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
Anyone ever had that happen before (the window thing)? Am I in for more electrical problems?
It may be worth the expense to take your car to a custom body shop and have the lower portions of the door gravelguarded and repainted. This is easy to do and should not be awfully expensive. This way you will take care of the problem for good.
Do you think its worth getting a better/second clear/protective coat on the entire car (rather than just the bottom)? Is there such a thing?
Thanks.
As far as reclearcoating the whole car, this would basically amount to repainting the car. You can't just shoot clearcoat over factory finish without sanding down the paint, otherwise it would fly right off. To get a good quality paint job, you need several layers of the base coat and clearcoat both - more than Nissan applies to these vehicles at the factory.
While returning from a 500 mile trip during the July 4th weekend, the engine spluttered and hesitated again and in a few minutes the SES light came on. Next morning to my surprise the light off on its own and the spluttering/hesitation also went off. However I took it to the dealer and he diagnosed it as a defective ignition coil which is misfiring, the 5th one of the six coils and says it needs to be replaced else it will damage the others too. The dealer is charging $225 for it. Last month itself I spent $1350 fixing the O2 sensor, throttle and injector flushing, brake wires and caliper changes, brake shoes and rotor resurfacing etc.
Not sure what to do as the SES light is off and the car is running fine. Should I live with this "supposedly bad ignition coil" or will it damage the others too? I feel it is becoming expensive to maintain a maxima.
Guys your advice and experience will really help.
I agree with you when you complain that it is getting expensive to maintain the Maxima if you take it to a Nissan dealer for all work. I do all the maintenance on my 98 myself and so far I have done hardly anything to it. I also have a 95 Nissan truck which has been somewhat less reliable than the Maxima. I get Nissan parts at a discount of at least 15% from Nissan dealers that advertise on the web. You do not pay sales tax on the parts if shipped from another state. And some offer free shipping if you buy parts over $ 100.
I also asked them how much it would cost me if I didn't have warranty. They said - $1K easily.
As far as labor for replacing the coils, it should be minimal because you simply disconnect the electrical connector and pull the coil off the spark plug. So unless the price of the ignition coils for 2000 and later models is much higher than for 95-99 models, I do not see how it would cost $ 1000 for a set.
Michelin Pilot, Michelin MXV(?), Toyo Proxess.
Bad experience:
Firestones, General tire, Bridgestone Potenzas, and the worst ones without any doubt were Continentals CH4s.
Component Description:
15. SUSPENSION:SINGLE AXLE:REAR:LEAF SPRING ASSEMBLY NHTSA Number: SB633599
Bulletin Number: NTB02056
Bulletin Date: MAY 2002
Vehicle: 2002 Nissan Maxima
Summary:
SUBJECT REGARDING REAR SUSPENSION BOTTOMS OUT. *JG SUBJECT REGARDING REAR SUSPENSION BOTTOMS OUT. *JG
THE BRAKE CALIPERS ON ALL 4 CORNERS OF MY 26,500 MILE SE HAVE SURFACE RUST. I HAVE CHECKED EVERY MAX I SEE INCLUDING DEALER LOTS AND HAVE NOT SEEN ONE WITH RUSTED BRAKE CALIPERS. I WILL TALK TO THE SERVICE MGR. BY PHONE, CHECK TO SEE THAT HE WILL IN FACT, BE THERE WHEN I COME OVER THERE TO SHOW HIM AND SET UP APPOINTMENT FOR REPLACEMENTS. I WILL GET REPLACEMENTS, RIGHT? THE RUST WARRANTY SHOULD APPLY HERE, I WOULD THINK. BY THE WAY, BRAKES ARE FINE BUT THE CALIPERS LOOK LIKE CRAP. DO YOU THINK I'VE GOT A CASE HERE?
OH AND, I WASN'T YELLING - HAD THE CAPS LOCK ON. SORRY.
Most likely the dealer will tell you that a rusty caliper is normal. I would not worry about it at all because aside from esthetics standpoint, there is no issue. These will not rust through like sheet metal as they are thick cast parts.
If the rust really bothers you on your calipers, you can paint them yourself. Wire brush as much rust as you can, then paint with a good quality engine enamel which is heat resistant to about 500deg F. Just mask off the areas you do not want to paint. And if you use a power drill with a small wire wheel to remove the surface rust, be careful so you do not damage the rubber parts or the brake line. The total cost of paint will be about $ 5. Pep Boys carries pretty good selection of engine paints.
Some manufacturers do paint castings. For example, water cooled manifolds and risers for boat engines come painted from the factory. And they are heavy cast iron items that would not be damaged by surface rust.
Of course, you can still pursue the argument with the dealer. If they give you new painted calipers under warranty, good for you. However, this is not worth loosing your sleep over.
This (rear pads wearing out before the front ones)has never happened to me, and I owned a lot of cars. My rear brake pads usually last 70 or 80K miles. I still have the original brake pads (both front and rear) on the 98 Maxima SE with 65K miles.
Any input you have for me would be appreciated. Thanks
Dinu
Your repeated posts here are, frankly, quite annoying!
Cheers!
Dinu
Owned one in 84( was called a Datsun then) and was very happy with the car. Sold it after 145,00+ miles. Then drove a Subaru legacy and loved it, gave it to my son, then drove an Odyssey (Honda van). Now I'm looking for a sedan again. The EX V-6 Sedan Accord is best price- wise, but I'm leaning toward the Maxima. Not interested in navigation system. Don't want to buy MAxima if it has flaws or major problems. Blind spots? Air conditioner/heater? etc. Can you all help?! Thanks
Any ideas what else it could be? I wish I had a friend that was a mechanic.
P.S. this is an '03 SE Maxima
Test drove the MAX again today. I really do like it. Hope I'm not getting into the wrong car. I need dependability and safety.
1. Tire balancing was done improperly over and over again.
2. You have a problem with one or more of your tires, such as a broken or shifting belt, or one or more tires are out of round.
I am absolutely amazed how difficult it is to find a place in the US that will balance your wheels properly. Tire balancers are generally not the problem - it is the people who balance the tires. They either mount the wheel wrong on the balancer by improperly centering it, or they enter the wrong parameters. I had wheels balanced wrong on my vehicles so many times that I tend to believe that this may be your problem. Your Maxima is very sensitive to wheel balance. Suggest take your car to an expensive import car dealer, or an least to an Infiniti dealer. They may have better trained personnel and better calibrated balancers. There are some good wheel balancers out there. Hunter just introduced a new model that presses a roller agianst the tire when it is spun and simulates actual loading of the wheel/tire under actual road conditions. This machine can detect tire problems, such as out of roundness or shifting belts. All parameters are entered automatically into the machine, which helps eliminate the operator error.
Your tires could be out of round. The best balancer in the world will not compensate for this problem. I bought two brand new Continental CH4 tires that were so badly out of round that they were unuseable. The vibration at 70 MPH was severe despite correct balancing. A broken belt in a tire will cause varrying shimmy or vibration and it gets worse the longer you drive because the tire gets hotter and the belt shifts more. Had that problem too with one of the Continental tires (these were the worst tires I have ever bought!)
You may solve your problem for good if you invest in a set of good quality Michelins. I understand that it is a hard choice to make when your car is under warranty, but the dealer will likely replace your tires with the same lousy tires that came on your car to begin with. I would recommend Michelin Pilot or Michelin MXV for your car. Your new Maxima is a substantial investment and you should enjoy your new car. I understand only too well how disappointing it must be to you to go through these problems.
BTW, I was very seriously considering buying a new 03 SE Maxima. Both cars I test drove had vibration around 60 MPH, probably due to defective tires. I walked away. When I test drove a new 03 Honda Accord EX V6, it rode smoothly without any signs of vibration. The tires were Michelin MXV.
I have just bought 2003 Nissan Maxima last month(June 2003) and has only 400 miles on it. My Xenon Head lights has been stolen in 10 minute from Mall in NJ. I am thinking to replace lights with regular lights (2001 Maxima). Dose any one tell me what are needed parts except for Regular headlights?
Lights, Wire harness, etc.
Thanks in advance.
Dharam
Now for my problem, I have had a strange drumming noise which sounds like it's coming from the trunk area. It in not the spare tire or changing tools as I have removed everything including the mat and spare tire cover to no avail. This vibrating druming appears only on rough pavement from about 20 mph to 60mph.It is not a heat shield or tail pipe that i'm hearing as I have beat on each with a rubber hammer and cannot duplicate the sound. If anyone can help with this I would be forever grateful for this is driving me crazy. This irratating noise aside my car has been extremely enjoyable and very reliable.
As far as the general shimmy, after countless balancing and alignments, the dealer said it was the tire!!! So he replaced the bad tire (which according to the dealer it had a blind spot). This problem reoccurred at 8k miles (after rotating the tires) and we went through the motions again. Now the dealer said it is a bad tire again but this time I need to contact the tire manufacturer to get it resolved. I finally got the tire people convinced and they replaced the tire and that issue is now partially resolved.
The stereo ... from day one, whenever I played a CD the left side speakers would just go out!!!! And sometimes it would not play at all and give me ERROR reading CD message. The dealer kept telling me that it's because I am playing burned CDs. I was not convinced. Finally the dealer agreed to replace the unit and it got worse. The third unit the dealer installed worked and still working thank God. I investigated to why would a new stereo not work? The dealer said that Bose only sends refurbished units as a replacement. I was furious.... I bought the car new and if their product did not work they refused to give me a new unit!!!! Hello ...
As it stands today: I have an appointment on Friday because the steering wheel shimmies when I apply the brakes (the car has 12k miles now) and I would never by a Nissan again.
I have been in touch with the Nissan Consumer Affairs from day one and they do not seem to be accommodating at all. They are like trained robots. They only know how to repeat the same thing over and over again. I have always been a maxima fan. I still think it has the best engine and the performance (the original 4DSC) but I am fed up.
My recommendation to all of you is to contact Nissan and document all of your issues with the consumer affairs department. And for those who are considering buying a maxima ... be careful, be very careful. Test drive it very carefully, get on the highway, apply the breaks and play the CD while driving on a bumpy road.
Brakes - wear and tear maintenance item. You got 12K miles before having to resurface the rotors again? You did well. This is a problem with any new car - ever since they stopped using asbestos in the pads the rotors warp really easy. This applies to any new car, not just Nissan. Actually, I put after-market rotors and pads and got the shimmy within 4k miles. In comparison the OEM Nissan pads and rotors are VERY good. You just have to get used to turning your rotors regularly, and then replace them when below minimum thickness. As I said - applies to any new car - and I have two. (One is an Acura.)
CD - you have a point here, but as long as it is fixed under warranty that should be it. No big deal.
Hey, and if you are still not happy with your Maxima – you can always go and buy a Jetta!
I know a lot of very loyal NISSAN owners and I hear great stories about people owning these cars for almost up to 200,000 worry free miles (real people I know personally) and I am hoping to be so lucky. I may wait a year or so and just get new tires, I can't justify doing it now.
Ohan, sorry to hear about all those problems, its really frustrating especially when you expect this car to perform well. I personally don't think that my car in particular has defects (maybe crappy tires). That's really sh*ty of the dealer to put in a refurbised product in a new car, I didn't know they did stuff like that. I'm furious for you. If NISSAN ever does that to me (or anything warranting an earful) I'll be sure to give them an earful, followed by something in writing. I used to own a Ford and that car was a LEMON!! I went through arbitration and Ford extended my warranty. That car was leaking all sorts of fluids, steering, transmission, you name it, it leaked it, and the transmission would kick really hard when the gears changed (that was particularly strange since the Contour was an automatic) it kicked so hard that the first time I felt it, I thought I was rear ended - the transmission was replaced, the rotors went bad twice in 10k miles, the fuel door wouldn't open and to this day it still doesn't, for all the years I kept that car, I had to go in the trunk, hold the emergency fuel door latch in the out position, reach around to the outside of the car and with the tip of my finger, flick the fuel door to get it open, the air conditioner condensation would leak into the car, not out and ruined the carpet, the carpet needed to be changed anyway, two weeks after I had the car, I noticed that the carpet didn't fit and about a 1/4 of the passenger side floor was exposed, the glove box lock fell out, just fell out one day while I was driving, the interior door panels warped forming huge bubbles which looked liked the car was severely sick, the air conditioning vents all cracked into a bunch of pieces, the rear view mirror fell off, the seat belts would jam and it took me forever just to get out of the driveway because I wasn't leaving without putting on my seatbelt, the list goes on and on. That car was my first new car, I took really really good care of it in spite of all its troubles.
Ohan, I'm not invalidating your problems with your car, just telling you how bad it REALLY could be and to give everyone reading a good laugh (all of the above is true).
sgrd0q - don't be so hard on Ohan, he/she just wants to drive his/her car and not only to the service department.
Maxima sports sedans, Xterra sport utility vehicles, Frontier pickup trucks and Altima midsize sedans are manufactured at the company's award-winning Smyrna plant (the most efficient automotive manufacturing operation in North America by the Harbour Report, an honor it has held for eight straight years). When fully operational in 2004, the Canton, Miss., plant will build the all-new Nissan Quest minivans (launching late May 2003), Nissan and Infiniti full-size sports utility vehicles, the full-size Titan truck and additional Altima sedans.
"Bringing the Maxima to the United States is key to our company's strategy of building cars and trucks closer to where they are sold"...."Through a concerted effort of employees, supplier partners and countless others we are committed to build upon the Maxima's great heritage." --Emil Hassan, Nissan North America senior vice president, manufacturing, purchasing, quality and logistics.
***********************************************
FYI...
Nissan North America Inc. has invested nearly $4 billion in its three U.S. manufacturing facilities.