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Comments
Joe
the subwoofer has been rattling lately. i recently opened the trunk, and something looked different.. i could have sworn that the subwoofer was enclosed in sime sort of sound-proofing box, but its not their anymore!!
am i going nuts, or did someone steal the thing (probably the dealer mechanics). i went to the dealer, and they are claiming ignorance (they say it never existed, and i am crazy). i may be dreaming, but i really thought something was there before (limited truk space in the rear) - someone please help - thanx
I know nobody wants to hear it but...it has to go back to the dealer to be reset, or replaced. Warranty does, of course, cover it.
Joe
Slope
I got some advice on this message board and would like to thank those that answers my questions. By the way, I bought it at Troncalli Nissan in Decatur GA.
Joe
STEVE
My last trip on interstates and back road of West Virginia got me 23 MPG (much more aggressive driving... much more fun).
Are their any adjustments (mechanical or to my driving) that can improve the MPG?
Joe
The max was definitely not designed with short drivers in mind. On the other hand it's the most most fun car to drive that also holds the wife and kids in civilized manner
I am seriously considering purchasing a used 1996 Maxima GLE fully-loaded. It is in great shape and only have 50,000 km on it! Are there any suggestions on things I should look out for when I test drive it? Any known problems with the 1996 model? Any advice in general? What is everyone's opinion of the 1996 Maxima.
Thanks for your help. I really appreciate any feedback.
The tow truck driver put his jump start box on the battery for extra boost, cranked it again (with his foot on the throttle. Couldn't see how much), and it started, with a cloud of smoke coming out the exhaust (as if it was flooded). This was several days after the first attempt.
Drove to the dealership and had the 60K service performed, and explained the above problem. The service advisors first explanation was that Maximas need 12.9V or more, or a similar problem can occur. My charging system and battery checked out fine.
In the end, I was told that the car was mechanically fine, and I must have tried to start it incorrectly.
Any insight as to what the problem was (is)? I live in CA, so it's not freezing temp or anything like that. My concern is that it could happen again. And it's over 60K, so it's out of warranty.
Thanks for any help.
The problem was probably what's been known to be "normal" in all Maximas since the 95 VQ model. And that is...if you start the car for a very short time, like to move it into the garage, and the car had been sitting for a while, it will do that. All you have to do is fully depress the excellerator while cranking, and it will start. It will also blow out white-ish smoke due to being flooded...this too is normal, and has always been a trait of the VQ engine.
Joe
-Witt
jdubois, I bought my 96 GLE with 7500 miles on it in 96. The only service I've needed to perform is regularly scheduled maintenance. It gets good mileage, wind noise is still fairly low, and and the interior still looks great. It now has slightly more than 60K miles. Nissan reliability is very good. The only thing that I'm noticing is that the shocks seem to have gone soft. But with 60K on the clock, I guess it's about time.
We also bought a 99 SE new. It has had no problems either.
Witt.....I think you have an even larger problem....your car starts when you turn the key in the door ! LOL..Sorry...couldn't resist. Yes, that's also been a problem that very few customers have experienced but, it's different than the one described above. With the problem you state, steping on and holding the excellerator down while cranking won't help. But thanks for bringing it up...someone else may have experienced the same problem and had no idea what it was.
Joe
Is this a good deal? Or can I do better? Carsdirect is quoting 25,776 but that is over the internet and I don't feel comfortable using the net for a car purchase.
Short trips are always hard on the engine, you can find about it in every manual. And shutting off an engine that has not been warmed up is harder yet. I am wondering if that's what you wanted to know, though...
I would not know the answer to this question! You will have to ask Joe, how he comes up with this TECHNICAL information. I don't work for Nissan and I can only tell you from my past experiences. I do work on my cars but when it gets really technical, I am smart enough to know when it is out of my league. Cause I sure in the heck don't know it all, and have not problem saying it.
Whacko,
I have read (and yes, this is what Motortrend says, and they could be wrong)that in 2003 model that the Max will be much bigger. Also, as the car gets bigger they are going to put a bigger engine in it like the 3.5 liter. I guess Nissan is going to bump the Altima up to the current size of the Max now and give it the Max's engine. Again this is what you can check out if you go to Motortrend and check out the "future cars section" I believe it is on page 2. As far as the back end of the car....well I don't know. When I was at the Chicago auto show and asked the Nissan people, I could have gotten a better answer from a BOX OF ROCKS!
The first is TSB# 96-103 (Oct 96) "Intermit. hard start"
And TSB# 95090 (Sep 95) "Hard Cranking"...Both TSB's will explain the 60 sec. warm up procedure, and why it is suggested.
Joe
What was so suprising was the soap opera that has been happening between joenissan and everyone else. At times it made me laugh and other times mad. It seems everyone has an opinion and its not always nice. I'm glad there is some monitoring, but its to bad L8_Apex can't just delete that person right off the system....something to think about. Surely Edmunds has control over this content and besides you had to agree to their terms before you could post anything.
Well on with my problem. My 1998 Maxima is dark green, loaded and has 45,000 miles on it. The hood on the car will not stay up. I have to use a board to hold it up. Has others had this problem. Is it covered under the warranty? I've not been to the dealer yet but since I was here I thought I'd ask. Has other year cars had this problem?
I also had a problem where in the morning I would crank the car up and it wouldn't start. But after a few tries and pumping the gas it cranked up. This only happen in the morning. Evenn after sitting for 9 hours at work, it would crank right up. Only in the morning would this happen. (Its kept in a garage too) The dealer replaced the fuel filter and adjusted the throttle. At times I did run the fuel tank down so the light would come on telling you to get gas, but this has not happen any more. (post #'s 1228,1230,1233)
I also have the problem with a noise coming from the fan when its in a low speed. Thanks joenissan for the TSB (NTB99017A) so I can get that fixed.
To sum up, thanks for everyone's insight in the world of the Maxima and how things can go wrong, but most importantly, how to get them fixed!!
Sincerely,
98Maxima
Joe
It simply stands to reason that anyone who may find their newer maximas doing the same thing, should follow this procedure. An earlier post did, I believe, mention this happening to a 2k or 01 Maxima, in which the tow-truck driver did what's recommended in the pre 2k TSB's, and the car started.
Joe
Also, I have the tan leather interior in my car, and there's a whole bunch of black spots and stains all over the seats and on the vinyl side armrests etc. What is a GOOD, QUICK and EASY cleaner to remove this without causing long-term harm to these surfaces?? Any suggestions? Thanks!
Good ole' saddle soap is safe and has always worked quite well. It's even good for getting that heavy use gunk off the leather steering wheel rim.
Joe
Also, can you suggest any BRANDS of stuff I could use to clean off the nasty marks from the car interior surfaces? Thanks!
What kind of marks, and on what surfaces ?
Joe
98Maxima
For the doors, any kind of degreaser should work if it's grease...any actual scuff marks, depending on how bad and deep they are...may be permanent. Try good ole Armour All on them....it'll sometimes lessen the appearence of scuffs.
Do be careful, and DO NOT use tar remover on plastics or leather. It will discolor and/or melt plastic. You may have to try a few different things seeing as different types of marks and scuffs react differenly to different products.
Joe
Thanks,
Trooper
1. Should I buy the Nissan plan? How much?
2. Should I go with e-z care? Less money
3. Should I do nothing?
I welcome any comments.
My factory CD player works great with CD-R audio recorded discs. It will not play CD-RW audio discs. A gereral statement would be that almost all CD players should be able to play CD-R audio discs with some exceptions. Another general statement would be that almost all CD players will not be able to play CD-RW recorded discs with some exceptions. The CD-RW discs are recorded in a different format that most CD players can't play. The CD-RW recorded discs usually can be played back using newer CD-Rom drives in computers. More often CD-RW discs are used for data storage.
George
Strooper....As mentioned before, No....CD-RW's will not play in the factory CD player, as well as most others...even home CD players.
Joe