Nissan Maxima

iluvmax · June 2001

I had the same problem with my rear license plate rattling. I stuck two chair leg pads to the back of each bottom corner of the plate. They will have been there 2 years this July and it has not rattled since or damaged my paint.

I saw your SE picture on the owner's board and it looks great. I posted my not as fancy looking GLE there too. They did not have the spoke rims available in July 99 when I purchased it!!

qx4 · June 2001

the special edition in canada was called ES
it had leather and so on on top of the GXE.

so from lowest to highest, nissan offered
GXE
ES
SE - GLE

i believe it was for 1999

seguy · June 2001

What are Max's leasing for now a days? Particularly one with leather and traction control. Anyone lease one recently? thanks.

mike9570 · June 2001

I just got a 36 month lease on a 2001. , 15,000 miles per year, totaly loaded. $452.00 per month. this includes connecticut state tax and no money down.However i am having mpg problems with the car and they tell me that it is within factory specs.
Mike msobotkin@aol.com

ludacris · June 2001

thanks for ur input, where do u get the chair leg pads?...actually my max is a GLE, but i guess no one could tell because there wasnt a pic of the back of it. actually i slightly prefer the "luxury look" wheels your GLE has, for some reason they seem to fill the wheel wells better (even if they are the same size). how much did your mudflaps cost? weve been thinking about getting them next time the car goes in for maintainence.

koski1 · June 2001

just picked up a white gle with tint and spoiler for $25385. nervous I left honda resale and reliability. 3.9% was the kicker.

ludacris · June 2001

congrats on ur new ride, hope u have as much fun and satisfaction with the ride as we have : )

iluvmax · June 2001

The chair pads are little round self adhesive felt pads. You can get them at any hardware store or Home Depot store.

My mud flaps came with the car and they do a great job of keeping the road dirt off the paint.

I thought you picture was an SE because of the rims!!

38000 miles and still luv it!!

Dave

edwardsa1 · June 2001

Well, you definitely left some portion of your resale behind, but I think the trade-off was worth it. I recently ditched my '98 Accord EX V-6 (which I HATED and which had significant problems with build quality and reliability) in favor of a Max SE, and I vastly prefer it. From what I have seen the American-made Hondas are nothing to write home about.

jscatena · June 2001

I'm turning in my wife's 2000 Maxima (lease is up). She may want another Maxima Any significant changes from 2000 to 2001? When do the 2002's hit the street?

Jim in Michigan

yaox · June 2001

I still feel my 01 maxima gxe's suspension a little firm after setting tire pressure 33 psi (front) and 30 psi(rear). So now I try tire pressure 31 psi(front) and 29 psi(rear). I just wonder if this pressure set will cause any problem. Thanks.

mhammy84 · June 2001

you will most likely affect the tire wear which translates into tire life of your tires. the factory recommendations take into account some equations which, considering the weight and distribution of your vehicle, and the tire sizes, will maximize the life of your tires. if you want to soften the ride a little, changing tire pressures wont significantly do the trick.

jcthom4 · June 2001

I am getting a 2001 SE at or below invoice and the dealer (sort of a friend) will throw in the complete VALUGARD package for free.
Will this stuff damage the car? I don't know if I want them spraying stuff on my new leather or autobody. It is supposed to help dampen road noise too. Anyone have any helpful thoughts? Thanks in advance :-)

ludacris · June 2001

if im correct, the 2001 maxima has only a few minor changes (new steering wheel with radio controls, the introduction of the 20th anniversary model are the main changes). im not sure when the 02s will be released, but im guessing fall.

iluvmax: thanks for the suggestion, hope it works!

ludacris · June 2001

i dont really know what valuegard is, but if it protects the body paint id suggest it, there seems to be a lot of maxima owners having problems with their paint being unusually thin and chipping easily...

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?s=dc78534637c333c29dc4850c917526da&threadid=25984

i havent noticed this problem, but i do have a small chip in the gap between my trunklid and body.

oehrlein · June 2001

I had the same noise, left front. I heard the noise when I went in/out of my driveway, parking & turning, or when hitting certain bumps. To make a long story short the dealer under warranty replaced the left front strut.

Good Luck
Semper Fi

goonies · June 2001

or anyone willing to answer.
if it is a strut thats causing all this "croaking" noise, is it something that needs to be replace immediately? is it safe to drive? also would it cause excessive torque steer? car seems fine except straight line on-center feel could be better, also torque steer seems a bit much. i want to wait till my first oil change probably around 1500 miles. thanks for any replies!

92drexel · June 2001

I've heard good things about the Nittos. They are big with the 'low' riders. They offer great wet and dry handling, however I think they are a high performance tire (which turns anti-performance when it snows). If your friend lives in a warm climate (where snow isn't a concern), I'd do that.

It's ashame that Nissan choose a 225/50R17 tire, 'cause there just 'aint alot of choices. Someone posted the specs for the 2002's last week and Nissan is actually changing its tire size to a more common one.

But the Bridgestones and Michelin (I think) cost more because they are All-Season High Performance tires (which can handle light snow) versus a pure High Performance tire which spins in the lightest of snows.

I'm personally looking at buying a new (or used) set of rims and mounting all-seasons on one set and high performance 235/45R17's on the other, then swapping them out when the seasons change.

Goodluck

92drexel · June 2001

goonies,

I wouldn't wait. I think Nissan knows about the struts and has issued a TSB for them so it shouldn't cost you anything.

Goodluck

chloe6 · June 2001

Hi!

I hope someone can help me. I'm planning to purchase a new Maxima SE this week, but I'm not sure how much I should pay for it. I have read that many people have paid below invoice price for their Maximas, but I have no idea how much to offer the dealer.

The car I want is a 2001 SE with all options except the 6-CD changer. The MSRP is $ 30,080 and the invoice price is $27,239. I hate negotiating, but I still want to get a decent deal, so if anyone can give me a clue as to how much to offer for the car, I'd really appreciate it! At least if I have a price in mind when I go to the dealer, I'll know if the price they quote me is fair.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide -- I haven't bought a car in quite a while, and spending all this money makes me NERVOUS!

Regards,
Chloe

raybear · June 2001

There has been a $500 dealer incentive on the Maxima, so they've been going well below invoice. My info shows it went until the end of May, perhaps someone here knows if it was extended or changed.

g00ch · June 2001

I have the Nitto NT-450 tires on my 2000 SE. I have ~23K miles and put the tires on @ 250 miles. I still have plenty of tread left, and I would step out and say that I will get 35k - 40k on these things. The road noise is minimal, and I have no problems with performance. I can't say too much in regards to winter weather performance, though. I used to live in Silicon Valley, CA, and now live in Phoenix, AZ, so you can guess that the weather conditions have been relatively non-strenuous.

-- g00ch

w900l · June 2001

I just purchased this same car without traction control or the disc changer in late April and paid $26,300. I know that there was a $500 factory to dealer rebate going on at the time. We also got the 3.9% for 60 mos. I would think you could even go lower than $26,300 right now.

sungblee · June 2001

About the 90 maxima hesitating when accelerating,
it turned out to be old distributor cap, rotor, and
distributor wires. After 200k miles, they (the distributor wires)
wore out. The cap & rotor had been replaced awhile back
but they needed to be replaced as well. All 3 were very
easy to replace and cost $100 at Pep Boys. About the
fuel injector might being bad, I had that problem as well
awhile back. When the fuel injector is bad, it will not
move very well at all at any speed. Take care...
btw, I sold the car and now am left w/ my other maxima,
a 99 maxima. I loved the 90 maxima but it was getting
too old and broke too many times. (But I guess it did alright considering how much I drove it.)

yaox · June 2001

To my experience, in current market, the Maxima price should be "invoice + destination charge (~$520) + Marketing Fee(~$400) -$1000". This calculation is based on $500 dealer cash. Good luck.

txcarbuyer · June 2001

Has anybody had experience or opinions on the Nissan OEM Nose Mask for a new 2001 Nissan Maxima?

Any advice or warnings?

What is a decent price for this thing?

Thanks!

oehrlein · June 2001

Yes, it was like a croaking noise. I did not have any handling problems because of the strut noise. After the strut was replaced the noise disappeared and handled the same. And yes I think there's a TSB on the strut problem. If you can take it in before the oil change.

Good luck
Semper Fi

dukehouston2 · June 2001

In my experience the easiest way to buy or lease your new Max is to call, or fax the fleet manager at a couple of dealers. They usually write their own deals so it is much less painful. The other option is many dealers have an internet department, which often is the fleet dept, try the dealers web-site. Anything to stay away from the viper salesman. My dealer is in OC, So. Cal., painless, I did it all by phone. Good luck..

Duke

newbie5 · June 2001

You folks are referencing the upgraded tires when you are speaking about what is on the Max? Standard on SE is P215/55 HR16 tires. Am I correct?? I see these going from $70 to about $90 on www.tirerack.com.

ineto6 · June 2001

I don't have a 2001 Max, but you might consider 3M clear bra as an alternative - they supposedly last for about 7 years. Check out the Aftermarket forum.

As for the nose mask, I think that it is a little high maintenance since you have to remove it periodically to clean and wax the car if you want your paint to not rust.

berbel · June 2001

"Joe Nissan?"

Do any of you who have been using this forum for
awhile have any clue as to why we have not seen
Joe posting here. I had posted a question for him
awhile back and have yet to see his "handle" back
on this forum!

ineto6 · June 2001

Yeah... I've been wondering what happened to JoeNissan (not Joe Isuzu) HEY JOE! I am calling you out! hehehe

dindak · June 2001

Any one know if the 5-speed Maximas are still having problems? I know they have in the past and wondered if Nissan had fixed them. A friend of mine is looking, but will go for an automatic if a 5-speed will cause him grief.

berbel · June 2001

It's my understanding that Nissan finally developed
a fix in the ECU for the 5-speed transmissions which virtually eliminates the "cutout" previously
encountered with those transmissions. Perhaps some-
one who owns a 5-speed could comment further on this subject to clarify for the rest of us.

berbel

92drexel · June 2001

cpa4u was looking for a replacement for a friend's 17" tire. I'm looking at upgrading my standard SE tires (215/55HR16) with (235/45ZR17) tires on a 17 x 7.5 rim.

cpa4u was asking about tire sizes (I think) because there are probably <10 tires in the world that are offered in Nissan's 225/50/17 size (with the cheapest being the $161 Bridgestones).

The Nitto's are a little cheaper (I think the $130 range) but they are not for the snow. The 16's are easier to find at a good price than the 17's. The 17's are a pain. That's prob why Nissan is changing the tire sizes on the 2002 maximas.

kyleknicks · June 2001

i know that the max calls for 5w30..but i went to get my oil changed today and i had a coupon for oil change at $10 but it's 10w30 oil. well.. i had them put in 10w30, and installed a pure one oil filter and considering it's the beginning of june and how it's kinda warm, it wouldn't make that much of a difference. what do you guys think? i figure that 5w30 is better than 10w30, when the weather is cold or near freezing

cpa4u · June 2001

My friend ended up buying the SE on Monday and had a new set of 17" tires put on right afterwards. He went with a set of the Nitto's in the OEM size. Not sure of which ones he got but he said the total cost mounted and balanced was under $575. Noticed in 92drexel's post that the Nitto's aren't good in snow? We usually have about 5 or 6 snows a year here in southern Ky. That might not be good. I'll have to tell him that.

txcarbuyer · June 2001

5w30 will give you. . .
1. slightly better gas mileage than 10w30
2. better cold weather performance.

Next, time you could ask the shop if they could give you 5w30 with the coupon.

Both grades of oil should be same or near the same price.

chilly1 · June 2001

I have just purchased a 5 speed manual SE AE. You can definitely feel the fuel cut off problem. Even though you can tell the problem is there I don't find it is that unbearable yet. I am suppose to have the ECU upgrade in the near future. I will post back and let you know how well it took care of the problem. From what I have heard and read, the upgrade is suppose to significantly improve the problem.

dindak · June 2001

The guy at the dealership told my buddy "the problems were only in a handful of cars and the new 2001 models don't have it". Sounds like it could potentially still be there in a 2001. Let me know if the fix works chilly1. Thanx!

92drexel · June 2001

Good for your friend! The Nitto's are a high performance tire with a soft compound geared towards dry and wet traction. The snow will be a problem.

From the feedback I hear on www.maxima.org and www.tirerack.com, the Bridgestone RE92 are not so good in the rain (compared to the Nittos).

Also...I don't know much about the climate in KY, those Nittos also don't handle as well in a cold climate because that soft compound that sticks to the road during the warm weather really hardens when its cold (performance turns anti-performance). So if the temp approaches the 40-45 degree range, then he/she may want to swap his/her tires out with a set of All-season tires (all-seasons have the letters M&S written on the sidewall...this stands for mud and snow).

Goodluck!

opimax · June 2001

go to another dealership if these people don't understand. Check at maxima.org, 5speed forum, sticky thread at the top for the TSB on the issue. There are published part numbers for the ecu after the upgrade. Alta vista has a 2k1, he had the procedure done and was a drastic improvement. If your car was manufactured recently it may already be incorporated but a read out on the consult tool will give the part number of the ecu and that tells what revision the firmware is.

Mark

dindak · June 2001

Cool. Thanx for the info.

I think the Maxima may be what I look for in a few years when it's time to trade in my Intrigue. I'd but another Intrigue but GM will stop making them next year.

My buddy will likely make a decision this week. He is also looking at the Grand Prix and the 3.2 TL on the high side. He likes the idea of the 5-speed in the Max though.

cpa4u · June 2001

I passed your info along to my friend. He said that the tire shop he purchased from said these particular Nittos were ALL SEASON. I just looked them up on the Nitto web site and they are indeed rated as an M&S tire. It says that they are all season and great in the snow. So, hopefully he won't have any troubles, as we do get snow and plenty of under 40 degree weather.

Thanks for you help!

opimax · June 2001

The 2002 Acura cl(2 door), tl, and Max sre suppose to be 6-speeds not 5, all w/at least 260 hp. That could lead to a lot of choices. 2k1 Max becomes very cheap and almost new 2Ks may be even more so. This before the end of this calander year! Or you get the high performance for yourself of any of the above. And as much as I hate to say it, check the new Altima out, 5-speed and v-6 245 hp before the end of the year also and quicker than the current Max!

Mark

92drexel · June 2001

Cool. I thought you meant the Nitto 555's. Your friend should be in good shape then. Let me know how he makes out...since I just received my new 17" wheel package today (we have something in common) and I was looking at the Nitto tire.

goonies · June 2001

i just got my suspension checked for the noises i was experiencing, and they adjusted a few things which seemed to cure the problem. also the steering feels tighter and better weighted. my only complaint is that my maxima really has bad straight trackingand on-center feel(especially on freeways) compared to cars like an accord v6 which a family member drives. torque steer is also noticeable. is this a trait of all maximas(the bad staight tracking)? or should i get my allignment rechecked assuming it can be adjusted? anyone out there w/ max and accord experience? thanks for any replies.

altavista · June 2001

FYI-

With regard to a few of the recent posts:

Price:
Paying $1000 below to around invoice seems correct for a Maxima no matter what the trim level - only add for tax, tags and registration. Plus there is 3.9% financing.

5-speed Problems:
I bought a 5-speed SE in April. It was manufactured in February 2001 and had the fuel-cut problem, which was very noticable when taking off from a stop. I was very upset. I had it reprogrammed, and it is fixed. Not one hiccup in 1000 miles. It took one hour including the test drive with a mechanic.

Fuel Protector Issue:
You may have to read back in the postings for this one, but basically, Nissan decided to start leaving a part off these cars. One call to Nissan N.A. and I had the part installed for free. 10 minutes to install.

Steering and Tracking:
I noticed the handling of my Max was a little nervous or twitchy, so I checked the pressure in the tires. They were all between 40 and 44 psi. You might say too high (nice pre-delivery inspection). I reduced all to 32 psi. The car handles extremely well, tracks perfectly and the steering returns to dead center. I have noted this to myself often, because it's impressive for such big wheels/tires (17"ers). Check your tire pressure!!!

Paint Chips:
Two small chips before reaching 1000 miles. I haven't looked too close lately, but two is too many. However, this does not bother me that much for some reason - I guess because the car runs so well.

Turning Circle:
Awful, about 40'. I'd consider not getting the 17" wheels and I wonder if you drop to 16" wheels will it reduce the turning circle to the 35' mentioned in test reports? I have to back-up getting around corners in parking garages. Very dumb.

Best Features:
Engine and 5-speed transission
Styling; in and out
Spacious interior and outward visibility
Audio controls on the steering wheel
Auto dimming rear view mirror
(the last two I wouldn't have believed before I had them)

Worst Feature:
40 foot turning radius
Dark gray, not black as claimed, carpet and floor mats, Nissan's darkest offering and they get dirty easily

Bottom line; the only car in it's class. Buy one.

Driven.

Ed A.

har1bush · June 2001

I was browsing through the Nissan webpage and I saw that the new Altima is going to have a 3.5L V6 w/ 240 horses and thought: man, that's weird that the Maxima would have a smaller engine than the Altima! Sure enough, I went to the Nissannews.com page and saw that the Infiniti I35 is going to come out --> meaning that the Maxima will indeed get 260 horses under the hood. Now I HAVE to wait for the 2002 model and see for myself! Has anyone heard about some other changes they might be making to the Maxima (no one really seems to like the styling)? Also, anyone know how the new models are going to be priced? It seems like the MSRP for the current Maximas are pretty high (26000+ for GLE), but good deals are popping up everywhere... wonder if the same type of deals will show up for the 2002's...

ludacris · June 2001

plenty of people like the styling, ive gotten many compliments on the car, i once got 3 compliments during a 2 hour span (washing the car)...anneyway this was posted by speedracer3 a few weeks ago...and pricing shouldnt change much. the prices arent all that high either, we bagged a fully loaded GLE (spoiler, cd changer, leather, bose, etc.) for 25k...

--2002 Maxima New Features/Content

(01 C&C package contents, with the exception of sunroof, are standard on all GXE and SE models for 02)

-STANDARD Features on ALL Models

-MECHANICAL-
-New 260HP 3.5L V6
-Gated A/T Shifter W/Titanium Finish Surround
-Brake Assist
-Electronic Brake Force Distribution
-Engine Cover

-STYLING-
-Side Sill Spoilers
-4-Bulb xenon HID Headlights
-Redesigned Front Grille and Front & Rear Facias
-New Seat Styling
-Redesigned Audio Faceplate
-Titanium Finish Inside Door Handles

-COMFORT-
-8-Way Power Drivers Seat
-Solar Glass
-Leather Wrapped Shift Lever/Knob

-CONVENIENCE-
-In-Meter LCD Trip Computer
-Outside Temp
-Variable Wipers
-Driver & Passenger Seatback Pockets
-Microfilter
-RDS
-Homelink
-Auto-Dimming Mirror
-Cargo Net
-Audio Steering Wheel Controls
-Speed Sensitive Auto Volume Control

-MODEL SPECIFIC-

-GXE-
-Auto Tranny Standard
-16" Alloy Wheels
-Premium AM/FM/CD Audio W/6 Speakers

-SE-
-6 Spoke 17" Wheels W/p225/55R17's
-New Suede Like Seat Cloth
-6 Speed Manual Tranny

-GLE-
-Drivers Seat Memory System
-Drivers Sear Entry/Exit System
-7 Spoke 17" Wheels W/p225/55R17's
-RDS
-Upgrades Bose Audio With 6 CD Changer
-Speed Sensitive Auto Volume Control

-SE/GLE OPTIONS-
-CD Based Nav Unit (Requires BOSE, Leather & Sunroof)
-Heated Steering Wheel (Part of Meridian Ed.)
-Side Airbags Offered As Stand Alone option
-Drivers Seat Memory System
-Helical Limited Slip W/Drilled Pedals (SE M/T ONLY)

-COLOR & TRIM-
-Tungsten Blue REPLACES Satin Blue Pearl
-Glacier Pearl REPLACES Icelandic Pearl
-Majestic Blue is a NOW STANDARD COLOR
-Sherwood Green DROPPED

Nissan Maxima

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