Nissan Maxima Maintenance and Repair

henne

I spoke with nissan today about my computer being overly optimistic by 5mpg on average. they said that is acceptable. I have had many other vehicles and the most i have been off is almost 1mpg. even my dodges have been less than 1mpg off. if dodge can do it i would think anyone could LOL...

does anyone else have a problem with companies selling you things that dont work? if they are going to offer an option thats costs more money, and you pay for it, dont you want it to work? am i being too picky?

Thanks for the vent

robert

johngolden

You should be covered under your warranty.

I had a similar hood flutter on my 2002 SE at high speeds or when driving into strong head winds. Mine was particularly noticeable at the hood's edges.

I spoke to my service guy at the dealer and he knew exactly what I was describing. They installed a supplemental hood gasket kit that prevent excess air from flowing under the leading edge of the hood. For obvious liability reasons, they don't do a high speed test drive to verify the problem.

The kit consists of 3 gaskets - one each along the top of the headlight assemblies and a third on the underside of the leading edge of the hood in the area over the radiator (except where the air inlet to the engine is located). I'm not sure if there is a Technical Service Bulletin on this, but it was done under warranty and there seemed to be a repair kit.

Not sure how the part numbers would be in Canada but here's what it said on my service order:

"Hood flutters a highway speeds
If required test and repair hood bond joints, install bumper/head lamp pack components.

Parts: [all descriptions were truncated]
65829-50A00 Bumper-Hoo
65829-2Y900 Pack-Rim F
65829-2Y900 Pack-Rim F"

Apparently Nissan allows them to bill 0.8 hours for this repair, so its not major.

I've had no problems since then. The installation is neat and the gaskets don't look like some second thought add-on, so I'm satisfied. I did notice that my friend's new I-35 had the same gaskets installed on the top of the head lamp assemblies, so apparently this affected Infiniti also.

oehrlein

I have a 2002 Maxima with the same problem. I already took my Max in and the dealer had to order the parts.

There is a Nissan TSB for this, number NTB02-005. If you want the TSB email me: JJoily@netzero.net

Semper Fi

wooky

'00 Max GXE auto w/30m miles. Recently while backing out of garage with slight right turn into street the first turn (left)to straighten out is very hard. It almost seems frozen in place & needs to be "broken". Afterwards it works fine. Dealer is no help so far.

dirkdaddy

Sounds like your steering might be allowing movement outside of its designed range of motion and possibly going over-center. Have them check the steering stops would be my idea. Or the rack might be defective.

plumman

Any one know how to reset service engine idiot light on 99 Max?

emcmanus

Just heard from my Dealer that my 2000 Maxima GLE requires $585 worth of new Ignition Coils. The car has been on the road for about 2.5 years and has 40K miles. This seems like a huge expense for a car with 40K miles. Has anybody else had this problem? BTW not covered under 6/60 warranty.

Thanks

dklanecky

Terrible news for a new car. I have a 2000 SE with 88,000 miles and haven't had any trouble with the ignition coils yet.

Just curious, what grade(s)& brand(s)of gas have you used in the car and what kind of driving do you normally do, ie short trips <5 miles or longer highway commutes?

Has your dealer serviced the car at 15k, 30k, etc?

Trying to figure out if it might be time to trade mine in!

I don't understand why the warranty wouldn't cover this repair. Are they considered normal wear items??

emcmanus

I haven't had Nissan do the maint just based on convienience, although it has had regular oil changes. Most of my driving is highway. I bought this car because my '92 max (a far better car might I add) had about 130K worry free miles.
Based on this last problem, I may trade this one in and take a chance on an SE 6-Speed...

htn123

I just brought my 2K Maxima SE to Nissan dealer. It is under 3Y/36K and the dealer told me that my rotor need to be grinded also!!!.
That's $75 for something they supposed to cover.
The reason I brought it in was when I step on the break at about 50-55Mph the steering wheel would shake liked it about to fall off!!!.
Is this a common thing?
Thanks.

cheerioboy26

I also have a 2000SE, and the issue of factory overtightening of the lug nuts has been discussed here before, a long, long time ago. I'll have to check my records at home, but I have at my rotors resurfaced once. I have about 29K now, but it was probably closer to 18-20K IIRC that it was done, but I'm not sure. It was free though, although I doubt rotors would be covered under the 3/36 -just a 12mo/12K think since they are wear and tear items.

I haven't had any problems since it was done.

dirkdaddy

Coils are electronic, and not a wear item. On older cars that I've had experience with, I've never seen a coil failure. I have heard about coils going bad on these new cars and find it hard to belive. I'm not sure if there are any micro circuits in there as part of the electronic ignition, or if its just a straight coil. Most coils in my experience would out-last the car they were installed in.

DD

stickguy

I'm no expert, but I think the Maxima has individual ignition modules on each cylinder (spark plug),not a traditional coil like in a regular ignition system.

borisgudonov

Man oh man I'm sad. I got this car in Jan of 2001 and this is my first major problem. I noticed the afternoon when I got home that as I let all the windows up as I closed the sunroof that they all stopped. I know that if you hold a window switch in up position for more than like 3 or 4 seconds while it's already closed the switch is then turned off for like three or four seconds. But nothing was closed. I guess since I had all windows down all the way that the rear ones closed first and were closed for like 2 seconds before the fronts would have gotten closed all the way. But this has never been a problem before. Then I was leaving a meeting tonight and I noticed that the car had trouble starting. I thought that perhaps I had had the lights on for some interval during the day (I'm also thinking this is maybe why the window and sunroof switches stopped working for a second) so I got on the highway to get the engine raised for a period of time to get the altenator to charge the battery. I notice that the instrument panels and clock are not as bright as they should be and I check to make sure the brightness knob is topped out. I think I notice a loss in power for a split second. But it doesn't happen again so I keep going get off on the second exit I come to. I notice the radio will not come on. Then I notice the loss in power again. Then the car starts it for real and the car is kind of jerking and I floor it but it's stalling out on me. I stop. Won't start. Gives me the clicking sound. I switch the lights on and they come on and the horn blows fine and the lights come on in the dome fine. I turn that other stuff off and try the radio and it comes on but the sound is kind of distorted like the speakers are not getting enough current. My Kenwood receiver, changer, and amp draw a total of 31.8 Amps (= 21 + 10 + 0.8). I don't know what kind of current the altenator puts out but I did a search for on on the Advance Autoparts site and the ones for the 97 Max range from 90 to 125 amps. Crutchfield says the reserve capacity of altenators on most cars is 40 % so that leaves me with 36 amps if I have the least current output of these. I had to get the car jumped two times so I'm guessing that the battery is not getting charged for some reason. I think the problem may be the altenator. I don't know. Even if it is, why should the car stall out? Is the way the car runs affected by how much power the battery is or if the altenator is functioning properly? I guess if the onboard computer runs off altenator power then the fuel systems and other crap that the computer controls go to pot. Then of course I believe the fuel injection system works off voltage from the altenator too so that might account for the loss of power and stalling since the engine would not have been getting any gas. I hope I haven't torn up anything else. Will someone who knows about this stuff tell me if I'm right or what the problem could be? Thanks for reading all this junk even if you can't help me.

borisgudonov

For anyone who actually read my post, I'm about 99% the problem was the altenator. I know the altenator is gone for sure cause I got it tested at the local Autozone. Now to get a new one. One dealer says $268 for the altenator and $85 for the labor. $353 total for an altenator. Auto Zone had one for $204 with some kind of sale for $189 brand new. They did not even have any rebuilt ones. People really rag on Auto Zone stuff so I checked NAPA and NAPA had one for $289 bucks. Online I saw one for the Maxima for $210, 110 amps and all. Maybe online and in-store merchandise and pricing are radically different. I replaced one on my old 87 sentra with the help of my mechanically inclined uncle in my driveway. This one looks simple to take off but a pain to actually take up out of the car. Why in the world would they put it near the bottom of the engine? Anyhow barring some other problem that I did not know the car had, the problem was indeed the altenator.

kagedude

Hi, I have a 2001 Maxima SE with 20300 miles. I just noticed recently that the passenger side front leather seat rattles when the seat is upright. However, when I tilt the seat back to 2:00 it disappears. Anyone had this problem before? Any quick fix? Thanks.

meritprod

Well the automatic tranny finally went on my 1989 maxima. Now I want to sell it for parts.
engine is solid and sound great, always changed oil at 3000 miles.
Mileage, best I can recall is 180K, runs great, spoiler bar has rusted in places but still attached.
Nice BOse stereo system and has power everything.
Just curious to know what if any value this car is for parts/

ttupike

Does anyone else have a problem with the side mirrors shaking at highway speeds (about 70+)? They do on my 02 GLE and the dealer doesn't seem to have a fix.

dirkdaddy

If you were a junk yard, you could make quite a bit from the car, selling off a hood, bumper, seats, engine, wheels, etc all for a decent price. You're probably not a junk yard however, and the process will likely be slow and you'll have a hulk on your property.

If you are still game for parting it out, find all the maxima clubs, nissan dealers, etc and advertise what you have. 180/k miles is not really low milage, but if someone has a blown motor. They would compare yours with a core from a rebuilder, you can get prices from them and junk yards for comparison.

ccermak

I have a 00 Max SE Automatic. It's loaded with the BOSE, roof, etc. Here's the deal. Lately, like the last month or so, it STINKS whenever I shut it off. I've noticed it when driving once or twice, but usually it's most noticeable when I park in the garage, probably because it's not out in the open, etc. I shut the car off and get out and it's like "pew, what's that smell?". It's not like cat converter, it's more like a subtle burning coolant smell or something. I've checked the coolant and the overflow is at minimum. The radiator is full. The car's gauges always read fine and it runs and drives fine. It's just that it smells. I can't figure it out. I've had a flashlight and looked at everything when the car's idling, recently turned off, etc. No leaks, drops on floor, etc. Now it's happening pretty much every time I drive the car. Before it was once in a while. It's only got 31K miles on it. The one and only thing I've noticed is that I filled up the window washer fluid to almost the top and the next time I looked, knowing that I hadn't used any, it was down some. When I filled it it was 3/4 up the neck, later when I looked the neck was empty. Anybody have any ideas? I'm getting real close to just driving to the dealer and saying "here, smell this thing!".

Thanks

dirkdaddy

if its a humid, musty smell, your evaporator drain on the A/C could be clogged, wetting the carpeting and padding, and eventually, causing a smell. Otherwise, check for dead mice or something. Washerfluid evaporates really fast, I doubt that is causing any problems, and its outside the cabin on most cars anyway.

ccermak

But it's not a stink like a dead animal, it's more like a hot engine would smell but worse like a coolant problem or leak. After I park, I can crouch down and stick my face right at the front grill and it seems strongest there. Engine temp gauge always reads just fine, right in middle. Can a radiator just plain smell? It is quite noticeable, a friend walked up right after I parked my car, never even seen the Max, and immediately said "what smells?". So I know there's something going on. Maybe I'll just pull into the dealer. I guess I'm just fishing here to see if anybody's had any coolant/radiator problems, smells, etc etc.

dirkdaddy

coolant has a sort of sour sweet smell. If you're losing coolant, better not mess around too long or you'll run low on coolant, which will cause overheating, and you'll be stranded. Overheating your engine can do a LOT of damage like warping the heads. take it to get serviced. suggest a pressure test to locate a leak.

You might have causht a rock into the radiator, or have a loose hose, that sort of thing. you've been lucky so far. check the coolant level in the overflow bottle under the hood.

alcan

Are you sure you didn't collect a plastic bag on the exhaust pipe?

ccermak

I've never seen any drops of coolant in the garage, but I do agree a pressure test might not be a bad idea. It's convincing the dealer to do one that I'm suspect of. Like I said, 31K miles and still < 3 years old, so should be covered. I will continue to keep an eye on the coolant level, last I checked last week the radiator was full and the overflow was exactly at the minimum line. This was only a few days after an oil change done by the dealer, so you'd think they would've filled up the overflow. Aren't they supposed to top all fluids??? Key word is "supposed" I suppose. Oh, it's smelled since before the oil change so I don't think they spilled oil on the manifold, plus I've looked in there with a flash light and I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Think I might try to crawl under the car somewhat next time after parking it, if it would freakin stop raining around here. The weather sucks butt up here in MN lately.

Seeya

wain

Anyone have a 99 Max with automatic a/c?
what is the lowest temp you can set it on?
Mine is 65 degrees - is that correct?
Just drove an Odyssey and you can set it on 60.
Is the 65 in mine correct or is it stuck?

Thanks

ccermak

65 is the lowest. I believe if you choose 65 it'll blow as cold as possible until you go up to 66.

Do you know how to turn just the outside air on? When everything is off hit the "Mode" button and it'll just open up the vent for the outside air. Just a tip for those reading. I usually hit Mode and then turn the dial down to 65, that ensures outside air coming in even if the outside temp is like 40 degrees.

Seeya

wain

is there any way to have the Ac always use inside air?
mine you have to push the AC recirc button every time after you start the car if you want the coldest air.
It defaults to outside air when its off, so you have to punch recirc every time. Honda system stays where ever you set it, even when restarting the car.

stew10

Please explain how to replace the two belt on the 96 Nissian Maxima. What do I remove to get to the belts?

jljackson1

Hello Board....I just purchased a 93 Maxima for my son. I must say that I'm very impressed with this 10 year old vehicle with 133,000 miles. My question....does anyone know how I can get a new socket key for the locking lug nuts? The original had been stripped. Thanks JJ

gliderguider

I have a '95 Maxima with 195K that's been completely reliable up till a few weeks ago when it started stalling on the freeway. The engine starts missing and if you allow it to coast to a stop it will stall completely. It will start readily but will continue missing for a while, then start running OK again. Pumping the gas pedal helps keep it running. The car has gone through two Nissan dealers and one independent over a three week period, all of whom admit to being stumped. They have even experienced the problem themselves with the engine connected to their diagnostic instruments which apparently told them nothing.

So far they have replaced the fuel filter, fuel pump, fuel pump relay and fuel pump control module. They have also checked the "sock" in the gas tank. They have replaced the knock sensor because it was apparently producing a weak signal. None of this had any affect on the stalling problem. One Nissan dealer wanted to change spark plugs next because they were not standard Nissan plugs. The other wanted to start in on the wiring in the cabin looking for a short.

As I have said, they have all essentially given up and suggest that I donate the car to charity, but I am not ready to do this yet. Except for the stalling problem the car is in excellent shape.

Has anyone dealt with anything like this?

dirkdaddy

What a bunch of losers! They must be too used to the easy fixes of plugging in and checking things on the computer.

Engines are easy, they need air, fuel vapor in the right ratio, and spark.

They need to figure out what the engine is missing, spark or fuel. Although the max engine on my '00 uses coil on plug (not sure about your 95), I have heard of coil packs going bad in rare instances. Those are at the "end of the line" and would not be caught on a computer error code. Also, a bad crank position sensor might have that same effect.

It sure sounds like its electrical in nature due to your car running fine and then going bad, back and forth.

A GOOD mechanic will do diagonsis work on what is in-spec and what isn't, not just parts swapping. A new computer would also be a good "guess", as I'm not sure that would register on itself in the diagnoistic programs.

Find a new shop if you can. They need to test out your motor, not just swap parts based on a guess.

DD

luv1

i am planning to buy a 94 nissan maxima gxe from a private owner.......the carfax history reported an accident in 1994 and also a lease registration....the price quoted to me is 2650 and is in my budget range....i would appreciate if anybody could suggest me whether i should go ahead with the deal or i should be discarding it....thank u !!

ccermak

Just to update on my previous post. The smelly Maxima was a result of something getting caught on the exhaust manifold. It looked like goose poop or burnt plastic. Could've maybe sucked up a plastic bag like somebody mentioned. I had the dealer put it up on the stand so we could look underneath and we found it right away. Still stinks until junk burns off totally.

Seeya

pzzld

My 5sp 1989 Maxima stalls, while cruising, for a split second and comes right back. All I see is the RPM's drop to zero and then back up. My mechanic and I are puzzled. Injectors are clean, replaced fuel filter, temperature/cooling sensor, cap and rotor, spark plugs are clean, fuel pump is working properly, cleaned throttle body.

Any suggestions?

papasho

My factory CD/Cassette/Radio unit (not a Bose one)has been repaired 3 times by Shortcircuit in CA and the same problem reoccurs. After a few days of using the CD player, the whole unit goes dead when you either first turn the unit on with a CD installed or ejecting a CD. Has anyone else had this problem and what was the repair solution?

blackjacklv

Has anyone had any problems with brakes on a 2000 or 2001 Maxima? My moms 2000 GLE vibrates when stoping. The dealer tells me everything is fine. I'm ready to take it to an import shop. Has anyone else had similar problems? If so what was it. Rotars, pads, bleeding the lines, what? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

dirkdaddy

Sounds like your rotors are unevenly worn or "warped". Solution is either turning them (machining true and smooth) or buying new ones (not such a big deal). When you go that far go ahead and replace the pads.

cheerioboy26

I had my rotors turned at about 22K mi by the dealer (free). About to turn 30K and no other problems. Still have original pads. I have 2000 SE.

ccermak

Many people have complained in the past about the 2000 Max's brakes vibrating. Apparently there was a problem where the lug nuts were coming way overtorqued from the factory. I think there was even TSB's out there for this problem. Many people were getting new rotors out of the deal. If you're still under 3yr 36K warranty take it in and fight your way to new free rotors. If you search hard enough you should be able to find the Technical Service Bulletin for this prob and even talk to others that have had that issue.

jimmyg2

pzzld

have you shop check your throttle angle sensor. if it has a short at a specific position it will cut the engine off.

ccermak

Not really a problem, but when should somebody think about doing a tranny flush? I think it's a recommended 30K mile service, but I'm wondering if this is overkill or $ well spent? I'm at 32K miles and thinking of getting the tranny and coolant flushed for summer. It costs some decent ging though so I'm wondering if I shouldn't just wait til like 45K. Any motorheads out there with an opinion on this one?

Thanks

dirkdaddy

A lot of the recommended maint is usually overkill, IMHO. While fluid replacement is a very good idea and something I do, there are things that you can "inspect" as they say and put off. I've had PCV valves that lasted 13 years and all I had to do was flush it with solvent when I felt guilty about it, but the book said to replace. Many books for various cars say to also check various nuts and bolts for proper tightness, repacking wheel bearings, etc. I've done enough of following the books to know what is a dubious use of time and what isn't but use common sense. Just don't put off things with emission or safety implications.

If you are not hard on your Max, you could probably wait a bit, but if you drive hard, frequent changes and even a flush or two would be good. Race cars change the oil after every even though they are only driven like 200-500 miles.

DD

pzzld

jimmyg2

Thanks for the tip. I was also told to check the power transistor and crank angle sensor. The fact that the RPM's are dropping to zero when it happens pretty much eliminates the chance of being fuel related so I'll concentrate on troubleshooting the "spark".

nissmax

hi i have 92 with 90000,just put in 1 fuel injector-$350. im sure others will follow soon!runs fine otherwise.auto.repainted hood,mirrors.6 exhaust studs, 5! window regulators[done myself,alot cheaper!] tape decks' dead. oxygen sensor. carpoint.com says eccs goes bad,+ecu's.paid off 2yrs. ago,cheaper to continue to fix??? thanx, bob

bianca2

Probably, yes, cheaper to keep it and fix what needs it. How would you pay for a new car, by financing? How much do you have to put down? Just my personal opinion, but if you can't put down at least half the cost of a new car, don't do it yet. Continue to fix the old one and save up. At 90,000, you're probably at around 50-60% of the life of the car. What does the mechanic say about what needs fixing?

mtfcpa

Can anyone out there give me a lead on where to obtain a new spare tire and wheel "donut?"

My local dealer has no clue and tire stores/salvage yards are not any good either.

Thanks.

stickguy

tirerack.com

bigmoneymike

Hi all,

I have a 96 GXE with 71k miles on it. Yesterday, the little yellow check engine light went on and wouldn't go away. I don't know too much about cars, but reading from the car manual, this sounds like it could be something expensive. I haven't noticed the car running any differently before the light went on.

Anyone shed some light on why this would go on? And how much I should expect to pay to correct the problem? Also, is this something that only the Nissan dealer can fix, or if I get it checked at a local shop, can they make the light go away?

Thanks for all your help.

argie

As promised over a month ago, I would get back to those of you that were interested as to the state of my '01 Maxima GLE Ignition Problems.

To recap, I experienced starting problems about once every 2 or 3 weeks. The engine would crank when the key is turned, but would not start the engine. Back then, some of you suggested possible reasons for this problem.

1. The Ignition Key, with the electronic chip programming problems.

2. Fuel Injection problems.

3. Started problem.

Well, I'm relieved to say that I no longer have this ignition problem. I had all my keys reprogrammed at the dealership. They also checked my car for other possible causes, but found none.

Since then, everything has been OK. I also removed the one or two supermarket checkout VIP cards that I was carrying along with the keys. May be, those little club discount cards had something to do with the problems too.

Anyway, it has been almost 2 months. So far, so good. Thanks, to those that suggested alternatives to fix the problem.