2009 Murano Bouncy Ride quality

krony01 · March 2009

I've owned my 2009 SL AWD Murano for about a month now and feel that it has this annoyling bouncy quality to the ride. It's less noticeable at freeway speeds but still present. I've put 1400 miles on it. While it wasn't clear to me on the short test drive I took at the dealer (I had driven several examples and didn't take an extensive drive on the day of purchase), while driving it home I first noticed that even small uneven features in the pavement cause a bouncy sort of jolt to travel through the vehicle. After I purchased a new vehicle I thought my days of test driving were over, but have since driving 3 other new Muranos and feel that their ride quality is significantly better. I took it in for service and the Service advisor and technician said they drove it and didn't notice any problems. Other than put it up on the rack and make sure there was no fluid leak from the shocks and that all the weights were in place on the tires and that there was no uneven wear or worn patches, they didn't do much with it. Anyway, it seems as if I am riding on a bumpy road at all times. Others have described similar kinds of sensations, but in my searching haven't found that anyone has identified a resolution.

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f16e370/326

Anyone experience something similar? It's very frustrating to have an expensive new vehicle be such a point of stress.

Any ideas as to what I should have the dealer check? They said they are reluctant to go replacing things when nothing is clearly wrong. Time to ask for new tires or....? Any ideas would be very helpful. Thanks!

jcr10 · March 2009

I have an 09 S AWD Murano, and I have experienced a similar ride quality as you are describing.

I have noticed that the 09 Muranos seem to come with a wide variety of different tires ( at least in the S.F. bay area dealerships ). My 09 has the 18" Bridgestone Dueler tires - and my personal guess is that these tires give a stiffer ride than the Goodyears, which are the other commonly available tire on the 09's. Most of the 09's that I test drove before purchase had the Goodyears, but for some reason, the one that I bought ( due to the right combination of options and interior/exterior color ) had the Bridgestones.

My car rides fine on smooth roads, especially on the highway. But on less then perfect roads, especially in city driving, it can get pretty bouncy as you describe. It is pretty sensitive to tire pressure as well, but I am not going to run the tires at <30 psi in order to smooth the ride out.

Anyway, if you have the Bridgestone tires, I think there is a chance that going to a different tire will give a smoother ride quality.

krony01 · March 2009

Thanks for the input. My vehicle also has the 18" Bridgestone Dueler tires. Do you know what the specific details on the Goodyear tires are (model #, etc.) in case I want to check it out? I like this theory, but I know that at least one of the other vehicles I tested that seemed considerably less bouncy also had the Bridgestone Dueler tires. Although I guess the only true test would be to compare the ride quality on the same vehicle with the two different tires. I hate to spend the money to buy new tires when the others are new, but perhaps that will be a next step in trying to sort this out. If anyone has additional input please let me know!

jayrider · March 2009

I would describe the ride of my 09 sl as generally smooth but with a tendency to wallow a bit.It handles expansion ridges well at highway speeds and the ride is generally comfortable. It feels a bit ungainly at times.The valving in the shocks should have a bit more dampening I swapped the original shocks on my 03 jeep liberty for a set of bilsteins and the improvement was dramatic. I doubt if tires would be a factor in this problem. When my lease is up I'll likely get something else but I'm pretty satisfied with the car.

chrisliu · March 2009

Just bought my car yesterday. I have a very good image when I test drive this car for 10 min.

But when I drove my new car back home, I think that I make the wrong decision. It was so bouncy and made me feel dizzy when I got off from my car.

The TPMS light keeps on even I check tire pressure OK and drive a long time.

The tires on my car are goodyear.

I probably will trade it in after 1~2 years. So sad. Waste my money.... :<

jayhawk70 · April 2009

I have not noticed any bouncy ride quality on our 2009 AWD SL (with the Goodyear Duelers). Bought it in late November and have put about 5,000 miles on it, including several long highway trips from San Francisco to LA a couple of times, and SF to Lake Tahoe a couple of times. Also have driven it several times on the often rough streets (and hills) of San Francisco.

Seems to be just as comfortable as the 1996 Dodge Caravan we replaced that we had driven (for 238,000 miles) on the same roads for several years. We also drive a '93 300ZX and '89 Maxima. Replaced the maxima shocks finally a couple of years ago with what was suposed to be "mildly firmer" shocks and springs. THATS now a "bouncy" ride!

loach · April 2009

Ride quality seems to be a very subjective and relative thing between drivers. What one driver considers "firm and sporty" another driver will call "bouncy and unsettled". What one driver considers "smooth" a different driver will consider "floaty and disconnected". A lot comes down to personal preference, so I do find that it's helpful to compare different vehicles when discussing the topic on forums like this. I'm in the early phase of shopping for a midsize CUV and drove a Murano SL last week. I currently have an '08 Acadia and '01 Pathfinder SE. I felt like the Murano rode a bit rougher than I expected. To me it wasn't any smoother than my Pathfinder, which surprised me, and definitely wasn't as smooth as my Acadia. I will definitely need more than just a brief test drive to make this decision though. I want to like the Murano because it seems like the right fit of style, features and price, but I'm going to need more road time.

jkenley · April 2009

I agree with your point of subjectivity. I just got an LE AWD and LOVE the way it rides. I had a Toyota Highlander and think the Murano rides better then the Highlander. I also drove the CX9 and hated it as well as the Lexus RX 350. The Lexus was a nice ride but I got more bang for the buck with the Murano and really did not see much of a difference in the ride between the 2. I suggest you try the SL 2 wheel drive unless you live in an area that would benefit from AWD.

krony01 · April 2009

Ride quality is very subjective indeed. I strongly recommend an extensive test drive in this vehicle over roads that you are familiar with. I was definitely surprised, and while it's a great vehicle overall, I probably wouldn't purchase it again. It's strange - even my Dad's Honda Ridgeline, while technically more firm, compared to the Murano doesn't seem to transmit such a bouncy ride quality that you feel in your seat even though with the Ridgeline you can feel the road bumps more clearly at the point of the tires.I recently drove from southern CA to San Francisco, and the Murano, while highly annoying on the more rough 210 and 10 freeways was quite pleasant on an apparently smoother stretch of I-5 that I drove, and even returned 25.8 mpg over 300 miles going about 80 mph. For those in a similar situation as myself, one thing that helped slightly was to make sure the tire pressure was down at the recommended PSI of 33. When I checked the tires, they were all at around 36 from the dealer. This helped ever so slightly. I'll be curious to stay tuned to see if anyone in a similar situation makes the leap and decides to replace the shocks with something else.

loach · April 2009

I agree - I've run into overinflated tires at dealers a lot. When I test drove my '01 Pathfinder, the ride was horrible and I couldn't believe it based on the reviews I had read. So I went back with a tire gauge after the dealership was closed. Every tire was well over 40 PSI! Recommended was 26 PSI, which I feel is a bit too low, so I took them all down to 30 PSI and came back the next day and drove it again. World of difference. It's ridiculous that you have to bring a tire gauge to your test drive but I guess that's what it comes to sometimes. I suspect that tires might be overinflated for shipping to prevent them from flattening out on the trucks/trains. Then if the dealership doesn't prep the vehicles properly, they remain overinflated.

lovepub · September 2009

Could any Tyre guru plez help out here.

what's the difference between 18 and 20"
1. Price wise
2. Ride quality
3. Performance (safety)
4. Avalability (I found 235/65/R18 is quite a rare spec)
5. Durability
6. LOOK (i guess 20" looks nicer, but is it a good investment?)

Also, I am curious if i went nut and drove the car at 180kmh on the highway, should any rating on the tyre speed cope? Mostly came with "H" (what does H go up to?) Just want to know I wont slip when I am being chased by cops.

Do I have to stick to 235?
235/60/R18 is a much more popular tyre. Will it affect the speedometre as in actual speed and shown speed?

Thanks

jayrider · September 2009

Unless you are really hyped about the 18" wheels , pass on them and save $ on a loaded sl. They are nice but will be costly to replace. If that concerns you act accordingly.

mrstom · February 2010

I have to agree with driver preference as well. I drove an '06 Murano SL AWD for 60,000 miles and loved the ride. I now have an 09 Murano SL AWD and find it to be just as smooth - not bouncy at all. Compared to my neighbor's '09 Highlander, the Murano is outstanding but maybe its the CVT transmission that gives it that smooth ride. I would consider my 1997 Pathfinder a bouncy ride.

2009 Murano Bouncy Ride quality

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