2007 Infiniti m35 (base) wandering/pull problem.

[dacarlson]

Hey all. I'm new here. First off, I will introduce myself. I'm Dylan. I'm a 4th year automotive service technician, I've been in the trade for 6 years. I worked at a Nissan/infiniti stealer for 3 years before quitting and working at a private shop. I currently work on German cars now, Audi, VW, Porsche, Mercedes etc. Note that I still drive a Infiniti, and not a VW or an Audi

I did some searching online, and on this forum regarding an interesting issue I am having with my Infiniti. I couldn't find anything definitive (I apologize in advance if there is already a topic on this issue. I am living in a rural area and tether off my mobile for internet usage so I must conserve my data) I suppose I should mention I have a 2007 Infiniti m35 (base model) with 70,000 miles on the odo. RWD, Nexan tires..

The issue I am having is a wandering problem. The car will dart left then right, then back again on the highway. The problem is most noticeable on heavy rutted roads. It will also dart left then right under hard breaking. Constant correction is required, and my Lada Niva tracks better then my infiniti (and for those of you who know what a Lada is, this really should illustrate how bad my steering truly is haha) There is nothing at all wrong with the breaks that I can see. It seems to me as if it is toeing in and out dependant on wheel position ? (just a theory). I have rotated the tires front to rear, tire position seems to have little bearing on the problem. I used to love driving this car, and quite frankly I hate it now. It's driving me nuts. It has marginal play in the inner tie rod on the passenger side. So marginal I know most technicians wouldn't even find it. You can only find it when the steering is loaded on a drive on style lift. I performed a wheel alignment. I did notice deflection in the steering gear bushings while an assistant turned the wheel. Perhaps a half inch of deflection in the bushings, but they appear to be in tact. I know that they are designed in such a way that a bit of horizontal movement is normal. But this one has got me head scratching a little bit. I really hope its not a fault of the steering gear itself.

Just would like to hear some stories, some advice from people who have had similar issues.
Tomorrow I will see if my scan tool can interrogate any modules and see if there is any fault codes for the speed sensitive steering. I may order new tie rods as well. But, quite frankly it would surprise me this tiny amount of play causing such a huge problem.

Look forward to hearing from you guys. Cheers.

[dacarlson]

I forgot to mention I will try to swap to my winter tires and rims to see if the problem disappears. But I doubt it.

[Larz]

First of all, Welcome to Nico
Being raised in England, I actually DO know that a Lada Niva is a 4x4 ermm 'vehicle' that is ... shall we say .... not usually bragged on regarding ride quality LOL. Here is a pic for those not familiar:
.

.
As for your trouble, since you are a qualified car diagnostician, I will assume you checked all the things the rest of us might have suggested, but I'm wondering now about the tires. Perhaps the sidewalls have gone, or the steel belts are titz-up?
When I first came to the states (2005) I bought a 1968 Caddilac Fleetwood Talisman. It was a massive land yacht and lived in a garage it's entire life and the lady who owned it didn't want to replace the A/C and couldn't drive it down here in 90 degrees. The repair bill was $700 and she told my mechanic that she would sign it over if she could get at least that much for it. I offered her 1,000 and she took it!
Why did I just blather on about that? The car was immaculate and beautiful but it wandered just as you described. Although the tires 'looked' fine, they were no good. I replaced them with Michelins (also replced the shocks) and BAM the car drove straight and true. I still have it and still drive it from time to time.
Perhaps changing the tires will fix your trouble too?

[MOWellsinVA]

Yep, tires are usually the culprit with the "tram-lining" you described. The M sedans are notorious for it, especially with the original factory-installed tires. A good set of Michelins or Continentals should help tremendously.

[gavnator]

I had the same problem when I bought my 06 M35X. The car had just come off lease with 32,000 on the clock. The dealer put a set of Nexen 3000's on it. You didn't mention which Nexen tires are on your M.Tires weren't bad when new but once they had minimal miles on them the car would wander. Fixed the problem with Conti Extreme Contact DWS' and a 4 wheel alignment. Night and day brother. Also these cars a very sensitive regarding correct line-up. Change the tires and get a 4 wheel alignment. Most alignment shops can check to see how bad it's kicked out. I'd bet the alignment is off. Welcome and good luck!!

[finikM35]

its tires probably, I had Nexen N7000 and its crap car is darting left and right. Once i got Conti Extreme Contact issue was fixed! Don't talk crap about Niva! Its #1 4x4 in Motherrussia. I think they getting better now with chevy engines and stuff.

[finikM35]

Nexens are junk no grip and noisy they do last forever but overall cheap and simply no good. Get michlen or continental