I bought my car used only 4 months ago. I had a nearby Nissan dealership service dept check out the car before I purchased it.

Now, its my turn to get it in the tailpipe. My '02 Max with the 6 disk changer is now giving me trouble. When I play the AM/FM radio, all channels work. When I play a CD, only the right channel plays at full volume and the left channel plays very faintly with crackles and static.

I know this is a recurring issue with the 02 and 03 Maxima.

Honestly, I love my car. Love the interior. Love the color. LOVE the 6 speed. Love the stereo controls on the steering wheel.

Now what do I do? I don't have an extended warranty on the vehicle and this is the first time that its done this. Should I drive my car down to the dealership? From the experience that some of you have had in the past, do you think that the dealership will replace my stereo free of charge because of the TSB? Or am I out a fist full of cash to get this radio fixed.

I REALLY don't want the hacked up look of an aftermarket radio in the dash.

Maybe someone has figured out what is malfunctioning inside this piece of **** Clarion head unit.

Any comments and advice is welcome.

 

I'd go in and mention how you're aware of the common problems with the Bose and the TSB. Tell them your car is exhibiting the condition and you've only had it a short while. Hopefully if you're friendly, educated, and reasonable they will be as well.

 

Common problem with the HU.

See
http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/tsb/NTB03-017.pdf

I had mine replaced free of charge.

Also see

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hreadid=189182

for an excellent write-up on the problem.

 

Was your car under a factory warranty when it was replaced?

 

Yes it was. Good point - forgot to mention that.

 

My 02 has 48K on it now (manufacture date was 9/01, bought new in March 02) and Bose is still good. Hope it doesn't crap out on me now!

 

First, just try being polite and reasonable. Don't go in there yelling at service people. If it doesn't work out and they refuse to budge, then call up nissan consumer affairs and see what they say.

 

From my experience with Nissan, the service centers are incapable of doing anything without Nissan Corp telling them to do so. So I would call Nissan Consumer Affairs. I have had my HU replaced 4 times since I bought the car about a year and a half ago. 2 HU's had to be replaced b/c of the left channel thing. After a long time of *****ing and *****ing about my problems I finally got someone on the phone at Nissan Corp that could actually do something (the other girl I was talking to said that Nissan could not and WOULD not do anything but continue to replace my HU. She even recommended that I trade my car in for something completely different!). They made a deal with me if the current HU I have goes out they will pay for an aftermarket radio and the instillation. I don't have a clue on how much they will spend, but I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

Considering you are just barely out of warranty you may get them to, at the very least, replace the HU and maybe you will pay for the install. I don't know I wish you luck. I love my car but I hate the company that made it, they out right suck. I will NEVER buy another Nissan unless their customer service gets better. It should not be like pulling teeth to get them to do something (especially when my car is still under factory warranty).

GOOD LUCK, and keep us posted I will be interested in hearing what happened.

 

Do you burn your own CD's? I've noticed the ones I burn sometimes don't play on the left channel but store bought ones seem ok.

 

my bose fixed itself within a week.... i know it sounds crasy, but it did.

i'm at work now so i'll try to do a better writeup tonight.

 

Has anyone ever repaired their own radio before? Other than banging on it with fists until it works again.

 

It's a defect in a cable inside the radio. It's a design flaw where the cable shorts out due to bad wiring connections on one end. Even with the right tools, etc, you can't fix the cable itself. In order to fix the problem, you have to replace the cable with a new one that is a different design.

As far as I know, only one shop in Florida is able to even order the cable. The shop is a Bose-authorized repair center. But to date, most people just have the dealer replace the radio. Make sure the new one has a date of Decemeber 2002 or later so you won't have the problem again. If you are out of warranty and have the problem, give http://www.carstereohelp.com/ a call.