Whenever I slow down, the transmission doesn't want to proactively switch down to a lower gear. Once I start on the gas again, it still doesn't want to jump down to second or first. I sometimes have to manually downshift the beotch so that I don't beat up the engine too much. What gives?

 

I'd start with the simplest first. Pull the tranny dip stick and look and smell (brown color and burned smell are signs of bad fluid). Ever had the tranny system flushed? Maybe do a few fill 'n drains if you don't wanna fork out the cash. That helped a lot with my old GXE.

And your right, even when fully operational, auto tranny's are weird.

 

I actually changed the fluid about 6K ago, but I'll check it out again. I'm thinking of putting the synthetic blend fluid in there - if it exists. Would that be good for it?

 

What do you mean by "changed the fluid"? A complete flush might be necessary if it's never been performed before and you're at 100k. Maybe the level is low, causing bad shifts. As far as synthetic fluids, I have no idea for an auto...

 

I changed the tranny fluid about 6K ago. I can't remember what I put in there, but I always buy good products for my baby. I'll check the fluid level when I get off my lazy butt sometime today. How much does a tranny flush cost?

 

I've seen prices around here (minnesota) from $74.95 to $129.95. It probably depends upon amount of fluid and difficulty. I'd say $80-$90 average for a Maxima.

 

My local dealer just quoted me $49.95 for a complete flush w/ new Nissan recomended fluid. I think that's a good deal, so I think I'm going to do it. I'm not going to the a$$ hole I usually go to though b/c he's pi$$ed me off one too many times and I don't think I've ever been satisified with their work. I'm probably just going to take it across town and get it done at the other dealer out there.
What were the problems you were having with your tranny? Were they similiar to mine that I'm having and did flushing the tranny solve/improve the performance of the tranny? Thanks!

 

Sorry for the delay in posting an answer to your question(s). My first child was born on the 12th and this is one of the first times I've sat at the home P.C. in about 9 days.

So...
The problems I was having was excessive time "hunting" for gears, and abrupt, jerking shifts. The fluid did have a burnt smell to it, but was not a full shade of brown yet. I just did 3-4 drain and fills of 2 qts. each about 1-2 weeks apart. The shifting smoothed out very nicely, and much cleaner shifting without the delay.

I hope your tranny problems have been solved by now, but if not, I hope this helps.

 

check the tension of your throttle cables too....and the throttle valve(?) as well.

 

Hey congrats on the baby! Are you misssing your good nights sleep yet?! LOL!

I put some fluid additive in and it's cleared up some of the problems, but when summer gets here and my finals are over, I'm going to have the tranny flushed and a complete engine tune-up. Thanks for the advise!