Hi, I have a 86 maxima which i have had for about 6 months now. My father bought if from his best friend for $500. At out house my mom has a 88 maxima which we have had ever since it went off the show room floor. I have a question for all the die hard maxs fans out there with the 86 max. My tranny seems to always kick hard when the gear changes from 1 to 2 especially when the car is cold. My mom car never did that but my car does. The transmission is a automatic. Other than that the car is cool.

 

It's probably because the tranny fluid is a lot thicker when the car is cold than when it is warmed up. I doubt that it will cause a problem though. It's actually better on the tranny when it shifts harder and quicker because less heat builds up (in addition that you get to accelerate quicker).

If your tranny fluid hasn't been changed in a while, you might want to consider changing it, just to be on the safe side. Also, you might want to consider getting a shift kit installed to make your tranny last longer. Also, if you sit in traffic or at a stop light for an extended period, drop it into neutral. And if your going up a hill and it keeps shifting between 3-4, turn off the overdrive until you've cleared the hill. Just don't drive in 3rd for too long though. Those things will help your tranny last longer because the automatic transmissions aren't very sturdy, usually you'll get 150K-200K out of it if you drive a lot of city miles and run it hard.

-C-

 

Our maxima did the samething for years but in the end we needed a tranny rebuild. For now try doing like 3-4 drain and fill ATF replacements and replace the fluid every 30k miles.