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Nissan Maxima

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Comments

  • ccermakccermak Member Posts: 260
    I think it's around 6.8 to 7.0 just like you said. Probably more related to the driver driving it and conditions like weather, tires, etc versus the car itself.
  • habitat1habitat1 Member Posts: 4,282
    It just so happens that I still have the June 1994 issue of Road and Track that tested the 1995 Maxima SE 5-speed.

    Here are the results: 0-60 in 6.7; 1/4 mile in 15.3 sec at 91 mph; 0-100 mph in 20.6; skidpad 0.78.

    The 1995 SE with 190 horsepower, for whatever reason, tested quicker than the 2000/2001's with essentially the same 3.0 liter engine "tweaked" to 222 horsepower. The 2002/3 6-speeds with 3.5 liters and 255 horsepower are a notch up.

    Enjoy your dad's Maxima, but do me a favor and read the "Driving Responsibly" topic I posted over on the Coupes, Convertibles and Sports Cars section of Edmunds Town Hall. Don't get too carried away with 0-60 enthusiasm before the ink is dry on your license. Good way to end up on the obituary page.
  • jdimottajdimotta Member Posts: 55
    For those of you still asking about hood vibration...I'm sorry to see this is still a chronic problem even in the 2002's and 2003's...I have a 2001 and it bugged the crap outta me..plus the gap between the hood and front fender was to severe.
    I know Nissan has some type of fix thru national headquarters..i made a copy of it..it talks about drilling holes in the hood mounts and so forth...what sucked was my dealer didnt even know about this...guess what ..i told my salesman about this and HE fixed the problem without doing any of that crap...he grabbed a couple of wrenches and a hammer and lowered my hood latch on the frame..dammm..if it didnt cure my gap and my hood vibration...
    I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU FREQUENT DRIVERS...am i just the unluckiest person on the planet or has anyone else experienced getting their windshield GETTING HIT frequently with little rocks...is this car a magnet or has the aerodynamics come into play...I've been hit 4 times with 4 dings on my windshield so far on the same roadway...anyone else experience this????
  • cusafrcusafr Member Posts: 184
    jdimotta: Don't take it personal. You are not alone. My 2001 Infiniti I-30 has two windshield chips and several front fender paint chips, and I try very hard to avoid anything like this. So, either everyone has this kind of trouble, or You and I are both unlucky!

    CUSAFR
  • kennyg5kennyg5 Member Posts: 360
    Thanks for the info. I will test drive the car this weekend to doublecheck the transmission and hood vibration problems. Perhaps this time I will try smoother roads to avoid vibration.

    Yeah, the new Max has awesome power!! I am hesitant in doing jack rabbit sprints and high speed accelerations because the car is just too new - not that I am an aggressive driver to begin with. In fact, I have been driving 20 years and have not gotten any speeding ticket or moving violation citation. Come to think about it, the extra ponies that the new Max has is not very conducive to keeping the car within speed limit, although I will try :-)
  • liquid_ricerliquid_ricer Member Posts: 2
    Thanks people for givin me info on the 95 max
  • nfeilernfeiler Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2000 GXE 5spd, and have gone through 2 windshields already first one was at 700 miles. One hit was a boulder from a truck, but I did have a few little stars from pebbles. Either the wrong windshield angle was used, or the glass is thin. Otherwise good car.
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    If you wanna see thin glass, drive a Subaru! I had a loaner Outback wagon, and a pebble from the back of a Suzuku SUV left a star in the glass! I have had rocks hit my Jetta's glass 2x as hard without any marks left behind. The suckiest part of it is that I had to claim the repair for the loaner on my car insurance. :(
  • tywebbtywebb Member Posts: 2
    Anyone have a problem with their heated steering wheel? I have a 2002 SE (have had it 7 months)and I was driving home tonight and it stopped working. The light on the switch was still on but the steering wheel got cold. I know it turns off automatically after 30 minutes but I only had it on around 5 minutes.

    Could it be a fuse?
  • mikemc1mikemc1 Member Posts: 10
    I experience the same thing on my 02 GLE. It is controlled by a thermostat
    that cycles the heat on and off to prevent the steering wheel from overheating.
    It will run for 30 minutes before it is auto switched off.
  • kennyg5kennyg5 Member Posts: 360
    The heated steering wheel gets hot very quickly. It maintains that temperature for about 5 minutes and cools off rapidly. By then, the entire car should be quite warm (assuming you also have the climate control running for 5 minutes), and you don't really need to keep the wheel that hot.

    My wife is "allergic" to the smell of new leather of our new O3 GLE. She says the smell makes her dizzy and she must keep her window open. Riding around town with the window down is not too bad, but there is just too much wind noise on the highway. Any suggestions -- other than asking her to hitch a ride in the back with a pair of rollerblades?

    The 17 inch tires seem to generate quite a bit of road noise when riding on rough pavement. Any suggestions?
  • basst95basst95 Member Posts: 4
    I drive a 00'SE 5-spd. I don't have any aftermarket mod's. I travel a lot and frequently drive various rentals. Noticed that my max seems to be at what I consider a high rpm driving at 65mph; the rpm's are around 2800. Other 6cyl cars seem like they are in the low 2ks at similar speeds. I do push my max; frequently near red-line. Wondering maybe if I might have damaged a cylinder or blown something. I figured a car like this should hold up, it's not like I am smoking the tires when driving. Maybe since the redline is higher the normal driving rpms are higher? Insight anyone?

    Thanks,

    T
  • habitat1habitat1 Member Posts: 4,282
    2,800 at 65 mph seems about right. I have a 1995 SE 5-speed and notice that I am close to 3,000 RPM at 70 mph. If you are comparing with automatic transmissions, they generally seem to be geared to give lower rpm at highway speeds (i.e. for fuel efficiency?). Manual transmissions seem to be geared more towards performance. Although I still get 27-30mpg on the highway at 70 mph.

    For comparison, at 70 mph, my Honda S2000 is running at almost 4,000 rpm in 6th gear. Coincidentally, its top speed of 150 equates to 8,300 rpm, precisely where it's horsepower curve peaks. Or so I've read.

    As for running the car up to redline, my Nissan/BMW service manager said that it's fine for cars like the Maxima or BMW 330. Obviously, if you do it all the time, it's bound to put a little more wear on the engine and lower fuel economy. However, unlike the "Click and Clack" guys on NPR, my dealer specifically recommends against shifting at too low of rpms (i.e. don't drop to below 2,500). He claims that shifting at too low of rpms and having the engine "lugging" along at 2,000 rpm is a great way to build up carbon deposits. I shift at about 4,000 rpm in the Maxima for normal driving, 5,000+ for "enthusiastic" driving. At 125,000 miles, an engine compression test showed "near new car tolerances". Overall, I have averaged 24.2 mpg in 80% highway/20% city driving since the car was new.
  • roar1roar1 Member Posts: 193
    You are correct ! RPM's sb. around 2400 @ 65 mph. Do you have the
    correct tire size on your car ? BTW, " habitat1 " does not have a ' 00 Max.,
    however I do !!

    The question of transmissions was raised. There will be a difference between
    an auto. and a 5 or 6 spd. I have an auto.
  • roar1roar1 Member Posts: 193
    Wow, How many loaners have you had ??
  • habitat1habitat1 Member Posts: 4,282
    You are correct, I have a 1995, so the final gearing may be different. However, I believe the 3.0 liter engine and 5-speed manual transmission are essentially the same from 1995 to 2000 (the hp increase was supposedly due to exhaust system modifications).

    However, I know for sure that a 4-speed automatic and 5-speed manual produce different rpms at 65 mph, with the automatic being lower.
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    Don't ask! I have had at least a dozen.
  • roar1roar1 Member Posts: 193
    to raise some eyebrows ( and increase posts ). Did you know that
    your '02-'03 3.5 V-6 uses the smaller Sentra oil filter. I really don't
    know why Nissan would do this . It does make it SLIGHTLY easier
    to remove but not by very much.

    In the future I will use the larger filter from the '00-'01 3.0 litre motor
    which will fit the 3.5 motor.

    Btw, are there any automotive engineers out there who could shed some
    light on this. Some one said it was to bring the oil pressure up more
    quickly on start-up but this can't possibly be correct because the Sentra
    filter is only 1/2 inch shorter ( same diameter ) than the '00-'01 filter. It can't
    possibly make much of a difference. The filters cost the same, btw.

    Bigger motor, smaller filter. I guess it made sense to somebody !!!!!!!
  • aftyafty Member Posts: 499
    I think it's cost cutting by Nissan, trying to reduce the number of different oil filters they have to stock.
  • roar1roar1 Member Posts: 193
    You might be right. I' ve owned a lot of Nissans and it seems as though
    they only have 3 or 4 filters now for all of their motors. There would be
    a savings if you dropped a part number , but I'm hoping for an engineering
    reason , although there might not be one.
  • nissangirlnissangirl Member Posts: 186
    Is your wife "expecting?" I've never heard of being "allergic" to the smell of leather. Was this taken in to consideration when the car was purchased, or did you really intend on leaving her at home? The only advise I could give, is to not park in the sun...the sun will enhance the smell of leather, part in a nice dark, cool place.

    Good luck.
  • basst95basst95 Member Posts: 4
    Appreciate the insight. I have the factory 16's. I will double check the pressure, though I don't know that would make that much of a difference. Incidently, I will keep revving away!

    T
  • weltonwweltonw Member Posts: 21
    Habitat,

    You said your dealer recommends not dropping to below 2500 rpm when shifting. Is that just for the 5-speed? For the 2k2 6-speed, 2500 rpm in 6th gear is about 80mph. Based on his advice and assuming you drive within legal limits, 6th gear should therefore never be used! His advice doesn't seem right... or did I misunderstand something?
  • kennyg5kennyg5 Member Posts: 360
    My wife is not expecting and I did not expect (no pun intended)that she will be "allergic" to the new leather smell since she is fine with our new leather sofa in the living room. Well, I guess the living room has more "breathing space" as compared to the enclosed area in the car, or may be Nissan tries to accentuate the leather smell with a chemical spray ... who knows.

    I had complained (in an earlier post) about a slight lag during acceleration, and was informed by board members that it is due to the throttle by wire mechanism. I am not mechanically inclined but thought that the lag might be Nissan's way of trying to tame the now-documented torque steer. Just my hunch. I do not know if the pre-2002 Max has torque steer since that engine was some 30 less in horsepower. My 97 Max (190 hp) neither have torque steer nor acceleration lag.
  • lunarmistlunarmist Member Posts: 41
    I've lived long enough with the "corroded" side mouldings on my 1994 Maxima GXE. I purchased new already painted mouldings from Tustin Nissan and removed the old "fall out" damaged ones. Any suggestions on the removal of the black foam adhesive tape and glue. I tried WD-40 and citrus based solvents with no luck.

    Has anyone ever heard of Nissan taking responsibility for this quality issue ?
  • dangnabbitdangnabbit Member Posts: 30
    Check this out:

    1990 Nissan Maxima SE
    Automatic
    170,000 miles
    No modifications

    Engine RPM at 100 mph: 3000

    That's right, 3000 revs per min at the century mark.
  • roar1roar1 Member Posts: 193
    My 2k2 GLE ( auto ) is running 85mph @ 3000 rpm. Are you sure
    you're not running Nitrous Oxide ?? ;-)
  • roar1roar1 Member Posts: 193
    lunarmist....try some kerosene. This usually works well with gummy
    substances.
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    That's a 1990 though, not the same engine. I would have thought the larger (3.5) 2002 engine would be quieter and run at a lower RPM though. Guess not...
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    Forget the kerosene! Get something from Wal-Mart called "Goo-Gone". It works really well. I got the dealer sticker and pinstripe off my black Mazda with this stuff. Works great! Also good to have around the house for when you get new kitchen/bath stuff and wanna peel off the stickers witout making a mess of it.
  • smankowsmankow Member Posts: 15
    Has anyone had experience dealing with the Nissan executive offices? I was told by customer service (800Nissan1) that I was to only deal with them. However, they don't return phone calls and customer service will not give me the extension for the person handling my account.

    Also, does this sound right - I asked Nissan for a copy of my history (currently on file #12). I was told that I needed to subpeona them in a court of law; the same answer was given when I asked to documentation of a complaint against a representative who refused to connect me to a supervisor and hung up.

    Now I know why Nissan doesn't win any of the JD Powers awards for customer service.

    Anyway, any help would be appreciated.
  • habitat1habitat1 Member Posts: 4,282
    weltonw: I may have slightly misspoke - I think my dealer recommended against dropping "much below 2,500 rpm under acceleration". So how much is "much"? Maybe down to 2,000? I think his point was that dropping the rpm's down too low under acceleration results in the engine "lugging" and building up carbon deposits. I also think that once you've reached highway speed, shifting into 6th gear and cruising along at 2,000 to 2,500 (65-80 mph in 6th for you) would be fine. But if you needed to accelerate from 65 to 80 in a hurry, I wouldn't do it in 6th gear, I'd probably drop down to 4th.

    dagnabbit: As for 3,000 rpm at 100mph, that doesn't surprise me. I recall riding in an old 1970's vintage Corvette (automatic) and at 90 mph the tachometer only read about 2,300 rpm. I think older engines may have redlined lower or, even if they didn't, ran out of power before redline. I also think that many cars use the top gear primarily for fuel economy and, as a result RPM's are well below the peak engine power. I recall seeing several road tests of cars where the top speed was attained in 4th (for a 5-speed) at or near redline and the car actually slowed down when put into top gear.
  • stermenstermen Member Posts: 10
    I just received two estimates from the local dealers to perform the 30k service. Both want $400-$500! I got a list of everything that they inspect and replace:
    Inspect Brakes lines & hoses, exhaust system & heat shields, steering lines & hoses, steering gear & linkage & drive boots, ATF, engine timing & idle RPM, fuel tank.
    Replace Air filter, spark plugs, engine coolant, fuel filter.
    Oil/filter change, tire rotation/electronic balance.

    I would only like to do the oil change, the tires, and replace the air filter myself. Can anyone suggest what really needs to be done for this service. It doesn't seem to match up to what the owner's manual says.
  • jimxojimxo Member Posts: 423
    I skipped the 30k and went for the 60k mile service.

    I replaced the following:

    Fuel filter $10.00
    Air filter (k&n) clean only
    Spark plugs $75.00
    Trans fluid $40.00
    4 Tires (Continental's $450.00)
    4 Wheel alignment $55.00
    Front and rear Nissan brake pads $300.00

    Radiator fluid will be at 100k.

    Or course oil changes every 3-4k miles.
  • aftyafty Member Posts: 499
    If you go into a dealer and ask for the "30k service," you will get fleeced. The dealer will want to perform all kinds of unnecessary services to increase your cost. Don't fall for it. Look in your owner's manual and see what is recommended for this mileage interval, then tell the dealer that you want only those services done and nothing more.
  • kyleknickskyleknicks Member Posts: 433
    is overkill!!! just follow your manual
  • nissangirlnissangirl Member Posts: 186
    Please tell me that the $300 Nissan Brake Pads is a typo! Is this true? Brake pads are going to cost me $300. OMG!! I just discovered that I'm in the market for a horse & buggy, any deals out there?
  • dangnabbitdangnabbit Member Posts: 30
    Hey Jim,

    When you say you went for the 60K mile service instead of the 30K mile service, does that mean you had the 60K mile service done when your car reached 30K miles? Or does that mean you didn't have any major service done to the car until it reached 60K miles (thereby skipping the 30K mile service altogether)?

    Personally, I think Nissan makes a relatively strong powertrain and a full service at 30K miles seems a tad premature. Hence, I'd just as soon wait for major service every 60K miles. Besides, it decreases the number of opportunities for the dealer to muck up the car. (I have had too many experiences where the car drove better going into the service dept than when driving out.)
  • habitat1habitat1 Member Posts: 4,282
    Bad news: I spent $130 to replace front pads and $290 to replace rear pads and machine rotors (1995 SE 5-speed).

    Good news: Fronts weren't done until 93,000 miles and rears weren't done until 124,000 miles.

    Verdict: I can live with that cost as long as the replacements last as long as the originals.
  • jimxojimxo Member Posts: 423
    My 2000 SE hit 60k miles this July. The work was done over a few weeks at different places.

    Tires Discount: Tire
    Trans fluid: Oil Express
    Tune-up & Brakes: Local mechanic, I purchased pads at Nissan with 20% discount.

    30K service is not a big deal. I drive 22k miles annually so 60k came up pretty fast.
  • vinceburlappvinceburlapp Member Posts: 64
    At :
    htttp://www.thehollywoodextra.com

    Go to the "Vince's car pages" link
  • kennyg5kennyg5 Member Posts: 360
    Thanks for the new 04 Max. pics. The exterior looks like it could be a cross between the Audi A6 and the Altima. The interior is hard to judge due to the somewhat limited view. I hope the interior materials are NOT similar to those cheap ones used in the current Altima. It would be great if you also obtain specs for the new Max.
  • pbhattipbhatti Member Posts: 87
    That's not the 04 Maxima. It's the Nissan Teana. It's a luxury sedan that Nissan unveiled last week. It will most likely come here as the Infiniti I35 with AWD; if it even comes here. The pictures on that site of are always photoshops of other images.


    http://www.nissan.co.jp/TEANA/PROLOGUE

  • roar1roar1 Member Posts: 193
    Did you really have your fuel filter replaced ? On the 5 th gen. Max.,
    the fuel filter is a maintenance free item and is located inside the fuel tank.
    I imagine that the only time this would be replaced would be if there was a fuel
    delivery or fuel starvation problem.

    I would hazard a guess and say that if you wanted to replace the fuel filter ,
    you would replace the entire fuel pump because the filter is probably built in.
    Are there any Nissan mechanics out there who could comfirm or deny this ??
  • jimxojimxo Member Posts: 423
    Your right the fuel filter is a maitience free item and I did not replace it. I'm confusing it with a different filter I'm not sure what the other filter was. It may have been the trans filter? But I do recall the fuel filter was not an issue.
  • ccermakccermak Member Posts: 260
    I'd wait til 40K and then do a tranny flush. Other than that just make sure you're changing the oil every 4k, changing the air filter before it gets really dirty, rotate the tires every other oil change, balance tires when they start to shake, and do the radiator flush at 60K. That's all the Max should need up to 100K except probably some brake pads and rotors.

    Just my opinion of course.
  • lunarmistlunarmist Member Posts: 41
    I am intrested in purchasing an entry level 2003 Maxima GXE in March of 2003 if the incentives are good. The local dealer said It would very difficult to find one, for about $750 more I could get an SE. As any one recently purchased a 2003 GXE ? What was the price?
  • blh7068blh7068 Member Posts: 375
    That is correct, GXE's are hard to find. The GXE model is to account for 5% of total Maxima production.

    Not to sound presumptious, but for $750 more why not get the SE? It has a firmer suspension and a few more goodies than the GXE, but has the same engine.
  • roar1roar1 Member Posts: 193
    Here are the 0 - 60 mph figures for the following Maximas ;

    '00-'01 5 speed : 6.7 secs. ( Motor Trend July/ '99 )
    '02 6 speed : 6.2 secs. ( Autoweek Oct./ '02 )

    My question is, what is the 0-60 for the '02-'03 Max. auto. ?
    My guess would be in the 7.2 - 7.3 range. Has anyone seen
    any PUBLISHED results....Thanks !!
  • aftyafty Member Posts: 499
    C/D tested an Infiniti I35, which is basically the same as an auto Maxima, at 6.9 seconds 0-60.
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