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Comments
Again thats the SV w/premium package tints and spoiler.
With 09, the flagship is back.
Actually, the question needs to be directed to the man in the mirror - didn't you TEST DRIVE the car before you laid out $35k+/-?? Obviously, you can't gain 100% knowledge of a vehicle in 50 miles worth of test drives - but that should have identified your issue of a rough ride.
Failure to do homework notwithstanding, I am somewhat sympatheitc to your situation. Nissan apparantly thinks that putting 18/19" wheels and 40 series tires will re-make the 2009 Maxima as a 4-door sports car. It's all show and no substance. A 3,600 FWD car is not going to handle noticably better on 19" wheels than it would on 16" ones. On a BMW 5 series, maybe, not on a Maxima.
You can try to downsize the rims and upsize the tire profile by 1 or 2 sizes. But I would suggest you test drive other "non-sport" 2009 models first. You might be able to get the dealer to take back the car on a sympathy trade that won't cost you an arm and a leg.
P.S. In addition to rattling your fillings, the wheel/tire insanity also costs you big time over the life of the car. In 14 years and 155k miles, I've just replaced my OEM tires for the third time, getting 50k+ miles out of each set. At $130 per tire, that's a total of about $1,600 in tires. The 18/19" will last half as long and, for a decent tire, cost nearly twice as much - meaning an extra $5,000 down the drain for anyone who wants to keep the car as long.
P.S. Before I would switch tires to a smaller size, I would research how that would affect the VDC (vehicle dynamic control).
But in 00-'08 max and 2000+ Infiniti I30 this is very common problem. They both have a VQ engine. Lot of folks have ro replace ignition coils at around 70K to 80K mile range.
(google Maxima "Chk engine")
I have 2000 infiniti I30 and that has similar problems..I have noticed following, and I dont have any explanation,
1) Car is EXTREMELY sensitive to the gasoline you put in.
Seems to work better (No Chk engine light) with Chevron or Shell Premium gas.
2) If I let fuel gauge go down to below 1/4 then the probability of chk engine light goes up.
3) Fillup in extremely hot weather followed by highway driving in 70+ mph increase the probability
As I said these are only observation and may not be related to the problem..
Dealers will reset the computer and charge you $300.00 for it every time it happens. Or you can disconnect the battery... sometimes overnight and it will reset the computer
Sanjay
BTW: I've been VERY VERY HAPPY with the balance of ride/performance in my 2009 Maxima (non-Sport model). While I agree its not a true 4DSC like perhaps a Mitsubishi Evo, I'm very happy with its performance. It clearly beats my current generation Acura TL in performance - and I drive both these cars back-to-back on a daily basis!
I drive the 09.
don;t know where the altima reference came from in your message.
From when you wrote the following:
This model resembles the Altima sibling more so than any previous model, why pay the difference.
. II never said the car was a POS
You wrote the following, and it sounds like a POS to me:
As the owner of an 07 Maxima with CVT, fuel guzzling machine, that is the worst transmission ever put into a car. My 07 has one extra gear compared to the 04 I traded in, it also has 10 fewer horsepower and 18 inch wheels vs. 17 inches and still gets me 4 to 5 fewer miles to the gallon than the 04, go figure.
I can say for sure that the CVT in the '09 is not the worst transmission ever put into a car.
The bottom line is, the '09 Maxima is a very different car than your '07 Maxima, or the Nissan Altima.
It may not be a fair comparison, but in my opinion the performance and fun to drive factor of my 2004 TL 6-speed is way, way above the 2009 Maxima SV I drove back in July. The Nissan can almost match the TL 6-speed in straight line acceleration, but that's it. The tighter sport suspension and Brembo brakes that come along with the short throw 6-speed (a crisper gearbox than a BMW 335) all contribute to an enjoyable, sporty ride. Still not a true 4DSC as you say, given the 3,400 lb curb weight and FWD setup, but getting closer than anything with a CVT or slushbox automatic transmssion. I guess I'll go to the grave with a stickshift in my hand.
Longer term, it will be interesting to see which car gains more market share in 2009 - Maxima or TL. Body style on TL is definitely controversial. With the current discounts on 09 Maxima's getting close to the $4k mark, they are going to have a pretty significant price advantage over the TLs at the start.
Again, I'm not trying to jinx Nissan, but I don't see the 2009 Maxima winning back that much of the market share it lost over the past 10+ years. I just don't think it is a compelling car in the way my 1995 4th generation was. But in fairness, I'm not in the market and haven't seriously shopped the competition.
I know what you mean that life is full of trade offs. My wife drives a 2005 MDX and the only two things she doesn't like about it are the brakes and the automatic transmission. I brought home a Cayenne GT-S 6-speed manual as a loaner when my 911 was in for service and she didn't want me to give it back! Unfortunately $75k and 13 mpg don't fit into our budget right now.
The biggest welcomed change for me is the turning radius on the 09. My 07 had the worst turning radius of any car I ever owned, now tight maneuvering is a pleasure!! The CVT was also given some tweaking for the better. It's more responsive the moment you press down on the pedal and it does not have to catch up like the 07. In my 07 if you put the hammer down quick the engine would rev to about 4-5000 rpm's and the CVT would have to catch up. Also, the CVT sounds more throatier now and seems to have shed the whining lawn mower sound.
I am not a fan of Goodyear RSA's. That is probably the only big thing I am disliking on the car. I hated them on my 07 mainly because they had a short memory on staying balanced and they always needed to warm up in cold weather before they could be considered a round tire.
Those are just some quick observations in my short time with the car. The car visuals are definitely eye catching, I have had a couple people pull up next to me at a light and tell me how different the car looks.
If anyone has any 09 questions, just ask!!
The '09 Maxima is an excellent convergence of sporty performance and luxury comfort. And it's the best value around for an entry-level luxury car.
While this claim may be disputed by naysayers on this forum, I have yet to read anything but glowing reviews from any bonafide car critics (other than a warm review as the result of a goofy comparison between the Maxima's 6-cylinder versus Pontiac's 8-cylinder...but that was largely a meaningless match-up). And I couldn't be happier with mine.
Enjoy it!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Honda_Ridgeline.jpg/800- - px-Honda_Ridgeline.jpg
http://www.cars.com/features/autoshows/2008/newyork/coverage/images/2009_nissan_- - maxima/2009_nissan_maxima_0_430.jpg
http://www.autoputer.com/nissan/07altima.jpg
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/09-nissan-maxima-dd-3.jpg
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll181/- - bb700092/03_09maximalive.jpg&imgrefurl=http://forums.maxima.org/7th-generation-m- - axima-2009/557681-do-you-like-looks-09-maxima-2.html&h=680&w=1024&sz=119&hl=en&s- - tart=5&um=1&usg=__gx4gIOSu8xR0sPN9YD8SAWHcIdE=&tbnid=xDzjn6goxhhIkM:&tbnh=100&tb- - nw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3D09%2Bnissan%2Baltima%2Btail%2Blights.%26um%3D1%26hl%3D- - en%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG
Where the styling cues came from.....
As far as the harsh ride is concerned, it is stiffer than passed years but nothing that I would call severe or unbearable, it really is more sport tuned. My 07 was a sport but to be honest they only thing that was different on that were the tires, the suspension parts were the same on both models. If you live in areas where the roads are rough this package should be skipped and the premium package should be sought after.
I was able to land the SV with the sport package for $32,400. A lot of back and forth but this was my third car from the dealership.
To me 09 feels like the biggest jump in value and luxury from the other two models I previously owned.
One feature that makes the Maxima "unique" in my opinion is the tail lights at night. I've always liked car that have a unique light pattern that makes them distinctive 50 to 100 yards away.
The inverted hockey stick LED tail lights are unique. If you know of another car which emits a similar light pattern, let me know.
Last fall, I came close to getting a 2008 Cayenne (V6) to replace the MDX but the car I was looking at had interior electrical problems. Also, it was hard to get the right set of options without paying thru the nose. So, I passed.
I don't think so. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My 1995 Maxima SE was resoundly criticized for an ugly exterior / rear end when it first came out, but as soon as the real enthusiasts got ahold of it, it took Car of the Year awards as the best entry level luxury performance sedan from Japan, bar none.
And, unfortunately, pretty as it might look, now that the Maxima has ballooned to 3,600 lbs (on a FWD platform) and only offers a CVT transmission, the likelihood of them getting any serious driving enthusiasts to give it the same level of accolades isn't "slim", it's "none". I believe that is where the 305hp TL SH-AWD will clearly be superior to the FWD Maxima. If Acura dares to throw in the same short throw 6-speed that is in my 2004 TL, Nissan doesn't have a prayer of competing in performance with a FWD CVT Maxima. The TL will be more in the league of a 335ix. But the TL will probably cost several thousand more, so there is still room for both.
Good luck - please keep us posted as to both the customer service and whatever is causing that light to come on.
I guess the new TL will get some getting used to but from the first glance, it is a weird car from the A-pillar forward. I kind of like the rear end edginess and overall it does resemble my 07 Maxima which I do like. I am only shocked at the front end, hood, and front fenders on the TL. Preaching to the quire about the CVT on the Maxima, I hate it.
I will say this though, if the choice were totally driven by power, neither the TL or Maxima would sell at all, Pontiac's new G8 would take all the TL and Maxima sales. Fully loaded, with V8, the G8 stickers for 32K including Leather, can't beat that at all. Only draw back to the G8 is that in its first year the only interior color is black but otherwise a killer car getting great reviews from the car magazines. See the Motor Trend article where it compares the G8 to the Maxima, blew it away.
If the TL is higher priced than the 335xi then the choice is clear.
- your experience is identical to my findings with my 2001 Maxima. I find that Shell premium works fine and note ( Canada here ) that there is no ethanol in their Gold premium gasoline at all. Their lower grades have 5-10 % ethanol and that mix causes problems with check lights in hot weather due to high evaporation in the fuel tank.
Other brands are blending with ethanol and it's not any different. Best to check what's written on the gas pump fine print and avoid independents who buy gas from any bulk wholesale supplier with mystery blends of refinery crap out there.
Esso and Ultramar are reliable premium brands here - Shell in my area gets the nod because of a greater number stations conveniently located.
I've pulled the battery connection, too when the check light went on and done the radio and clock resets patiently ! Dealers love selling expensive sensors to unsuspecting people instead of trying to offer simple solutions as above.
- Waterloo Guy.
As you might know, the Altima/Maxima/G35, and even the M35/45 are all built on the same platform, or at least they were prior to 2009. That being said, one can guess that the G35 will be re-designed soon. Since the Maxima is the freshest design of the 2, I would pick the Max. The G35 body style has been out for a while, the new curvy version is just a re-fresh of the original but not a major re-design like the Maxima. Good luck with your decision.......
http://www.toptiergas.com/why.html