Fork

iTrader: (2)

I need to vent about my 99 Maxima SE.

2003-2005 nothing. (all prices in USD)

2006. Ignition coils - PITA but with the support from you guys, I could live with putting in used ones in. In the end I spent a small amount on a handful of used coils plus spares. $80 @ 1 hour

2006. Rear left caliper - froze up. Not sure why. But it did anyways. $200 @ 3 hours.

2007. Alternator - went two weeks ago. Its not reasonably durable to only last 8 years. It should last anywhere from 10-15 years. FACTORY DEFECT. $250 @ 4 hours.

2006-2007. Intake Manifold gasket - a $6 part that caused me a lot of grief. WTF. It seems there is a TSB on the fact that if the PVC valve becomes gummed up, it could suck in the intake gasket at #6 cylinder (which was mine). A hour to take the manifold off, 10 seconds to put the new gasket on, 20 minutes to put the manifold back on.$6 @ 2 hours

2007. Clutch. Man, I drive my car nice, but at 8 years and 80000 miles, this one is toast. Mechanic who replaced it had to break a few bolts to get it off. Had to resurface the flywheel. Butter smooth now baby! But it could of lasted at least 200000 miles. WTF. $800.

2007. Transmission. Seems my bearings are worn )@#@*$*. Appointment next Wednesday. I could do it, but I dont have the time or any more patience. FACTORY DEFECT. NO QUESTIONS. $1000

I have two buckets when it comes to cars, one is repairs, the other is sheit. When one gets full, time to replace the car. For me, both are now overflowing. Funny thing is, now that I've done the work, this car will probably be good for the next while. But #$*@#$*$@*#$. In less than 18 months, this car has cost me almost 2 grand. My previous Maxima, a 95 SE I had for 4 years with no issues. Nothing. Nada. I sold it when it was 7 years old and purchased this 99.

This vehicle is proving to be less reliable than a domestic, and I'm worried about my next Nissan vehicle purchase - can I expect the same quality and crap? I really hope that this is just a blip in the Nissan game.

heynow

iTrader: (1)

dude, it's a CAR. **** still breaks. Nothing lasts forever. If you had a domestic, you would have done replaced the entrie engine/tranny as well as many other crap. I still believe that Jap cars were and still are the best. Although it seems that toyota/honda are still a bit better compared to Nissan as far as >80K mile reliability goes.

Blackwind

iTrader: (9)

you paid to have the alt replaced? the dealer would have done it for free.
$200 for a caliper? you could have bought a whole new(used) set of 4 from the org for half of that.

I think you should really look at your car completly at least once and do some preventative maintnance. if you think cars are supposed to last for ever then you should stop driving and get a schwin. Go get you a repair manual, thats why they sell them so you dont have to shell out $100's of dollars on little stuff breaking.

Maxgig

iTrader: (5)

Right now you're mad at the car but consider this, you have no car payment and you're driving an 8 yr old car, things do and will break. The basic rule of thumb I learned while in the Army (and its helped me for a long time) is this; keep an emergency fund (those car payments you're not making) for unexpected house or car repairs that will inevitably come up. I have $2500 saved up for maintenance on my cars and house. I put $200 a month in the account, it comes in handy when you have to buy new tires unexpectedly or when the ABS goes out, as was the case with my wifes Volvo, ($2300 dollars alone). You get the picture? Or you can sell it and buy a Honda, but if you do you will regret it.

heynow

iTrader: (1)

Plus Vane !!!

jvelos3

iTrader: (2)

seems like u expect car parts to last forever... 15yrs for alternator, and 200,000 miles for clutch???

Trajiksmax

I can just imagine your frustration . This hits close to home considering I too own a '99 . As **** as I am on keeping up with preventative maintanance, I dred the inevatible. Out of curiosity what is the manufacture date on your door jam? What is your vehicle serial #(last 6 digits in VIN)? Could be possible your car was manufactured on a friday. You know Friday's, how everyone is in lala land thinking of the upcoming weekend plans. Best of Luck in the future!!!

smotz

iTrader: (3)

**** man thats nothing.. I spent $3400 on my trans + another $1000 on mods and another $1000 on nitrous refills alone. Add in the oil changes, tires, and other misc maintenace and routine car crap... adds up fast. I still love my max though and have no regrets!!!

sky jumper

not sure I understand all the flames directed toward this guy. his expectations are very reasonable. the car has only 80k on it -- it should be trouble free for much longer than it. I've seen clutches, alternators, & trannys last well over 250k. I do think nissan has had some supplier problems.

fork: you might already do this, but it is a good idea to use the parking brake whenever you park. this helps prevent the rear calipers from seizing. and it is a good idea to flush the brake fluid every 3 years regardless of miles. this keeps the moisture out.

smotz

iTrader: (3)

Well if your talking 200k highway miles... then yea maybe the alt, trans, and clutch can last that long. Because the car just hummed along in 5th gear for most of its life. But at 10k miles a year? thats what? 3 oil changes a year? And probably no other preventative maintenance performed other then oil changes, if they even kept up on that. And under 10k miles a year would make me guess almost no highway driving was done. So a lot of city clutching and stop signs and lights. Harder on the trans/clutch?
Gotta love granny specials. 'yea my grandmother hardly drove the car so its in great shape, only 50k miles on a 1990 cadillac'. Then you find out the car only had 3 or 4 oil changes in its life and runs like crap... can't figure out why?

sky jumper

well, my previous daily driver was a camry. 238k miles in stop/go chicago traffic jams, and the clutch was fine when I sold it. I never changed the tranny oil, and it was still on the original alternator. aside from engine oil, the only things I did to it were cap/rotor/wires, thermostat, and 8 or 9 brake jobs. I never even flushed the coolant. and it ran/drove great. so given that experience, if my '99 were to give me the same problems as Fork's I too would be upset.

granted Toyotas are a bit more reliable than nissans, but Fork's problems are inexcusable, even by domestic standards... hwy, city, low mileage, or whatever.

I'm not sure what you're getting at with the 3 oil changes/year -- for 10k miles how many do you think there should there be? I would say 3/yr is plenty, even for city driving. 2 might be pushing it, but I don't see how that would affect Fork's problems. I think the only maintenance item that may have contributed to his list of issues is brake fluid, unless that intake gasket was due to oil neglect?

Jellyfishian

Fork I feel almost the same you do minus the domestic part :P I just wrote down all Non-maintence items my Max has needed. I bought the car with 60k it now has 93k I have spent about $800 is parts, no labor my dad and I do that. Shocks/Struts and some sensor cant remember which one were bad a 60k? (seems like a short life) Starter left me stranded right after I bought it. Radiator suffered a slow leaky death. And I have not driven the Max in over a week due to it not running because the Alty randomly died no warning signs and this is a month after I did all maintenance to the car... I test drove a 2008 Mits Lancer GTS and I am seriously considering calling it quits on the Max! I love my baby but she does not love me back!
haha I guess what I'm saying is your not the only one!

Fork

iTrader: (2)

Hey everyone,
Up here in Canuckland we pay a little more for parts...sometimes I wish it was as easy asya'll have down there.

Understandably, yes, cars do break down, but let's put it into perspective with my run-around beater 1986 Chev Celebrity. It has 280'000 MILES. I replaced the alternator LAST fall. It was 20 years old. The transmission could be rebuilt, it has 280k on it, not 80k. The starter is going... slowly. It is 21 years old, and only NOW do I need to replace it. All the hours are my own for the work, the labour includes fluids, additional tools I had to purchase, and total part costs.

Since when is an 86 Chev Celebrity more reliable than a LUXARY Japanese car? That's my comparison unfortunately.

If we all accept these expensive repairs as expected maintenance, we need to give our heads a shake and look at what is comparable to... right now, my friend who has a 99 Windstar just did his tranny... funny that he's only spent $1200 on his van with 220k miles. Next up for him? Struts. They'll probably cost him $400 for a decent set too installed.

I guess my frustration is this:
a) Nissan's are suppose to be reliable cars
b) The parts we EXPECT in a Maxima are to be a higher quality than a Sentra. The Max costs almost 150% more expensive than their entry-level cars and close to an Infinity for quality...suppose to be that is...
c) My second Maxima has turned into a lemon. Period.
d) My other vehicles I own (95 Mitz Mirage/86 Chev Celebrity), have been far more reliable and cost a lot less
e) If you read the 5th and 6th gen forums, it is my opinion, that quality is becoming worse. That worries me because I LOVE my Maxima, and I love Nissan vehciles.
f) I do expect the transmission to need work, and the alternator to die, and the starter to go, but not after only 8 years. Maybe 10-15 years. The car is driven MOSTLY highway, but it sits in my garage as I take the bus to work, and I pick up groceries twice a week. The highway trips are usually a 3.5h drive once a month each way (7 hr total) so no, the car just doesn't sit there.
g) My Maxima is not reasonably durable. You expect gearboxes to last the life of the vehcile, especially mine with just 82k on it. But the gearbox wasn't shimmed properly at the factory and has prematurely worn out. Alternators and starters should last 20 years unless your doing something special like adding tonnes of mods to the engine or electrical.

I recently ran into my buddy who I sold my 95 to back in 2003. It's still purring along. No issues. He's got 200k on the odo, a new clutch, and he's just swapped out the struts for some oem blues. Starter still good, alternator still good. And yes, his gearbox is working just fine. Unseen costs? His girlfriend put a dent in the bumper backing out of Blockbuster last year. That's it.

I expect the Maxima to be a reasonably durable, reliable, fun to drive car. Mine is acting like a Volkswagon, and we all know it's no POS volks.

smotz

iTrader: (3)

I justify my high maintenance bills because I literally drive this max like I stole it almost all the time. Beat the snot out of it and spray the b!tch whenever I can.
Everyone says you have to pay to play and I have a ton of fun int he max.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

That's really good for a high mileage car. Honestly I think it takes a little luck for any car to have that little maintenance. BTW, are you talking 280000km or 280000mi? Both are big numbers.

Considering the power/weight ratio of a Maxima, it's relibility is very good. But like anything else, reliability is about risk, not about guarantees.

Yeah domestic parts are much, much cheaper. Higher volume = lower price. More corner-store aftermarket competition = lower OEM prices.

I don't agree with this statement. In terms of things like interior panels, yes. But in terms of the drivetrain, engine, suspension, etc then no. In fact, the more luxury a car gets the more it tends to be unreliable - more powerful engines, more gadgets to break, fancier suspensions with more failure points, etc.

I also think the opposite is true - the lowest most economy car won't last as long either. I think for reliability, the middle range car of a brand tends to be best for reliability, but it all depends on which model.

Cars are engineered to last 100k miles. Cars that last longer and generally considered undesirable, since the theory goes that those people would buy a new car if their existing one didn't keep going. As the years go on, it seems that more parts manage to fail in the 100k-200k range than before.

I hesitate to agree with that statement. Have you owned it since new? IMHO, lemon is a term for a new car that falls apart way too quickly in spite of proper maintenance. Used cars, particularly higher mileage (60k mi/100k km) are a gamble no matter what. Some hold up over the long haul much better than others, and Maximas are out there with very high mileage in staggering numbers, but that doesn't mean that some of them won't last as long.

I certainly believe that.

I haven't lurked in those sections, but I certainly believe it's possible. Engine change, many design changes, more power, - it's a recipe for losing reliability.

I agree with the gearbox statement. I've rebuilt a number of these trannys and none of them ever had the exact shim size that I installed afterward. While the only way to prove Nissan got them wrong is to take apart a brand new tranny and measure endplay, the fact that I never get the same shim size tells a little bit. It's entirely possible that other manufacturing defects could be at fault.

The starter and alternator both died in mine around 100k mi. I do think they are less durable than they should be.

Yeah, mine's not been that kind to me, and I'm at 165k mi. I've been spending a grand or more each year on replacement parts, although some of that is due to my inability to accurately diagnose a new problem and so I've replaced a lot of parts that didn't solve my problem but I justified them 'because they're wearing out anyway'. The parts that have actually failed: tranny bearings, power steering rack, e-brake cables, alternator, starter, battery, rear left caliper, exhaust (all rust). One-by-one they don't add up too badly, and the overall cost is still much lower than a more expensive newer car, but the upkeep can be tiring.

Dave