Maxima 5-speed Problems

bigk200

I would recommend directing people to the "problems II" area. The discussion didn't really get good with concrete information until the second area was created.

A new visitor might be a little overwhelmed by the size of the "problems I" area.

opimax

I was so honored to be the first post, they get a flavor of what it all about, maybe shorten it(but not my post ) Where can we send money? This is greateither way!

Mark

davedzny

Let me know about chipping in. Feel free to use any of my posts in the site as well. Do we also want to add other information on the site regarding other 5th gen problems such as rattles, trunk lid paint problem, windshield chips, warped front rotors, TCM problems, and such? BTW, I know some ways that can help us get this page high up in search engine hits for "Nissan Maxima" and such. We should also get in touch with some popular "Lemon Car" sites for link exchanges.

Dave Z

davejohn

Please feel free to post it at the site. It really was with mixed feelings that I did not get another Maxima se five speed. I can tell you that I do not miss the jerk/stumbling feeling. I do miss the great Bose stereo (The Bose stereo in the Acura is not nearly as good).

kostya

Here are my ideas about the cite.

1. I will try to come up with some short and effective description of the fuel-cut (or uncontrollable throttle) problem. If you can think of something let me know. This should be on the front page.

2. There would be another page (I have 5 MB of free space on the server) that describes other problems. At this moment uncontrollable throttle seems to be the most important.

3. If we can attract attention from other web cites we should do that ASAP. Davezny, what cites are you referring to? I would really like to contact them. Hopefully we can get some “free advertisement” for our cite. Right now I am using the following META TAGS to make the site visible for search engines: "Nissan, Maxima, new, car, engine, recall, lemon, shopping, V6, automatic, manual"

4. If you want to participate, contribute, criticize, etc. please send e-mail to MH3023@hotmail.com I’ll do my best to replay to every message. If you need my mailing address, send me e-mail. I feel it’s not a good idea to post it here.

Kostya.

bigk200

For a description of the problem, I would suggest extracting some words from post #2 in this thread.

joenissan

Nothing else to add ?? Hmmmmm....lets see....Yanks won game one !! lol

Joe

adg44

To all of you. I am really proud to see what you all have done, and that you won't back down to a company that doesn't want to listen to you. I wish you the best of luck with your webpage and I hope everything works out well. One thing you might want to put on the webpage is an .mpg of the video you guys have of your two car's tach showing the fuel cut issue. That would maybe make it a little easier for the average Joe to see what the problem is.

- Anthony

bigk200

Thanks for the input.

davedzny

Well, I finally spoke to my rep @ Nissan today. Funny how her attitude changed to being very defensive and almost rude to me now. I told her that this car has been back 4 times and I want this matter resolved right now. All she wants to do is send the DTR back to set my car back to factory specs. I told her that I am well informed and know that there have been hundreds of complaints regarding this issue, and I am not the only one complaining.

I also mentioned about the guy who posted hitting someone in the maxima.org board. If I can use that story, it is more evidence for me. I also have the rep recorded on a message from my answering machine saying that Nissan refuses to do anything more regarding this matter. I am thinking about using a lemon law lawyer here in NYC. They work on continguency, and it is almost always the manufacturer who will have to pay the fees.

I think I have a lot of evidence that I can use to defeat Nissan. In the end, all I want is a new Maxima to replace mine since I am plagued with all sorts of problems with it, and a fix for our uncontrollable throttle released to the public.

The rep is supposed to call me back to set up time for the DTR to reset my car, but I am going to refuse. I will ask for her supervisor since I will advise her that I will be going to court and I need the name of someone in charge. If they have to look at the car again, I will make sure that they take the car and give me a loaner vehicle so I do not miss work.

BTW, I have about a dozen or so links to a bunch of different sites regarding Lemon Laws and consumer rights regarding it. The sites also have state by state breakdowns of what justifies the use of the Lemon Law. Once I speak with the lawyer, I will see how I will procede and if I will release letters to the public on this situation.

Dave Z

tw2kgle

I'm sorry, i didnt mean to directly correlate that incident to the ECU. It was 99% error in judgement on my part. Whether the guy was 5 feet or 2 inches, the fact is that he bolted out before I could stop from tapping the gas. I applied throttle... my error, clearly, regardless to how the car responded. I applied brake and the car did stop. Thats that. I didnt think for a second that it was anyone else fault but my own (and that freak for jumping out . Whatever the car contributed to that, is not an issue. I only meant to say it would help explain how things happened so quickly. I had the car for a year before this and never had a problem. The guy walked on and left me with a nice scratch on the hood from the ring he had on. I considered myself pretty lucky and buffed it out.

I find the fact that I cannot roll one inch or two kinda annoying, but not a safety issue.

johnlw

I just surfed into this thread and after reading back a ways, I sure am glad we decided not to get the Maxima 5 speed last year.

If you look at Nissan, the reactions of many other car companies on Edmunds forums, or Ford with the tire recall, you see a Corporate pattern of denial. These large companies refuse to recognize the problems their customers have, espeicially if these problems are systemic and epidemic.

The idea that a car company figures it can absorb the lawsuits of a couple of deaths (even children) rather than implement an expensive engineering change is criminal. I hope you folks get justice.

davedzny

Thanks for posting the details of your pedestrian incident. I appreciate you telling us the circumstances regarding this matter. I recommend any dissatisfied Nissan owners to check out this website: http://www.lemonlawfirm.com/
This place seems like a good deal if you decide to fight Nissan. They use a law called the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act that is different then normal lemon laws or arbitration. This way, it makes it harder for the manufacturer to "loophole" their way out of the case.

I have contacted them, and will keep all posted as to what I intend to do in the near future.

Dave Z

adg44

The Magnuson-Moss warranty act is used to fight dealers when they void someone's warranty due to aftermarket parts. I don't know how that is going to apply to the fuel cut issue. If you want more info on that warranty act, check out www.sema.org. It has everything you'd want to know.

- Anthony


Sorry for the double post

joenissan

There hasn't been a post in days !!

bigk200

I think Nissan has worn us down to a nub. At least, that is true for me.

Even after I spent months figuring out the mechanism through which this driveability problem is manifested (ie. too much air through the idle control valve), Nissan doesn't even care.

NISSAN DOESN'T CARE! 5-speeders are the [non-permissible content removed] children of Nissan... we only exist so they can advertise 0-60 in 6.7 seconds. They don't give a rats a** if the car needs a fix because there aren't enough of us to make it worth bothering with.

The auto industry is in a mini slump right now. For example, Diamler-Chrysler recently posted disappointing earnings, and everyone is aware of Nissan's financial problems. Therefore, Nissan's customer service could easily get worse, not better!

joenissan

I'm sure it's only a matter of time. The complaints keep pouring in.....we'll have to wait and see. With all the complaints, I'm sure someone at Nissan must be looking into it. Fortunately, Nissan has had major sales increases with the Maxima and Pathfinder. Let's just hope, as I've seen them do in the past, this extra "oomph" pushes them to address any, and all customer complaints.

Joe

davedzny

Thanks for your info regarding the Magnuson-Moss warranty act. However, this law firm I spoke with only deals with Lemon Law cases, and that is what they use. I know they have been successful in hundreds of cases already using it, including Nissan. I'll see what happens with it. I have a lot of evidence if I decide to file a case against Nissan. I'll keep everyone informed of what transpires.

Dave Z

daniell

I was wondering if sending a letter to the above agencies might help?
Although I followed the posts regarding the fuel cut problem, as a new stick driver (1000 miles) I thought that most of the jerkines was due to my lack of skill. Well, yesterday I drove my brother's '98 5 speed Hyunday Accent. The difference is night and day, the Hyunday is so much more driveable, especially in the 1st and 2nd gear. It's sad that Nissan couldn't design a 20K car as well as Hynday designed an 8K car (at least in this aspect). I showed my brother how a constant RPM of 2000 could not be held in Neutral in my car, and he found it very weird (he's been driving only stick for over 15 years). On the other hand, when my neighbor drives my car, it's smooth as silk, I don't know how he does it. As mentioned in many posts, driving style makes a big difference. Anyway, my short stint in my brother's Hyunday showed that there is clearly a problem with the Maxima.

bigk200

My e:mail is swallow@sky.net. If you can (or can't) post, e:mail me.

bigk200

gelugo I can't see half the posts. Anyone else have this problem?

bigk200

I rebooted and things are working better now. I tried to "scribble" my two prevous posts, but Edmunds seems to have a problem now. At least everything else is working now.

bigk200

Thanks for your new input. It is refreshing to hear a now voice confirming what we are complaining about. Lets hope Nissan will eventually get their act together, but I'm not holding my breath.

I doubt that Nissan-USA has even informed Japan yet about these complaints. Their whole purpose in life is to tell their Japanese masters that "everything is fine".

gladichecked

repairman's 1st option when trouble shooting ANYTHING...turn it off and back on...lol. Solves the problem over half the time. ;^)

joenissan

I happen to know that you're smarter than train of thought. EVERY complaint, or should I say...Every complaint that involves dispatch of a special tech, as is the case in most of these complaints, is sent to Nissan/Japan. Nothing's going to happen until Nissan finds and can cure the problem....won't happen overnight.

Joe

jeffmaxse2k

I have a question on the 5 spd rpm issue....dainell said that you cannot hold the rpms at 2k with the car in Neutral...what does this test prove? I'm not trying to be a wiseguy but rather curious...

Is it that when you rev the car up to 2 grand that the rpms go too high or just the opposite...if you try to hold the car at 2k the rpms drop....

I take it the majority of the problems is driving the car very slowly in 1st gear.

I've read Bigs findings a few times and they make sense (the mechanical aspect of it0

So is it basically the car is undriveable in low gear at all? I'm interested as I love the aspect of a 5 spd with such a potent engine but not at the expense of rear ending someone every day in traffic...heh

jeffmaxse2k

I remember some of the important parts of Big K's findings and things are a bit more clearer to me regarding the idle control valve letting too much etc...

I guess my main point of the question was the 2k rpm test and didnt want it to sound like I never read his excellent findings on this issue.

I plan on taking a 5spd out this week to see for myself I guess..I drove a stick for 15 years prior to my automatic 2K so hopefully I can tell if there is a big difference between the 5spd Max and the Celica GTS I had.

bigk200

Thanks for the info. I hope they hurry up and get with it before I give up and trade cars.

bigk200

Not being able to hold 2k on an unloaded engine is a problem because the driver loses control of engine speed under low or no power conditions.

The driver can't just match engine rpm with the cars ground speed... it either wants to compression brake aggressively or accelerate, but nothing inbetween.

daniell

About the specific 2000 RPM issue: when you reach 2000 RPMs, and try to hold it, it drops all of a sudden (to 1500 RPMs I think for my car). You accelerate back, try to keep it constant, it drops back... For my car, I think that happens for any RPM above 1500, but I am not sure. I also haven't tried to see what happens below 1500, what's the point anyway in trying at such low RPMs.

My knowledge about emission systems and car mechanics is zero. But what I can tell you is that from a driver's prospective it happens exactly what Big says in #263: at very slow speeds (1st gear), you cannot keep a nice, uniform, slow speed. The car either wants to accelerate or (engine) brake. In order to keep some control, I have to drive with the clutch semi-depressed (is this the technical term?) all the time, or shift into a higher gear as soon as possible. Yes, there should be some engine braking when you remove your foot from the accelerator in the 1st, but not the neck-breaking amount I see in the 5 speed Maxima. This is less of an issue in higher gears for 2 reasons, I think: 1) The higher gearing 'smooths' changes in RPMs and 2) The car's huge inertia mechanically takes over what the computer tells the engine, and 'pulls' or 'drops' the engine RPMs to match the vehicle's speed. I don't know if this makes sense, but that's how it feels.

Daniel

joenissan

In traffic, I've learned to be able to keep a smooth, constant low 1st gear speed when needed. It's not easy to do but, It can be done.

Joe

bigk200

It looks like Edmunds is up and running again.

y2kse

I'm still waiting to hear from my Zone Rep. I sent him an e-mail when I got back from my trip last week but he hasn't responded yet.

I'll keep you posted.

Bruce...

daniell

Joe,

What's the trick? How are you able to keep a low, uniform speed in 1st? Please elaborate.

Daniel

joenissan

With practice ...it's simple. You have to learn how to properly feather the gas pedal or....just use secong gear...That's cures the problem altogether.

Joe

y2kse

I'm not sure I'd agree with you on that, Joe. No amount of "feathering" on my part has been able to overcome the hiccups I experience in first gear when I try to maintain a constant speed with the engine revving at about 1500 rpm.

The only thing that shifting to 2nd gear does is mask the problem. It's still there, but you don't feel it as much due to lower gearing. And shifting to 2nd does absolutely nothing for the annoying rpm increase between shifts.

Guess we're going to have to agree to disagree on this one.

Bruce...

joenissan

Well...it works for me...I'm able to do it, and I drive my car over 500 miles a week. Guess you'll just need some more practice. And....2nd gear doesn't pose the "problem" as 1st gear does...not on my car anyhow.


Joe

daniell

The problem is there even in the 5th gear - I can feel it. As Bruce said, it's just masked (by the high gear and vehicle inertia). Now matter how you "feather" it, in any gear, the engine has 2 "modes": accelerating or braking. Just my opinion...

y2kse

I think you're outgunned on this one, Joe. If your car does not exhibit the fuel-cut condition, I'd venture to say that you're both extremely lucky and a member of a distinct minority. Still, it might be worth taking a poll!

All those in favor of the position that the fuel cut issue does, in fact, exist, say "Aye". All those who agree with Joe's position that the fuel cut issue does NOT exist, say "Nay".

I'll go first.

AYE!

Bruce...

bigk200

nm

y2kse

nm

robertr

I agree with joenissan. My experience with my 2000 SE 5-speed is the same as his. But I wonder if there is a difference between cars. Most notably, I do not have the RPM increase between shifts as mentioned by some unless I deliberatly increase RPMs as I do while double-clutching my downshifts.

daniell, I think you stated in an earlier post that your neighbor was able to drive your car smoothly. A Maxima is not going to drive like a Hundyai or other economy car with a small engine with little power and compression, so perhaps driving style and/or skill or experience and/or expectations make a difference also. bigk200 has also theorized that driving style may have something to do with ones perception of the problem. Where in Ohio are you?
Since I am in Ohio also, perhaps we could get together and compare cars?

y2kse

Well that's three Ayes and two Nays so far. (I'm assuming daniell voted Aye.)

Anybody else want to vote (davedzny, warrenul, opimax, etc.)?

daniell

My neighbor was indeed very smooth, but in 'normal' driving. In other words, he never stayed in first for more than a couple of seconds. I admitted though that driving style might make a significant difference. Anyway, this gives me an idea - next time I'll ask my neighbor to try to keep it in the first at a constant speed of 5-10 mph. My brother has been driving stick for over 15 years, and he agreed there was something weird about the way Maxima's engine behaves. By the way, I do not have the RPM increase between shifts. I am in Cincinnati.
y2kse - I vote Aye, of course.

Daniel

bigk200

I think everyone on both sides of the issue should stand back and look at the forest for a change instead of the trees.

It appears that there is something wrong with he 2K Maxima:

1.) Many who are happy with their car will often admit that they have to modify their driving style.

2.) Many who think their car is OK admit that their car cannot be driven as smoothly as an automatic.

First, why should anyone have to modify their driving style for one particular brand of car? Second, I believe that a 5-speed can be (and should be) driven as smoothly as an automatic. If you can't, then there is something wrong.

Nissan-USA is a JOKE. Their sole purpose in life is to round-file all complaints and keep them hidden from Japan. They are certainly not interested in solving customer complaints. They will NOT listen to customers and they try to make customers feel like they are stupid idiots.

Nissan-USA is a JOKE.
Nissan-USA is a JOKE.
Nissan-USA is a JOKE.
Nissan-USA is a JOKE....

I'm still waiting for them to prove me wrong, and they haven't even lifted a finger yet.

Nissan-USA is a JOKE.

joenissan

I see you're reverting back to your childish ways. "If I can't drive it as smooth as an automatic...it must be the car, and not me".
Big....you're whining now...lol. That is the way the car is....if you're that unhappy, just sell it already ! Most are very happy with their Maximas, manual & auto. To say that Nissan doesn't care, is redicules. You think that Japan doesn't have a clue what complaints are being lodged by American owners....you're wrong...as I've told you in a past post. And to think for a moment, that nissans going to find a problem...correct it, and replace everyones ECU, ICV, or any other part for that matter, you're sadly mistaken. Some of us, as do many Maxima owners, have no problems driving their cars....what ?? We're ALL used to it ??...lol..hardly. So...here's my point:

I'll repeat it...If there is, in fact, a problem with the Maxima.....give them a chance to find, and address it. If you want it to go away PRONTO.....find another car.

y2kse

there are two things I can say about the way my vehicle behaves with absolute certainty:

1) My car cannot be driven smoothly in 1st gear while maintaining a constant 1,500 rpm.

2) Engine rpm increases between upshifts with the throttle fully disengaged.

For those of you who are confident that these phenomena can be simply attributed to driver error, I challenge you to put your money where your mouth is. Come and drive my car. If you can prove me wrong, I'll pay you $100.00. If you can't, you pay me $100.00.

Any takers?

Bruce...

bigk200

YES, I AM WHINING. THATS ALL I HAVE LEFT TO DO. NISSAN HAS HAD A YEAR TO FIX THIS PROBLEM AND THEY HAVEN'T DONE A THING.

I am betting that one of the major magazines will eventually level some serious criticism at Nissan about this issue.

Sadly, it won't matter. Nissan will continue to keep their head stuck in the sand. They must like it down there, just like Firestone.

kostya

Hello guys,

check out the new layout at
http://www.NissanMaximaProblems.com/

Follow the link
"To read more on this issue click here."

What do you think? Let me know.

P.S. I would REALLY appreciate some contribution
into the registration/parking fees I paid. So far I have only one response :-(
If you'd like to help me, please e-mail at mh3023@hotmail.com

warrenul

I have always maintained that I have yet to see any ill effects steming from the 2 K 5 Speed Maxima.

davedzny drove my car on a number of occasions and he agrees that my car's throttle is controlable at low speeds. He also video taped my car to demonstrate to the DTR that some 2K 5 speeds have different drivability characteristics.

I have to drive in Long Island Distressway (LIE) traffic everyday and some of it includes 2-5 mph stop and go for many many miles.

I guess that my driving style and the lessened effects of the "Fuel Cut" on my particular car makes it a non issue, IMO.