Nissan Armada

rshe

I have a feeling that the more weight (i.e. sunroof, DVD) on the roof the less the resonance. The biggest complaints I have found have come from SE's without the sunroofs.

chasmanz28

rshe, i have the sunroof and dvd player in mine and still hear it, its not to bad but its there, im still waiting on what the fix will be but leaning toward what you said, that would suck to rip apart a brand new suv

jomi

chasmanz28, I have an LE with the tech pkg (includes the sunroof) and DVD player and have had no problem with any sound resonance. I would rather get a new vehicle then have them start ripping the roof apart. Who knows what problems that will lead to a few years down the road. If it is truly a design flaw then why is it happening in only some vehicles. I would think the problem would be more consistent if it was a design issue, but if it is, the big question is have they fixed it the factory. The other question I have is, if it is truly a design flaw and they are sending out a fix to the dealers, should you get the fix even if you don't have the resonance problem right away?

I love driving my PFA around. The only complaint I have (other than the 3rd row bench seat not being split) is the side mirrors are not power folding. I saw other vehicles this size with this option and I knew the PFA didn't have it. It wasn't until today that I appreciated how much of a benefit it would have been for a tight squeeze I had to get through today. I had to get out and manually fold my mirrors in for a few minutes and then get out and unfold them. It would have also made it a little easier to get in my garage.

chasmanz28

jomi i hear what your saying and if the fix requires to rip apart the inside ill demand for a new armada

rshe

You are one of the first I have heard of with the resonance and the sunroof... I first noticed it on a SE 4x2 with no sunroof (on a test drive). I agree, demand a new vehicle if they start tearing apart your baby...

btill1

I have an LE with sunroof I do not believe I am getting the resonance sound/vibration but I am getting a lot of wind noise from the closed sunroof, when I close the shade the wind sound goes away. I am very particular and I hate any type of noise or rattle from the car. Could this be the resonance noise or is it just wind noise from the sunroof? Has anybody else experienced this from there PFA?

Thanks,

Brian

crazyeyes

I too have an LE w/sunroof & DVD. I notice no resonance (maybe I'm just deaf), but when I put my hand up on the ceiling between the sunroof and DVD there does seem to be quite a bit of excessive vibration that should not be there.

Is this the general area where people are noting the problem? If you drove on a rough road, I'd think the DVD screen would be hard to watch.

btill1 - I notice no wind noise from the sunroof with the shade open or closed.

rparnell

When I tested an SE with sunroof, I did not get the resonance. However, I was sitting in the second row with the kids while my wife drove, and did notice the roof liner wobbling merrily. I did not know about the resonance at the time - I only found out about it when I test drove and SE off-road no sunroof that had the problem badly. On reflection, I suspect the roof liner in the first SE was probably wobbling at the same frequency as the resonance.....

Has anybody seen detail of the TSB for this yet? There's no sign of it on the TSB list on the Nissan site.

Richard

chasmanz28

crazyeyes, that wobbling on the inside roof is what were talking about, it just seems so cheaply reinforced thats where i think the resonance is coming from, i for one dont think that roof should move or vibrate that much, something is wrong somewhere and im not happy,how could the engineers miss the weak roof supports, all i could say is go to your dealership and talk to them about the problems were having, the more customers complaing about this issue the better for us, and rparnell your right it seems when the roof liner wobbles or vibrates it matches the resonance sound im hearing

shark715

In your post #1317 you mentioned that the QX56 is going to have a lot more sound padding than the Armada. I'm thinking about buying a QX56 when they are available, so I'm curious where you got this information from. Thanks.

ksloan77

the excessive vibration on the roof is exactly what i'm talking about. and you're right, it would be nearly impossible to watch a movie on a screen mounted to the roof....that is why i am saying, avoid the factory dvd mounted in the roof and go with the system in the headrests.

if you all think you have seen a problem with the pfa's you've bought or test driven...wait until you drive one with an aftermarket dvd system installed in the roof...you will feel like the roof will fall in on your head.

i love my new pfa...and i want something done about this problem!

chasmanz28

like i said you must talk to nissan or the dealership and tell them whats going on with the roof, the more people complaning about the design flaw the better, ill let you know tomm what the service manager tells me about my problems with the roof structure

rshe

What are the manuf. dates on your vehicles with the problem... Are they recent builds or some of the early builds.. Mabey they have fixed the problem at the line and that is why we are only hearing about it in some vehicles.

chasmanz28

mine was built in early dec, and i dont think its a tires issue cant see how they would cause more vibration but i have the cont tires on mine which i think is the better tire than the goodyear

ksloan77

I am telling you what...I can't believe how smooth the ride and drive is on this thing! I would never have believed it. This thing rides as good as most cars do!

Amazing!

darreny

I am thinking of buying the Nissan XM Satellite radio kit, and having my local stereo shop install it.
Will there be another radio mounted on my dash, or does it work through the existing Bose radio as another band?

rshe

I have a poll going on another site, which shall remain nameless. So far 80% of the replys with the resonance have the Continentals. I know it's not very scientific, but interesting.

rshe

The kit you can get through Nissan/Infinity integrates directly with the existing factory radio,including those with the Navigation.

chasmanz28

rshe only when i go over bumps at highway speeds or anything over 40mph is when i get the resonance, how would having any tire name brand be an issue when going over bumps? when the road is smooth it rides fine

rshe

Different tread patterns, balancing, etc. will have a tremendous effect on vibrations/resonance at speed (over 45mph). Call any tire shop and ask them. I don't believe it is the tires alone, but I have been on this since Oct., when I drove one with the problem. It appears the tires/tire pressure is contributing to the issue. Some are saying the tires come significantly over-inflated from the factory and the resonance has been somewhat mitigated by adjusting the tire pressure..

armada4wd

I'm looking to get the XM kit for my Armada, where exactly can I get this kit,is there a web site or a number to call?
Thanks in advance

btill1

My PFA came with the Continental tires, I will check the tire pressure, I do not believe I have the resonance problem (I am assuming I would know it if I did?). I do get a lot of wind noise from my sunroof anyone else with this problem? Two other questions 1 are you or does anyone else have a sliding shelf container in there center console, in the owners manual it looks as there is one but my PFA did not have it. 2- Could someone explain the satellite radio option, I tried to find it on a web-site with no luck, are all PFA's coming through wired for this option? Where do you get the info on the Nissan/Satellite radio kit?

Thanks,

Brian

bowke28

the ones we get in inventory have the michelins, and ive never heard any resonance...you might be on to something.

chasmanz28

For all those having this resonance issue heres the fix, from the factory on many suv's they forgot to put a bonding agent between the roof supports causing the roof to flex at highway speeds, causeing the headliner to wobble due to air forceing it downward towards us, so what we thought as the roof wobbling due to bumps is being caused by airpressure building up inside between the roof and the liner, what has to be done is to take off the headliner and apply the bonding agent, big job if you ask me, but mine is getting done next week, just wanted to let you guys and gals know whats going on, from what i was told, all production suv's up until now dont have this bonding agent on the supports so were not alone with this issue because lots of people bought them already

btill1

Does this mean all PFA's should have this repair?

Thanks,

Brian

gkatz1

How in the world did they forget to bond the roof? Quality control?

rshe

See post 1286 for the details.

rshe

If they left this bonding agent off of all of them, how come only some have the resonance?

chasmanz28

From what greg told me you wont see any armada's from the production line with this issue fixed until 3 to 4 months, so yes nissan now is aware of the problem a bit to late if you ask me, rshe maybe its because you need the right conditions to have it acted up, he gave me a couple of examples of what would cause the resonance, like being behind a truck or a windy day, bumps ect ect, anything like that would cause the roof to flex out of specs which would cause excesive air pressure build up does make sence, hence why alot of us are having our ears pop when driving this truck

rshe

I noticed it in the one I test drove on a winding back road, probably had just enough bounce to set it off... Mine is due in any day now, so based on what your guy told you, I should expect the same problem. Bummer.

chasmanz28

tell me about it im upset too but what can we do, its fixable so they say, how could the engineers overlook a important thing like that is beyond me, like i said before its a first year production suv, and i had a funny feeling things would be wrong or even recalls wouldnt surpize me but this issue does being such a big job to fix

rshe

What baffles me is how come it is going to take 3-4 months to correct it on the line??!!

bowke28

well, if you havent been to the canton plant, there is absolutely no space between work stations. the first thing to do would be to find where on the line it would be added. then the engineers would have to set up a work station for it. also, you wouldnt be able to train people to do it until the workstation is in place...therefore, you would have to bring workers from the other parts of the line, thinning out the crew for the rest of the plant. they can do this, or they can keep people where they are trained, and hire fresh people specifically for this job. that would take a few weeks for the screening process (horrendously long, IMO). its not just a "get joe to do it for now" type of thing.

chasmanz28

i told greg i wanted a new armada but because the problem is fixable they cant do it, thats when he told me by the time they get in the new ones with the bonding agent in place it be around 3 to 4 months, maybe hes wrong on the time who knows

rshe

but I have to assume that the Quest has a similar adhesive for it's roof spars. Just have Bubba hit the Armadas as they come through as well..LOL...They are all made on the same line.

bowke28

yes, but the quest parts are done at different stages than the armada/titan. also, the armada has the most square footage of the roof out of the 3. the titan doesnt have a roofline long enough to allow that much flex. its something that will be corected at the plant in about a month, but wont arrive at dealers for 2-3 months after that.

chasmanz28

thats the problem bubba wasnt there lol

rshe

I guess this means all Armada's produced up to the date they correct this on the line, will have to have this fixed??

gkatz1

That's why people say not to buy first model year. I guess that's good advice.

darreny

I just stopped at my dealer to ask how much they wanted to install the Nissan XM radio kit in my LE. The service manager said the Nissan kit could only be installed in a "Satellite-Ready" Armada, and you could tell because the radio would have a "SAT" button on it. He said if you do not have the "SAT" button you cannot install the Nissan kit, and have to get an aftermarket XM radio.

Does this sound right?

My LE with Bose system does not have a "SAT" button. I do not want to get an aftermarket radio if Nissan has a kit that will inteface nicely with my Bose system.

rparnell

Really interested to hear whether this really does end the resonance issue. I will be happy to buy the Armada and have it fixed - even if the job does sound rather major.

On the PFA that I tried that was so bad, the weather was clear and still and we were driving along a smooth (for California!) piece of freeway when the noise started. Seems like it only requires some aerodynamic eddies to set up on the roof to start it wobbling...

Richard

chasmanz28

like i said in my earlier post, anything can cause the resonance, even if your on a smooth road just the wind hiting the roof can cause the roof to flex out of specs, going over bumps very windy conditions just adds to the stress, ill let you guys know next week after my armada gets fix how things go

tiggerguy

Tomorrow afternoon I go and pick up my Armada! It's an LE with tech & dvd and a 2nd row bench, in Galaxy with Graphite leather, EXACTLY the combo I wanted. I guess it was just fate, I paid off the Chevy and drove straight to the dealership just to check what they had on hand and there it was. Took it for a good toot on the highway, can't hear or feel any resonance on this one, yes, it has Continentals. Who knows, it may show up down the road, irregardless, I'm in love with the truck and am glad to be off the GM bandwagon. Salesman was great to me, same one I dealt with on my first drive of one of these beasts back in the fall. Gave me a good price for my trade and took a bit off sticker, and got a couple little perks thrown in. Can't wait to get my hands back on it! ps- yeah, It has the shelf thingie in the console, the first one I looked at didn't have it, they must have added it in.

berisimus

I recently bought a kit from Grubbs. I spoke extensively with their parts guy who assured me that the Infiniti Clarion kit would work seamlessly with the Armada (as advertised in their web site) even though the Bose HU does not have the satellite button and the HU is not pre-wired. The kit comes with the pre-wire harness and it plugs directly into the back of the Bose HU. You activate the satellite option with the audio mode button on the wheel. If you have the tech package (I do) it will show FM1, FM2 and then satellite on the screen (or so I am told as the kit is still in its box). Apparently Grubbs has successfully installed the kit in other supposed non pre-wired vehicles (Quest, Murano, etc.) without a problem even though the standard line from Nissan is that it cannot be done. I have downloaded pictures and installation instructions from a Nissan enthusiast forum which I hope to give to my stereo tech to help him figure out how to do the install. The instructions are for a Murano as Grubbs has not (nor to my knowledge has anyone)personally performed an install on a PFA as of this date. I, like a few on this thread, are wondering how difficult is the install and how much $ will it cost us. I have read that the install should take between 2-4 hours. I am waiting to proceed as I want to simultaneously install my hands free car kit (Ericsson) to be mated with my bluetooth cell phone. While the Ericsson kit comes with its own speaker I am thinking of connecting directly to the Bose speakers in the dash. I am also thinking of upgrading these speakers as I have read on the other forum that you can greatly improve the sound (is it me or does the Bose system seem a bit weak to the ear?). If we need to open up the dash I would prefer to do everything at once.

If anyone installs the Grubbs kit on the PFA please post to let us know. Someone out there needs to be the guinea pig....LOL

antonian

I guess I will be the guinea pig, or at least the first person to post their sat install.

First the sat prewire...
My Armada (LE Galaxy w/ Tech) did not come prewired, or at least I could not find it anywhere. I took off both the rear inside panels on the left and right side (by the 3rd row seat) and could not find a "dangling" wire anywhere. The Grubbs tech told me he thought the prewire was under the 2nd row driver-side passenger seat. It wasn't. Although, the radio seemed prewired (I'll get to that later).

Sat prewire install...
The entire radio panel simply snaps off (no screws). I was able to get it off by pressing down on the top of the radio section. Once it comes free the bottom will snap off as well. Play with it a little, you'll get it. Once the radio panel is detached unplug all the harnesses. The radio will come out with 4 screws, 2 on each side. The back of the radio is where you plug in the prewire (purchased from Grubbs). It get's interesting here. There are 2 main connections for the sat cable at the radio end. The first one is a pass-through (I think to provide power to the sat receiver). Unplug the big harness from the back of the radio, plug in the sat prewire, and then plug in the harness previously unplugged into the passthrough port. It sounds harder than it is. You really can't mess it up. The second plug (I think the audio connections) is where it gets interesting. There's only one place for it to plug into. The problem is that the slot on the back of the radio for it to plug into is already taken! Which makes me think the the Armada is prewired! Having said that, I unplugged the existing plug and connected the sat cable. Alas, it didn't break anything. Again, I assumed the plug already there goes to something, but it obviously doesn't seeing how my sat (and everything else) works fine. Once the connections are made, run the sat cable down the passenger side.

Running the sat cable...
Carefully take off the following panels on the passenger side:
-front right step panel (bottom of door)
-right side panel for passenger seat belt (take out the seat belt bolts)
-rear right step panel (bottom of door)
Run the cable behind the carpet (where the front passenger's feet would touch). Then down the passenger side door (there is a 1/2 inch gap next to a white plastic cable housing you can fit the cable in). Then, next to the seat belt panel. Then, down the rear passenger side door (same 1/2 inch gap). Fit the cable underneath rear right 3rd panel (big panel where the cup holders are). I popped a hole through the lining in the cargo storage area (under the storage flip door) and mounted the sat receiver there. The antenna was easy. Place it in the middle of the back of the car and run the wires under and around the rubber seal and then behind the lining all the way down the right side until it meets up with the cargo storage compartment. You can store the excess cable underneath the cargo storage bin (which lifts out of the car). Be sure to ground the sat receiver with the supplied ground cable with the metal under the cargo storage bin.

Screw the radio back in, snap in the radio panel, snap the panels back in and bolt the seat belt back on! That's it. Enjoy the sat radio. It works great.

P.S. Sorry, but I didn't take any pics of the install. Having said that, it's not very hard to do. Took about 3 hours. Be very careful not break the plastic snaps on all the panels. They'll fit back nicely if done right.

P.S. Again...
I would not take the advice of Nissan dealers who say that you can't install the sat system on an Armada that's not already prewired. Obviously I did, so I know it's possible. Futhermore, they would probably charge 4-5 hours labor to install it (at $80-$100/hr). Unless you're completely scared to try it, it's not hard at all. There are no cables to find and splice into (for power to the sat receiver). The passthrough does that for you. 4 screws on the radio and 2 bolts are the only thing you unscrew. The rest are the panels, which aren't difficult to snap off and back on. Be bold, be brave. It'll save you a bunch of money. Just a thought..

Once you listen to sat radio, you'll never listen to FM or AM again (unless you're tuned into Rush which is only on AM right now)! BTW, I chose Sirius. I've had it before and like it, although I'm sure XM is just as good. Hope this helps!

armada4wd

My local dealer was offering me the so called Protection Plus (Window Etching) for $1,000.00
Does this make sence to anyone, this sounds like a scam.

Do we get a discount on auto insurance?

Please advice!!!

mseenviro

Take a look at this link, it describes in detail why this is a scam. $1000 bucks for etching? Give me a break. You can buy the kit yourself for $29.99.

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/scams.htm#Scam1

You might see a little savings on your insurance, but certainly no where near $1000 over the life of the vehicle.

If this dealer is pulling this stunt, I'd be leary of others they might try to pull, such as ADM (additional dealer markup) Do your homework before signing on the bottom line.

Good Luck!

Mike

dwgutwir

don't pay for it - at least not for that price. i know in NJ my insurance company (State Farm) said there's no discount for etching.

And there's no way it costs $1000 to do it. More like $50.

Big ripoff there. Window etching as become a replacement for the infamous undercoating/fabric protection gimmick/scams of 10 years ago.

topazm3

I installed my SAT with parts purchased from Grubbs. I actually installed it in both my Armada and wife's Murano. I use one receiver and one subscription. Works great in both. We used it in the Armada on a 2000 mi trip and it's great. I do lots of mechanical work on cars and have installed dozens of car stereos and detectors. This installation is not difficult, but was time consuming because there were no instructions whatsoever for the Armada. Most of the time was just figuring out how to take things apart and where to route, pad and tie down the cables. Could probably do it in 2 hours now. Didn't take pictures cause I was in hurry to get it installed before our trip last month.

onederdog

My PFA came with the etched windows. The dealer already had it done. The charge for it on the sticker was about 180 bucks. I didn't scuabble about the cost because the rest of the deal was so good. The dealer gave the sales pitch that thiefs would bypass a car with etched windows because the could not part it out, and with the national database, it could be traced back to the owner (if found). On a separate incident, my wife had her credit card number stolen recently, so while we were dealing with the police detective I asked him about the etching. He basically said that cars aren't being stolen for the windows, so the etching didn't make any difference.

SAHARA GOLD- SE OFF ROAD