2004 Sentra SE-R - Steering vibration normal?

G'day all,

I bought a new 2004 Sentra SE-R (NOT SPec-V) and although the cars runs great, I felt vibration on the steering wheel when driving either at high or low speed. It is more apparent at higher speeds or freeway driving.

I went to dealer, they said it's normal. I looked under the car and no problem with CV.

Is this normal?

FYI, my previous car was a Mazda 626 and it does vibrate but subtlety.

Thanks for the help.

is it just vibration from the engine (the whole car is vibrating, you can just feel it more in the steering wheel), or does it feel like vibration from the suspension/drivetrain?

If it's just engine vibration then it's normal, if not then you might want to get your tires balanced for starters.

sr20de4evr,

I felt it at the steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and the A/T stick. I feel the vibration when driving,

To tell u the truth, I can't really tell if the vibration comes from the suspension/drivetrain.

But, now you mentioned the alignment, I did notice that my steering wheel need to be moved very slightly to the left in order for the car to go straight at a level road.

I'll check on the alignment, but is it normal that the all of the above vibrate during driving?

well that's a big engine in a cheap car, so some engine vibration is pretty normal. It's hard to diagnose if it's just engine vibration without actually being there though. One thing you can do is get up to a speed where it starts doing it, then....shit I just noticed you have an auto, um shift to N I guess. The engine will go down to idle while you still go the same speed, if the vibration goes away then it's just engine vibration, if it's still the exact same then it's probably a tire that's slightly out of balance.

As for having to hold the steering wheel slightly left all the time, that's normal. It's so if you fall asleep, the steering centers itself and the car goes off the right side of the road instead of drifting to the left into oncoming traffic. If you get an alignment done they normally align it perfectly so it won't do that anymore. I got one done on my car after I lowered it and on a flat freeway I can let go of the steering wheel for atleast 45 sec to a minute and have it stay perfectly centered in the lane.

well that's a big engine in a cheap car, so some engine vibration is pretty normal.

:lol: Dude..u cracked me up! That is the truth, though! When I bought this car 4 days ago, I was drooling looking at the specs, not at the actual "Sentra" car. :biggrin: I wish I could get my old car back, a Volvo S-80 T6 but alas, the stock market took it all.

I brought the car back to the service center (need to have the recall fixed) and they said it's normal. I then went back to the dealer, drove 2 different SE-R and yes.. it does vibrate the same way.

I am going to try your method above and see if it is trully normal vibration.


As for having to hold the steering wheel slightly left all the time, that's normal. It's so if you fall asleep, the steering centers itself and the car goes off the right side of the road instead of drifting to the left into oncoming traffic. If you get an alignment done they normally align it perfectly so it won't do that anymore. I got one done on my car after I lowered it and on a flat freeway I can let go of the steering wheel for atleast 45 sec to a minute and have it stay perfectly centered in the lane.

This is great explanation, bro! I never knew the above before. Hmm, I'll do the alignment again when I lowered my car later.

Thanks!

hey, my steering wheel vibrates one hell of a lot.
maybe its because I worped all 4 rotors. your stock rotors won't handle hard braking @149mph (someone moved into my lane). Also i had to get new tires & rims. my stock tires had flat spots because of locking up the brakes. the stock rims were easily bent because its aluminum.

warped rotors will only cause vibration under braking, not normal driving

heh, vibration? new? i dont think so. My 03 sentra se-r spec is very smooth. Its not Mercedes benz sl500 smooth or whatever. Its an economy car.

I just wanted to my two cents. Because it is winter time and some of us actually do see snow, look at your rims. If there is snow/ice caked on them that will throw them off balance. I freaked out when my sentra was vibrating terrible. at speeds over 50 it was almost unbareable. I cleaned the rims off and it was fine.

I installed motor mount inserts which means you feel what the motor is doing. When the RPMS are below 800 its pretty bad. Above 1000 you dont notice a thing... except the lack of wheel hop and better shifter feel.