hi, i just inherited a 1991 maxima from my grandma, whose name was also maxima. 80k miles on the thing, since she didn't drive it much.

i don't know a lot about cars—my car knowledge maxes out at changing oil, swapping tires, and replacing batteries. in fact, i'm a new driver at 26 years old. (used to be on medication that didn't allow me to drive, but no longer!)

i made an account here because i thought i'd learn a lot from you guys.

starting this thread to document my progress as i work through learning to fix and maintain this car, doing as much as i can myself.

current issues:
- radio doesn't work (replaced with aftermarket unit by my uncle; appears to just be a missing fuse, not sure why he left it like this)
- keyless entry/alarm doesn't work
- horn doesn't work
- minor rust on trunk needs treatment
- antenna snapped
- passenger door lock is sticky
- leather interior needs some tlc

i've always been a pretty handy person (i fix computers and have some minor background in engineering from school), so i picked up a copy of the fsm and have been looking through it in my spare time.

would appreciate any words of wisdom on any of these issues or even just on how to get started.

thanks!

 

The passenger door might need some cleaning of dirt. It's easy to remove the door cards. Just find the screws and I think the handle is being held by 2 8mm or 10mm nut. It's been a while.
My leather is cracked badly myself. Too much CA sun and heat.
The horn could be an easy fix if you think it's bad from the assembly, but check to make sure the connector is attached.
My antenna was snapped too. It just a pain removing it from the trunk (back) of the car.
Enjoy it. If you have an automatic, you might want to baby it.

 

Biggest thing being a 91 is if it's automatic, would consider doing a trans pan drop/filter change and fluid top up. All year GXE and 89-91 SE the auto transmission is designed for low torque 4 cylinder engines. VG30E are high torque truck engines and paired to that trans they had high failure rate. Majority of the VG auto that hit the junker are there due to cooked trans. Not a death sentence though, I didn't abuse mine and got it to 430,000km without issue then it started to slip a bit

Overall it's a good car and I would definitely keep it. Japanese bubble era cars from '86-'92 area are in good demand and will be harder to find over the years