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Nissan Maxima

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Comments

  • obiwankenobi1obiwankenobi1 Member Posts: 290
    My father owned the 1st year J30t. He put 160K on it from 93-97 and the thing was a ROCK. Good power (210hp) and rwd. It was smooth and fast. Only problem he had was a bum rear window control.

    Now a 95-97 and up Max is also a good car, however, I never had any owner experience with one. I LOVE my 02 SE, but that is a whole different ball game.

    I have a question of my own: Did the J30 have IRS or was a solid beam real axle?

    I always wanted to know that.
  • canadianclcanadiancl Member Posts: 1,078
  • aftyafty Member Posts: 499
    The J30 did have IRS. It was actually based on the '90-'96 300ZX platform. Had the same engine and everything.
  • montmaxmontmax Member Posts: 32
    Well the Max will have the VQ and the J30 the VG, engine, the Max is much more of a joy to drive.
  • realyecatrealyecat Member Posts: 29
    All base models:
    2002 Aurora 3.5L, $25300 after all rebates and loyalty certificate, 5-year warranty;
    2003 Infiniti G35 w/leather, $26950, 4-year warranty;
    2002 Maxima GLE plus 4 splash guards, $23500, 3-year warranty.

    All things considered, which one is the best deal?

    Thanks in advance.
  • rms_600rms_600 Member Posts: 14
    I was looking at the specs of the pathbreaking
    VQ30DE engine which first appeared in MY '95
    Maxima and noticed that there were minute
    adjustments made after either the '95 or '96
    model year. e.g. Intake Cam Height on '95
    engines is 43.955-44.145mm, whereas on '96-'99
    engines it is 43.940-44.130mm. Main Bearing
    Clearance on '95 and '96 engines is 0.035-0.053mm, but on '97-'99 engines it is
    0.012-0.030mm. Minor stuff (from what got
    publicized and not held back), but one wonders
    why they had to make these changes at all...

    Also, with so much software governing functions,
    it may be advisable to avoid v1.0, and to let
    the software get debugged by the engineers before
    plunking down your cash....
  • realyecatrealyecat Member Posts: 29
    All base models:
    2002 Aurora 3.5L, $25300 after all rebates and loyalty certificate, 5-year warranty;
    2003 Infiniti G35 w/leather, $26950, 4-year warranty;
    2002 Maxima GLE plus 4 splash guards, $23500, 3-year warranty.

    All things considered, which one is the best deal?

    Thanks in advance.
  • 5greyhounds5greyhounds Member Posts: 338
    The G35 is just a fancy toyota.
    The olds would be a good deal if you are going to keep it for several years, otherwise the resale will go through the floor. They appear to be well built but then again they are following true GM history: get it right and then kill it off.
    Overall the maxima would be the best deal but have them deal on an extended 6/100k warranty.
  • realyecatrealyecat Member Posts: 29
    I don't understand. G35 is built by Infiniti/Nissan, nothing to do with toyota.
    And it's the only RWD in Infiniti's lineup.
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,515
    with leather (and no other options, assuming you can find one) stickers for at least $29,500, so that price looks optimistic, at least for now. And on a car like that, you should consider getting the moonroof, at least for resale down the road.

    The G is also more of a sporting car, as opposed to the Max GLE and Aurora, that are sofeter, more luxury oriented.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • weltonwweltonw Member Posts: 21
    nedlyj - I have the same volume problem with SCV as you described. Speaking from a software point-of-view, looks like their quality assurance team missed that bug.
  • pbhattipbhatti Member Posts: 87
    You forgot that the q45 is also a RWD car.
  • canadianclcanadiancl Member Posts: 1,078
    How come you didn't throw the Acura TL-S into the mix?
  • realyecatrealyecat Member Posts: 29
    I dislike any Honda products. They look bad and lack personality IMO. Maybe I will change my opinion one day though.
    Pbhatti, you are absolutely right, Q45 has to be RWD.
  • dabronxrdabronxr Member Posts: 73
    Anyone else get the fix yet for the "abrupt acceleration" problem yet. They say it is half hour job. Any feed back from ones who had it done? Any ways, have the GLE 2002 since early december. Still VERY happy with my choice. Those of you who come here asking others what they think is best and then rattle off all these diff. cars...YOU have to live with Your choice, not the guy responding. IF you like the Maxima it is good solid fun car. Damned...just do it and stop the B.S. asking every1 else what to do. Oh and stop with the price B.S., set your goal for 200-300 over invoice (plus any rebates), and go for it! If you do better, great. But don't make it your life goal to do better than the B.S. prices some of the ads have, or some of the low prices "you heard some1 else got". Buy ya danged car...you are missing the fun!!!!
  • realyecatrealyecat Member Posts: 29
    you are missing the fun everybody is having!!!!!!
  • leszekmlleszekml Member Posts: 1
    Hello!
    I am a bit disappointed with the quality of sound in my Nissan Maxima 2001. As a first step I am planning to replace factory speakers with some better ones. How difficult it is? How much work is involved? And... does it make sense without replacing entire sounds system (I think it does). Please advise...
    Best regards, Leszek
  • nedlyjnedlyj Member Posts: 89
    Thanks weltonw. It's always nice to know whether it's a bug - or a problem with my specific car. Now for the next one... (below) -n
  • nedlyjnedlyj Member Posts: 89
    I have a question for all you observant 2002 owners. The first three times I filled up the gas and reset my trip computer readings (MPG, MPH, time) by holding in the Trip button for three seconds, I noticed that the dte (distance to empty) reading jumped back up to about 350-400 miles almost immediately after refueling (as far as I know you can't manually reset the dte reading). It had been down to about 45 miles when I refueled, and it was back to 365 or so in a few minutes. However, on my fourth refill, the dte didn't jump back up. Instead, it came up slowly over a period of days. So it wasn't until I had actually driven about 80-100 miles that it was registering in the 200+ mile area. I asked my dealer about this and they said they had called Nissan who said you could manually reset it - but they couldn't tell me how to do it. So the dealer was going to call them again - but I haven't heard back yet.

    So... anyone seen similar behaviour or can anyone tell me how their's is working. And is there a way to manually reset this that I'm overlooking?

    Thanks.
  • nedlyjnedlyj Member Posts: 89
    Sorry to keep asking questions, but I've only had the car for a few weeks.

    I'm getting a loud rubbing/creaking (low pitch) coming from the right front suspension somewhere. It only happens under hard acceleration with the wheel turned pretty much all the way to the left (for example making a left turn into trafic from a stop sign and accelerating). The noise only occurs during the turn when force is obviously being shifted to the right front. There is no noise form bumps, normal left turns, etc. And also it seems much exagerated when temperatures are below 40 degrees. Of course the day I took it to the dealer was warm and I couldn't make it make the noise (not until I was a mile away driving home!). They said they checked the right suspension and lubed everything including the steering stops (?) which had been dry - but it obviously didn't work. Sounds almost just like the spring itself groaning?

    Any ideas or experiences? Thanks.
  • dabronxrdabronxr Member Posts: 73
    Huh? what do you mean 'You are missing the fun everybody is having". I bought the car in December, and I am having so much fun they are gonna lock me up!
  • godeacsgodeacs Member Posts: 481
    Got my official notice from Nissan yesterday - 2 weeks AFTER I had the work done! Was tipped off by carpoint.com. Took my Max in for it's 1st oil change and the recall work. Took a total of just over an hour.
  • 5greyhounds5greyhounds Member Posts: 338
    You are 100% correct. Do not know where my brain went. If you find it let me know. I will come and get it. Just getting old I guess. So many cars, so little time.
  • dmathew347dmathew347 Member Posts: 80
    My new Maxima gets crappy milage of 19.2 when i check my trip computer. Why is it so low. I already changed the oil after 700 miles of breaking in. Its at 1000 miles, and the mileage still sucks. My driving mostly consists of suburban street driving.
    Is there any way to improve mileage?
  • dogworkdogwork Member Posts: 5
    I have a 2002 SE with the 6-speed manual and just passed the 1000 mile mark...getting 23 mpg consistently over last 4 fill-ups. My mpg on the car's computer is consistently telling me that I'm getting approximately 28 mpg, soooooo...the computer hasn't shown to be that reliable for some reason. It's odd that yours calculates low and mine always calculates high though!?
  • bianca2bianca2 Member Posts: 78
    dmathew, try figuring out your mpg the old-fashioned way, doing the math. It could be that the computer itself is off. 19 does seem low, although it's likely to get a little better now that the engine is nicely broken in and you've passed the 1,000 mile mark. I usually get around 23-25 mpg, city/suburban driving. I get maybe 27 or so if it's straight freeway driving, no stops, but that's pretty rare. This is 2K GLE.
  • weltonwweltonw Member Posts: 21
    I also have the 6-speed, and have gotten 19-20 mpg for my first two fill-ups (calculated the old way). This included little highway driving. If I rememeber right, the trip computer was usually showing a reading in the low-20s.

    It's really hard to say what's good mileage since it depends on so many things:
    - type of roads you drive on
    - the length of your trips
    - your driving style
    - climate
    - use of accessories
    - tire pressure
    - quality of fuel
    - ...
    I wouldn't be able to name them all.

    For me a good test would be a long highway trip. Assuming good tire pressure and not using A/C the whole way, then I'd be satisfied with 25 mpg or higher.
  • godeacsgodeacs Member Posts: 481
    geez, my trip computer was showing 27+ mpg (2002 GLE automatic) the first 3000 miles...now has dropped to 26.5. So...I figure I'm getting around 22-23 mpg. 19 mpg seems way too low...
  • whchanwhchan Member Posts: 5
    My '02 GLE has ~7000 miles on it. Ave mpg is 22-23. Has not shown increasing or decreasing at all since day 1. Roughly 80% highway and 20% service roads. The trip computer will always says ~27 mpg.
  • habitat1habitat1 Member Posts: 4,282
    ..my 1995 SE doesn't have a trip computer! I think it would bug me to have something as inaccurate as it appears they are in the new Maxima. What's up with that - has anyone complained and gotten a response?

    As far as "crappy milage" concerns after only 700 to 1000 miles, I would still wait a little longer (another 1000 miles) before concluding anything is wrong. Depending upon your region, you may be using oxyginated gas. Break-in for newer close tolerance engines is also a little different. I have had a Honda S2000 since November, now with 2,500 miles, and the engine has gotten stronger and milage has improved from barely 20 to 22+ mpg over time.

    P.S. I was specifically instructed not to remove the original, factory installed oil in the S2000 for 3,000 miles (add as necessary, but don't change). Apparantly, new engine lubricants and additives would be lost if you changed too soon. After 3,000 miles, change and swithch to Mobil 1 at your pleasure. Does Nissan make a similar recommendation with the new Maxima?
  • albatros43albatros43 Member Posts: 36
    To bring up an old topic on the board, are you using premium fuel? If not, that could be part of the reason for your low gas mileage. From past postings, most people cite a loss of about 10% fuel efficiency when using non-premium gas. The point behind this - just use premium because the difference in price will be worth it from a gas mileage and peace of mind standpoint. I have exclusively used premium 92 octane and have close to 10K miles on my 2K1 SE automatic. I have been getting ~22 mpg and that's with a 60 mile round trip commute in Atlanta traffic. My guess is the 2K1 would get 27+ on a long highway trip. Anyway, 19mpg is way too low..unless you have been driving it really hard and having too much fun...which you shouldn't be doing in the first 700 miles anyway.
  • weltonwweltonw Member Posts: 21
    I attribute my 19-20 mpg on:
    - new engine: only 700 miles
    - the driving I do: 90% of my trips are <10 miles on suburban roads
    - the climate: it's still fairly cold where I'm at

    I use the recommended premium fuel, but as was mentioned it might be oxygenated - will try to find out. I'm also driving the car fairly conservatively, given that it's the break-in

    Bottom line, I think 19-20 mpg is not abnormal given these conditions.
  • obiwankenobi1obiwankenobi1 Member Posts: 290
    My 02 (Auto) Maxima SE on the freeway is getting 32 miles to the gallon! Pretty good in my book! Although, when I run the computer on constant, it is more like 24 miles to the gallon everyday.
  • montmaxmontmax Member Posts: 32
    Those trip computers aren't accurate at all, and I have experience with them from Cadillac and BMW. Same thing never are accurate!
  • alfaberalfaber Member Posts: 19
    On the I35 board (where I belong with my car), the consensus seemed to be that the mpg computer reads about 3-4 mpg high. That is exactly my experience with my I35 as well. The annoying thing is that the equivalent computer in my 1995 Volvo 850 was accurate to within less than one mile per gallon. So, it can be done ...
    --Andy
  • vanbo57vanbo57 Member Posts: 46
    Weltomw, I've got an '01 SE automatic. I'm getting between 18 and 21.5 or so in the past 7,000 miles. Not great however my daily commute is 5.5 miles one way on suburban streets, stop sign to stop light. I'm sure that is why. Much better when I am on the highway. Have not taken a long trip yet but I suspect that I will feel better when I finaly do and see 22 - 23 MPGs. Enjoy your car.
  • dmathew347dmathew347 Member Posts: 80
    Ok, some of you have metioned calculating mileage the old fashioned way. Pardon a dumb question, but how exactly does one go about doing that?
    If i know from the gas pump station, the exact amount of gas i put into my car, how do i proceed from there. The only 2 "certain" numbers are the amount of gas being put in and the mileage - but you can't simply divide mileage by the gallons, since theres an unknown amount of reserve gasoline left in the tank. I'm ofcourse assuming you can't trust the "DTE" value given by the trip computer.
  • dmathew347dmathew347 Member Posts: 80
    Yes, i use premium gas only, and my drives are mostly below 8 miles, 3-4 times a day. The climate is mild winter, and the tires are always at 32 psi.
    I drive normal, and without hard accelerations.
    Its still dissapoints me to see my mileage on my '02 GLE at 19.2 at a 1000 miles!
  • canadianclcanadiancl Member Posts: 1,078
    What are you guys complaining about? In the 5 years I had my '95 SE auto, I never got over 21 mpg in the city. Those were imperial gallons too which means I got less than 17 mpg with US gallons. There was nothing wrong with the engine either -- smooth as silk and great performance. Of course, part of the reason for the low mileage is that up here in Canadian cities, we make lots of short trips and city driving often means stop and go driving. Our cities have ZERO freeways. Well, except for Toronto.
  • habitat1habitat1 Member Posts: 4,282
    I've been calculating my gas milage the "old fashioned way" since I bought my 1995 SE (5 speed) new in September 1994.

    Start with a full tank and reset the trip odometer to 0. When you fill up, your mpg is the trip milage divided by the gallons used to fill. It doesn't matter how much gas is left in the tank, since the calculation is miles driven divided by gas used. In the event you add gas, but don't fill up, keep a running tab on the gallons purchased and don't reset the trip odometer until your next full fill up. I only reset my trip odometer after I've topped off the tank so that I get an acurrate reading of total gas consumed for the actual miles driven since the last full fill up.

    Hope this helps.

    P.S. Over 122,244 miles, I've averaged exactly 24.00 mpg (5,092.97 total gallons). Since January 2000 (41,660 miles), my best tankful is 30.33 mpg, my worst 19.41 mpg. I do a fair amount of highway driving (10+ mile trips) and some, but relatively little, stop and go commuting or very short trips.
  • tgif888tgif888 Member Posts: 351
    I just heard that on TV. Anyone know how long the term is?
  • aftyafty Member Posts: 499
    I believe it's 3 years.
  • dmathew347dmathew347 Member Posts: 80
    Ok, i understand the trip mileage divided by the gallons used to fill up. But how do i know that i've reached the exact mileage where all of the gas i had filled up at the pump(say 20 gallons)has been used up - do you wait until the gas light starts to blink? Is that a good indicator to go by? You can't select just any arbitrary time to do your mpg calculations, since if the car drove 300 miles, you have to know exactly how much gas has been used up to drive that 300 miles? I don't think you can just assume that at your next fill up, you've used up all the gas that you had previously filled up in your car. From what i've read before, the gas light indicator doesn't always start to blink at the same level. It can vary from month to month. And i don't trust the trip readings or the visual gauge as good indicators.

    >Start with a full tank and reset the trip >odometer to 0. When you fill up, your mpg is the >trip milage divided by the gallons used to fill. >It doesn't matter how much gas is left in the >tank, since the calculation is miles driven >divided by gas used.
  • mcontrerasmcontreras Member Posts: 10
    dmathew,

    I think your thinking way too much about this ...

    It's very simple.

    1)Fill your tank and record your current mileage (or simply reset the trip odometer).

    2)Drive ... and drive some more ...

    3)Refill the tank and record the current mileage (or simply read it off the trip odometer). Divide the miles driven (the current mileage less the mileage you recorded in step 1 or the current trip odometer reading) by the amount of gas it takes to refill the tank and you have your miles per gallon for that period.

    Granted, this is not entirely accurate as you may not fill the tank to the same level on both fill-ups, but it should be close enough. For more accuracy, record the amount of gas used for each fill-up but don't reset the trip odometer. After drving for 1,000 miles or so, fill up, and total all the gas used for each of the fill-ups. Divide 1,000 by the gallons used and this is your mpg.

    HTH,
    Mike
  • kyleknickskyleknicks Member Posts: 433
    this is how i calc my mileage.. im sure it's just a repeat of what other people had said...

    1. fill your tank till it clicks...once the pump clicks, do not pump anymore...
    2. reset your trip odo to 0
    3. drive until the next time you need gas
    4. record the miles you've driven using the gas u filled in step 1.
    5. pump your gas till it clicks... record how many gallons, take your total miles divided by the gallons you pumped...and that's your mpg.

    key is not to overpump after it clicks....

    i have a 2k gle with 20k miles using Mobil 93 and sometimes Hess 93.....started with about 22mpg...now, after 18months, about 25.5 miles ALL highway miles from Springfield mass to NYC. probably about 23mpg mixed local and highway.
  • dmathew347dmathew347 Member Posts: 80
    Ok it makes sense now, i was thinking too much..
    Thanks.
  • bdlfebdlfe Member Posts: 21
    Wow!!!

    Sorry dmathew347, but you're confusing me now.

    Isn't the "unknown" reserve, 18.5 gallons, the fuel tank capacity of our maximas minus what you fill up??

    Yes I'm also getting the crappy 19-20 mpg mixed driving on my GLE. On long highway trips, I've been getting 25-27 mpg.

    The trip computer's calculator sucks, as everyone is attesting to. And if you leave your engine on while your filling up as I once did, it gets all whacked. The mileage calculator goes to like 40 mpg!!!
  • bdlfebdlfe Member Posts: 21
    the weird dte calculation is most likely leaving the engine on when you filled up that last time. far be it for any nissan dealer or corporate to know anything about it, gee makes me think if any of them drive nissans, maximas at least?
  • tiger8tiger8 Member Posts: 120
    Who can tell me the turning circle of the '02 Maxima SE or GLE? Does it depend on tire size? Consumer Reports tested the Inifniti I35 and said the turning circle was a wide 44 feet and criticized the car for being unwieldy.

    But in their April (car) issue, they said the turning circle of Maxima was only 36-40 feet, depending I suppose on model. . How can this be? Aren't the Infiniti and Maxima virtually identical?
  • godeacsgodeacs Member Posts: 481
    Well, it says in Apr CR, that it's 39 feet. Where do you see 36-40 feet? However, the brochure for the 2002 Maxima shows 35.4 ft (GXE) and 40 ft (SE, GLE). Difference due to tire size I would think. And who said the Infiniti and Max were "identical"? Maybe similar but that's about it....
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