'Clunks'

[Phoebe]

I have just used Nissan Roadside Assistance (which is actually provided by Allianz) for the first time. Ever since I had a tyre change from a puncture there has been a ‘clunk’ every time I go over a bump in the road. The tyre people tried to tell me it was the tools rattling but removing the tools made no difference and I couldn’t remove the jack. Roadside Assistance have taught me how to remove the jack ;)and established the spare tyre can move and go ‘clunk' even when it is securely fastened in it’s cradle. He thinks something holding the tyre still must have fallen out when the spare tyre was removed from it’s cradle. Has anyone else had to use their spare tyre and have you had any ‘clunks’?

[Jim Hare]

We had to use our spare tyre but have had no clunking issues whatsoever.

Seems like it would easy for a Nissan dealer to confirm if anything is missing or has gone wrong with the cradle.

[Phoebe]

The Roadside Assistance I used was provided by Nissan and he didn't know. It's about 153km to the service section of the dealership where I bought my LEAF and I'm not prepared to try to drive there until summer is over and I can be sure I can do it without the air con on or I may not reach my destination.

[Jim Hare]

Phoebe, my guess is you would be able to take it to any Nissan service department under warranty and they could do whatever was needed.

[Phoebe]

I will investigate.

[Brian]

I suspect the tyre may have been put back in the cradle upside down - Murphy's Law may have struck again

[Phoebe]

Brian. The outside of the rim is uppermost. The Roadside Assistance fellow thought that might be the wrong way and tried putting it the other way up and it wouldn't fit at all that way. I checked the manual and it actually had a picture of it and the outside was uppermost so we knew we had the wheel the right way up. He found it wasn't snuggly in the basket and wriggled it so it fitted properly. It was Sunday and he had his daughter with him and she asked to be allowed to tighten the basket nut and while she did it he explained to her that it had to be tight but not too tight so he obviously understood the question of torque mentioned in the manual. But having done all that he found he could still wriggle the wheel in its basket, and it still 'clunked' when I hit a bump as I drove round the block, which is why he wondered if something to stop the wheel from moving fell out when the NRMA fellow removed the spare wheel from its basket in the first place. Well that happened in my carport and I never found anything on my carport floor, so I don't know Have emailed Dean at Nissan Head Office but haven't heard back yet. Will visit my local Nissan Service Dept and see if they are prepared to help solve the mystery.

[Phoebe]

Dean in Nissan Head Office is sending up some info to dealership at East Maitland so they can try and fix the problem tomorrow.

[Brian]

I look forward to hearing the answer / solution to this one.

[Jim Hare]

That's good news Phoebe. Dean's a good guy, I've met him a few times.

[Phoebe]

Andrew at East Maitland decided the problem was where the 2 halves of the basket joined and not the wheel at all. He put some packing in to stop the movement and sent me home to try it out. It didn’t make a hoot of difference. The ‘clunk' was still there on every bump. We are now thinking the problem may have nothing to do with the spare wheel and its basket. I got the punture just after I collected the car from the smash repairer. Perhaps the problem is related to that repair job, which is in the same part of the car. I am going to see Andrew again next week when he is going to remove the basket altogether to identify whether the problem is there at all. He has also taken lots of photos of the wheel in the basket to send to Head Office for evaluation. For now the mystery continues

[Phoebe]

Mystery solved ;D It was pure coincidence that the first time I heard the ‘clunk’ was when I took the puncture to the Tyre shop. The ‘Clunk’ was the Aerial banging on the roof. I had folded it down just before I spotted the puncture. I had folded it down previously and it had not ‘clunked’. This time it did. When I take to LEAF back to Sydney for a service I’ll get them to tighten the Aerial so it can be folded down without ‘clunking’. Thanks to Andrew at East Maitland for sticking his head in the boot and climbing in the back while I drove, until he identifed where the ‘clunk’ was coming from after he removed the tyre basket.

[Brian]

Great that it's solved - it's the last thing I would have thought of.

It is something for the rest of us to be aware of.

[Jim Hare]

Heh, kind of funny when you think about it! ;D

[Phoebe]

Yes, Jim, I thought it was very funny ;D but it took Andrew a moment to see the funny side as he was busy apologising for not having found the trouble sooner. Driving in very carefully when I came home I found the car with aerial up would just fit under my very low rolladoor, about 1mm to spare, so it can stay up until the weather cools down and I can drive to Artarmon for a service and get it tightened. Andrew didn't have permission from Head Office to work on anything except the Tyre Basket, because his dealership is not licensed to work on the LEAF as work has to be done in special thick gloves to prevent electric shock .

[Jim Hare]

Wow. Certainly makes sense that they don't want anyone monkeying around in there, but hard to believe tightening the exposed aerial would pose a risk.

Guess Zero tolerance is the way to go.

Glad you found the trouble, and it wasn't a design flaw.

[Brian]

I don't want to state the obvious, Phoebe, but you know the aerial simply screws in and out by hand ?

I did find mine was not fully secure, so I try to make it an occasional practice to check that it is screwed in tightly.

[Phoebe]

I can't reach it, Brian. I am not tall enough. The dealer put the aerial down for me when I took delivery of my Leaf but when I collected it from the smash repairer I found they had put it up again. As I couldn't reach it, I pulled it down with a broom, and that may be why it started 'clunking'. It worries me to put a ladder close to the car in case I scratch the paint.

[Brian]

Understood.
Might a plastic milk crate help ?
I stand 185 cms, and am challenged to reach the middle of the roof to wash the car

[Phoebe]

Brian, I used a plastic footstool and loosened and tightened the aerial but found it still banged on the roof when folded down. The problem appears to be in the base of the aerial not the part that you can screw in and out with your hand.

[Brian]

Yes, I realised it could still knock when fully screwed in, but just wanted to alert you in case it was becoming unscrewed.

[Phoebe]

So mine isn’t the only one that does that. Sounds like a design fault , must tell Dean There may be someone else with a low rolladoor who wants to fold down the aerial. Thanks for the alert. I didn’t see that info in the manual and since it is difficult for me to reach the aerial I never would have discovered it incidentally .

[Brian]

In your situation ( fold down ) the aerial is too flexible. As a D.I.Yer, I would brace it with a bit of carbon fibre rod or arrow shaft and some electrical ties - not pretty, but should ' beef it up ' sufficiently to stop it clunking.