I am 16 years old and just purchased my first car, a 1997 Nissan Maxima GLE... but the problem is... even though it has the auto climate control, the wood grain, the power seats, etc.... it doesnt have leather seats! I thought GLE's came standard with leather seats?

looks like the previous owner was smart and sold the leather seats for some $$$$ and switched it with the cloth from the person he sold it too. He prob made a couple hundred dollars doin the swap.

Or you got an SE and dont know it :P
They can also have auto climate control.

but SE's dont have wood grain do they?

Your Max more than likely came equipped with leather but chances are it was replaced for the following reasons:

1. Previous owner's personal preference on leather, some people just dont care for leather
2. Previous owner sold it for profit
3. Leather condition was poor and was replaced for cheap cloth seats

I haven't seen an SE with woodgrain unless it was swapped in so you most likely have a GLE that had leather at some point.

how much does leather seats cost at a junkyard or something?? and also did GLE come standard with heated seats? idk if mine has it or not because i bought it and had it towed to a shop a few days later... if they didnt... how hard would it be to get the heated seats in correctly?

i had an se w/ woodgrain and tan cloth seats but not auto climate control.

you can prob find a decent set of leather seats for $250 if you shop around aroud.

i also have an SE and it came with leather, auto climate, power seats, and wood grain....bec. that's what i ordered when bought new.

Yeah, back when cares come out new you can choose options.

Last owner on my car told me he switched the leathers to cloth casue they were so f***ed up...thank goodness I found a junk max with black interior.

I got a leather interior (heated) for $500.

To install the leather inserts:

1) Take off door panel
2) Pull back cloth door insert
3) Cut little notches into the vinyl that will line up with the tabs on the leather insert
4) Insert insert (lol) and bend tabs
5) Done

To install rear leather seat:

1) On the front of the bottom bench, pull the who handles (one under driver side passengers left thigh and one under the passenger side passengers right thigh)
2) Pull seat out
3) For top seat, unbolt the seat (2 10mm bolts) and lift seat up and out. I don't recall if you have to unbolt the arm rest (there is two screws there as well, you may wanna check those)
4) Installation is reverse of removal

To install front seats:

1) Unbolt old seat from the floor (4 17mm bolts - I think it's 17mm). Unplug harness (if any).
2) Installation is reverse of removal

*** That's from memory. So check to make sure everything I said is accurate. ***

Now the heated part is a little more complicated (sometimes). If the seats you by are heated, then all you need is the switches and wiring (it's 3 wires - power, ground, and switched power). If the seats you buy are NOT heated and you want to make them heated, then you have to take off the leather cover and install the heated pads. That's what I did. I used this site for basic instructions and supplies:

http://leatherseats.com/installation.asp

How do you know its a GLE?

Probably the auto-climate and wood grain.

I only know of one person who's done a manual-to-auto AC swap. So if it has auto, it's DEFINITELY a high-end SE or a GLE.

OP..do you have chrome door handles? If you do, then you're probably a GLE for sure. If you have body color, you're probably an SE. Or window trim? Chrome or black?

i have an se with leather, auto climate, and woodgrain... i guess im awsome D:

No you're not.








































Spose - I'm Awesome (song)

I had 2 complete leather interiors from 150-250 for two years and no one wanted them so I ended up trading for some near new struts. Are you looking to get a leather interior for your Max?

What color are the gauges? White-SE Black-GLE/GXE

The true tell way: Check out the vin plate: http://forums.maxima.org/706590-post3.html

My GXE has leather... =)

Ive got an 1996 maxima se with woodgrain on the 5spd model which is rare but SE's can be optioned to a gle grade. If your car says gle on the back it may have been in a accident and they replaced the trunk lid with a gle trunk lid, or they just took the leather out for cloth.

yea it has chrome door handles and i dont remember about the window trim.. i bought it for a few hundred bucks then had it towed to a shop to have a new motor put in. havent seen it a little over a month but yea i do remember the chrome door handles.

yes but somewhere near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina or Baltimore, Maryland. i dont want to pay for shipping thats why.

yea i believe this is what happened

yea thats what im thinkin now

maybe thats what happened with mine...

i have seen the GLE leather for the max and i wasnt impressed.

Not til i saw the I30 leather. I was like, holy smokes i need that leather. The I30 wasnt even running. Hadnt run for months. I know, cuz i tried to buy it months ago! I didnt buy it cuz the dealer cdnt get it to run. I told the guy 800 for the seats and he wd not sell it. pissed!

i dont remember if mine had heated seats or not... but if it doesnt... how do i go about installing the switches?

well its definetly not a gxe because it has all that stuff i said... and its not a se because of the front grill and the gauges

yea its a gle because of what you said plus the chrome door handles.. dont remember about the window trim though

its definitely a gle

yea i think i read that somewhere on here...in the FAQ's i think... whereever it was it was comparing the differences between a maxima gle and a i30 and it said the i30 had better leather

Its def 2 differnet leathers. THe maxi leather is too soft for my liking and bulky looking.

THe I30 leather is like racing leather, rich sleek rigid. Looked so dope. But the Fawking guy wdnt sell it. I told him we cd jus swap and dude jus wdnt do it.

In the end a dealer can install what ever the customer wants. Gauges, wheels, leather, spoiler, gold trim, etc. Id say the only thing the dealer wouldnt want to do is the ACC but it can be done.

the thing is.. im just wanting what the maxima gle is supposed to have from the factory... and that is leather seats. ill just have to look on here for some

Did the previous owner of your car also change the door panels? Or are they leather?

OP: just do this

i dont know if i said this already but i bought the car then had it towed to have a new engine put in... but like i said... its a gle... i know it is. i dont think you read through this thread. not to be rude but we already established that it cant be anything else but a gle. again not trying to be rude or anything just saying..

i think those are actually still leather but not 100% sure.. like i said i dont remember clearly the details like that. i bought the car and had it towed to get a engine. the shop has had it for a little over a month now.

I have a 95 maxima too and I'm not sure if it's an se or a gle but I don't have that id plate. Is there any other way to tell if it's a gle or an se?

well if you are sure its not a gxe... the se has white gauge faces and the gle/gxe has black gauge faces