This damn car isn't normal.....
 

Okay, I bought my 1999 SE 5 speed, white on black leather fully loaded back in July of 2004. I bought it from a small dealership from a guy who got it from the auction. It 98k on it when I purchased it for $9200. It was in immaculate condition inside and out and still is. It's amazing how good it looks. It turned over 201,000 miles yesterday morning on my way to work.
Work done to this date:
7/2004- battery, plugs, filter, radiator flush
8/2008- brake pads, antennae mast
6/2009-rear license plate light assembly- $30, 1 ignition coil
9/2010-rear calipers, inner tie rod links
That's it!!
WTF?? I'm still on the original starter, alternator, radiator, no oil leaks, no oil burning, no squeaks or rattles. This car just isn't freakin' normal. Any American car would've gone through 2 starters and alternators and be squeaking and rattling at 50k. My point being is that these cars are virtually indestructable. It gets an oil change every 3k with Castrol GTX. I'm just wondering at what point can I expect stuff to go? It just amazes me and my co-workers the reliability of this car. How many miles do you have and what have you done for repairs, not maintenance.
Thanks and happy Maxxin! :)

At 26x,xxxmiles mine is doing pretty good too. Previous owner replaced the starter with a new NAPA piece. Everything else is just maintenance. The Knock sensor is known to go bad occasionally, it wont trigger an engine light but it will set a code. Look into it and you might gain back some power and mileage.

KNOCK ON WOOD AND STUFF

Now that you said something about it, stuff will start going very soon haha. Knock on wood indeed. That's great, not one thing went between 2004-2008 - I'm envious.

You won the car lottery! My 99' had the coils and alternator replaced before it hit 80k miles.

My starter went at about 90K and 10 years old. I think that is pretty normal for any starter. I'm shocked an original starter can last past 200K.

Starter at 170,000.
Plugs
Knock Sensor
Thermostat
Brakes
Oil

A lot of fuel.

make sure to stay on top of those coolant flushes, changing the water pump is not cheap and its not easy.

Welcome to the world of Nissan Maxima.

I bought my black on black '95 Max in August of 2002 with 118k mi on it. The lady that I got it from had teenagers driving it so it wasn't perfect when I got it but I knew the max's reputation. I paid 6700 for it and immediately put front axles and struts on it. It now has 221k miles and still runs good, but I do need to rebuild the front end. I plan to do all of it myself and it should be like a new one after that.
So far:
front axles
front struts
rear struts
water pump (160k)
front seal (160k)
front wheel bearings (160k)
coils/boots (221k)
knock sensor (221k)

Well all of you seem to be still going strong. I was actually knocking on a pile of wood while typing with the other hand....:) I just swapped my summer rims for my stockers with snows. I'm going to do plugs, air filter and bank 1 sensor 1 o2 sensor this weekend. I did a coolant flush early this past summer. I thought about selling it, then thought I might keep it until it dies........if it dies.

Consider yourself lucky...I feel like the only things that haven't been replaced on my car are the engine and the interior. Ive done:

Starter
Alternator
AC Compressor
Crank Pulley
Battery
Clutch
Transmission
Axles
Multiple Rear Calipers
Etc.

Not to mention all the parts replaced from mods...

you can only say this abt maximas built prior to the new millenium now these cars break at 30k, you got urself a great car, or your a great guy who takes care of it well

wow thats awesome.
my car has almost 190xxx
and there aren't any REAL major problems.
just a couple regular stuff.
i think the only reason it's really giving me problems is because the previous owner was a dumbass.
maximas are truly good cars indeed.

330,000 Miles, Starter and battery were original until 230K Alternator Until 245K, and Radiator Until 298K. Knock Sensor Died at 187K, Calipers JUST NOW at 330K (They were actually not seized some how?), O2 Sensors at 300K.. Now im just looking for stuff.. Thats It?

Good to hear there are lots of miles out there. This by far has been the most reliable trouble free car I've ever owned. My 93 was awesome too. Just amazing. When it dies, I don't know what I'll get. The new Maximas are nice, but are too big. Maybe a G35x..... But def staying with a Nissan product.

Bought my 98GLE in 2000 from the auction at 36,000 miles. Drove it pretty much every day ever since. Now it was at 190,000 miles. No serious problems ever.
The only thing i replaced were knock sensor at 10,0000, water pump at 190,000 and two O2 sensors at 175,000. Everything else is just maintenance: changed spark plugs once, pads ...

One month ago did a full engine swap from 2003 SE with 66,000. Hopefully I'll get at least another 200000 from it.;) Great car!!!!

Hi guys. I'm re-opening this thread rather than starting a new one. My long awaited "Service Engine Soon" light finally came on after 202k miles. Can't believe this damn car never showed me that little yellow light from hell, haha!! But I put my trusty code reader on it and gave the code for O2 sensor, Bank 1 sensor 1. Is this a sensor I should get at Nissan for $170? Or can I go aftermarket and pay half the $$, but deal with it when it lasts half the time? Or does anyone have a good one I can buy. Thanks guys and hope you all have a safe and Happy New Year. :)

Glad to hear this,,,, I just picked up a 1996 with 55,000 original miles on it,,,, had the inner timing chain cover leak I fixed myself, did the plugs while I had it apart,,,,switched to synthetic oil.

Hope to just do oil changes for some time !!!!!!

I hope you got NGK's from Nissan. They are literally the ONLY plug you can run in these cars without it running like sh*t. But good luck with it. These damn cars were built to last. :)

knock on wood, these cars are great, If your getting board with it, It's probally time for some fun mods. I have 99 and my alternator and wterpump and all of other major parts are still intact and working (knock on wood). The only things I had to do to my cars was the normal maintaince work.

How do you know this is the total maintenance done? That reads like a carfax maintenance history which are notoriously incomplete.

I replaced one of those upstream O2 sensors several years ago with an aftermarket one and it's still working. Save your money and buy one at rockauto for a fraction of the OEM price.

While replacing my exhaust last month I damaged the downstream O2 sensor so I replaced it with an aftermarket one from rockauto and it's worked fine.

The things I listed are things I've done since 98k. The guy I purchased it from gave me all receipts which were all oil changes. I did a carfax. The only thing that came up was a minor collision under $500, which explains why the drivers side vanity mirror is broken. I don't use it anyway. The ***** mirror is on the passengers side. :)

Hi, does rockauto have a website? Or is this a local parts store?
Thanks for the 411.

Rock Auto has every other online parts retailer owned on so many levels it's not even close. Be sure to do a quick Google search for the discount code to get an extra 5% off. Plus, they give you cool magnets to stick on your fridge :laugh:

Anyway, while we all love and adore our Maximas, we shouldn't really be patting ourselves on the backs here. I know some Maxima homers out there probably don't want to hear this, but getting 200k easy miles out of a modern car really isn't all that out of the ordinary these days. I don't want to be a buzzkill to the OP but your situation is really pretty normal for most modern Japanese cars.

Heck, my mom's 2000 Hyundai is at 180k and all it's ever had done to it is tires, a battery, and an alternator :wall:

Show me a 25+ year old car with 300-400k original miles with little to no repairs needed and I'll be impressed :p

My dad had a 1997. Clocked about 64k miles on it until 2003 when some ***** hit him from the back and totaled it. He said it was the most worry-free car he's ever owned, and he wouldn't mind getting another one. He ended up helping me buy my 7th gen, so he'll probably get something different. Probably an M37, Benz E350, or Audi S4.

+1 :laugh:

Consider yourself lucky:)

My max is at 200261 miles, and the cv axles are clicking.

Recently purchased 95 SE 5-speed at 150,000 miles.. This is a fun car for sure..

I know I need the following:

1) CV Joint Boots
2) Struts (Tokiko Blues?)
3) Moonroof/Sunroof seal - small leak

Preventative Maintenance Items
1) Hoses
2) Belts

got a 97 SE black with black leather interior. 230xxx miles but I've done a lot of of things to this car recently to get it back to good condition. I love this damn car!

Aftermarket is just fine; I've replace all three O2 sensors over the past 2-3 years w aftermarket units and they have been fine.

Assembled in Japan
 

We are so impressed with our '99 GXE (bought at 11k miles) we kept it and sold our '04 Max SE (assembled in TN). The '04 was a good car, bought it new and drove it 80k miles, we loved the horsepower, but the '99 is a better built car. Not as many bells and whistles but such a fine car.

We replaced the '04 with a used '06 Infiniti G35x. A bit smaller than the '04 Max, but assembled in Japan. Love the horsepower and road feel. Lots of buttons. Comfy seats. Almost 50k miles no issues whatsoever.

You guys are lucky. I've had my 99 max for 10 months. Bought it at 126k, now its at 133k. This website has been an incredible resource.
Repairs done:
2 coils(same cylinder..)
2 calipers
wheel bearing
knock sensor
starter
new tires

Still have intermittant headlight/dashlight flickering.

My starter just went at 230k miles, still has original clutch. But that damn clock above the radio has been dead for a while !

genuine nissan parts FTW: http://www.courtesyparts.com/

Thats the only place i get my parts.

Most cars that are especially Maxima's assembled in Japan have fewer issues then Maxima's assembled in the USA or else where. I have a 98 and my buddy have a 07 he has had more issues in the three (four) years he have owned it then I did in my 7 years of owning my 98

My 98 I just picked up has small oil leak...waiting to dissect more, but just totalled (5-9 rolls) car so my mobility is limited but I am alive!! Any ideas or common areas this usually occurs?