This question is for all you mechanics and automotive experts out there.
I drive a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder. Over the past six months the vehicle has seemed more and more “twitchy” in its handling when at speed and on rougher surfaces. This past weekend, my wife and I drove from Iowa Park to San Angelo and back, and the problem appears to have become much worse – so much so that it literally scared us. At times we worried we might lose control of the vehicle.
The problem occurs in specific conditions:
- When at higher speeds (60-80 mph);
- On rougher road surfaces (not on very smooth surfaces);
- When the road curves, or when the driver changes direction;
- When the vehicle is under acceleration or the cruise control is applying power to maintain speed (not when the vehicle is coasting without the accelerator being used).
All of the above appear to be necessary to create the specific problem. When they are present, the vehicle can lurch or “twitch” for a second or so when changing direction. It’s very abrupt, almost as if the vehicle is about to go out of control, but it doesn’t last long enough to make that actually happen. Sometimes it’s merely a mild twitch, but other times it can be hard and strong enough to really scare us (both driver and passenger).
I've wracked my brains to figure out what might be causing such a problem. It doesn't resemble a CV joint issue (although that may be part of it), and other front suspension and steering components don't display any obvious problems. I've sent the car in to the dealership for their mechanics to look at, but so far they haven't reported that they've found anything.
Can anybody suggest what might be causing it? If so, please advise in Comments. Thanks!
Peter
24 comments:
When was the wheel alignment last checked?
Incorrect toe in the front or rear can lead to unpredictable handling.
Maybe something to do with a power steering issue? Is there enough fluid in the reservoir?
Could also be something to do with the power steering pump. It’s full of washers…
I would start looking at the shock absorbers and the steering linkages / tie rod ends, then at the ball joints.
I hope that you have a good mechanic nearby. Be safe.
John in Indy
Could be a tread separation issue.. try rotating the tires front to back.
Based on the symptoms, I would suspect a problem with steering assist, speed sensing steering or some other electronic "feature" that is computer controlled. See: https://www.pathfindertalk.com/threads/steering-assist-issues.41269/
It could be excessive play in the steering system. This could be caused by a loose rack & pinion, excessive slop in the rack & pinion or a loose/failing steering shaft universal joint.
Broken motor mounts cause strange behavior, often associated with acceleration. Just a thought.
A broken engine mount can yield that sort of response. One can literally steer the vehicle with acceleration/deceleration.
that sounds like it could be some play in the steering system, from the power steering box, or some of the linkages.
have someone wag the wheel back and forth with the vehicle stopped and off and someone else look and listen under the vehicle for any inconsistent movement.
Find a good front end shop (a mom-n-pop shop is always my favorite) and have then take a look, it's what they do.
Having said that my first guess was a tire going bad, I'd look (with a bright flash light) at the seam between the sidewall & tread for any cracks or separation. As mentioned swapping the tires (front to back) and see if the problem goes away is a step in the DIY troubleshooting... but that is tough to do with a bad back and that brings it back to a good front end shop!
Good luck Peter.
Tire pressure too high.
In my experience, most of the mechanical issues that could cause behavior like that would be more consistent and wouldn't occur at particular speeds. If your ball joints, tie rods, etc were worn out, you'd have squirrelly handling all the time and you'd probably hear and feel some bumping and thumping when going over bumps.
Not to say you should check them, you should, but if your mechanic is worth anything at all, they should have spotted that immediately when you had them check it out.
Rotating the tires front to back can't hurt as someone above suggested, and tire problems can cause issues at particular speeds, I'd expect it to be more consistent, not an "all the sudden" kind of thing and again is usually accompanied by vibrations, shaking etc. Also worth a shot, but I don't expect that's the issue.
Steering box or power steering pump make logical sense, but I've never heard of a bad steering box or pump causing symptoms like that.
I'd second the "electronic gremlins" theory. Do you have any sort of steering assist? Or maybe your steering is completely computer controlled? Something that intermittent and unpredictable sounds like some sort of computer or electronic control issue to me.
"To err is human, to really screw things up takes a computer." -unknown
jack up the front end. and shake both wheels if you can. if there is ANY play at all, start checking
everything that is bolted together. if not that, check out the steering rack. could be anything from a going bad wheel bearing to a rack that needs to be replaced. and check out the tires
as well, are they balanced, or did a wheel weight fall off ? had a front tires that lost a wheel weight, it was unreal how much it effected the steering at speed.
Look at the tread pattern on the front tires. If it's even across both tires, you're probably ok on alignment and suspension components and should focus either on steering pump/electric controls and/or some one-off item like motor mount (can confirm motor mount breakage can cause weird issues). If the tread pattern isn't even (i.e. too much wear on inside of tires, outside, more on one tire than another, and or wavering wear) then look at suspension and alignment. Just my 2 cents on quick diagnosis.
If this vehicle has ABS / faulty sensor. Happened on Toyota Camry!
I had similar behaviour on my 2008 VW bus the other day. In the end my mechanic replaced the lower control arm bushes, the press bushes and the ball joints and it was back to normal.
It is often more effective to FEEL for play (with vehicle on ground, one person wiggles the wheel hard from side to side while another puts his hand on one joint at a time to feel for knocking or clicking from play).
One bad shock absorber will cause twitches and spins when you hit a bump or turn the front wheels even slightly. Get em checked asap.
Check the control arm bushings. They can progress in wear to a 'death wobble' at certain speeds. 65 in my pathfinder. Good luck.
I had a similar problem, it was dry, binding, king pins. You don't have king pins, so John in in Indy may be right.
Jack up one side. Grip the tire at 3 and 9 oclock and move back and forth slowly while looking at the tierod ends(both inner and outer.) Nect grab tire at 12 and 6. Do the same thing any movement and ulyou have bad wheel bearings. Do both sides. You need to leave one side on the ground while checking the other side. Check the u-joints for play in the steering shaft. Check ball joints, both upper and lower for movement. Check drag link on steering box. Check axle joints. You Tube is your friend.
My bet's with tie rod ends. Jack up one of the front tires clear of the ground. then try grabbing the tire at the 9 and 3 o'clock positions and pull on one side and then the other. There should be no play, and no movement of the wheel at all, unless the wheel on the other side moves exactly as much as the one you're testing. If there's play, you've got a bad tie rod end. that'll cause steering flop, especially if the toe-in on your front wheels is zero. Steering and handling issues tend to be exacerbated by front-wheel-drive, as the steering wheels are also under power.
I'd start with the basics. Put a floor jack under that thing, get it in the air, grab the bottom and top of the tire and see how much play there is. It could simply be wheel bearings. Vehicles with independent front suspension chew through them.
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