After 10 months of owning my Armada, I parked with my wheels turned sideways for the first time. When I got back in my baby, I couldn't help but to notice that the inside of the wheel had more frickin' wear on it than any tire I've ever owned... I checked the other 3 and came to the same conclusion. The outside of the tires looks overly worn, but not dangerous (as does the hidden area of the tires). Now, I know I don't drive that bad. Is anyone else experiencing this?? I mean, I could see if I hot-rodded every night, but that would be the mainly the back tires. Anyone else with this problem??

I wasn't able to get in touch with my service department to check on warranty information, so does anyone know anything about tire warranty?

:mad: Thanks---

There's something going on with my suspension too. I have had a wiggle at 70 mph forever now. I have had numerous road-force balances done. The first time the tire guys said that my rear tires were cupping and that I needed alignment. So the dealer looks at it and proceeds to tell me it was right on. Took it back to the tire guys and had them check it, and it was on for them also.

I get a lot more negative feedback from my wheels when hitting bumps than in my Tahoe. I figured it was because of my 20's, but it's getting to the point now where my wife has even noticed and commented. The wheel will jerk pretty hard when hitting even moderate potholes on the highway.

I'm going to have this addressed again when I take it in for this next round of repairs. I won't bore you with the list but it's considerable.

I always thought that the feedback from the bumps was normal. I hit a bump and the steering wheel does a 180. Bumps also tend to throw me a little off course... My Blazer was nothing like this.

What should I be telling my repair man? I know nothing about vehicles besides the fact that brand new tires should last a hell of a lot longer than 10 months.

good luck with a oem tire warranty. i've never seen it work on oem tires you may have a chance with retail tires.

I'm still dealing with the 70MPH shimmy... So far I go all 4 tires replaced and new brakes and rotors.

It still shimmy's... I'm going to videotape the shimmy and take it back into service. I notice that it also pulls to the right when I let go of the steering wheel (under 5 seconds)

Anyone else with this issue?

I did have a shimmy.. it was bad.. Nissan gave me a bad wheel alignment, re-did it for free, fixed the problem. Yours sounds like something else though, mine started shimmyin' around 50 mph...

I have been experiencing wheel shimmy at 70+ speeds ever since taking ownership of my 2004 SE/Offroad. The Dealer of course disowned the problem, so I took them to Discount Tire (BfGoodrich dealer). They put them on a road force balancer and discovered I had two tires with abnormally high balance requirements. BfGoodrich agreed to replace them, no charge. I am still waiting on the new tires, but they mounted the two good tires on the front and my shimmy disapeared.

I'm still dealing with the 70MPH shimmy... So far I go all 4 tires replaced and new brakes and rotors.

It still shimmy's... I'm going to videotape the shimmy and take it back into service. I notice that it also pulls to the right when I let go of the steering wheel (under 5 seconds)

Anyone else with this issue?


I have had the shimmy on the front of the Armada since about day 3 of ownership. It is worse going down a steep grade and braking. Myine shimmies at 50 mph+ on street and/or freeway. I have taken it back to the dealer 3x's and am going back for #4 Saturday. Each time I am given a new story about what is happening and how they are fixing it.

Recently noticed that the right front tire is wearing abnormally. Other three seem to be wearing okay.

Got a call from Nissan USA yesterday and they said any fix will be only temporary. They do not know what is causing it or how to get it fixed long term. When I brought up the tire wear they immediatley claimed defective tire. What BS. The SUV has 7,000 miles on its and only one tire is down to the wear bar. That's not a defective tire, that's a messed up suspension that Nissan seems to be ignoring with their bandage repairs on the rotors.

Well I guess I've finally made up mind on whether 2 purchase the Armada or not.

I've been following this board n others n between Nissan service being a horror story, with all their CYA tactics n the major problems that seem 2 prevail, as well as fit n finish issues :eek: ....Its a Chevy 4 me!!! :thumbup:

Sorry guys, but when I'm spending 40+K 4 a vehicle I better NOT hav the BS u guys r havin 2 deal with. :damn:

I wanted 1 2 tow behind my M/H but with all the issues...it ain't happen'n. :thumbdown

Good luck 2 y'all we're outta here.

:fantastic

The guy up at the top with wear on the inner and outer portion of the tire. That is from your tire pressures being too low. Armadas make a lot of interiour noise when you raise your pressures to where they should be So you might have to live with it or get used to more noise.

If he had too much tire pressure he would see wear in the center and not on the sides.

Shimmy problems when braking is involved is usually warped brake rotors.

Shimmy problems that are speed related are usually tire related (a balance weight flew off etc). Rotate and see if it goes away.

Cupping is alignment or worn suspension components which is accompanied by either a shimmy or squirmy braking or vague cornering or it follows seams in the road (trammeling).

Excessive inner tire wear is too much negative camber (it's adjustable). For some reason the factory alignment rarely has this right.

Excessive outer tire wear is caused by too much positive camber (outward canting wheels). This also makes your car handle like a dog so it should be Aligned

The way to catch these problems before you wear a set of tires out is you drive the car on a straight road at normal speeds so the tires warm up (maybe 5 miles or so). Stop, get out and feel your tires with your hand. Feel the inside middle and outside tread (don't bother with the sidewalls). Where it is warmest is where you will eventually see wear first. If the temp pattern matches what I have described above make that fix. When alignment and tire pressure is optimum the temp will be uniform across the tire, as will tire wear.

If rotation or tire pressures dont make a difference it could be something more serious. Let an alignment / tire shop take a look at it.

Chrisarmada
2004 Smoke 4x4 armada
2005 Mini Cooper S
1994 BMW 325iC with goodies

Nice summary by Chris.

I think I've had all of the above problems - but not just on my Armada.

Best bet is to

- stay on top of the brake warping issue.
- rotate and balance tires every 10k
- keep the tire pressure up around 35psi
- get any alignment issues (pulling right or left) fixed right away

This should help the longevity of your tires and keep the ride consistent.

After 10 months of owning my Armada, I parked with my wheels turned sideways for the first time. When I got back in my baby, I couldn't help but to notice that the inside of the wheel had more frickin' wear on it than any tire I've ever owned... I checked the other 3 and came to the same conclusion. The outside of the tires looks overly worn, but not dangerous (as does the hidden area of the tires). Now, I know I don't drive that bad. Is anyone else experiencing this?? I mean, I could see if I hot-rodded every night, but that would be the mainly the back tires. Anyone else with this problem??

I wasn't able to get in touch with my service department to check on warranty information, so does anyone know anything about tire warranty?

:mad: Thanks---

I know this may be a late response, but I recently had a flat tire and happened to check on the warranty for tires with my new 2005 SE Armada. According to the warranty booklet (which I assume is more or less the same as yours), Nissan is not the warrantor of your tires. Depending on the tire dealer, in my case Continental, you need to contact them regarding any problems with wear, etc. on your tires. I remember reading in the warranty that if the tires are worn more than 3/32nds of the thread within the first 12 months that the warranty becomes effective. Other than that, such as road hazard (in my case, a flat due to a nail), I either have to get it plugged or by a new tire. Hope this helps.

I had feathering on all tires and was causing a bad ride in this new car. I had about 14K miles and had done an alignment before I noticed the feathering on the tires. Complained to nissan and they said to check with Goodyear to see if they were defective. Goddyear said this was caused by alignment. Nissan placed 4 identical new tires on my Armada.