Anybody got any info on this problem or experienced it? Want to take it to the dealer but would like to know more before I took it in.
Thanks
2001 QX4 Front End Vibration Especially when braking...
Re: 2001 QX4 Front End Vibration Especially when braking... (cliffli10)
Found it..brake judder is the term and is in a bulletin
I have significant problems with "brake judder" in my '02 Pathfinder, especially when coming down from the mountains. The whole vehicle shakes like mad on prolonged braking. My local Nissan dealer suggested a brake service at around $250. If there is a TSB on point, shouldn't that be done at a reduced rate or for free? Also, do the TSB's expire? Nistech, I understand if you can't touch this one, but can anyone else give some insight? I had a similar issue with the "bump stop" TSB for Pathfinders a few years ago. The same dealer blew it off as the problem never existed. I still can't have two rear passengers without bottoming out at every significant bump (sorry, off topic, I know).
There is no tsb specifically targeting the pathfinder as having brake judder. There is a general diagnostics bullitien that discusses different types of brake concerns and what causes them as well as most appropriate fixes.
Let me see if I can explain in a way you understand what TSB's really are.
Nissan USE to issue tsb's on specific problems on particular vehicles or specific parts used on many different vehicles that may have a more then one time occurance and the fix was always the same. This could be as little as 50 cars that have seen the problem to as many as a few thousand. The TSB was meant as a diagnostic aid for techs and not a admission of a problem with the vehicle. It was meant to help us out in the feild. We USE to get tech tips as well. If even one or 2 cars had a problem they would post it as a tip for us to look there as it MAY be the same as the 1 or 2 vehicles another tech worked on. TSB's were never meant to have customers come running to the dealer saying they had that problem even though they really didnt just so they could get it fixed under warranty.
Now if you notice I used the past tense in my statement. It was with good reason. Because of the many people running to the dealer demanding that problem get fixed on their car even though it wasent present and in many cases their particular car was not manufactured with the parts causing the problem. Nissan has decided to scale back tsb's that help us in the field, tech tips have been completely eliminated. So now even if nissan knows of a possible fix for something we may encounter in the field , it is left to us to go through lengthy diagnosis to find the problem. That translates to when the car exits warranty it is really gonna suck for the owner of the car when it comes to dollars out of pocket for diagnostic time. Nissan now has a minimum of vehicles that must experiance identical failure and repairs. I believe that number is in the multiple hundreds of failures.
A technical serivice bulletin [TSB] never expires it is an aid to asist future repairs of the exact same problem listed on the first page of the TSB.
To note on brake judder and how it occures. Brake judder is almost never a result of a failed brake component. Brake judder is a result of a warped brake rotor. Brake rotors do not come from the factory warped 99.99999% of the time. Warpage occurs due to excessive heat that is created during braking. This typically occurs in heavy frequent brake applications usually when driving in the mountains,driving with 2 feet, driving in heavy stop and go traffic with high surge speeds. Now the warping is not entirely the fault of the driver but is in part as good driving habits should be used, i.e. when driving down a mountian dont race to the next turn and hammer the brakes instead coast alot of the time, use gears in advance to decelerate to the turn so only a light brake application is used. I dont think much needs to be said about the 2 foot driver its obviously a very bad habit to have, Driving in heavy stop and go traffic give your self room, try to asses what the whole group in front of is doing not just the guy in front of you. Leave room and allow traffic to pull away on accel to allow for abrupt stopping of traffic so you can ease to a stop.
Now the part not of the drivers fault. When rotating the wheels or having other wheel work done, If the wheels are not properly torqued when reinstalled this can cause uneven pressure pushing the rotor against the hub and distort the rotor a bit. Not enough to feel immediatly but after a few warm stops your rotors will try to conform to that distortion eventually transmitting to the outter area of the rotor causing it to warp.
There are other problems that can contribute to warped rotors but I wont go into to much detail about but its a good idea to measure the run out of the hubs and wheels if its a reoccuring problem and what I mentioned above has been properly checked or addressed.
As far as the bottoming out in the rear. There was a TSB but it was only for the early QX4. The fix was to install pathfinder rear coil springs as they were stiffer.
Let me see if I can explain in a way you understand what TSB's really are.
Nissan USE to issue tsb's on specific problems on particular vehicles or specific parts used on many different vehicles that may have a more then one time occurance and the fix was always the same. This could be as little as 50 cars that have seen the problem to as many as a few thousand. The TSB was meant as a diagnostic aid for techs and not a admission of a problem with the vehicle. It was meant to help us out in the feild. We USE to get tech tips as well. If even one or 2 cars had a problem they would post it as a tip for us to look there as it MAY be the same as the 1 or 2 vehicles another tech worked on. TSB's were never meant to have customers come running to the dealer saying they had that problem even though they really didnt just so they could get it fixed under warranty.
Now if you notice I used the past tense in my statement. It was with good reason. Because of the many people running to the dealer demanding that problem get fixed on their car even though it wasent present and in many cases their particular car was not manufactured with the parts causing the problem. Nissan has decided to scale back tsb's that help us in the field, tech tips have been completely eliminated. So now even if nissan knows of a possible fix for something we may encounter in the field , it is left to us to go through lengthy diagnosis to find the problem. That translates to when the car exits warranty it is really gonna suck for the owner of the car when it comes to dollars out of pocket for diagnostic time. Nissan now has a minimum of vehicles that must experiance identical failure and repairs. I believe that number is in the multiple hundreds of failures.
A technical serivice bulletin [TSB] never expires it is an aid to asist future repairs of the exact same problem listed on the first page of the TSB.
To note on brake judder and how it occures. Brake judder is almost never a result of a failed brake component. Brake judder is a result of a warped brake rotor. Brake rotors do not come from the factory warped 99.99999% of the time. Warpage occurs due to excessive heat that is created during braking. This typically occurs in heavy frequent brake applications usually when driving in the mountains,driving with 2 feet, driving in heavy stop and go traffic with high surge speeds. Now the warping is not entirely the fault of the driver but is in part as good driving habits should be used, i.e. when driving down a mountian dont race to the next turn and hammer the brakes instead coast alot of the time, use gears in advance to decelerate to the turn so only a light brake application is used. I dont think much needs to be said about the 2 foot driver its obviously a very bad habit to have, Driving in heavy stop and go traffic give your self room, try to asses what the whole group in front of is doing not just the guy in front of you. Leave room and allow traffic to pull away on accel to allow for abrupt stopping of traffic so you can ease to a stop.
Now the part not of the drivers fault. When rotating the wheels or having other wheel work done, If the wheels are not properly torqued when reinstalled this can cause uneven pressure pushing the rotor against the hub and distort the rotor a bit. Not enough to feel immediatly but after a few warm stops your rotors will try to conform to that distortion eventually transmitting to the outter area of the rotor causing it to warp.
There are other problems that can contribute to warped rotors but I wont go into to much detail about but its a good idea to measure the run out of the hubs and wheels if its a reoccuring problem and what I mentioned above has been properly checked or addressed.
As far as the bottoming out in the rear. There was a TSB but it was only for the early QX4. The fix was to install pathfinder rear coil springs as they were stiffer.