Rear Suspension

[monkeybear]

I have noticed that when I drive over bumps in my Versa the front is very smooth and the rear is bumpier and much louder. I figured that this was because all of the weight of the car was in the front, especially since I was braking. There is also a loud banging noise when the rear tires go over the bump. When I get my car back from the dealership I am going to take the spare/jack/tool set out and try the same bumps to see if that is it.

My friend was telling me all of the problems that can occur from driving over bumps too fast and I am just a little nervous as I learn just how delicate cars are compared to motorcycles.

I have been driving my fiances' 2008 Subaru Forester XT Sport, awesome car by the way, and when going over the same bumps at faster speeds it is much smoother.

Is this normal or should I look into it?

The Versa is my first car. Before the versa I had spent a few minutes max behind the wheel of a car.

Any advice or input would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[FD3S]

The same happened to my Versa. I think this was already discussed in the previous posts. It's perfectly normal. Just try to not drive over the speed bumps so fast. After a month or so, my suspension was fine. It's a new car and all, so just give it some time to break in. In general, speed bumps are bad for any car's suspension.

[jace]

That is exactly what I am experiencing right now! It freaked myself and a couple of my passengers sometimes. The front is NO problem. However...on certain speed bumps (even at low speed = 5-10km?)...i can hear a loud thud/boom at the rear. I took my Versa back to my dealer and I had a technician drive with me over a few bumps...and even he could not explain it. They took a look underneath my car and reported NO problems. So I thought its normal for the Versa hatchbacks. My dealer also said its "normal" but they'll keep an eye on it when I bring the car in after 6000km (in one month).

FD3S: are you saying the loud thud/bumps disappears after awhile?

Cheers~

[Ever Victorious]

Check the jack in your trunk. A few of them have been shipped a little loose from the factory. If it is loose, you can tighten the jack down so it doesn't move around, and that could possibly take care of any abnormal noises back there.

But yes, the V's rear is rather noisy going over bumps at high speed.

[lain]

I was looking at the struts in the back and it seems that the design is a little different to the normal car. With the structs being seperate from the springs. Could this be why it might be louder in the back? Also noticed alot of dirt on the inside of my fender...as if dirt was growing there. Just thought i mention that

[Ever Victorious]

There are a couple factors that come to mind as to why the rear is noisier.

First, we don't have inner fender liners like a lot of cars have. So that's one less layer of stuff to deaden noise.

Second, and this applies only to the HB... is that unlike a sedan where the strut mounts are in the trunk, where the sundeck and trunk would provide sound deadening, our strut mounts are in the exposed air of our hatch areas, so there's not the same deadening qualities you would get in any sedan.

[FD3S]

are you saying the loud thud/bumps disappears after awhile?

If you keep driving the V, it will eventually go away because it'll be use to taking speed bumps. When I first drove my Versa, the suspension was VERY tight and I could feel every ripple on the road. After a couple months or so, everything was smooth. As for the speed bumps, I rarely get the "thump" sound in the rear, but it still happens. Like the other members have said, the Versa Hatchback was probably built like that.

[nissantech06]

I was looking at the struts in the back and it seems that the design is a little different to the normal car. With the structs being seperate from the springs. Could this be why it might be louder in the back? Also noticed alot of dirt on the inside of my fender...as if dirt was growing there. Just thought i mention that

Ah, yes, the old torsion beam. It's been used on a lot of Nissan's cars in the past (J30 Maxima, L31 Altima) and the multi-link on the newer Maxima/Altima is similar. Trust me, until I researched, the first car I had was 4 struts all the way around, I thought all cars were like that.