I currently have a 3rd gen and that's definitely a common problem for the 89-94's. I was always under the impression that the 4th gen tranny/motor were bulletproof. I recently read a few posts where someone was talking about rebuilding it at 100K on a 96, and thats the first time I ever heard of anyone having to rebuild it on a 4th gen. So I was curious if that was an exception or is it perhaps pretty common. Thanks in advance.

 

70k miles, smooth as silk. i'm knocking on wood as i type.

 

I currently have 123,000 on my 96 Maxima. The tranny is in other words, perfect. I currently had it dropped and looked at by a tranny technican, He found one shaving of metal, he was totally impressed with it. He said that usually a car with 100,000+ miles on it with me eating metal every time it shifts. He said that all though it is a well built tranny, it could have been prefected even more if they spent a little more time on it. But he was impressed, they are built tough, but they aren't "bullet proof"

 

When I bought my car it had 40,000 on it and they told me it had just been rebuilt because the owner didn,t check his fluid levels but I look back and now I think they were FOS. Turns out my right fender had been replaced (no VIN# sticker) and makes me wonder if the fender and tire had been hit causing damage to the tranny.

 

And I have no problems. I just had the full flush and fill done at the dealer. The one and only time I have ever had any of my cars serviced at the dealer. I got the Nissan coupon in the mail and it was time anyways. They told me I'm good for another 75k.

 

cause it still shifts smooooth. But when I gun it....there she goes! I do a fluid change every 15k (just in case) and had a tranny cooler installed (those damn pesky bimmers =)

EZ

 

On my 3rd gen (92) Max, i have almost 180k miles on the original trans. The trans fluid hasnt been done on time ever. Probably gets changed every 50k miles or so. Car still shifts as good as new.

On my 4th gen, i have 31k miles and havent had a problem, sometimes it delays to shift when i step on it (stupid TCM). I also now hve added a trans cooler and vb recalibrated.

Some cars are built better then others. All comes to luck.

 

No problems at all yet.

 

ok, first of all let me say I LOVE MY MAXIMA... even being an auto, I love it hehe -

the one complaint I have, and that all the tranny shops around here (louisville, KY) say is that the one flaw in the maxima is the auto tranny. They say it SUCKS and I can back that up.

I have a friend with a maxima, and had to change his '95 tranny at 100k...

Mine is at 105k and reverse takes till about 3000rpm for the cluth to grab and jerk the car REAL bad... drive is SMOOOOTh and AWESOME under WOT - forwards the car is great, backwards, well lets say I have learned the art of pull through spots no matter how far I have to walk...

I am getting a new tranny.. with ANY luck a 5spd.. but I am currently doing TONS of research on the 5spd conversion.. yes I know its a pain oh well

anyways, I have been told by MANY tranny shops locally, that the maxima is AWESOME, but that its one fatal flaw is totallllly sucky auto tranny's..

I am not a biased person that hates maximas or anything, I am in love with mine, and think shes definately worth the money, just trying to post what I have heard, so dont anyone flame me hehe

 

I had to get my 97 Tranny replaced at 52k miles last year. Luckily it was covered under warranty. I think that if I had to do it all over again I would've looked into getting a 5 speed. Oh well. It's alot easier with an auto I do have to admit!

 

Well, I haven't had any problems with my transmission per se', but it does shift very roughly compared with transmissions from Toyota. Downshifts are slow too...stupid TCM has horrible shift logic.

I'm not certain of the durability of my transmission, but I have 48k miles now and have recently done a full Redline D4 ATF flush. My mechanic, who specializes in Toyotas, tells me the Maxima's transmission is its weak point. He even says for Toyotas, the automatic is the weak point. But toyotas shift so smoothly! Mine is herky jerky whenever I need a downshift and mash the gas. Well, I will keep changing my ATF every 15k with Redline D4 and hope for the best.

 

but I like the jerky downshift when its under a lot of throttle - I am reallllly realllly happy w/ my tranny, i think it is great for an auto. It shifts smooth as silk when I am running it normal, and as soon as I step on it, it shifts tight and clean, downshifts are REAL FAST (impresses everyone... I dont have to hit it, let off, and hit it again to make it drop like a lot of cars..) I am very pleased with mine, just wish reverse isn't dieing on me.. quickly

 

Mine is very smooth, except for the 1-2 shift when it is cold. It takes a good 5-6 miles of driving before it smmoths out, but even then it isn't horribly smooth. All other gear changes are great, especially the 4 to 2 downshift with WOT, crisp without being rough. And whoever is in the car is impressed with it. But like Eric L. said, Toyotas have the best/smoothest trannys. But it the Toyotas take a while to shift, like there is a built in pause there. At least it isn't jerking.

 

I was actually referring to the lousy shift logic that delays a downshift when you try to accelerate from a rolling stop. I KNOW that is a problem with all Maxima automatics...you roll up to a stop sign, but don't completely stop...then you step on the gas and all you get is engine noise...hardly any acceleration since you are literally accelerating from a dead stop from 3rd (sometimes 2nd) gear. It's really frustrating when the Geo Metro next to you gets a jump until my transmission bumps into the next lower gear with a big thud and then I can accelerate again.

If you don't know what problem I am talking about, just try it. Roll up to a stopsign but don't stop completely. Then step on the gas a little (like maybe 1/4)...you will feel superweak acceleration and the transmission will literally bang into the next lower gear. In my opinion, that is very unrefined and unacceptable for a car like a Maxima. But oh well, I've learned to live with it.

 

You just put into words the only thing about my car that bothers me... and it has bothered me ever since the day I drove it off the lot. It can't be good for the tranny either to have that jump in revs before the gear engages. I just unconsciously take it easy from a rolling stop now. I'm so used to the problem being there.

 

I know exactly what you guys are talking about. The maxima is the first automatic I have ever owned. I thought that "hesitation" is the punishment of getting an auto instead of 5-speed.

Another thing I noticed is that when I release the gas anticipating a full stop, why doesn't the engine go back to idle like 5-speed does? Is this normal? It seems that the engine waits until the car almost fully stopped before it drops to idle.