Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
I bought the replacement at the dealer but can't figure out how to remove the current one from the fender. Anybody have any experience they'd like to share? Shop manuals? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I hate to go to the dealer for this since it looks pretty simple and I'm sure we're not the first ones to do this?
(The cars got 180,000 miles on it and still looks and runs great!)
Thanks
I also upsized to 16" mag wheels on the 95 GLE and improved it's looks as well.
I gotta tell ya....I saw the 2002 SE's 17" alloy wheels....zzzzzzzzz...I like my 17" 2001 wheels 10 times better...they are definetly better looking and have more class(JMHO).....Joe D.
Looks like the OEM tires are bad for snow traction according to reviews on tirerack.com. Bridgestone Blizzak is used best for snow traction. But 153 per tire...man it's expensive. Luckily I just need to travel 5-6 miles to work and it is a straight road.
Gerapau is right.
Yup, Wake grad from the early 70s and still follow them closely. Nice thing about b-ball is we can get our revenge on the 'Noles after we get creamed in football!
ACC Rules!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Any specific issues to look out for when considering a 98-2000? The pricing on these cars are pretty good in the NY/CT area - anywhere from $15-18K depending upon trim level and mileage.
Appreciate any input. Thx.
The best news is that all these cars are basically reliable, well-engineered and have some of the best engines ever put in a car.
except the navigation system and I paid less than $30,000. The Xenon lights are awesome. I really like the heated steering wheel. The fuel mileage is excellant for a 255hp engine.
This is my first brand new car I have ever had and the first foreign car I have purchased. I anticipate having no problems with this car based on Nissan's quality control.
I would like to hear from other 2002 Max owners about their experiences/ problems, etc
with their new MAX.
(the prices are carsdirect qoute) Now at these prices , without changing anything about cars wich is better deal. Maxima comes with abs , but no trac. cntrl.. Altima has rear indepentent suspension, which the Maxima does not. Maxima has new xenon headlight, Altima not. Every time I come up with a reason to go with one I find something I like better on the other. ARGHHHHHHHH! I ,like others, have a hard time (right or wrong) justifying spending Maxima prices on an Altima. The Altima is comanding (at present) near 800 over invoice, while the Maxima only 300 over invoice. Also would anyone know of any incentives Nissan might be giving come Novemebr on the Maxima?
Get the specific car you want. If you want side airbags, side curtain airbags, HID, TC, etc., you can get that in the Altima 3.5 SE. If there is something specific you want that can only be had on a Maxima or I-35, then get that.
I have also driven a Passat. We also own a Jetta and the Passat was similar in ride to the Jetta, so have pretty much ruled it out.
Basically I am looking for a dependable fun ride
with not too much sports car, but more then the Camry, which I also drove. Have owned a 89 Firebird in past and don't want that rough of a ride again. Are the 01 & 02 Maxima's similar?
Thought I could possibly get a better deal on the Maxima? Any advice ridewise, etc would be apprecated. Sorry this was so lengthy.
Also, could someone explain torque steering?
I see this mentioned and do not know what it is.
Thanks.
If you think of torque as the twisting power of the engine, think of torque steering as the twisting power of the wheels affecting one side or the other as you give the engine lots of power. This usually only afflicts FWD cars. FWDers have the drive wheels and steering wheels the same. (RWDers have steering up front and drive wheels in back.) Usually happens when there is a lot of power going to the front wheels. FWDers with unequal half-shafts are prime suspects, but too much power can pretty much cause it in any FWDer.
I just picked up my '02 Max GLE last week. I got all options except Nav.sys for about $27,900. Mine is grey with black interior. I finally found where the heated steering wheel was and used it last nite and it was right on time. Is there a special button for the heated mirrors? I have gotten alot of stares in this car. One guy asked me if it was an Infinity. I laughed and so did he. I'm so pumped about my purchase never felt this way about my nice but ho hum '99 Accord V6.
My 02 GLE with every option(the only way it is sold in Canada) to which I added a Rear Spoiler, a
Bug and Sunroof Deflector, Front Mud Guards (not in yet) and Window Tinting cost me $36,070. not including taxes which in Canada is 15% plus air tax and gas tax $175.00.
The freight was $966.00.
Are there taxes in the prices you are listing on cars purchased in the US? If so how much?
So, if I had US dollars, I could buy the GLE Loaded, with everything but the Nav System for $26,400. US Dollars. (including the spoiler etc.)
Any comments or observations?
Here is what I've found: Maxima SE 6-speed, fully equiped except for Navigation system. US list $30,002, US Invoice $26,895 (both include destination, but no taxes). Canadian list $36,900 + 966 dest. = $37,866 Canadian. I have found dealer willing to knock off $2,000 Canadian for sale price of $35,866 +/- Canadian. Current exchange rate 1.575 Canadian to 1.00 US. Equivalent US price for fully loaded Maxima SE = $22,700 +/-. There is a 2.5% duty to bring back to US, plus a couple of other little taxes/fees, making the final number $23,400 +/- (not including sales tax).
It is my understanding that the 15% Canadian sales tax must be paid upon purchase, but is refunded by mail upon confirmation that the car has been exported. The buyer must then pay whatever his/her local sales taxes are in the states.
The net-net of this is, that if one is willing to go through the hassle, one could get a Maxima SE with a US invoice price of $26,900 +/- for about $3,500 (U.S.) cheaper in Canada. This assumes you could buy the Maxima in the states at invoice, which is probably aggressive, at least for a 6-speed SE. Assuming $500 over invoice is more likely, then the savings are $4,000. Not bad. Still haven't looked into how you change the odometer to read miles.
-Jon
i also need the TSB for the TCM replacement.
Thanks!
This is one reason why a good helical limited slip differential can be critical to a powerful FWD car. It, and equal half-shafts, won't completely eliminate torque steer, but can minimize.
If you like rocking the ghetto with the bass drum, this system is just the ticket. But if you want to hear the music the way the artist and the engineers hoped you'd hear it, these systems are terrible. Also, unfortunately there's not much adjustment that the user can do. Based on my experience with them, I've found that they require that you turn -down- the bass by 4 if not all 5 clicks, as well as the treble a couple notches, to get something listenable and as balanced as these systems will allow you to get. The problem is, turning down the bass control affects a lot of frequencies that are -not- overhyped by the subwoofer, so the resultant sound, though somewhat more accurate, is also weakened in the part of the low end above the frequencies where the subwoofer operates.
Some solutions I've thought about for myself (if I end up getting a Nissan/Infiniti with a Bose subwoofer system that I'll share here): finding out if there's a way to put an equalizer in-line before the power amp; removing the subwoofer altogether; putting an attenuator (volume knob) in line with the feeds to the subwoofer. Any ideas anyone else has I'd love to hear too.
About the wattage of the two systems: More wattage is a good thing, especially in a car. Not because it plays louder (which it marginally does), but because it plays more cleanly at higher volumes. And when you're cruising at freeway speeds, especially with the windows down and the sunroof open, if you put a meter on it you'd be amazed at how loud the ambient noise is and how loud the radio has to play to be heard over it. So higher wattage manifests itself in at least two ways: 1) the speakers will get cleaner current at high volumes, and thus be less likely to distort, as well as less likely to fail; 2) The treble part of the sound, if it's fed by the same amplifier, will be cleaner, since the bass is what really taxes the amplifier, and if you're pushing the amp like crazy with heavy bass, the higher frequencies suffer inadequate power. (hence "bi-amped" technology to solve this problem).
I haven't heard the 120 watt system in the Nissans. But my guess would be that if it has the subwoofer, it'll sound worse than the Bose, but if it doesn't have the subwoofer, it'll probably sound a lot better. I know the 80 watt non-subwoofer system in my old G20 sounds -much- more accurate and in my opinion, miles better, than the Bose.
Finally I understand the hype about HID lights and why people spent 500 bucks to upgrade their cars.
Unfortunately I haven't heard the pre-99 systems you're referring to, but I bet they're a less-hyped, more balanced system. IMHO there's nothing wrong with Bose systems per se - on the contary, they've always been known as a ground-breaking audio company - but in this case the subwoofer and the way it was tuned is way overdone. I suspect that if Bose had had its way, it'd have done something more accurate, but that in this case, it's likely that it was the Nissan engineers who said "make it sound huge! More bass!", since when clients say they want it bigger, big bass is often an easy way to make them happy
If the stereo shop is a good one, it might make sense to explain the problem and have them listen. Then they might say "sure, no problem, we'll just tone that down with an xxx resistor", or maybe have other good ideas. They might be able to try different resistors while you listen and tell them which sounds best to you.
I think the -best- solution, though also the most expensive and invasive as far as possibly altering the original decor of the car, would be to buy a graphic equalizer, at least a 5 band, and the more bands the better in fact, and -if it's possible in this system- put it in line between the line out of the radio/cd/cassette and the line in of the power amp. If those things are all piled together in one box you couldn't really do it, but if they're separate (for example the power amp's in the trunk, like in many aftermarket systems), it would be a half-hour fix for a good car stereo shop. I'm sure they'd be happy to sell you the equalizer too, and could probably do a good job putting it somewhere in the cabin that looked nice.
Graphic equalizers are great, because they really let you tune the sound to the environment you're listening in. For example, they're used extensively on tours to allow bands to sound the same as they go through many different-sounding stadiums and clubs. So in the car, it'd help not only this bass problem, but also allow you to get it to sound just the way you personally like it.
The good news is that, after investing roughly $1,100 (in a new car that only cost $4,000), I had a sound system that was better than 95% of home audiophile systems. The bad news was, when it was turned on, my 0-60 acceleration dropped by 5 seconds and my gas milage by 5 mpg!
Seriously, I doubt that anything made today could ever come close to my college days system. Fortunately, I don't have any ambitions to replicate that insanity and will limit my audiphile ambitions to my living room.
P.S. Any comments on the BMW DSP "Hi-Fi" option on the BMW 5-series??
I just looked up the BMW system. Basically, part of it is a digital version of the equalizer we've been talking about. My guess is it probably works pretty nicely, allowing you to set the sound of the system, as far as bass and treble and all the subtleties in between, to what you find most appealing . I wish all high-end cars came with something like this. It would do a lot to make people happier with their car stereo systems. (Though I guess the BMW 5 series is probably a fair bit more expensive than the Nissan products?)
Another part of it is the ambience stuff, the "cathedral", "concert hall", and that sort of thing. Imho, that's just gimmickry, especially in a car audio system. What it does is generate digital reverberation (to simulate the echoes you hear in an empty hall, for example). While this can sound good in headphones (it overemphasizes the stereo field and makes the sound more 'envelopping', for lack of a better word, if that even is a word...), in a car you've got so much ambient noise already that it doesn't make sense to do anything that would degrade the clarity of the original signal (which the reverberation does). It would make it sound muddier, more washed out, more echo-y, and possibly kind of cool in the quiet of your garage with the engine off, but out on the road, probably the effect would be just to muddy it up. Audio engineers spend a long time trying to figure out how much of this ambience type sound to include in the original recording and use some pretty fancy gear to make it happen. Just tacking more on later is unlikely to improve the enjoyment of the recording at all, except if you love that echo-y sound. Also, the additional "stereoizing" effect that would sound so neat in headphones is all but lost in a car, where you're sitting way off center, and where there's a ton of ambient noise to all but mask what would be a fairly subtle effect anyway.
As for the BMW 530i, the sound system is a $1,000 option on a $42,000+ car, so yes it is a good bit more expensive than a Maxima.
PLUS, I would never get after market sunroofs, or leather for that matter. Warranties would be a problem, at a minimum. If you're gonna finance, why not finance everything on the car you want- you can't finance aftermarket stuff on the car loan and a car loan is a lower rate than any other type you'd use to pay for the leather/sunroof..
Am I missing something?
Good luck.