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Comments
It was almost as if it was hitting something inside the motor (or the fan blade itself).
Dealer replaced the "blower motor and fan" part #27220-2Y900 at 47,964 miles.
The exact same thing happened at 76,722 miles and was replaced again by the dealer at no charge.
I think it's a defect in the design that is caused by the fact the over 98% of the time it's on, my fan is always on the one fan blade speed and it just wears out.
I'm up to 81,000 miles now and this is the only real issue I've had with the car.
extensively. The dealer suggested replacing it ($350). Lubricant (liquid graphite) has not helped. I feel it may be related to the security interlock system (shifter, locks, etc). and an adjustment of some kind might do the job.
Also, although reliability has been superb overall, repairs in general seem to be expensive at the dealer. A friend with a Volvo (notoriously high) had an ignition switch replaced for $250. Comments?
Where is this ? Manhattan??
Hey one last question, is the scheduled maintenance (i.e. 4000 mi.) free? Or do I have to pay? Because I rather get my wheel alignment during my scheduled maintenance if it is free. Thanks a lot! Sorry for not visiting the forum often!
Thanks in advance
Witt-
Louis
P.S. wdoran, Thanks for the tip about the latch. I hope to get it looked at this weekend and will post back.
No, the scheduled services are not FREE (unless you cut a deal with the dealer when you purchased the Maxima). I did my first service (Just oil and oil filter change, cost me $25 after tax) at 1,000 miles, and the next one will be at 4,000 miles (the SE is now at 1,750 miles). Hope you can get some input from the dealer about the "steering wheel vibration" when you go do the service! Please let me know, thanks : )
Also, can you tell me the mileage limit for warranty? The one that covers bumper to bumper? The one taht I can bring my car to dealer for whatever reason? Is it 1000? Thanks
P.S.* Where do you reside? I live in SF
Well, what I got for my money (about $3,000) because I had to buy all the other options plus the Bose ($980,) was a rear deck that buzzes when the center mounted sub woofer comes into play.
That is, when a low bass note is heard, the sub woofer comes alive and the whole rear deck buzzes like mad coloring the sound and it makes you hold your breath in anticipation of the buzz.
I took it to the dealer where I purchased it, in Westchester, NY (GEIS) and all they did was to replace the sub woofer (10 min job) and put some foam under the mounting plate, which made no difference at all and I told them it would not work.
They then refused to do anything about the rear deck. They even refused to take the cover off in order to look for contact points. Their answer was: "We did all we can do for you."
Nissan USA was of absolutely no help either.
I demanded for an appointment with their zone rep (how naive of me) who came in and just listened to the car but did absolutely nothing about it as well. He must have had a bad day of too many complaints, I guess
He agreed about the buzzing sound but his answer was that is the "characteristic of the car" and is refusing to do anything else for me. Lower your volume alittle, try a different CD!!!
To me it means that "Characteristic" = "Badly designed sound absorbtion materials around the subwoofer."
But the mention of a "design defect" is a no-no to Nissan.
We also tested other models as well on the lot: 2000, 2001 and 2002 and they ALL make the same noises more or less, which proved to me it is a badly designed enclosure all around.
Interestingly, the redesigned Altima sounds fine with the same cd's.
I don't know how the hell they tested this when they designed the vehicle. They nust have been playing violins or something similar when they tested it.
What is mostly irritating is the refusal on Nissan's part to accept responsibility for the problem and that they just drop you like a hot potato.
I suppose they don't want to have to recall 3 years worth of faulty Maximas.
They also claim that they "never heard of this problem"
I am posting this message hoping that others suffer as well. If you do, please start pressuring Nissan to do something about this obvious problem. They will not respond to a few complainers but they will respond to many. The last thing they need is bad publicity about their flagship car
If the word goes around they will jump to it.
The repair is real simple. All you need is sound absorbing material under the rear deck. Not a rocket science!
Stay tuned. We are not done yet. I am willing to pursue this to the bitter end.
They just don't know it yet. And to think I traded my Camry for this crap because I wanted the BOSE SOUND!!!
The car is running great, gas mileage has been between 17.5 and 22.5/gal. probably because my driving is stop sign to stop light mostly. I do not like the 1st to second shift as it lags between gears and I believe that that affects accelaration. Accelaration is good however - I would guess around 7.5 seconds zero to 60. I get a minor "thump" under moderate to hard acceleration form a dead stop and from accelerating hard from low speed - feels like motor mounts. Dealer service said "inherent with the car - there was another case and nothing alievieted the thump". This does not seem a big deal at all. I have no vibration whatsoever in the steering wheel at idle. The engine is truly smooth and has a refined sound out the exhaust.
Accelaration is real good after 3500 RPMs. Passing from anywhere between 50 and 80 MPH is just effortless, (peak torque @ 4000 RPMs). The car stops well from any speed - the pedal feel is good and not spongey. The brakes start to grap with slight application of the pedal. The car handles very well at normal speeds. This car is fun to drive.
The paint is not good. Many chips in the paint, mostly on the hood. I am concerned about this. This could be a problen when I decide to sell in 5 or 6 years. The paint chips range in size from less than 1/16" to a little less than 1/8". NOT COOL.
I have no noticable sqeaks or rattles inside the car. The fit and finish are very good, in & out. IMO, the only improvements could have been in lighting the sunroof controls, adding rear A/C vents and moving the side view mirror controls to the driver's door so that you don't have to move forward to adjust. Perhaps also better or adjustable lateral support for the front seats.
Just my opinion.
1. The paint (sterling mist) is super soft. It chips really easily. We have tons on dings on the doors and fron bumper. I tried to touch it up with the Nissan touch-up pen, but now it looks even worse, as the paint from the pen doesn't blend in. Hopefully detailing will take care of it, if not, may have to bring the car to a body shop.
2. The clutch is not user friendly. Especially in 1st gear, the clutch is hard to work, it can make you look like a 5 speed amateur (which I am not). Apparently, the folks at Motortrend experienced the same issue in their one year test. It is great that Nissan caters to the manual tranny crowd with the Maxima and Altima (and soon the Infinity G35), but why can't they put in better clutches and transmissions??? (Apparently the 6 sp. in the Sentra SE-R is a disaster as well)
3. We had some brakes issues. After driving the car thorugh the desert in 110 degrees for a couple of hours, the front brakes started to make uncomfortable noises. We took it to the dealer rightaway and they replaced the brakes pads under warrenty. Apparently, this is known problem in extreme heat.
The car is an absolute blast to drive, though. If Nissan just took care of these simple issues....
Thanks for the input in the Maxima sound problems frorum.
Unfortunately the forum is now Read only.
I was wondering if you could describe what Dynomat is and where can I get it.
Not familiar with it.
Thanks
The Nissan warranty are "Bumper-to-bumper" for 3 years or 36,000 miles, and the "Drivetrain (engine & transmission)" for 5 years or 60,000 miles.
Let me know after you "feel" the Lexus IS300's steering wheel. By the way, I'm in Queens, NY.
Now for my question: once the reprogramming of the computer is done, is it really permanent? Mine has been reprogrammed twice and each time the car seemed noticeably better. Only for a few weeks, however. I'm wondering if the computer can lose the reprogramming and default to the original. I had a problem with the sunroof programming also, and recently had it reprogrammed for the second time. Mechanic thought the battery had been disconnected (it hadn't), but even if that would cause the sunroof to screw up, I can't believe the main ECM could be that way. Could it? Aside from being a pain in the butt, what happens when I'm out of warranty? I don't mind having to reprogram the radio, but this other stuff is unbelievable! My dealer gives me the classic blowoff on this type of thing.
Even though Nissan claimed there was nothing they could do for me, I notified them that I will be porting my complain in here so they get bad publicity at least.
Guess what . I received a cal from the deler's Service manager ASKING ME to bring the car in for extensive retrofitting of the rear deck "a 20 page procedure" he said.
And this is after I asked if they had a TB on this problem because I did not believe I was the only one.
Do you think that Nissan actually reads these messages? Keep the good work up.
Now I see that Infinity has the same problem too.
Thanks to the Infiniti owner who alerted us in here.
Mark
opimax
Any way, the spot where the woofer is mounted is not a good place because the woofer is right at passengers' ears, and it's mounted to a large pannel without rigid support all around. Especially on a model with rear sunshade the panel needs cutout along the edge ajoining the glass, thus lacks of support. That's why foam is inserted for isolation.
While driving, pay attention to the rear mirror, the vision will be blurred (means the glass vibrating) when bass sounds play. I don't believe passengers on the back can enjoy such great sound from the premium audio system.
When I drive at highway speed I do notice some steering wheel vibration but I'm not sure if there is any defect on those tires or rims, or simply the wheel are out of balance (at just 1,800 miles?). I didn't bother to check if the wheels are out of balance but I guess those sticky wheights might came off the inside of the rims easier than the traditional clamp style weights.
Go to Discount Tires and ask them for a life-time balance and rotation that costs about $40. They'll balance & rotate for you every 5000 mi.
The suspension on SE model is stiffer than other models; eventhough SE runs a bit rougher than other models, you shouldn't feel vibration at the seats or steering wheel.
I learned that from my experience with a car dealership and a Discount Tires store. I couldn't believe DC Tires fixed the problems. May be the store I came have newer/ more precised machine?
We have a 2000 se 5sp and had the fuel cut problem. The reprogramming cured the problem except above 1800rpm of course, where it still seems to fuel cut but its much more drivable now. I also had a o2 sensor go out and the ticket said they reprogrammed the ECU but I think it was because they didn't know if it had been done before or not (although it was the same dealer, you'd think they'd see it). Or maybe the program got a new version since the original update. Whatever.
We have always gotten about 21-22mpg in mixed driving with the climate on - and I don't drive with lots of WOT or even gassing it from stops. I was satisfied with the MPG until we got a used 98 Olds minivan that is fully pimped out and that gets 23-24 mpg commuting in heavy traffic. The max surely could get better mpg, but I don't think the gear ratio of the 5 speed top gear is set low enough numerically - 3,000 rpm at cruise seems a bit high.
DD
Or do you have a different problem?
They finally relented and agreed that there is a bulletin for fixing this (actually there are 2) but Nissan seems to rank it up there with incest and child rape. They just don't want to talk about it unless pressed with a lemon law suit or public exposure (I think forums like this one help.)
Well the result is that they removed the rear shelf, and 4 hours later they had dressed it with padding that looks like carpet backing. and press-sandwiched it between the shelf and the metal frame. This did the job.
I still think that the Bose stereo sucks for $980. It is the biggest rip-off ever. My 98 Camry had better sound and it was only $300 extra for the cassette/CD combo.
So the moral of the story is: NEVER GIVE UP no matter what the service, zone or consumer affairs people tell you. Ask for the service bulletin to be applied. It was issued on 8/2001 and I believe would apply to 2000, 2001 and 2002 Maximas. They share the same design on the back shelf.
I found them on the NHTSA Site (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov)
You have to search for 2001 Nissan Maxima interior problems. TSB numbers are NTB01051 and NTB01051A.
Mention them to your innocent eye flapping Nissan Dealer when you go to have the problem fixed. He will hate you for it!!!
The bose stereo was already on my car and its better than a stock radio. I tell you one thing, its completely different sounding with a CD versus the radio. The radio sound is marginal. And you need to adjust the tone controls differently for each one - would be nice if they kept settings just for the source. The CD sound is pretty good, and thats from a guy with thousands of dollars in hifi equipment at my house. Bass is ok and well extended into the lower octaves, but not beefy enough IMHO. Granted if gut wrenching bass is what you're after, none of the OEM systems are going to do that.
The regular stereo is just fine and no rear rattling!
It is a little bit too soon and too fast. I am taking car to dealer next week but for now would like to know if anyone had the same problem.
Please refer to the following Messages # for the postings on this steering vibration issue;
#485, 501, 502, 504, 509, 510, 511, 512, 548, 558, 561, 562, 569, 575, 576, 577, and 578.
Other than that, I have not heard of the problem, but the dealer can address.
DD
i had to take my new 99 infiniti to an independant mechanic after 3 trips to the dealer who said they all do that blaming road crown.
The indep mech cut a slot in the strut bolt hole allowing the proper alignment.
factory has no adjustment bolts.
neither my Hondas or Camrys ever pulled
Also, sometimes a defective tire is to blame. I've had this once and after a wheel rotarion the defective tire ended in the back and the car stopped pulling.
Thanks,
Robert
I have just joined this discussion group.
My name is sameer. I am considering buying a used Nissan Maxima GXE (1993), that has 107K miles on it.
When I drove the car, I found that the car pulled to the right, ....but beyond that I was not able to find any noticeable driving problem in the car...the car has a fabulous exterior and interior too!!
The reason I am worried is that the guy who is selling this vehicle to me, initially put its price at 5400$ and then one week later, he cut his price to 4500$ and then three days ago, he cut it to 3500$.!!!!
Of course, I would take the car to a mechanic for a thorough check...but the way the guy has been slashing his asking price, I am wondering whether the car is even worth a thorough check!
Please advise me on what are the crucial areas/problems of the car that I should double check and triple check before I decide to buy it.
Thanks,
sameer