Nissan Maxima Maintenance and Repair

keetster · July 2004

Just bought a 2004 SE and at a little over 500 miles, front end has a developed a squeak and clunk.

ccermak · July 2004

Haven't there been posts on here before about a problem with struts on the 04's? That's what your issue sounds like.

pegasus17 · July 2004

Hello gents, Haven't been on here in a while but wanted to post an update on my 03 Max SE. Odometer just turned 18000 and mechanically, this car has been trouble-free. There are a few minor problems that mar an otherwise great product: (1)interior squeaks and rattles have increased; fix = increase stereo volume (2)paint seems a bit thin considering multiple chips on the hood (3)occasional engine grinding noise (lasts about a second) on cold startup; known problem with this engine (TSB issued) not worth fixing IMO (4) the sheer silver color does not show dirt but it also doesn't look much better right after i wax it; fix = get a life! In summary, it seems like a good idea to buy a car in its last year of production after the major bugs have been worked out. regards, Mark.

bksward · July 2004

Anyone have any recent data on how long it takes for the dealership to get a replacement Head Unit for the Bose system?

About 2 weeks ago they ordered me a new one for my 2002 Maxima (the CD dropping the left channel TSB issue). They said they'd call me to schedule an appointment when it comes in. (I'm still under warranty) I was just wondering if anyone knows what the current backlog is like.

miatame · August 2004

I own a 2000 GLE with 38,000 miles. A couple of days ago, on a damp, rainy day, the engine was running roughly and the "Service Engine Soon" light came on. The engine never died on the drive home from work, but acted like it wanted to. When I started the car today, it ran roughly for 10-15 seconds, and then started running smoothly again. I took it to Autozone, and the diagnostics showed a "misfire on Cylinder 5." They told me this could be a spark plug, a spark plug wire, or any number of things. Does this sound like the ignition coil problem that I have been reading about? Any suggestions on how to go about further diagnosis and repair?

ccermak · August 2004

Sounds like the coil issue. An expensive fix, but recommended one if you plan on keeping the car a long time would be to buy new plugs and coils from a good Nissan OEM discount parts dealer (I know one in particular but won't solicit), and then pay an independent mechanic $$ to put them in if you're not able to do yourself. Cost would probably be around $500 I'm guessing, but then you have the piece of mind that it shouldn't happen again. That's my plan anyway when it finally happens to me, I have a 2000 SE, but then again I've got 70K on it, not only 38K.

blh7068 · August 2004

I dont know if this helps since it was awhile ago, but back in july of 2002 a new head unit was ordered for my 02 SE. It took about 2 months for it to arrive.

aggiedog · August 2004

I've had 4. That's right 4 replaced and it didn't take 2 months on any of them. The first one was the longest, about 2 weeks. I can't remember when the last one was replaced but it's been atleast 6-8 months. The last one works fine. It may depend on where you are. I think they are shipped from CA.

p100 · August 2004

p100 · August 2004

They may be shipped from California, but they are probably made overseas. I had a tuner go out on a one year old TV set and had to wait three months for the part to arrive from Europe! I guess they build these things these days to be throwaway items.

gtgray · August 2004

See post #2048

gtgray · August 2004

OK - here's a new snag with my 2004 Maxima SL (12,000 miles on car). I have 2 memory presets for the drivers seat, steering wheel, and side view mirrors. Recently, the drivers side mirror would not go back into the correct position set for memory. Actually, it would move up-and-down, but not in-and-out. It would work if you moved the mirror with the mirror control.

Dealership told me Nissan has received similar calls. They need to replace the whole mirror assembly due to a faulty module that controls memory setting.

p100 · August 2004

Memory settings for mirrors, steering wheel and seats? Absolutely useless equipment in my honest opinion. Manufacturers today appear to be loading their vehicles with more and more electronic gadgets with questionable reliability in order to dazzle the customers. This inevitably results in problems and aggravation down the road. Having every imaginary gizmo in your car does not mean you have a high quality well made car - it means you have a car loaded with gizmos which will break sooner or later.

bksward · August 2004

Memory settings for mirrors, steering wheel and seats? Absolutely useless equipment in my honest opinion.

For me, It wouldn't see much use. I'm the only one who regularly drives my car. But if two (or more) people share a car, or you end up using valet parking all the time then the memory settings are nice.

p100 · August 2004

And they did not offer a memory setting for the shoulder seatbelt adjustment, sunroof tilt angle/slide distance, or or the heated (or climate controlled) seat temperature settings? How tragic.

mpnorm · August 2004

I am looking into purchasing an '03 Maxima GLE. I just spoke to my mechanic and he informed me that Nissan had a problem with the oil seal leaking at around 60,000 miles dating back to '92-'02. He also said he didn't know if they fixed it in '03. The cost of fixing it is about $1200. Does anyone have any info on this for me. I would appreciate any help. Thank you.

ccermak · August 2004

I've been on Maxima boards (both Edmunds and other even more popular ones comprised of enthusiastic modders) for 5 years now, and I've never heard of such a thing and I read up daily. If those were a prob, I'd bet we here would have heard that before and I know I haven't. Not to say it ain't so, but.....

mpnorm · August 2004

I appreciate your response. What other boards do you check out?

ccermak · August 2004

The biggest Max board is maxima.org, go into forums under 5th gen for 2000-2003 models. 6th gen would be 04's and 4th gen 96-99's. The overall rule is the 4th gens are most bullet proof, and the 2002+ having gone from 3.0 to 3.5 motors are WAY faster than 2000-2001's. Even the 4th gens are faster than 00-01 because they got fatter before going to 3.5. Most known probs are with paint chips, O2 sensors, coils, and warped rotors. If you're into mods, watch out for MAF sensors, they blow left and right with putting on aftermarket intakes which is very common mod.

p100 · August 2004

There is no such thing as THE oil seal on any car or truck. There are various oil seals, timing chain cover oil seals (or cam sprocket oil seals for vehicles with timing belts), front crankshaft oil seal, real crankshaft oil seal, axle oil seals, for rear wheel drive vehicles also transmission output shaft oil seal, etc. Then there are gaskets to prevent oil seepage such as valve cover gaskets, oil pan gasket, oil filter gasket, rear differential cover gasket,etc. And finally you have sealing washers, such as the oil pan drain plug washer (Nissan uses special collapsible copper washers which they happily retail for a mere $ 1.80 (probably marked up at least 800% over the manufacturing cost), manual transaxle drain bolt washer,etc.

I have a 98 Maxima and I have not experienced any oil leaks, either from seals, or gaskets, or washers. So you may want to ask your mechanic which oil seal is he talking about. He may have seen some other Nissan model problems with one of oil seals.

flipper6 · August 2004

I have a 92 Maxima SE 5 Speed that only has 77,000 miles on it. It is still a pleasure to drive and has not given me much trouble. I have driven several of the newer Maximas but I still prefer the 92 to the newer ones. Unfortunately I discovered that I have low compression in one of the cylinders. It idles a bit rough but otherwise it still runs strong. I had planned to fix a few items such as an oil pan leak and replace the broken Bose stereo but with the low compression I will not put any extra money into it. Maybe it will run another 12 years. I have a new 2004 Acura TL 6 speed but in some regards, the old Maxima is more fun to drive.

ccermak · August 2004

Out of curiousity, what's great about the 92 Max? I've never been in any older than a 96. I've always heard the vintage Maxis were sweet, but can you elaborate about what is so great, or why so fun to drive, with the 92?

flipper6 · August 2004

Ccermak....I am no authority on older Maximas but these are my observations. I believe the 92 Maxima SE was the first Maxima with the 190 HP engine. Nissan promoted the car at the time as a four door sports car. Car and driver had a zero to sixty of 6.7 for this car with the five speed.

In 1995 (I think) Maxima went to a different style and also reduced the price considerably. I think the engine was essentially the same but the car no longer handled as well nor did it seem anywhere near as solid. Every time a new model of the Maxima came out I would test drive it but it never seemed to measure up to the earlier Maximas.

There are certain cars that seemed to get it right (i.e model 2002 BMW) and stand the test of time well. The 92 Maxima SE does compare favorably with my 2004 Acura TL. The handling is good and the shifting is excellent. The body is solid with no rattles or vibrations. These are just my opinions but the old Maximas excelled in many areas.

cuse89 · August 2004

I was recently driving my 1997 Nissan Maxima to work, when the guy in front of me stopped short and caused an entire cascade of cars behind him to stop short as well. In the process the cup of milk that I had in the cupholder spilled everywhere including into the AC adapter. At the time I had my cell phone plugged in, but it was saturated and by the time I was able to pull over and pull the phone plug out, the adapter was flooded and stopped functioning. Any ideas where I should even start looking for the answer to this issue or is the adapter just totally shot? Please help.

p100 · August 2004

No sense in crying over the spilled milk, as they say. Be happy you did not get rearended by the guy behind you (I assume you didn't). Most likely, the spilled liquid caused an internal short inside the unit, so my suggestion to you is to take this adapter to an electronics repair shop and have them check it out. You could open the unit up and try to clean it, but unless you understand electronics, I would not recommend trying to repair yourself. The problem could be a simple one, such as a blown fuse inside the adapter.

roar1 · August 2004

Everyone knows that the 2000-2003 Maximas have problems with blown Mass airflow sensors, 02 sensors , Cam and crank angle sensors and Ignition
coils. I have read on other forums that there are people that are experiencing " SECOND " failures of some of the above items.

Apparently, Nissan is not replacing these parts with improved versions but merely the SAME part number that came with the car. Is my assumption correct ?????? If I am correct, then all of us 5 th. gen. owners had better hit the Lottery. Unfortunately, I own a '00 and a '02.

Can anyone out there set me straight? Are the part numbers of the NEW replacement parts the same as the old parts or are they different????

suydam · August 2004

I haven't had these problems. I have a 2001 GLE with nearly 40,000 miles. At what point have these problems shown up? I have had them on my '99 Subaru Forester, starting around 50,000 miles. So far, though, the Maxima has been flawless.

aggiedog · August 2004

I don't know about the part numbers but I just had the 2 rear O2 sensors replaced on my 02 SE. I have 33K miles so Nissan had to eat that 600+ dollars that the service people said it would cost if I was outside of my warranty.

roar1 · August 2004

These sensors can go at anytime. On my '02 Max the 02 sensors went @ 17,000. On my '00 Max. the MAF went @ 40,000 and the ignition coils @ 60,000. It's a crap-shoot.

You have been very fortunate with your '01 GLE.
I wish you continued good luck.

jimmy1958 · August 2004

I've seen reference to smelly exhaust on start-up elsewhere in this forum. I have an '02 MAX, 3.5 that has had this problem off and on for the past few months. Smell goes away within seconds of coming to idle. I'm no where near a dealer - out in the middle of the Atlantic with the Air Force - so any advice would be appreciated. Has anyone figured out what is going on with the smell or a cure?

anilpunjabi · August 2004

My sister cracked her passenger side, side view mirror, and i just bout a replacemet off of ebay. Its a 4 yr old car, why would i buy new if the rest of the car isnt new (still looks good though, real good). I was wondering if anyone had step by step directions for changing the mirror. I relaly appreciate this, if i get it done i would save my sister a good chunk of change b/c eveyone knows the most expensvie part is definitely installation. Bought the 2nd hand mirror for only 45 dollars, and a total of 54 including taxes and shipping. Thanx

dklanecky · August 2004

You can purchase (for download) the entire Nissan Shop Service Manual from Nissan Technical Services for $20.00.

Then you'd have the manual for any future repairs. The login and password that you get is also good for 24 hours. During that 24 hours you can download all the service manuals for all the Nissan vehicles that you like.

http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/nissan/default1.asp

dirkwork · August 2004

Thanks for that tidbit! very useful. I'm hoping to avoid needing this manual, the car (2000 SE) has been reliable except for the O2 sensor. My other cars, I've needed the shop manual. I'm also going to split the cost of a computer ODB-II cable and software system with my Dad.

Appreciate the info. Heck, I could download all of them on my broadband.

D

wain · August 2004

Are the downloads only for 2000 year and up - thats impression I got

cuse89 · August 2004

Thanks for the suggestion. Fortunately the problem was just a blown fuse. Very easy to replace.

aristotle · September 2004

Hi all,
I have a weird problem with my 99 Maxima GXE which just reached 60K miles. It drives beautifully once it starts, but I have been experiencing intermittent starting problems with my Maxima during the last month. It will start just fine one moment, but an hour later if I try to start it, it will crank and crank ( quite loudly in fact ) but won't start. This has happened 5 times in the last 5 weeks.

I just changed my oil filter, air filter and even fuel filter. I had a fuel injection service done at Pep Boys last week. My battery and starter are good according to a Nissan technician who checked it out last week. All 6 ignition coils were changed about a year ago.

But during the last 3 months twice the car was almost empty before I refueled it. Could that cause problems after so many weeks still? And I have used 85 octane gas 90% of the time on the car. But I live in Colorado where the air is quite thin.

It was a little chill last night ( about 50 degrees ). Even on previous occassions when it wouldn't start, outside weather was a little chill but not very cold. Could that have anything to do with this? Is this a cold start problem or is there something else that needs to be changed/fixed? The car is always garaged at night.

I will be grateful for any ideas or suggestions. Is there any TSB from Nissan for this?

stermen · September 2004

Aristotle,

I own a 2001 SE and have had starting problems. I don't know how similar the 99 and 01 is but I have learned that the temperature sensors are very finicky. In the 01 manual it even states that if the outside temperature is real hot or real cold you may need to depress the gas pedal while starting.

I get this every now and then. I was recording time and temps and it happens in consistently in 50-60F weather. I depress the gas and it starts up. Nissan says this ok. I was not happy with that but I have lived with it for a few years.

O2 sensors can be associated with this problem. Again, that is if it is similar to the 5th generation.

Another possibility (and I hope this not your case) is that your engine is burning oil. I had this problem with an old car and it started out by not starting intermittently. It would only start right away when the engine was cold. As months progressed, it began to stall out all over the road. And when it would stall it would not start for hours. That cost me a couple of tows. It was very difficult for the technician to diagnose since I could never recreate it for them. Does this only happen on cold starts or does the engine have to be warmed up?

aristotle · September 2004

Thanks for your response. You may be right on this one. Outside temperature was in the 50 to 60 degrees range when the starting problem happened. It always happens on a cold start. I hate to think that it is an oil burning issue.
At 60K miles do the O2 sensors need to be replaced routinely?

The car has not exhibited the start problem in the last 2 days. It drives very well ( just like a new car ) when it is running.

The only other problem I have noticed sometimes is a strange noise that comes up after the engine has started but the car has not started moving yet.

A Nissan dealer who did a courtesy check on the car said that the belts are showing signs of wear. Do the AC and Power steering belts need to be necessarily replaced at 60K miles? I have no problems in doing that but the dealer wanted $150 for parts and labor. I checked with Autozone who said the parts cost only about $16.
Is the dealer being greedy in charging so much for labor? What is a good place to get the belts changed at a reasonable rate? And what is a a resonable rate for this?

aggiedog · September 2004

If you don't have a personal reference for a local mechanic, just let the dealer do it. That price is about right for a dealer estimate. The belt will probably cost a little more and labor is probably $70+ hr. And you should get some sort of warranty with the dealer like 12m/12k miles. Not much but better than most.

stermen · September 2004

I don't think that O2 sensors need to be serviced. But if you read through this message board you will find a lot of people who had problems with them. It is a strong possibility.

I have never heard of a loud noise problem on start up.

I had wear on my belts at 40K and had to replace them. So yes 60K is about when you should have them done. That is if they last that long. The dealer always charges an arm and a leg for anything other than an oil change. My dealer wanted $150 for the job and I used a coupon and some bargaining to get it down to $120. It depends if you trust that Autozone to do your belts. It is not major repair so you may be ok with them.

Good luck.

tom12 · September 2004

Hello all, car seems ok when called on for normal acceleration but actually loses power when really pushed or, say, going up a steep hill. Another possible symptom is that it seems to be missing badly for the first 30sec or so of driving and has to be babied until it warms up some. I purchased this car in April and have had no trouble up until now. I've read about the coil issue but I never see the engine light come on and it would if it was the coils right? My first guess is that its a fuel delivery problem. Any suggestions has to what to replace/fix first? Thanks!

Let me add that my Mom borrowed the car for 3 weeks and didn't know to use premium fuel during this time. It was knocking badly when I got it but I added octane booster and have gone back to premium. The bad pinging is gone but I've had pretty noticable pinging ever since I bought it. The only thing I've done to it so far is to replace the spark plugs. Thanks!

aristotle · September 2004

Starting problem seems to have disappeared magically. My 99 Maxima starts just fine on the first turn of the key now. Perhaps there was some moisture in my fuel tank that had to work its way out. The car starts and drives very well now.

The sound I was talking about seems like "resonance" which happens for a couple of seconds only at idle time. Also, it happens intermittently. May be the belt wear has something to do with it.

suydam · September 2004

Yes, it could be the coils. I haven't had this problem with my Maxima but I had exactly the symptoms you describe with my Subaru Forester -- loss of acceleration, missing when it first starts and then driving fine -- and it was the coil pack. I'm not sure if the CEL came on because I also had a sensor problem around the same time which caused the light to go on, in addition to the coil problem.

tjz71 · September 2004

I have a 2k SE with 80k and I am in the midst of trying to solve the exact problems you described. I have had the injectors, combustion chambers and throttle body cleaned. MAF sensor checked. The car accelerates well, up to 3500 rpm and then it feels like it starts missing and the acceleration slows to nearly nothing. As soon as it shifts and the rpm drop back below 3500, full power is back. I am convinced it is electrical, since it happens exactly at 3500 rpm in every gear. This problem is starting to frustrate me and I would greatly appreciate any information on this issue.

Kirstie_H · September 2004

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jskho · September 2004

It is the coil problem.
Replaced all 6 on mine at about 75k.
Bought the coils in Canada for cheap.

aristotle · September 2004

My starting problem was finally linked to a faulty key. I did not even realise until after 3 weeks that the starting problem happened only when I was trying to start my 99 Maxima with one of my keys. The other key always worked fine.

But my car just crossed 60K miles last week and I took care of the 60K maintenance items thinking that my starting problem was really due to bad battery/starter/blocked fuel filter etc.

oh well! But the car runs very well now. I even got my belt changed at BrakesPlus for about $73 parts and labor. They said only one belt was in bad shape and the other was in very good condition and did not require replacement. A Nissan dealer would have replaced both belts whether they needed replacement or not, as he is purely motivated by profit margin. He gave me a quote of $154 + taxes for replacing both belts.

tom12 · September 2004

Hello all, thanks for the suggestions. I took it to a local dealer and they (correctly) diagnosed the problem as the Mass Airflow gizmo (sensor?). $260 later the car runs fine. I bought it used just 6 months ago and this is probably the first time I've enjoyed all 222hp, oh my gosh, what fun. I believe that sensor has been slowly going degrading my proformance the whole previous 6 months.

I'll go into some more details of the symptoms so others can perhaps recognize the same problem in their cars...

The first thing I noticed was a lot of pinging, especially when asked for acceleration. Later, as it got worse, the car would actually bog down as I either a) tried to pass someone or b) go up a steep hill. Note: This wasn't a sputtering/missing sort of trouble, the rpms would rev up like normal I just wouldn't accelerate and, in fact, would often de-cellerate. Then also there was the trouble when the car was cold as described in my original message. Let me add that there were no problem codes when they hooked it up to the diagnostic computer at the dealer. I was lucky I had an experienced mechanic who guessed the problem based on other maximas he worked on.

Hope this helps.

bgiannantonio · September 2004

I have a 2000 se at 66,000 had the same exact problem at 3500 to 4000 rpm when acclerating between gears trans would not engage or slip no power no power took car to dealer first thought may of had bad gas not that them i thought it could be trans. the problem turned out to be the airflow meter which was replaced with a new air filter reprogram the o2 sensors problem solved I called nissan customer service they are terrible after enough complaining they paid the bill about 500 dollars. reading other posts it seems like a common nissan problen that comes about after waranty expires and they know this not good on nissans part. if you need any further help email me at rgiannanto@aol.com

roar1 · September 2004

Now you are just being cheap. A '99 Max. with 60,000 miles on it should have BOTH belts replaced . It would have cost you another $30. No, I'm not a dealer.

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