Just throwing this out there for anyone that may come across it:
Bought my Armada 2 months back at 100k miles. Love it. Steering felt a little sloppy on highway when I test drove but I chalked it up to being an SUV since I was moving from a car.
I heard an occasional squeak when turning at low speeds. It had brand new Firestone tires on it from dealership so I assumed (wrongly) they were just new rubber. I drove it for a 40 min trip on the highway and it felt a little squirly when I hit a pot hole. Figured it was SUV suspension but got a little worried.
A week later I started feeling major shudder when braking. The shudder came at different brake speeds and only when braking. Most commonly downhill. This told me it probably wasn't the brakes since it wasn't consistent.
The shuddering got worse after a few days and I heard a weird grind going up a hill at a strong right turn.
Anyway, took it to Nissan and it turned out it was a really loose wheel bearing. My rear alignment was pretty far off and the wheel the bearing was on had some significant outer wear.
So, most the time when you Google loose wheel bearing symptoms you don't see shudder when braking and I was trying to diagnose my self. Almost thought it was a U Joint. Turns out a wheel can wiggle hard as heck when braking on these beasts.
Hope this helps someone in the future that may Google this.
Bought my Armada 2 months back at 100k miles. Love it. Steering felt a little sloppy on highway when I test drove but I chalked it up to being an SUV since I was moving from a car.
I heard an occasional squeak when turning at low speeds. It had brand new Firestone tires on it from dealership so I assumed (wrongly) they were just new rubber. I drove it for a 40 min trip on the highway and it felt a little squirly when I hit a pot hole. Figured it was SUV suspension but got a little worried.
A week later I started feeling major shudder when braking. The shudder came at different brake speeds and only when braking. Most commonly downhill. This told me it probably wasn't the brakes since it wasn't consistent.
The shuddering got worse after a few days and I heard a weird grind going up a hill at a strong right turn.
Anyway, took it to Nissan and it turned out it was a really loose wheel bearing. My rear alignment was pretty far off and the wheel the bearing was on had some significant outer wear.
So, most the time when you Google loose wheel bearing symptoms you don't see shudder when braking and I was trying to diagnose my self. Almost thought it was a U Joint. Turns out a wheel can wiggle hard as heck when braking on these beasts.
Hope this helps someone in the future that may Google this.
