Hey guys, I've been thinking about this alot lately since picking up a 1998' Nissan Maxima GXE back in November of 2001. My car before was a 1991' Nissan Maxima GXE. I feel that my 91' Max was a much much better overall car than my 98' Max. Even today, sometimes while driving my current Maxima I would much rather be in my old 91'. Those of you who have or have had 3rd generations know what I'm talking about. The comfy seats, courtesy lights in the back doors, tilting headrests, better quality plastic, etc etc. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing at all wrong with my current Maxima, it is super reliable, and is pretty quick, but doesn't feel as solid as my 3rd gen. Who knows, maybe it's just me.

 

I also heard that the 3rd gens were better built over the 4th gens. Never looked at it myself though so I cant give my opinion

 

EvilYak brought that up with me after I bought my 97SE. I used to have a 90 GXE. I could see the argument, but overall I think my 4th gen is more solid. I drove the 3rd gen to 165k before it started having enough problems for me to warrant it. And I took great care of the car. My complaints on the 3rd gen were these:

The bose sound system was shoddy from time to time, I replaced it with a Kenwood system. The spare tire used to squeek in it's compartment, the leather became badly cracked and tough. The suspention was not stiff at all and rather bouncy, even after replacing springs/struts. The sunroof constantly had problems until it just got stuck and wouldnt open all together. Dirt and other particles got into the seems in the plastic around the gear shift and the e-brake. The brakes dusted like they were draining a desert. The seats were softer, possibly more comfortable, but didn't have any decent lumbar support. The back seat was cramped. Etc Etc.

Despite all it's problems, it was still an extremely enjoyable, comfortable, and reliable car. Most of the problems were very managable. But overall, my 4th gen is heads and shoulders above my 3rd gen. There are more tiny rattles in the 4th gen than the third, and probably slightly more road noise, but overall, it is solid, and obviously much faster. I also like the way the 4th looks over most other sedans on the market. Too bad they went with the 5th gen design, although they are slightly growing on me, Nothing when compared with a 4th gen tho.

Just my $0.02

 

That's why we call the 4th gen cars Minimas instead of Maximas.

 

Hak, I agree with you on those complaints of the 3rd Gen. I luckily did not have leather seats, so no cracking and no sunroof either. But many of the things you mentioned are already occuring on my 4th gen Max! Especially my sunroof acting funny, squeeking, and worse of all there is an annoying rattle right above my head, that everytime i go over a little bump or crack in the road, or even turn it creaks so lound, i'm about to take the whole head liner out and jam some stuffing up there. Also yes the 4th Gen is much faster, and i'm finally just getting used to the look of the 4th Gen. I haven't even thought to much about the 5th gen haha.

Now thinking back, if it weren't for the cracked manifold studs on my 3rd Gen, I would still be driving that today until it drove into the ground. I only got 140K out of my 91' Max, but that was the best investment that my family has made into a vehicle which eventually became mine. If i could do it over again, I should've bought THREE 3rd gens, and driven each one into the ground, and I'd still have money left over for mods, and that'll about equal the $15G's I paid for my 98' heh.

 

I had a 3rd and must say I like the 97SE much more than the 93 and I dont miss the 93 at all! The 97-99 SE is the best looking/most agressive and sportiest Maxima to date and my interior is still solid. The 3rd gens did have a nice looking interior, but I had quite a few probs with it:, tranny issues, All 4 window requlators, 3 alternators, leaky oil, bad clock. With my 97 at a comparable mileage it hasnt had any of those problems. My 97 draws more positive comments than my current 02 form dirvers!

 

well nissan started going bankruped when they made the 4th gen so they had to go cheap

 

well the same came be said for the 2nd to 3rd transition, because the 2nd gens were really full of gadgets. When the third gen came out Nissan cut quite a bit off stuff out of the car!

 

Weak argument seeing as it was the 3rd gens quality that problem caused people not to buy em.....

The 4th Gen was what really revived the company. Granted there are some problems ie for me my front leather seats are cracking but I am guessing it is because the previous owner did not take care off it.

 

At least the 4th gens look better!

 

Hak,
Alas, we can only blame the enfluence of the Renault merger for this design discrepancy... Haha, actually I like the new design, but not the cheapness.

btw, does anyone know where I can get aftermarket or OEM fog lamps for the Max? Ones that fit the orginal pod where they go. Thnx.

 

my mother used to drive a 90 SE...it had many problems under 80k. speedo went out at 60k. tranny went out at 70k. windows acted up. suspension loosened up quickly after purchasing it new. despite the probs with that car, i always liked the maxima. her having that one led me to buy my 4th gen 96. my 96 is far more solid than her 90 ever was. i will give the 3rg gens some praise on the interior, they were pretty nice. just my .02

--Paul

 

Me owns a 2nd gen, where the heck are all our gadgets? I've got a sensor for when my windshield washer fluid is low, but I don't even have cupholder! Damned designers...

 

They have way more buttons than any of the newer ones, some had adjustable suspension,some talked(fuel level is low etc), had more instrumentation,volt meter,oil pressure, you get were I am going?

 

The only thing that I didn't like about some of the 3rd gens is the seatbealt that chokes you when you open the door!

 

Appearancewise I still adore the Gen 3 Maxima. My fave Max to look at ever to date. But the blasted seatbelt design (which plagued alot of cars of that time, thanks Mr. Nader for being my parental guardian on safety) kept me from ever owning a 3rd gen Maxima.

I always loved the quality of plastic the 3rd Gen had on the top of the dash, very rich and classy for vinyl. Almost like leather. The door panels were clean and very atttractive as well. And I loved Nissan's 4DSC (4 door Sports car) marketing of the Gen 3.

Then Gen 4 came along. It is a much better engineered automobile in every way. Of course a few things were given up, but the trade offs, I believe, were worth it. The all new VQ DOHC 3.0 in 95 made up for ALL the shortcomings to me. And the leather in my 95 GLE still is exactly the same shape it was when new, as is everyting else. And that was 108K miles ago. Overall quality improved really with Gen 4 and it even surpases the overall quality of Gen 5.

My major gripe with gen 4 is the rear apearance. To me the rear shape of the sheet metal and the shape of the rear glass does not blend well at all. And the rear tails of the 95-96. I am not a fan of altezza's but they look better than what Nissan put on there. 97-99 is better with the amber removed. (I am waiting for some high quality red/clears for mine that do not look home made)

So far I belive tha 4th gen is Nissan's best Maxima for everall quality/value. But I love looking at the Gen 3's! Sweet looking Maximas there.

I just personally love all Maxima's, always have, but gen 4 just wins me overall.

 

Was kinda disappointed in Maxima's quality when your alternator DIES that quickly. Cost $300 for a new one. We have a honda with 160k and the alternator is still intacked.

 

I had the adjustable suspension, changed it back to gas struts cause I'm not paying Nissan $500 per strut to have it adjustable. And only then it was stupid electronic junk that really didn't work well, I adore my Tokicos for my 88, more so than the KYB GR-2 that were on their before.

Mine does not talk to me. I do know the feature you speak of. The monomatic voice might as well say, Danger, Danger! cause the voice sucks.

Only feature I like is my instrumentation and dual electric seats standard, my stupid 97 only has driver side electric. Nissan is skimping on their Maximas, hopefully 6th genners won't have this problem. Anymore of this and I'm gonna start buying VW or BMW.

 

haha, tru that. Those seatbelts almost killed one of my friends, cause it tightened up while it was tracking shut when he closed the door on my 3rd gen, he literally couldn't breath, and I just barely was able to press the eject button, boy that could of been real bad now that I think about it. Big lawsuit, hehe. And the only gripe I really had with my 3rd gen was cupholders or lack thereof I should say....and those retarded round circles in the glove box don't count. First time i got a drink in the car I tried putting it in the glovebox holder, tried making a turn..splash, soda EVERYWHERE. Last time I ever did that.

 

That's nothing

Off subject but the '02 Altima really got slammed on its interior, that's skimping right there for ya

 

Just got out of a 94 and into a 99. Always did like the 3rd gen styling, but the spoiler and SE wheels really do help the 4th gen's looks. Sure don't miss those seatbelts. But right off the bat I definitely noticed that the interior plastics on the 99 were a pretty big step down, just shinier and cheaper and more plastic-y looking than the 3rd gen. Just my $0.02, and I'm definitely digging the 4th gen...

 

wow, I never knew 3rd gens have better platic than 4th gens.. I've never been inside a 3rd gen, and I thought 4th gen interior is awesome..

 

Of course that's just my opinion, and like I said I luv my g4, but it's a pretty big difference and one of the first things I noticed when I test drove the 4th gen. Doesn't necessarily mean it's cheaper, just looks and feels that way to me (though the g4 dash design and layout are definitely cool). FYI less shiny plastics are my personal preference, so that's part of it, and I think Jettmiester nails it when he says the g3 dash material just looked and felt more leather-like rather than texturized plastic.

 

The 3rd gens has the best interior quality materials over any generation Maxima and it went down some in the 4th and more in the 5th.I just hope it doesnt go down to the current Altima standards (YUCK)! The 2nd Gens had the most features standard and the GXE 85-88 had those Lazyboy looking seats.

 

Back in my ole smokin days...the seatbelts in my 92 knocked the end of my butt off and almost burned the seat.