[Ambassadorhawg]

:crikey:I love my '09 Frontier but the ride is very rough. The suspension seems super stiff and unforgiving. I have an LE Crewcab longbed 2 wheel drive.

Anyone out there experiencing what I am going through here? Freeway driving is almost unbearable, the whole truck flexes or the bed bounces violently on cement freeway surfaces.

It drives fine on smooth surfaces, though.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
'hawg

 

[mike]

My wife has an LE and then it was stock I thought it was soft.

Is this your first truck?

 

[Espo78]

Check your tire pressure?

 

[Ambassadorhawg]

I am well educated in cars and trucks. I believe that this is "longbed" wheelbase issue. I've watched shortbeds driving along side on the freeways in So Cal. Shortbeds do not suffer from this condition as much if at all. I've also seen a few longbeds driving alongside and they did not seem to be as bouncy, although they were not the same model year as mine.

I have a full fiberglass tonneau cover on the bed. Usually, the added weight helps this condition but it has not.

I think I need suspension componants that are more forgiving, possibly different shocks?

The tire pressure is 35 PSI. I've tried it between 30 and 40 PSI, no help.

Not a wheel balance issue, no steering wheel vibration.

Tires are wearing evenly.

This is my 4th truck. I've had 2 Dodge Dakota's, one Toyota mini and this Frontier. None of them were this bad.

I realize that all trucks have stiff suspension in the rear under a very light rear half, but this bounce is truly violent at times. My passengers complain!

mike, is your wife's LE an '09? Is it a shortbed or a longbed?

I am hoping to find somebody out there who has been through this situation and found a solution.

Thanks for all of your replies!!!

'hawg

 

[mike]

It's a 2005 LE 4x4 short bed.

 

[paris1]

Talk about counterintuitive! First of all, of all the Frontier models, your LE (being a longbed) should have a superior ride to other models. A longer wheelbase almost always translates to a cushier ride. It's the Nismos that generally have a harsher ride because of the stiffer Bilstein shocks and different suspension tuning for offroad use. Secondly, I find the freeway ride on my '07 XE far better than around town, where my truck feels "stiff-legged" and has never been near as plush as my '98 Dakota (in case you're comparing your current ride to your two previous Dakotas), despite all the other issues I had with the Dodge (but let's not go there!). Almost sounds like there's something mechanically wrong with your LE, though I can't imagine what. Have you had the dealer check it out for in-warranty issues?

 

[Clint]

I am on my fourth Frontier ,third long bed. The long bed has a better ride by far. None had a cap but my six other trucks did and don't think that it has any ride input.

Clint

 

[Ambassadorhawg]

Talk about counterintuitive! First of all, of all the Frontier models, your LE (being a longbed) should have a superior ride to other models. A longer wheelbase almost always translates to a cushier ride. It's the Nismos that generally have a harsher ride because of the stiffer Bilstein shocks and different suspension tuning for offroad use. Secondly, I find the freeway ride on my '07 XE far better than around town, where my truck feels "stiff-legged" and has never been near as plush as my '98 Dakota (in case you're comparing your current ride to your two previous Dakotas), despite all the other issues I had with the Dodge (but let's not go there!). Almost sounds like there's something mechanically wrong with your LE, though I can't imagine what. Have you had the dealer check it out for in-warranty issues?

Then there MUST BE something wrong with my truck! It's got a few minor issues also, so maybe it's time for a visit to the service dept...

And I seriuosly disagree with your opinion of what a longer wheelbase does to a truck's ride on ribbed, cement roadways. Look at longbed full sized trucks with crewcabs....they are horribly bumpy....at least on Los Angeles freeways.

I attribute long wheelbases to frame flex....at certain speeds, my truck's bed is bouncing wildly, at other speeds (on the same section of freeway), the frame flexes and you can actually see the backseat going up and down.

Cars do not have long wheelbases and they do not bounce on cement roadways like trucks do. What long wheelbases do is space the wheels wrong to the sections on a cement roadway, causing the wheels to hit in a sequence that makes the light rear end bounce and or it causes the frame to flex.

All I am saying is that the longer the wheelbase, the bumpier the ride. What I've got going on with my truck is extreme.

 

[JPAT30]

I thinnk that you really need to have your truck looked at. I have an 08 SE cc lb, stock outside of a leveling kit. It rides better than my wife's hyundai.

 

[thefullfronty]

a seized shock or shackle could possibly make that happen, with no suspension movement you'd be basically riding on tire pressure alone. I'd jump on each side of the box over the tires to see if there is a difference in movement from one side to the other.

 

[02RedRunner]

Somethin's wrong with it, the long bed should ride better. The little weight of a cover is insignificant.

My CC s/b 4x4 rides fine, for a truck. You sure you aren't expecting the ride of an Accord?

 

[WarEaglePro4x]

Did you ever get this resolved? My truck 09 pro4x crew cab short bed has a horrible bounce at 40 mph. I thought it was tires out of ballance or even out of round, but i got new tires last week and this is still a problem. very bad, at 40 mph it is like i am driving on a washboard road even on a very smooth asphalt highway. I am about to take it in to get checked but i am sure they will give me "its a truck" or "it has the off road stiff suspension" or some other cop-out BS excuse. i have had several other trucks and never had this issue.

 

[Avplayer]

i'm curious to this as well....my truck stock was very soft (06 Nismo CC) but rides very nice compared to other trucks i've drivin...its also nice compared to my "other" ride 00 BMW 328ci. handling is sweet and firm but when u hit a pothole or anythin u feel it. now with PRG advanced setup it rides better. i'd agree with thefullfronty and say check each corner for a seized up suspension component

 

[Ambassadorhawg]

I still haven't taken it in...

I've got a growing list of small issues to present to them like a few rattles. a broken gas cap leash and what appears to be a developing exhaust leak. Nothing that makes the truck unreliable, though. It runs strong like a monster and it gets pretty decent milage for a truck. It does what I ask of it very well.

I'll keep waiting as long as I can. I've got 2 jobs so free time is at a premium.

I will most definately update when I do take it in to Nissan, though...

 

[Volcano_God]

Welcome Ambassadorhawg!

Sorry for your troubles.

WOW, our 2k5 4x4 LE rides better than our 2k8 Honda Odyssey and has less road noise. Something must seriously be wrong. The Frontier is a great and wonderfully smooth ride as far as ANY truck is concerned.

Please keep us posted on what the stealership finds.

Keep the faith!

 

[09eq]

Just a thought - have cab mount bolts checked. However I think it is quite possible a certain cadence is being created maybe by combination of certain wheelbase, tires, shocks, concrete pattern. If find nothign wrong, only suggestions would be different tires, shocks, and add at least couple hundred puonds, drive different speed.

I hate concrete hiways.

Longer wheelbase generally rides smoother and more stable than shorter wb.

 

[JeniorNV]

However I think it is quite possible a certain cadence is being created maybe by combination of certain wheelbase, tires, shocks, concrete pattern. If find nothign wrong, only suggestions would be different tires, shocks, and add at least couple hundred puonds, drive different speed.

I hate concrete hiways.

I wonder the same thing. There used to be a section of concrete freeway here in Reno several miles long where my truck would ride horribly--it would bounce up and down rather violently. It was only that one section of freeway, and the Frontier was the only vehicle that ever did it. The Frontier was great every other place I drove it, and our other cars felt smooth on that part of the freeway. The truck and that section of road just didn't mesh well for some reason.

 

[upflying]

I have the same truck and have noticed it sets up a stiff jiggle when running 65mph over the expansion joints on California's famous concrete freeways. Otherwise the ride is fine.

 

[Clint]

I have the same truck and have noticed it sets up a stiff jiggle when running 65mph over the expansion joints on California's famous concrete freeways. Otherwise the ride is fine.

We too had that in NJ on one highway. It ended up being the joints had been filled and the road had no room to expand so the joints turned upward. They had to take a concrete milling machine and drive it down the road and shave each joint down. It made all the cars do it but if you only drive one vehicle only you think it's YOUR car with an issue.
If you put a straight edge across a joint on the road you riding the edge would not lay flat.

Clint

 

[WarEaglePro4x]

Concrete highways with expansion joints are an issue for any truck. Anyone who is complaining about your truck's ride over expansion joints, that just how most trucks ride over those types of roads. My issue however is a jiggle/bounce that starts on smooth asphalt, with no bumps or anything to set it off, right at 40 mph. I cant figure it out, new tires, still bounces @ 40mph. the seized suspension component is my best lead, but i cant seem to find one.