 80 mph and it was fairly strong. I called the dealer when I got home and they said to bring it in the next morning to have it balanced. So I did and it fixed that or so I thought. Then I felt a shake in the vehicle at times so finally I figured out they moved the problem to the back. I lived with it and then last week went to discount tire to get the tire warranty and lifetime balancing on it. They did it and when I got on the highway I had my phantom shake back. I had told Discount about it and they said if it isn't fixed go to the dealer.

I went to the dealer and Bridgestone said no go to a tire warranty believe it or not. SO the dealer drove it, said there is no shake. I said there is a shake. It is every time. SO they drove it again this afternoon and said it is as smooth as glass. I said no way, it actually was shaking when I turned off onto the exit to go to the dealer this morning. They called me back and said we replaced the front tires but we don't know if this will fix anything as we found no problem to fix. They said some people are more sensitive to road bumps and stuff like this. I said, well when a steering wheel jumps back and forth in your hands anyone will feel that. He said take it and see how it does. So I am hoping it fixes it. I will pick it up in the morning. He said the 22" are really a problem and people complain about the ride. That is why I didn't want them. I knew as I drove one with 22s first. I could tell it was stiff but it had "NO" shake and I drove it for 35 miles.

I love Michelin tires and was disappointed to see Bridgestone Duelers on there. I wasn't sure how they would be but maybe this is a sign. I sure don't want to spend the money to put on Michelins after dropping the money to buy this thing in the first place. I love the vehicle and have no other complaints but a high end vehicle like this should not have any shakes when you drive it period.

I wanted to add that I have 2,300 miles on my vehicle. It had 19 when I got it 3 months ago.

Another thing, all of my tires were showing to have 40 pounds of pressure after I got it from the dealer. I didn't check it after discount tire though. I think your tires are a little low?
 
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I have a 2011 QX56 and we were finally able to take it on a 5 hour weekend trip. There were quite a few times we had the vehicle up to 95 mph and cruised for most of the trip at 85 mph. There wasn't any shake at all, the steering wheel was smooth and no noticeable abnormal noise heard from outside the cabin.

The dealership I go to (North Dallas, TX) recommends tire rotation every other oil change. I dislike that and asked them to rotate and balance mine at each oil change. After I picked up the vehicle and prior to leaving, I asked them if they balanced the tires .. service adviser said 'no'. I couldn't believe it, even after asking them to do so. After some discussion, they balanced the tires.

If your vehicle is shaking at freeway speeds or higher, something is definitely wrong. This has nothing to do with the tires being Bridgestone tires. I currently have greater than 6,000 miles on the vehicle.

Tire pressure will be different, as the air/nitrogen heats up inside the tire from the sun. You will notice it higher during the heat of the day and lower in the early or late evenings.
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there have been TSBs sent out regarding cars left on lots to sit and the tires getting flat patches on them from sitting. this may be worth looking into...
 
tires

Yeah, ours had a shimmy in the steering wheel at 65mph. Didn't notice it on our test drive cause we never got to 65 mph, it was mainly a 50-55mph test drive. my bad, I know.
Dealer rebalanced the two on the front a couple weeks later and 'Nitrogen' them to about 36psi. Didn't charge me anything.
It was better but not perfect. So Next time I was back in Charlotte I said, need a couple new tires. We have the 20's

You never heard the whining and excuses ! We can't give you no tires. It was crazy, they were getting managers and directors. I said OK, I just want the one tire replaced. It was I asked for $20,000 rebate or something ! LOL

So they agreed to re-balance, again. They moved the right front to the rear. They knew which one was the problem, it has a lot of weights on it.
No shimmy anymore.

I run the rears @ 40psi and 37psi on the front, and used air, hell its 78% nitrogen. Its smooth, I tried lower pressures varied them, and this seems to be the best, doesn't wallow any.

Oh I got a call from the dealer (survey) on the quality of work performed. I said: well, I can't rotate that tire to the front, its stuck on the rear now. They asked me why I couldn't rotate the tire to the front. I said cause the tire is out of round or something, I don't want the shimmy back in the steering. You didn't replace it, remember?
"Oh we'll take care of that" (LOL) Never heard back.

Its a wild ride : )
2011, Black/black, 20's, just the theater pkg. 4290 miles.
 
Thank you all for the replies. I went back twice. The first time they rebalanced the tires and said they were a little off, the 2nd time the service manager drove it and didn't notice anything. We even took the demo out at high speeds and couldn't feel anything. I think it's still there but don't know what else to do.

I'll try rotating the tires myself.
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Didn't u drive with these fools to see for yourself if the shimmy was occurring?? You drive let them observe in the passenger seat... u get out and let them drive and see if it happens again to them.
 
Well, I just saw this post today and the wife and I went to test drive the QX56 with the 22" rims. The shake was definitely there on the highway. She noticed it immediately, the steering wheel started to vibrate, way more than normal. I guess it's a commone problem, the car had 15miles on it when we took the test drive, so it was fairly new.

I guess we may have to spring for a LX570.
 
Tires Rotated

I rotated the tires and still feel the vibrations at 80MPH on the highway.

Extremely disappointed & frustrated at this point. So shocked that a truck would come to market with such an issue...

Next up, I'm thinking of paying for new tires that are higher rated. Perhaps new rims for show, but not needed... maybe shocks??

I'm also going to a firestone place who will charge me $26 just to check the alignments. Perhaps something is out of alignment that Infiniti will be paying for...
 
If the dealer won't fix it, I would do a couple of things like taking it to a tire shop and getting the tires rebalanced, they should be able to tell you what's wrong, if that doesn't fix it, get an alignment. After that if that doesn't work, maybe you have to get new tires but a bad tire should be seen when they are rebalancing.
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I did just that. I went to Firestone and paid $71 to have all 4 tires rebalanced on a better machine (supposedly). They found 5 Oz of balances on all tires but, after removing all 5, found each tire only needed 1 Oz.

I still notice the shake at 80 MPH....
 
shakee

I hate to hear that. Must be a flat spot on the tire.
Don't let Firestone wrench on your QX . Oh heck no.

When Michelin makes a 20 inch tire for us, we'll be good :

Have a good one,
Parrott
 
I suppose you could use the spare tire to rotate through all the other tires to locate the tire with the problem. They're heavy suckers to lift on and off, but if you only have one bad tire this might be an option for you. You'd get a tire pressure warning while using the spare, and if this works you'd either have to buy a new tire pressure sensor or use the sensor from the single bad wheel. Just a thought
 
The shaking can be a defect in some cars. My wife noticed it immediately on the test drive and I saw it for myself. This may be a car by car defect, so unless you check for it, you'd never know. If balancing the tires and getting an alignment doesn't fix the problem, I would start fighting Infiniti. Video tape the shaking. It was very noticeable the car we test drove so it should come out well on video. You keep video taping it, have them try to fix it, and then it's Lemon Law time, I think it's 3 times they get to try to fix it. Look it up, it's state by state.

Good luck.

I may wait another couple of months for the 2013, maybe they will get the kinks out by then...haha..

Or get a Lexus LX570 and not worry about this kind of crap. If only the LX had the blind spot monitor.
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i have to admit it may be a case by case.

ive a 2012 all trim options including 22s and no shake at those speeds. ive clocked about 8k miles and have had one tire rotation already.

the shake could also be in the transmission pipe that runs to the back of the trans hump on the rear axle. i recall reading about this that some were noticing this vibration. turns out it was in the trans linkage piping (im not a mechanic so i dont know the proper term but you know what i mean...) :D and it was loose back there in the trans hump.

worth a shot to have someone smoke it over.
 
Here's an update. I took it to another dealership who at least felt the shake and rebalanced the tires again. It did feel a little better with the kid who worked there when we went for a ride but, as of this morning it's so bad I called Infiniti to register a complaint. They have opened a case and will have a local specialist contact me. I plan on recording the shake tonight or tomorrow and will upload the video. The steering wheel came out of my hands this morning. Unbelievable...
 
The meeting is August 10th with an Infiniti investigator. Here's a link to the video I recorded. If you can, go full screen, increase the resolution to 720 and slow it down to .5 seconds and watch the leather crease in the top right portion of the steering wheel. I know it's tough to catch it because it doesn't really record too well, plus I'm shaky too...

http://youtu.be/hiO7lc3kU7s
 
I am very interested in how this resolves itself. I am ready to purchase a new QX and tend to have a heavy foot :) so reading this thread is very concerning.

Keep us updated!! Thanks!!
 
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