Anybody change the suspension?

[300winmag]

My grama can't ride in my car.... This weekend I had to turn around half hour after picking her up because the bumps were too hard. I feel like I got ripped off so bad, this was so embarrassing because I was showing her my new car, making it sound all great... I mean who sells a car with such crappy suspension?? My GFs car is insane, she's got 32,000K on her 2010 and every time I go in there I swear I'm about to get sea sick.

Which brings me to my next question, how to get a decent ride out of this car.

[MuranoDriver]

Possibly upgrading the shocks/struts could make it a little softer. For springs, I'm pretty sure only lowering springs are made which would make the ride even more harsh.

Both cars are Rogues? What do you mean by "sea sick"?

[ImStricken06]

My grama can't ride in my car.... This weekend I had to turn around half hour after picking her up because the bumps were too hard. I feel like I got ripped off so bad, this was so embarrassing because I was showing her my new car, making it sound all great... I mean who sells a car with such crappy suspension?? My GFs car is insane, she's got 32,000K on her 2010 and every time I go in there I swear I'm about to get sea sick.

Which brings me to my next question, how to get a decent ride out of this car.

everyone has different pain, noise, and comfort tolerances. you didnt get ripped off just because someone cant stand the ride of a nissan.
nissans have always been stiffer and more rough compared to its competitors like toyota. toyota is more supple, softer, and a tad quieter. but toyota also makes engines with less power, and car designs less appealing to crowds younger than 65.

this is why older folks buy Cadillac, and Lincolns, and crown victorias. they enjoy the more softer "couch" feeling. and this is why younger people buy stiffer, sportier cars. just because Cadillac feel like a boat - doesnt mean they are not ripping off their customers.

now to answer your question: idk if there is a way to really soften the ride to the point where grandma will like it. you can lower the tire pressure to where its still in a safe operating psi, check the condition of your springs, struts, and joints- but otherwise..... you gotta understand you bought a relatively light/small SUV. its going to pass along the vibrations & jolts throughout the whole car. larger bodies cars will absorb more of it- before it reaches your butt.

[takeshi]

everyone has different pain, noise, and comfort tolerances. you didnt get ripped off just because someone cant stand the ride of a nissan.

^ This

you gotta understand you bought a relatively light/small SUV. its going to pass along the vibrations & jolts throughout the whole car. larger bodies cars will absorb more of it- before it reaches your butt.

^ And This

The Rogue is downright plush compared to my S2000 (granted, it is a true sports car with a much firmer suspension). Not as plush as the RX 400h my wife just got but...

I mean who sells a car with such crappy suspension??

I mean who doesn't test drive to find these things out before making the purchase? Why did it take a ride with your grandmother to determine that it was "crappy"? If transporting her is a priority for you then you should take her on the test drives when shopping.

Regardless, the suspension isn't the problem here.

[ImStricken06]

"Why did it take a ride with your grandmother" & "If transporting her is a priority for you then you should take her on the test drives when shopping."

that actually made me laugh. thank you lol

[300winmag]

Yes both car are Nissans, hers is a 2010 and mine is a 2011. Sea sick as in my stomach is trying to come out my mouth lol.

I guess the rest of the answers are the reason why Nissan can get away with selling such crappy suspension....
I honestly can't believe people put up with this and haven't tried doing anything about it before.
During the 6 test drives over 4 month period I did notice the suspension was on par with a rock but it has been getting worse and I fear the day
when my car feels the same as my Gf's.... which is the 30,000K mark. Never, have I had to brace for impacts before in any car

[ImStricken06]

Nissan can get away with selling such crappy suspension....

300winag, nissan doesnt make crappy suspensions! you must be out of mind.
aside from the rogue, i also own a 2010 G37s coupe, with a 6speed manual that is my woman's daily driver. you wanna talk about stiff? that car handles corners at speeds that would blow your mind. and its perfectly stable like its almost yawning at me while i force it into a corner. nissan has historically made stiff suspensions. thats how this car company operates.
my parents hate nissan's suspension and went with a lexus rx350 and love it. its supple, soft, quite. but even with a 3.5l v6 engine its got less balls then our 2.5l 4cyl rogue. (either due to gearing, weight, i dont care)

if you wanted a boat: buy ford, Cadillac, Lincoln, Chevy, etc. (but dont cry when those ball joints, and struts crap out in 25k) or buy a toyota/lexus thats supple and geezer friendly.

[Leo2005]

Honda owners always saying that stuff keep their suspension stiffer:

[kerrton]

Guys I think we can all agree that the Rogue suspension is quite firm and "sporty". It's not as firm as our Mazda3 Sport but firm enough, honestly if I could dial it in a little softer I probably would too since I have 2 small kids (4 and 1 year old), and when they're sleeping I do really try to avoid bumps.

But, the key point here is that the supension is not performing abnormally, it is designed and tuned to be firm but to also function safely. There is always a chance you could have a bad strut or shock, it doesn't hurt to mention it to your service shop if you really believe there are defective parts. But if the car is operating within spec like it did the day you test drove it you can't blame anyone but yourself, there are a lot of different cars out there for all different preferences, you need to purchase one that works for you and that you'll enjoy. You can't blame Nissan for your buyers remorse, the responsibiltiy for the purchase is yours alone.

[casperfun]

[kerrton]

Those are the tires I bought for my Rogue last year, they've been really great and yes I did notice a litle better ride but of course tires can only do so much. I also found these to be the best priced tires by far, with Goodyears being the absolute highest price, it was a difference of $700 compared to $1200 for the Goodyears.

[Rogue One]

Those are the tires I bought for my Rogue last year, they've been really great and yes I did notice a litle better ride but of course tires can only do so much. I also found these to be the best priced tires by far, with Goodyears being the absolute highest price, it was a difference of $700 compared to $1200 for the Goodyears.

I'm only @ 17,000 miles on my 2011 Rogue, but have started looking at tires. Not overly impressed with the OEM Dunlop's, and was leaning towards the Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring. Had Goodyear's on my '08 Yaris and they handled extremely well in all weather conditions. I know next to nothing about Hankook (funny name) tires, most importanly how they handle on wet pavement. They seem to come in a very close second to Goodyear, so I was wondering what your thoughts were.

[ImStricken06]

There is always a chance you could have a bad strut or shock, it doesn't hurt to mention it to your service shop if you really believe there are defective parts.

well said. thats also why i posted before "check the condition of your springs, struts, and joints-" because you never know. one could blow out prematurely, and that would certainly effect noise, stability, and rider comfort.

i personally like having a stiffer suspension setup. i wouldn't want a top-heavy CUV/SUV tilting to the outside of the corner and potentially flipping over.
we have a very small foot-print/wheel base so the last thing you want is the suspension to be soft enough to cause high momentary lateral load, and increase the roll-over rate. when you increase your foot-print you can then increase the softness of the suspension(like the murano)

give & take. next time when you test drive a car; bring granny, hit a few pot-holes, and tell the car-salesman to turn the radio off(many turn it on to decrease road noise)

[300winmag]

I knew the suspension was horrible before I bought it, my fault for buying it yes. Now I was just on Monroe's website and they don't even list the Rogue for any of their parts.
Can someone recommend a good brand name?? I don't need it to be a caddy I mean I would be more then happy with what my Dodge Journey felt like.

[Black B15]

Rock auto shows KYB GR2's available for the rogue. They GR2's are supposed to be better than oem quality.

Per rockauto.com, rear shoc is KYB Part #349097. Front left strut is KYB part #339197 and Front right strut is KYB part #339196.

If you aren't familiar with KYB GR2's, they are supposed to be oem fitment but with better ride quality. I can't say for sure if this is the case on the Rogue's or not though. I did run GR2's on my sentra for well over 100k miles with no problems.

EDIT* If you are going to change the struts it would be a good time to change out the strut mounts as well. This could affect ride quality as well and the part is inexpensive enough that I would change it while you have the strut disassembled.

[ImStricken06]

I knew the suspension was horrible before I bought it, my fault for buying it

wow - the suspension is not "horrible" - its just stiff! every car has its own set-up, and based upon the setup is how everyone is going to judge it. those with low tolerances, will not like it. those with high tolerances will be fine.
have you ever rode in a JEEP? have you ever rode in a lowered car? have you ever rode in a sports car? all have suspensions that would make your types cringe. does that mean its horrible? NO! just because YOU dont like something- doesnt make it horrible, broken, or in need or repair.

its not just the suspension. i told you - the relatively small vehicle chassis will not absorb enough shock thus passing it to your butt. its also the tire compound, tire size, tire pressure(which increases with use) rim size, etc. you cant sit here and dog a car because you find it to be stiff.
try driving a honda/acura = same stiff suspension if not stiffer. try driving an infiniti = same results.

take it like this. a Harley Davidson rides like a boat. soft, relaxed, supple, and cruiser-like. then take a sport bike: stiff, rigid, crouched position, etc. does the suspension on a sportbike need fixing just because its stiff/rough? no. i have invested a lot of money in suspension work and had it dialed in to my weight = and let me tell you, its anything but a soft Harley cruiser.
(actually often too soft of a suspension is a sign of a problem too)

[kerrton]

Man this isn't going to be cheap to replace out these suspension components and without knowing how much of a difference it will make, I'd be cautious. I just don't want you to waste your money and still not be happy with the ride, and I'd say the chances of you finding suspension that is soft enough for you is slim.

The other thing to consider, the Rogue was designed to have stiff suspension, ImStricken pointed out that the geometry of the wheelbase, vehicle height, ground clearance, vehicle weight etc., and the suspension was tuned specifically to work wih this geometry and provide a safe ride. If you did manage to slap some soft shocks and struts on the Rogue and make it ride like a caddy, it could be dangerous or at the very least the handling could suffer considerably.

[ImStricken06]

Man this isn't going to be cheap to replace out these suspension components and without knowing how much of a difference it will make, I'd be cautious.

great point, and on top of that = new struts/springs are gonna be stiffer than what she has now anyway. new parts are always going to need a couple thousand miles to get into their normal operating position/size before they yield any true results of what they claimed.

[Leo2005]

300. There's been discussion on that part somewhere but don't remember the link where people were talking about actually lowering the diameter of the wheels so they can get "bigger" tire. That's 1 option if you want to make the ride softer. Like getting a set with hubcaps 16" from cheaper "S" model for example?

[Leo2005]

I was having a pretty annoying vibration while driving and i can feel it even on 5 mph. 2 dealerships were telling me that my tires are suck or my wheels are bend. Now my tires almost are gone in less than 2 years and one dealership told me i have loose arm controls. A friend of mine told me i have bad ball joints. On this car it goes as one piece and thats why im having slight kick feeling on every bump which means they are not that bad but its time to change them. Hey...its 140k miles on a car and i wasnt expecting running it forever. So just to give a hint for those who feels like suspension is stiff you should check your tires and ball joints. Its very easy to check if you can lift the car and move the wheel to the left and right. You feel/hear a click while moving.

[ImStricken06]

I was having a pretty annoying vibration while driving and i can feel it even on 5 mph. 2 dealerships were telling me that my tires are suck or my wheels are bend. Now my tires almost are gone in less than 2 years and one dealership told me i have loose arm controls. A friend of mine told me i have bad ball joints. On this car it goes as one piece and thats why im having slight kick feeling on every bump which means they are not that bad but its time to change them. Hey...its 140k miles on a car and i wasnt expecting running it forever. So just to give a hint for those who feels like suspension is stiff you should check your tires and ball joints. Its very easy to check if you can lift the car and move the wheel to the left and right. You feel/hear a click while moving.

ball joints, like any and all items are wear items. in nissan, they tend to go around 120,000-150,000 miles.
we are lucky we own a nissan and not a GM item that wears at 60-80k.

lift your car (or that particular wheel) and jiggle it. if its got play, its either a ball joint, or bearing. also check the wearing on your tire. inside wearing is a sure sign of problems. clunking also is a sign. a steering wheel that doesnt want to return to "home" position on its own is also another sign.

[ROGUEPLANET]

I went from a GMC truck to a Nissan Versa, and went in to buy a Juke. I went home with the Rogue for the suspension and ride alone. Dont know if there is a difference between the FWD or the 2012 models. But my ride is what sold me on this car.

[ImStricken06]

I went from a GMC truck to a Nissan Versa, and went in to buy a Juke. I went home with the Rogue for the suspension and ride alone. Dont know if there is a difference between the FWD or the 2012 models. But my ride is what sold me on this car.

the only thing i can complain about is that the rogue doesn't have splash guards in the rear wheel well's and rainy days & bumps can be a tad louder than id want. but otherwise, the rogue handles very-very well. stiff, planted, firm, stable, sporty, and i love that. i love knowing if i had to conduct an evasive maneuver - the rogue's sporty/stuff suspension wont transfer the weight to cause me to tilt like many american SUV's will due to having too soft of a suspension.

PS: i love the Juke. id love to tune that little sucker to my own Juke-R