jcord51

I initually wrote on the condition I have been experiencing, regarding the auto tranmission on my car with 52,000 miles... "Maybe I'm being a little picky, but I just got this car and have noticed that when the car shifts from 1st gear to 2nd gear that 2nd gear doesn't catch right away, unless you ease down on the excellerator and then it will go into second gear. Once the car warms up the transmission is normal and shifts fine. I have a Camry XLE 6 cylender as well that does not have any problems at all when shifting in cold or hot weather. Do you have the same condition on your car? I'm from NY and it has been a cold winter"... Thru this group I acquired the service bulletin and dropped off the car for service. I had a call from the Service Mgr. who informed me that the car was within specs, but he would do the modifications to the transmission as per the bulletin. He stated that I should not be disappointed if the transmission functions the same as before the modification, in other words it would still slip! My question is for those of you that have had the transmission repaired, did the car drive any better? The Mgr. stated that he had only two cars modified and that the customer did not realize any change. I called the Nissan 800 number but they stated that they do not get any consumer input. I'm going to have it done...what do you think?

NyMaxedOut

iTrader: (8)

Dude, not to scare you but I had the same problem roughly around 38K and waited until 48K to take the car to the dealer. The only thing was by then my tranny died altogether (ie. it stopped going in reverse). I experienced a lot of slipping from 1st to 2nd before and took the car for service then. Dealer said i'd have to leave the car overnight for evaluation. I couldnt at the time and shortly after it reverse wouldnt kick in right away and then it would often times just kick in very suddenly. Well, to make a long story short... I am on tranny #2. My advice, have it looked at soon, real soon.
Ralph

Maximam

Clue: I am on my 3rd tranny!!!!!

nfisher50

I have 2002 SE and through the .org, i think i have become overly cautious. Anyways, i thought my tranny was slipping also, so I took it in last night, dealer just called me and said that they road tested it and checked the codes and pressures and everything is fine. I guess the best idea would be to get the extended warranty! I have roughly 30,000. This damn site makes me paranoid about every little thing!

jmh8

Works great now. I have a 2000 SE with 25k on it. Slipped real bad before. No problems at all now (knock on wood) Now I need to take the damn thing in for wind noise.

RBa

iTrader: (2)

Did you check your ATF level?? Low ATF could cause your tranny to slip..
I say go for the service.. It's free and you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that something was fixed..

POPO6SPD

iTrader: (1)

Mine goes in monday night for the fix also. I had the corperate office send the TSB to my dealer. Hopefully the'll do the fix no questions asked. I have 43K miles and no real signs of trouble, I think this board is making me very paranoid about my max hahha. Anyhow I am going to be tough on my dealer since I just bought the car from them and I want it done for the peace of mind. Let us know what the car is like when you start driving it again.

nissanmaximas

Thats true, welcome to the world of an autotragic max.

Thats correct, on a cold morning like anyday last week i hear this straining noise or almost grinding like noise, nissan service advisor said thats normal for this car in the cold weather. what can yah do..?

My fren has 97 Camry V-6, love the smoothness so much. his starts up fine cold hot rain snow. And yes im having the same problem..apparently this car just doesnt like the cold weather.

looslip

iTrader: (3)

Everytime I read a thread like this I get hella paranoid! But I was thinking that if my auto tranny does go south eventually I'll get it replaced with the 6-speed. Do you guys think that this will cost substantially more than if I were to just get the auto replaced with an auto?

jcord51

Well The dealership performed the changes as per the service bulletin, again the service mgr. stated that I would would probably not see any change in the car's performance. Well guys the you would not believe the difference, like a new transmission!!! The car drives great now, I'm glad I listened to your posts on getting it done. I really wonder if what the mgr. said was true that he only gets two requests a year for the repair via the service bulletin? I did call him to thank them for their service.

jcord51

Well, two years have gone by, and the problem with the tranny has again come back (slips from 1st to 2nd). Now I have 62,000+ miles on the car, the TSB was performed at 52,000 miles. and I have to ask if I should have Nissan do the repairs on the TCM/Solenoid or take the car to a major transmission repair station? Does anyone have any idea what the cost might be to redo what was done before as per the TSB?

igzy

iTrader: (18)

Have you ever changed oil in it?

Italiano

iTrader: (1)

thread back from the grave.. yea i have the same problems with my 00 auto tranny, im saving up money for the parts, conversion to manual. no sense in wasting money on the auto if i want a 5 speed anyways.

SoonerFan

iTrader: (5)

there is a TSB for this problem.
from experience, new TCM will fix the problem

vsamoylov

nissan trans sucks period

jcord51

Thanks for the reply...This is one of the reason I've kept this tread intact: The TCM was replaced two years ago, and as I stated, the car ran very well. Now what to do?

jcord51

Thanks for reply....Oil was changed two years ago (10,000 miles ago) when Nissan performed the TSB. I have checked the level and there is no smell of burnt oil. The problem is exactly what I wrote about in my very first post.

zheka

what about the RPM's when driving on the highway. when the tranny's cold @ 80 mph the RPM is @ 3g's, but when it warms up, it goes down to about 2.8 g's, is that a good thing?

NewLoveI30

When the tranny is cold, it will not lock up until the fluid is at a certain temp. That is prolly why you see the difference in RPM's

† ErV †

no the maxima hates the cold weather. the engine already runs cool compared to others....

there is a TSB about the slippage progblem so it could simple be this factory issue that is manifesting itself.

jcord51

You are absolutely right, there is a TSB on the problem and I did take advantage of it, but now the problem has returned and now I have 62,000 miles on the car. I just want to know if I should go with Nissan or with another tranny place and how much approx

igzy

iTrader: (18)

When Nissan fixed your problem 10K ago, did you get any warranty with it? What did they replace, TCM or solenoids or both?

SoonerFan

iTrader: (5)

this is the reason i insisted on the 6 speed when i totaled my 2000 and got my 2002

jcord51

Thanks for the response...The answer is both. Everything that was listed as authorized to be changed (including the oil) was done per the TSB. The work was warranted for one year. I don't think I have a leg to stand on if I complain. This is why I'm asking if the work should be done privately (might be less expensive) than the dealership. The shame of it is that this car is driven less than 5,000 miles a year and all maintenance is performed as if in extreame driving conditions. It looks brand new. Another thing is that now it can not be driven because it really slips when it goes into second gear and you have to let off the accelerator. Once it warms up it drives better. It's going into the shop next week, I just wanted YOUR opinions because this can happen to YOU.

NewLoveI30

Isn't your tranny still under warrantee untill 100k?

jcord51

Not that I know of, I believe that it's 60,000 or 5 years. Want to hear something else? I have an extended warrantee that covered almost everything in the car, but that ran out on Dec 31, 2006! It figures!

SoonerFan

iTrader: (5)

powertrain is 60K

jcord51

Well here is the update on what was told to me at my local Nissan dealership...."Sorry but you have 62,000 mile on the car and you aren't covered." They recommend a rebuilt tranny because then I would have a 12 month warranty on it. I explained to him that this a problem with a documented history for which a TSB was published and that I had warranty work done before. He again stated that my best course of action is to get the rebuilt tranny. Oh by the way, the cost is $1800 plus tax. I asked if anything can be done to reduce the price since I've had the tranny fixed before? His answer was no, and that contacting Nissan would be no help. I'm going to get additional estimates... or do you guys think I should have it done by Nissan?

doublea

iTrader: (7)

I had the same issue with my 2k1 Se 20th anniversary, I had the service done on it, I think they replace the solenoid and what else. The autotragic now work like it should.

Maximum Performance

call nissan and complain, never hurts to try
they replaced my friends motor @62K miles on his spec v, dealer told him to get lost or shell out couple grand, nissan of america took the bill

jcord51

Update...Good News...Maybe. I took the car to my local mechanic who recommended a local tranny place. The owner of the tranny shop, test drove the car for about two miles and stated that the problem is NOT a tranny problem after all. He asked about the catalytic converter, if it had been changed and if I had a recent tune-up? I have never had to tune up the car since it was running well and the "service engine soon" light has never come on so I never thought of the catalytic converter. The car is going to a diagnotic shop on Monday, I hope they find the problem.

SoonerFan

iTrader: (5)

dont understand what that would have to do with the symptoms you said you had but good luck

elix

Careful you aren't getting taken for a ride by Mr local mechanic...

Like soonerfan, I don't see how the two could be related.

If he starts talking about muffler bearings, get in your car and flee the scene!

Belteshazzar

$1800 for a dealer built tranny, if that's the total bill, seems darn reasonable. I still wouldn't do it, but that's less than I would have guessed.

ask around for a good one, and go to an independant tranny-only shop.

jcord51

Monday is when I have an appointment with diagnostic shop, and yes I agree with you about going to an independant tranny shop, which is what I did!. It was the owner of the shop that test drove the car for about two miles, which involved accelleration from a dead stop and from when the car was in second gear. He stopped the test and stated that if I wanted to spend $2,000 dollars on a tranny he would gladly take the money but said that the symptoms that he noticed are not transmission related. Nissan didn't even test the car, they just concluded that I should spend the money for a rebuilt tranny because then I would have a 12 month warranty. I just hope that it's something other that the tranny

jcord51

Yesterday I picked up the car from the independant tranny place and the car is running just great now. The solution was an easy one, the problem was the MAF sensor which needed to be replaced. There was no SES displayed. The shop took the car to a diagnostic place ($65 charge) after they gave the car a tune-up. The MAF with sensor was $217 and the changing of the plugs was $49. The complete job was $450. Thank you all for your responses. You can only imagin how happy I am that I did not stay with the Nissan dealership doing the work, since they didn't even test drive the car and were promoting the changing of the tranny at $1800+ quote. I live in New York and it's very hard to find someone you can trust with your car.