as the title says my car wont start once again. i really hate my car and i will never buy another nissan again. i think i've paid more in repairs for my car then i actually paid for it when i bought it.
my tranny went 750
labor to put it in 860
alternator went 350+
labor to put that in 100
clutch went 200
brakes (calipers) seized up 400
had to redo brakes yet again 400
new fender 70
new windsheild 110
knock sensor 134
that gives me around $3,400 that i've spent to fix a $4,900 car. not to mention the towing fees and having to rent/borrow a car while mine was broke. if this new problem is more then 300 bucks to fix im getting rid of this car cause its becoming a bad investment.

so heres the new problem
evap canister vent control valve
knock sensor

I dont know y my car wont start but im gonna assume its not the knock sensor so it might be the evap canister vent control valve? wat is that and wat does it do? if you guys could help me figure this out i would be grateful.

also do u think that would keep my car from starting? and y has my knock sensor gone bad yet again in a span of 9-10 months?

thanks,
will

 

ok i just read that the evap canister vent control valve wont keep my car from starting. so i now have no idea wat it can be. it tries to turn over but it makes this ticking sounds and stops. any ideas?

 

it could be starter or fuel pump... how much gas is in it?

I've had my ses light on for evap canister vent control valve for the last 6 months. According to the sticky it's supposedly only an emission issue and doesn't effect the drivability of the car. I'm not planning on fixing it till inspection time unless i win the lottery or somebody gives me reason to stick my head under the hood again. I feel your pain, maximas are poorly built cars and I see why their resale value is so low. The engine is about only thing that's good about this car.

 

Ticking sounds like a dead battery to me.

 

i just got a new battery when i had to get my third alternator. i really dont understand y my battery would go dead again if thats wat it is. normally when my battery goes it kinda give some kind of warning before it does. my car drove fine the night before and all the lights in the interior are working fine. is there any way to test for a bad starter, besides the car not starting?
ohh and it has a full tank of gas in it.

 

ohh and baxtel im with you on the build quality of the maxima

 

Well Preventive maintence can stop issues like this if you bought it used you may have just purchased a lemon. Ontop of that I noticed you paid Dealer Prices for stuff you really didnt have too like brakes, KS.


Proph

 

thats what hapens when you buy your car for 4900, wat did you expect a brand new car in perfect condition?

 

if you have the reciept, one of those alternators and labor can be paid for by Nissan beacause of the recall...



JOn

 

FYI, according to JD Power and Associates, the 4th gen Maxima is the most reliable car in it's class, beating out the Accord and Camry. The problems you guys are describing are normal wear and tear. A 5-10 year old car with 80K miles can't be bullet proof. No car is car is perfect, especially an older car.

 

I agree here. 4th gens can really only be considered "poorly built" when compared to newer cars. During the mid-to-late 90s, they were at the top of the pile (aside from luxury division cars).



And you certainly cannot expect a used car to take care of itself the way a brand new one does. Maintenance is inevitable. But yes, it still sucks - my first car, an 89 Accord DX, needed one part right after another. It was as if the entire car decided to take turns crapping out.

 

Your starter is probably shot. First get a haynes manual, then maybe some basic tools. Pull your starter out and take it to pep boys or autozone and they will test it for free. Start saving yourself some money. By the way, you can get an alternator for about $199 from autozone with a life time warranty.

Did you get your car checked out when you bought it? Did you test drive it?

 

My last car was much cheaper and much older and much more reliable. And I beat on it every day. My mistake was reading the JD power and associates review, mabye I just got a bad max. Trust me I take care of this car. I've put crap loads money in this car and it is treating me like crap. I expected to get a reliable car that's all, I'm too poor to afford a new car. My previous car only needed a new radiator($80 and did myself in 15 mins) and that was it. I drove it from 135,000 - 183,000. I think a car that cost almost 30,000 brand new should run better than a car that cost almost 10,000 brand new.

 

Like I said before, "but yes, it still sucks". I think it's all luck of the draw. That Honda I bought was a nonstop maintenance rapist, yet I work with guy who owns a 91 Accord with 192k on it and he hasn't changed the oil in like 25k. Still runs like a champ, somehow, and the little parts don't even crap out on him. How come I couldn't get away with that? I hear you, dude - as much as I looked forward to getting a Max, I'd be salty if it turned out to be a maintenance money pit.

 

well i bot my car for 4,900 because i got it from a repo auction and thats y it was so cheap because that was the remaining balence owed to the bank by the owner of the car. some of the things i paid for i had to pay the price they presented me. like my first alternator that i had to replace 2weeks after owning the car i was 60-80 miles from home so i didnt have the luxury of leaving it and shopping for a alternator. and my knock sensor was something that i got for a different reason. nissan already had to give me my second alternator for free due to the recall. i have a haynes manual and i'm gonna take a look at it in the morning, but im really gettin fed up with all of these problems. i never expected to have a worry free car but two alternators and a tranny seems to be alot to have to replace in a car that i've had for a yr.

 

If your battery is new, your altenator is shot. Yes i know its new but that doesnt mean that it isnt shot or, a new altenator wasnt used. There is no way a battery will die like that. Get your altenator checked. It should be reading at 14 or 15 i believe. Anything lower then 14, its not working like it should be.

 

Damn Will, sorry to hear that man. . . . where you going to take it to get fixed? I know I shop in Bergenfield (Smiley's Garage) http://smileygarage.com/ is their website. Dave (Shop owner) is a nice and honest guy, who is great with cars.

 

Hello LiquidVenom:

You mention that you bought your car at the repo auction.

You can't judge all Maximas by a car you bought at such a place.
If the car had to be repo'd, do you think the prior owner was keeping up with the maintenance?

A "lease return" auction is a much better bet if you want to buy a car at an auction "discount".

 

hmm... u have the maxima from hell huh, i thought mine was bad lately...

 

are you talking volts when the car is running? cuz mine is like 13.25v my old car was like 14.8v when running.

 

hey dave, im gonna try get it fixed today once i figure out wat the problem was.
keyser, wat should my alternator be reading if i have an underdrive pulley on?
ohh and full tone im not judging all maxe based on mine but on a large number of experiences me n my friends are having