Nissan Pathfinder Forum banner

Flapping Noise 2015 Pathfinder

7K views 24 replies 11 participants last post by  Mrjlark 
#1 ·
Just bought my daughter a 2015 pathfinder. The guy who owned it took great care of it and had every service done at the dealership. All regular maintenance is up to date.

When driving we noticed at about 30 mph there is a flapping sound coming from underneath the drivers side middle to rear. It sounds like a flag snapping in a,strong wind or a piece of rubber bouncing up and hitting or like if u had something wrapped around a tire and every rotation it hit something.

I crawled under it and could not find anything. After it hits 30 it goes away until u slow back down and every now and then u can hear it at about 45 mph.

The previous owner said they had got used to it because of all the times the nissan dealer had it in to perform routine maintenance on it, they never mentioned anything.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
#14 ·
Please avoid using capital letters throughout your post, you should know this means you are yelling and I'm pretty sure you are not.

As @JayArras recommended, check the mud flaps and the air guides (look like a mud flaps but in front of the rear tires). Some members have found that they are missing one of the pins that holds them in place, causing the noise.
He already said they were good to go. Please avoid repeating areas already covered.
 
#6 ·
Incant think of much else under there besides heat shields and the plastic cover stuff but you said it is behind the driver seat. I can't think of anything right there. My mind instantly went to those flap things but you said they are secure. Did you happen to pull on the flap a little to see if it's actually secure?

Sounds can be really hard. You'll swear it's coming from one place then someone else says they hear it elsewhere. Can you tell if it's a rotational sound? I'm assuming the tires have been rotated at some point and the sound didn't move.

I saw a guy take quite a bit of a dash apart once because he and another tech swore the sound was coming from behind a vent, came to find out it was some ice on a wiper blade jiggling funny making the sound.
 
#8 ·
Please avoid using capital letters throughout your post, you should know this means you are yelling and I'm pretty sure you are not.

As @JayArras recommended, check the mud flaps and the air guides (look like a mud flaps but in front of the rear tires). Some members have found that they are missing one of the pins that holds them in place, causing the noise.
 
#10 ·

 
#15 ·
Just bought my daughter a 2015 pathfinder. The guy who owned it took great care of it and had every service done at the dealership. All regular maintenance is up to date.

When driving we noticed at about 30 mph there is a flapping sound coming from underneath the drivers side middle to rear. It sounds like a flag snapping in a,strong wind or a piece of rubber bouncing up and hitting or like if u had something wrapped around a tire and every rotation it hit something.

I crawled under it and could not find anything. After it hits 30 it goes away until u slow back down and every now and then u can hear it at about 45 mph.

The previous owner said they had got used to it because of all the times the nissan dealer had it in to perform routine maintenance on it, they never mentioned anything.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
your answer is simple. I had the same problem when I bought my 2015 a few months back. Check behind each of the tires on the mudflap. There are three screws/bolt holes. The factory only put in two of the three. You need to add, from AutoZone, a simple button clip plug in that hole. Once you do that, the sound goes away. I guarantee it.
 
#18 ·
It has nothing to do with sensitivity. It's about not perpetuating a problem that wastes people's time and money who may not know any better.

It's the same as youtube videos that say "how to fix a pxxx code" instead of "how to diagnose a pxxx."

Hopefully it fixes his problem, but obviously there are other possibilities that have happened with other people..ah never mind. It doesn't matter.
 
#19 ·
If I had an issue like this person is having, I would be glad to have not one, but hundreds of members suggesting solutions to my problem. Not only does it avoid me having to pay my dealer hundreds to diagnose and repair an issue, it solves MY issue. I would definitely try that autozone fix, its cheap and sounds accurate.
 
#20 ·
Just bought my daughter a 2015 pathfinder. The guy who owned it took great care of it and had every service done at the dealership. All regular maintenance is up to date.

When driving we noticed at about 30 mph there is a flapping sound coming from underneath the drivers side middle to rear. It sounds like a flag snapping in a,strong wind or a piece of rubber bouncing up and hitting or like if u had something wrapped around a tire and every rotation it hit something.

I crawled under it and could not find anything. After it hits 30 it goes away until u slow back down and every now and then u can hear it at about 45 mph.

The previous owner said they had got used to it because of all the times the nissan dealer had it in to perform routine maintenance on it, they never mentioned anything.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have a 2014 platinum pathfinder and I had that same problem for the last 3yrs. So far the dealer has changed the transmission, removed a heat shield, taken off the mud flap and changed all the clamps holding the exhaust manifold. I have been to 3 other mechanics and no one can tell me what makes the noise. I read somewhere it might be the steering pump belt. The dealer went as far as to tell me I will have to wait until it gets worse in order for them to pinpoint where the noise is coming from. I will be getting rid of this SUV asap. If you do find out what's making the noise, please let me know.
 
#22 ·
Just bought my daughter a 2015 pathfinder. The guy who owned it took great care of it and had every service done at the dealership. All regular maintenance is up to date. When driving we noticed at about 30 mph there is a flapping sound coming from underneath the drivers side middle to rear. It sounds like a flag snapping in a,strong wind or a piece of rubber bouncing up and hitting or like if u had something wrapped around a tire and every rotation it hit something. I crawled under it and could not find anything. After it hits 30 it goes away until u slow back down and every now and then u can hear it at about 45 mph. The previous owner said they had got used to it because of all the times the nissan dealer had it in to perform routine maintenance on it, they never mentioned anything. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
If you have roof rails check if they are loose! After over a year of trying to figure out a flapping sound underneath (I thought) figured out it was loose cross rails on top!
 
#23 ·
Just bought my daughter a 2015 pathfinder. The guy who owned it took great care of it and had every service done at the dealership. All regular maintenance is up to date.

When driving we noticed at about 30 mph there is a flapping sound coming from underneath the drivers side middle to rear. It sounds like a flag snapping in a,strong wind or a piece of rubber bouncing up and hitting or like if u had something wrapped around a tire and every rotation it hit something.

I crawled under it and could not find anything. After it hits 30 it goes away until u slow back down and every now and then u can hear it at about 45 mph.

The previous owner said they had got used to it because of all the times the nissan dealer had it in to perform routine maintenance on it, they never mentioned anything.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
If you have roof cross rails check them! After a year of trying to figure this out I finally got it! My rails were loose and rattling when driving. Weird it sounded like it was coming from underneath the car the entire time though. Hope this helps you.
 
Top