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Comments
I bought an '03 SE (Maxima of course) 2 weeks ago and I love it so far. I hear a slight rev-ing noise too at "take off." I find myself letting go of the gas pedal when I hear it because it sounds like I "punched it" (but I didn't). Did you find anything out about the "whining noise"?
I almost bought an Audi A4 but I'm super glad I got the Maxima.
Thanks!
oops!
I think that Nissan has a great engine, good low-end and high-end power. All I know is that I can be doing 80 and drop it out of O/D and punch it....110 comes up real quick. My old Grand Prix would have had to take a coffee break.....
on the planet for 8 years in a row.
Understanding how many engines are manufactured
for cars puts that fact into some perspective.
To the best of my humble and limited knowledge,
no American manufacturer shares that "prestige."
Certainly not General Motors with their vintage
pushrod V-6.
Perhaps others who share this board with us will
comment as well!
berbel
Pontiac's 3.8 liter puts out a rather unimpressive 200 horsepower. They need to supercharge it to get up to 240 horsepower, which is still 15 less than the smaller 3.5 liter naturally aspirated Maxima engine (47 hp less than the 350Z is rated). Hand someone like Honda 3.8 liters and a supercharger and they will give you back 450-500 horsepower with a 9,000 rpm redline. I've heard it claimed that GM engines are "durable" by my friends who buy American. What really happens in most cases is that the rest of the car falls apart before the engine hits 100k miles.
I reluctantly rented a new Grand Prix a few months ago on travel and can assure you that my 8 year old 190hp Maxima 5-speed w/ 135k miles would handily beat it in every measure of performance, not to mention fit and finish. It's a sad commentary, but as long as there are people out there that either can't or don't distinguish between quality and crap, GM will keep producing the latter.
Thanks.
I'm no foreign elitist, and I am both pleased and proud that the US is the world leader in many industries. But US consumers not expecting more out of US automobile manufacturers is, IMO, perpetuating the problem. I take no pleasure from the fact that there is not a single GM, Ford or Chrysler product that I could objectively compare to a $18,000 Accord, $26,000 Maxima or $45,000 BMW 530i and conclude that they are superior or even competitive in terms of overall build quality or performance.
"But US consumers not expecting more out of US automobile manufacturers is, IMO, perpetuating the problem."
Yes, the buy Amurchan crowd that I real feel in most cases is guided by some sort of patriotic feeling more than they will admit.
And Detroit feeds off it because they know they've always got that percentage of Americans that think that way and will always let them off the hook from building true class leading products. Right there, there's no motivation to be the best. No motivation to push the envelope.
I don't think all Detroit's products need to be class leading or press-renowned, but it would be nice if some of their products could go head to head with the best in the cars arena.
That runneth over with elitism. No, you're not a foreign elitist. You're just an elitist. You're calling an engine inept with minimal knowledge of the product and comparing an over $50,000 car with a $23,000 one. Apples and diamond oranges.
"...think its all marketing BS about an Intrigue motor being 'too expensive'" Marketing by whom? GM? If you're GM and you're building cars like Impala and Grand Prix and they're outselling the Intrigue 5 to 1, and the bigger sellers have cheaper engines, the bottom line is, you drop the LX5 engine in favor of cheaper, more popular ones.
Of course, I am not comparing GM, Ford and Chrylers against Kia, Yugo, Hyundai and other similarly classed foreign automakers. Instead, I am focussing on the cars themselves, particularly comparably-priced cars (so they would be apple to apple), rather than their country of origin, be it Europe, Asia, US, Mexico or elsewhere.
Consumer magazines have consistently rated, based upon survey feedbacks, Japanese cars first in terms of reliability, European cars second and US cars a close third; other cars such as Yugo and Hyundai are said to be improving but with substantial grounds to catch up.
Although I do not know the demographics of those who respond to surveys, I assume the surveys are conducted in the U.S. and most of the respondents are U.S. citizens and permanent residents. And I also assume most consumers do not make their purchases based upon nationalism or patriotism, but rather the quality and reliability of the products. In fact, I would venture to guess that but for the rental fleet cars and big purchases by governmental units, the number of American cars sold per year would be substantially less than what the reported figures show.
American automakers simply have to be more competitive if they want Americans to purchase homemade products! Look at the how the GM corporate board was shaken up when shareholders revolted. Management must focus on improving value and quality if they want to stay in place. The same applies to giving car purchasers the value and quality they expect and deserve. Survival of the fittest, that is the law of the jungle and the global market, unfortunately.
Sorry I diverged too much from the theme of this Board -- Yes, we should talk about Maximas and not philosophy, corporate governance or macro economics.
More popular, lets see, the Camry and Accord each outsold the Impala by almost twice as much, yet you still claim the Impala is 'popular'. In a world where GM wants to be king, and Chevy desperately needs to come close to even resembling a prince, they should stop with the marketing speak and just try to build a car that come close to topping the sales charts for once. Maybe they could do it if they put a more 'popular' motor in their car.
How about, take the Intrigue motor and make it available in the Impala? Hey but then sales would increase because someone would actually want the car. Can't have that. Not if you're a GM exec. That'd make too much sense.........
Back to Maxima......is it just me or do the doors on the 2004 Max look like they have almost the exact smae character line as the Altima?...except door handles are different.
The discussion in the last few messages is already happening in one or more topics on the News & Views board. Check it out.
Couldn't get a good look at the insides (it was on a platform), but could clearly see the individual binacle pods for the guages (3 of them). Wonder what that looks like from the drivers seat?
Overall, they certainly differentiated it from the outgoing model. I think it will end up being basically an Altima with more funky styling cues, and hopefully a higher quality interior. And less torque steer.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
it says... After 60,000 miles, replace every 30,000 miles..
why would it be okay to have the orignal coolant til 60k .. and then change it after every 30? weirddddddddddddddddddddd
Here are a few of the more servious problems, in order of when they occured, that I have had:
- Front brake rotors replaced at 10,000 miles.
- Transmission problems at 15,000 miles (in shop overnight to replace some sort of boot).
- Power drivers seat switch had to be replaced.
- Heated drivers seat switch had to be replaced.
- Rear bumper had to be removed and repainted due to misaligned trunk lid (in shop for 3 days).
- All 6 coils had to be replaced (in shop 3 different times for a total of 4 nights).
- Altinator had to be replaced (left me stranded for 5 days while on vacation last summer. Good thing that the warrenty was still good because the nearest Nissan dealership was over 200 miles away and the tow cost over CA$750).
- Transmission had to be rebuilt after several bearings failed last summer (in shop for a total of 3 days).
Most of the other problems that I had were "fit and finish" type problems (rattles, misaligned panels, etc...)
It must be said though, that even after all the problems that I have had, I am still considering buying another Max this summer (not quite sure if I like the redesign though). After all is said and done, the Max is still one of the best values going when it come to midsized sedans (with a touch of sportiness). I feel that I got the perverbial "Friday Car" and that my odds of getting another one are lower than with most competitors. By the way, I work with 5 other people who have 2000 or 2001 Maximas and they have all be trouble free (except for some fit and finish problems).
gerapau: I've had a fair share of issues with my '00 too. Maybe you should invest in an extended warranty. I bought one from warranty-by-net last year which covers me for 7 years/100k miles. Unlike Nissan's warranty its truly bumper-to-bumper (even covers the stereo). I think it cost me around $925. I've already filed a claim (for the coils) and they covered it with no problems.
nabi: My tranny whines too. I've been reading a lot of complaints on maxima.org about this. I even test drove a new 03 and it did the same thing. I hope it holds up past 100k miles!
you mentioned in your last post? I'll look around
again but I can't seem to locate it. It's probably
staring me right in the face and I'm missing it!
Thanx/berbel
Although the description the Tech gave you does seem to coincide with the "noises."
So...hope this isn't a sign of troubles to come (only have 700 miles so far). Other than the above, the car is fun to drive and great all around.
Please post if you have any other troubles or if the noises change.
conversation there!
berbel
but for all fairness it is about 2% of invoice.
You should be albe to buy a just about any 03 maxima for couple hundred over invoice plus take a 1000.00 rebate and get 0.9%for 24/36 mos or 2.9%for 48/60
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/incentives/holdback/
Just thought I would fill you in on what I saw there.
A few weeks ago, I briefly considered getting a 2003 SE 6-speed Titanium Edition, loaded to replace my current 1995 SE. But my dealer (VOB in Rockville, MD) was unable to locate any that met my specifications, so I didn't pursue it. The price that I would have paid was invoice, less the $1,000 rebate (i.e. net price of $1,000 under invoice). If they had it in their stock, I might have gotten another $300-500 off. I have pretty much decided that a 530i will be my next sedan, so my heart wasn't into shopping hard.
Somewhere between $1,000 and $1,500 under invoice (including the rebate) is a good price on a 2003 SE. Good luck finding one that is equiped as you wish. The inventories are dwindling as they make room for the 2004's.
P.S. Just my opinion, but I think the 2003 Maxima is a much better choice than the Altima. Stretch if you have to. I considered both in 1995, and am exceptionally glad I went with the Maxima. It has served me well for 134k miles and still looks/runs like new. Altimas of the same vintage did not age nearly as well. The new Altimas are an improvement, but they still don't have the fit and finish of the Maxima, IMO. And the 2.5 4-cylinder is not in the same performance or durability league as the 3.5 6-cylinder engine. Not to mention, the 2003 Maxima is the last to be made in Japan, for what that is worth.
http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/nissan/pdfs/og//maxima/1999-Nissan- -Maxima.pdf
If that's too long click here:
http://tinyurl.com/4n6s