I recently purchased a used '04 LE.....in impecable condition inside and out, but within the first week I began to suffer from high speed steering wheel shimmy whenever passing over "rougher" highway terrain...

I've seen several threads which indicate that others are dealing with the same, however, I have'nt been able to find any suggested corrective measures. Has anyone been able to get this problem fixed through the dealer? Is the problem related to tire balancing, or is it a suspension issue?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

You probably need a Road Force Balance. Most Discount Tire shops have the equipment to do it.

Thanks for the advice....


Would a road force balance entail balancing of both the front and rears(Independent)?

Hi, I just had my wheels road force balanced. I had the shimmy so the dealer balanced the tires. One tire/wheel was out 4 fricken ounces from one side to the other. Then the shimmy came back so the dealer rotated the tires. After 500 miles the shimmy was back again. This time the dealer noticed abnormal tire wear, did a road force balance and 4 wheel alignment. One tire and rim failed the road force balance test so they took a brand new wheel off a truck on the lot. Now the shimmy is gone and hopefully for good!. Fighting it out now with the dealer for a new tire to replace the one with abnormal wear due to the crappy factory wheel alignment. The truck has about 10K on it and one tire is half cooked already??

I suggest you get the road force balance done to all 4 wheels. Its not cheap though. My dealer charged Nissan Canada $160.00 to do it.

Good luck!

Do you have the Conti tires?

Yup, unfortunately I have the Conti's.

Same here, Discount will do the road force for about $60. The shimy came back when they were rotated. There is one tire that is worse and when it goes to the front is when it comes back. MUST change the coni tires. CONI :usuck:

Thanks for the heads up....I too have the crapi Conti's on the Armada, and as much as it pains me to keep them, I can't justify getting rid of them until I've taken all that they have to offer (that is unless I can't get them to ride smooth, in which case they're gone!)

Can anyone recommend a good tire shop (that performs the road force balance procedure) which has stores in Florida? I'm having difficulty locating a Discount Tire here.

Thanks.

I would take it back to the dealer and make them do the road force balance at their cost. Thats what I did and they didnt even blink.

Thanks for the heads up....I too have the crapi Conti's on the Armada, and as much as it pains me to keep them, I can't justify getting rid of them until I've taken all that they have to offer (that is unless I can't get them to ride smooth, in which case they're gone!)

Can anyone recommend a good tire shop (that performs the road force balance procedure) which has stores in Florida? I'm having difficulty locating a Discount Tire here.

Thanks.
Where are you in Florida? DiscountTire has several locations here in Orlando.