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Nissan Maxima Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • mrjosephmamamrjosephmama Member Posts: 1
    Time to replace your shocks and struts. Had the exact same problem on my '07. Go to KYB and by the GR-2 shocks. They made the car handle like new and got rid of that annoying ride issue. Also, two of them were leaking oil so no doubt they werent working right. The KYB shocks were a bit heavier than the Nissan shocks so I think probably a bit more durable. Get em on line.
  • poodog13poodog13 Member Posts: 320
    Not familiar with KYB, but I'm guessing that when you say get them online, you must have done the work yourself. I don't even change my own oil, so that's not an option for me.
  • gpenagpena Member Posts: 4
    My girlfriend owns a Nissan maxima '98 and she has been having some sensor problems. The first was her knock and after a month the crank, oxygen and 3 other codes came up. with labor it will come around to $3000. we just got the car in January for $4800 and we don't have the money to fix this. i want to know what the real problem is.

    The engine makes a put put noise and struggles past 25 MPH. :sick:
  • caugncaugn Member Posts: 29
    I have recently replaced 2 O2 sensors and the knock sensor. The O2 sensors are easy to replace yourself and the knock sensor can be but is a pain to reach as its under the manifold. I'm not sure if the crank sensor would be causing your problem or not. It sounds to me like you may have a clogged catalytic converter. There are 3 of them on your 98. One on each y pipe coming from the manifold and one in line before the center mufler. Replacing that or simply removing it and replacing with straight pipe would be my first choice of a fix. The car should run fine with the bad sensors. I have a 97 with 217000 miles and drove for a few years with the same bad sensors with no noticble loss of power or gas mileage.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Sounds like you need a 2nd opinion. Trouble codes don't tell you which components are defective. If a mechanic just wants to replace whatever part is associated with each code, that's plain wrong.

    Trouble codes only tell you which systems or components are in distress--they could be disturbed by an entirely different problem than the component itself.
  • gpenagpena Member Posts: 4
    thank you so much, still looking into it, the car is just sitting in the yard and we keep looking for ideas on how to fix this problem.
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,142
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  • motor96motor96 Member Posts: 3
    Did you ever get your Maxima fixed? I have the same problem
  • motor96motor96 Member Posts: 3
    Did you or anyone find a fix intermittent acceleration/shuddering problem on the early 90's Nissan Maxima?
  • gpenagpena Member Posts: 4
    same problem, and its not fixed.. we are thinking about selling it but are not sure.
  • lauren15lauren15 Member Posts: 10
    hi, i had that exact problem but my new mechanic fixed it by replacing a sehnsor somewhere, if you like, i can ask him more about it, but i had this problem for two years before finally getting it fixed for good going on six months now.

    don't sell if you like your car, i like mine.
  • gpenagpena Member Posts: 4
    well like i said, its her car. her first was a truck so i was thinking about selling the maxima and getting a CR-V, i have had no problems with my honda accord and its going on to 20 years old so i am thinking about just staying away from everything exept hondas. she has had a chevy, cristler, and now the nissan and they have all not lasted more then a year. my honda accord is my first car and my only car! why has she had such bad luck with her automotives?! i'll post up when i deside on what to do with the car.
  • gmt22gmt22 Member Posts: 1
    I just replaced both of my O2 sensors it cost me in total $160 and 2 hours of my time. The knock sensor will come next and thats around $100 and maybe an hour in time. thet most difficult part is trying to get your hands to fit all around the parts to run the wires. when you learn to do these things yourself it can safe up to $2500.00 dollars.
  • 85toyjoshyota85toyjoshyota Member Posts: 1
    this is simple, when you pullyour center console apart, there is only one Ribbon type wire connected to the back of your heater controls, the other end of this ribbon wire is connected to a control module that also controls your gauges, i bought this part from LKQ on EBAY for 38 bucks last week, but your might have just got disonnected. Good luck
  • sdheepakssdheepaks Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1998 Nissan Maxima with 146K miles and I'm living in Kansas. When I start my car in the winter early morning for the last few days, the engine is cranking without starting. The engine will crank for few seconds and it will shut off. After 9-10 tries, the engine will start. The battery seems to be fine.After I drive the car for some time and if I start the car within 3-4 hours , it is starting fine. When I went to the mechanic , he told me that everything seems to be fine with the engine(at the time when I went to mechanic yesterday my car stated with one try). Can you please provide suggestion what can I do to correct this problem. Thanks!
  • rocky55rocky55 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 99 Nissan Maxima, I'm having trouble with my fan switch it only blows air when it want too no matter what number between 1 to 4 I putted on. When it come on it works great on any setting, other time it won't do anythling. Need help.
  • lesothoboblesothobob Member Posts: 1
    I have 96 Nissan Maxima. Took off intake manifold, disconnected everything on top, replaced spark plugs. Replaced battery. Disconnected crankshaft and camshaft sensors. Everything together but it wont start. Starter turns it over. What is the order of things to check? Since it doesn't run, can use anything that requires that.
    :confuse:
    Hope you can help.
  • alexstorealexstore Member Posts: 264
    I have 05 max with original HIDs. I know these lights don't last forever and when I had one of my turn signals burned out i wanted to try to remove a headlight. I ended up removing coolant tank and replacing turn signal. For future reference when i will be replacing headlights, I found 2 screws , but apparently there is 3rd one hidden somewhere. My mechanic is telling me that I need to go to body shop and remove bumper to have it replaced. Is there an easier way?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    You don't need to do anything like that if you replace the bulb, but if you want to replace the entire headlamp assembly you will need to remove the front fascia that surrounds it.
  • alexstorealexstore Member Posts: 264
    my problem i have no access to headlight bulb. Even with coolant tank removed i cannot get to the bulb
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Gee I don't know what to say. The ALLDATA database just says to remove the bulb--there's no mention of obstacles.

    It says:

    Bulb Replacement

    HEADLAMP
    Disconnect negative battery cable.
    Turn the plastic cap counterclockwise to unlock it from the combination lamp.
    Turn the bulb socket counterclockwise to unlock it.
    Unlock the retaining spring and remove the bulb from the combination lamp.
    Installation is in the reverse order of removal.

    CAUTION: After installing the bulb, be sure to install the plastic cap securely to ensure watertightness.
  • jbarb10jbarb10 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2k Maxima GLE that I can't figure out what is going on. While driving for about an hour or so and only while the weather is hot, the car will go into neutral and just rev. I will pull over and turn car off and after about 5 minutes start it back up and the the car will run fine. It will usually happen more often and predictably when the air condition is on and sitting idle. Anybody with any idea what is going on and how to repair.
  • melcot04melcot04 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2001 Nissan Altima with 122k miles. Had the car for about 8 weeks. After about 4 weeks, the check engine light come on. Had it check and the code was P0400 which is suppose to be EGR valve. I took it apart and cleaned it, light came back on. I replaced it and light came back on. During this time, about 300 every miles, the car looses power, and intrument cluster stops working. My wife had been pulling off the road, sitting for about 20 minutes, starts the car back up and everything goes back to normal. Recently I was driving the car when it done this and I put the car in neutral and back to drive and the car returns to normal expect the cluster does not work. Cut the car off for about 10 minutes and cluster starts working again. It appears to be doing this a little more frequent now and do not understand why you can shift into neutral then back to drive and car runs normal. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advanced.
  • bmwinsidemanbmwinsideman Member Posts: 7
    Were you having a shifting problem with your car. We are having a shifting problem on our 2006. Wondering if you had a similar problem.
  • bmwinsidemanbmwinsideman Member Posts: 7
    Did you ever fix your slipping transmission. If so, what did you do to fix it? My 2006 Maxima is having a similar problem.
  • poodog13poodog13 Member Posts: 320
    It turned out to be a faulty transmission fluid valve assembly. One of the valves had failed, making it impossible to maintain proper fluid pressure.

    Good news was that it was covered (just barely) by 60k powertrain warranty. Bad news was that they had to order the part, and when it arrived it was cracked and I had to take it back a second time. But the dealer was otherwise great and gave me no issues about fixing it.
  • 2k1max2k1max Member Posts: 3
    I had the same problem. Nissan garage couldn't figure it out because they wouldn't drive it long enough for it to happen. It turned out to be the vehicle speed sensor, a/k/a revolution sensor. There are 2 parts called "speed sensor" - Make sure you get the one that goes on the transmission, not on the axle. It will fix your problem.
  • murrow1murrow1 Member Posts: 1
    In Oct. 2010, my transmission started shifting hard between gears on my 2006 Maxima (approx. 78,000 miles). My extended warranty company paid to have the transmission repaired by installing a used one (49,000 miles.) It's now 8 months later and the same thing is happening again (with approx. 8,000 new miles on it.) Fortunately, the mechanics who put the used one in have a 1 year warranty, but I fear the same thing will happen again once another tranny is put in. Plus, my extended warranty expires in Nov. 2011.

    I would never buy another one...ever!
  • poodog13poodog13 Member Posts: 320
    Let me get this straight.....you'd NEVER buy this car again even though the problem didn't surface until over 78k miles? I'm sure there are plenty of stories of well over 100k trouble-free miles out there, but seems to me that many cars will start showing their age after 75k miles.

    Also, it's worth pointing out that the Maxima now uses an entirely different transmission.

    Finally, I had the same problem with my 2006, and it ended up being the tranny fluid pump, not the tranny itself. Perhaps the repair didn't address the real problem.
  • caugncaugn Member Posts: 29
    I feel your pain on the transmission. I had to replace the transmission in my '97 maxima in May 2010. No warranty so I put one in it from a junk yard. Of course my transmission issues didn't start until I had 200,000 miles on the car and the new (junk yard trans) had 110,000 on it. So I guess I should expect to start seeing transmission issues again around 300,000? Wow, so should I also never buy another Maxima?
  • emceeayeemceeaye Member Posts: 1
    Hi Nissan Maxima experts,

    I'm currently looking to replace the 3 motor mounts that have broken on my Nissan Maxima 2000 automatic, including the lower cradle mount (in between the right and left mount), the right passenger side mount, and the left radiator side mount. The older this car gets, the more expensive it's becoming to get it fixed. Rather than take it to a dealership, I would like to buy these parts inexpensively somewhere, and then take it to a repair shop for the labor of installing them. While I've discovered an inexpensive wholesaler to purchase the mounts from, I have yet to locate a reliable and inexpensive place to get the installation done. Would any Nissan Maxima 2000 experts here please give me an idea of how much I should expect to pay on the lower and upper ends to do the installation? I've heard that some places are likely to charge a single price for installing all 3 motor mounts. Help with this will go a long way for me and my pocketbook.

    Thank you in advance.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I'd figure about 4.5 hours total. There may be some time-saving in doing all three.

    I'm not so sure I agree with the way you are planning to do this, however. Most shops don't take all that kindly to having parts brought in from outside, and even if they are amenable to that, they will not warranty the labor should the part fail---so in other words, if you buy the part from them, and it fails, they replace it for free. If you bring them a part from who knows where, and it fails, YOU pay for the labor again, not them.

    So your plan has some risks and although the mounts are somewhat expensive, they aren't *that* expensive. I don't think your $100 or so savings is worth this risk...in my opinion.
  • imnotaplayaaimnotaplayaa Member Posts: 2
    A friend of mines replaced my leaking radiator the other day on my '97 Maxima. Ever since he replaced it, whenever the car is driven for more than 30 minutes and is then turned off, it won't re-start until it's completely cooled down (30-45 minutes later). I'll turn the key and nothing happens until the car has competely cooled down. Once it has cooled down, the car starts with no problem. There is no indication, in terms of the dashboard temp gage which stays in the normal range when it's being driven, that it's overheating. Any ideas as to what the problem could be? I'd appreciate any advice.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I would say defective starter solenoid or defective ignition switch. This presumes that when you say "nothing happens" you mean that the starter motor doesn't even crank...you just get dashboard lights but no reaction from the starter motor.
  • imnotaplayaaimnotaplayaa Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the quick response. Yes, when I say nothing happens I mean that the starter motor doesn't crank at all. How can I tell which one it is (starter solenoid or defective ignition switch) and would this be caused by changing the radiator? There were no symptoms of this type prior to that repair being done. Thanks again.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Well I have no idea what the connection is to the radiator but I'd ignore that for the moment and get to the diagnosis of the problem at hand.

    What you (or someone) can do would be to locate the ignition switch wire that attaches to the starter solenoid (on the starter). In other words, when you turn the key to start, a signal is sent along that wire to the starter solenoid. So you should be able to read that signal with a simple test light at the starter motor solenoid "tab" (usually a pull-off connector). The test light should come one and off as you turn the key to start, and then release it.

    If there IS a signal, then the starter solenoid or starter motor must be at fault. If there is no signal, then the ignition switch, or the wiring or connectors attached to it, must be at fault.

    Another idea from left field is something flakey in your anti-theft system.
  • atlmikeatlmike Member Posts: 1
    Hi,
    I have recently replaced a bad battery (it had a small crack in it around the negative terminal). My car sometimes starts automatically and other times takes several cranks to start. The engine has roughly 139000 miles on it. I had the starter tested at the parts store and it passed. I then took a reading when it started it had 12v at the starter and when it didn't it had only 7volts. Any suggestions on what to try next? Thank you!
  • az_maximaaz_maxima Member Posts: 1
    The engine of my 2000 Maxima is really loud and grinding when I first start it, then as I start to drive, the noise fades away and it sounds fine until I stop. When I start it up again the sound is back. Started happening right after an oil change at Firestone with high mileage 10W30 oil with sealmax. Do you think it's related?
  • nissanmaxima99nissanmaxima99 Member Posts: 2
  • nissanmaxima99nissanmaxima99 Member Posts: 2
    my maxima was leaking oil out of the filter unexpectedly and i didnt kno it till the car stalled and didnt start again what are my odds please help
  • rnchickrnchick Member Posts: 1
    I bought a used 2000 Nissan Maxima today. After PA state inspection and county emissions inspection, I drove it home. Less than 15 miles. 3 miles away from dealership, the check engine light came on . I went home, called and waiting to see if it is just a sensor thing. THEN I went to take my little girl somewhere this afternoon, now the check engine light, SLIP light and TCS light are ALL ON and the car is vibrating. I know these are old messages, but seriously. Of course, I called the dealership and told him I had a transmission problem. Is this the coil? Is this a spark plug issue? I'm not throwing money into this car. This is why I just got out of the last one....
  • poodog13poodog13 Member Posts: 320
    You can get the codes checked and virtually any auto parts store, so there's no reason to guess. As far as not wanting to put any money into the car, it's an 11-year old car buddy. You get what you get.
  • sanjaysdcasanjaysdca Member Posts: 269
    I have had this happen in my 2000 infiniti I30
    it was oxygen sensors and Pre Cat ~$1500.00
  • faydannfaydann Member Posts: 1
    I have had to have 1 strut replaced. The dealer response seemed to indicate that this was a very common problem.
  • delfwin1978delfwin1978 Member Posts: 2
    Hello All
    I have an 1997 Nissan Maxima with 248000 miles on it that has just started having problems starting after the car has reached opp temp. If you shut the car off and restart after a few mins its just fine. If you leave it set over 45min to an hour it will not restart till the car has cooled all the way off.
    I just replaced plugs, map sensor, knock sensor and fuel filter. there are no check engine codes at the moment. i have no idea of what could be wrong now. any one have any idea or has had simm. problems
    thanks andrew
    :sick:
  • skchot1skchot1 Member Posts: 1
    Hey,

    I have a 02' Maxima with AT with a hot engine restart problem. Did your issue ever got resolve? I'm very interested with the fix.

    :confuse:
  • maximaspiritmaximaspirit Member Posts: 2
    I have 33000 miles on my Maxima and was told that my transmission needs to be replaced. I noticed a whiney sound as the car increased speed. Very noticable in the 30 to 40 MPH range. I also had both wheel bearings replaced in the last month. I love the car but I hope I'm not in for a lot of problems. Anyone else have these problems? BTW the dealer has been excellent at helping me.
  • junito1junito1 Member Posts: 3
    I had the same problem and all the test were just like urs my brother in law works on cars he told me the 2000 maxima had some kind of silenoid in the starter that starts to go bad and that's why sometimes u get just cranking but still wont start it happened to me twice at a gas station after I went for gas and second time for cigarettes so I believed him change my starter and had no problem since and this was a year ago even the cranking sounds stronger since. So don't know if this helps but it definitely helped me
  • junito1junito1 Member Posts: 3
    Yeah sounds like your oil pump might not be sending the right amount of pressure I would change it instead of the sprockets
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