Please, not looking for opinions on style, etc.... just RELIABILITY - engine, etc... My current 3rd gen is dying (162k miles) - losing compression on 1 cylinder (140 psi vs 170 for the others) and burning oil, so considering going to a 5th gen w/ manual 6 spd tranny - been listening to VTCs for near on 10 years now, so I'm WAY over that. Just want to know if there are any considerable gotchas for the fifth gens - I was leery of purchasing the first generation of the 4 valve per cylinder VE30DE, and obviously my fears were justified in the end....also replaced all of the fuel injectors save one.... not my idea of a "sound" engine. just like to know if I'm going to have to hear the clamor (VTC wise or other) of expensive repairs coming from a 5th gen. Looking for an engine that will go the distance w/ regular oil changes - gotta tell ya even at 162k I thought I would get more miles out of my 3rd gen. All opinions welcome!!!

 

5th gen = 2 Engine choices, we usually depict them as 5 and 5.5g ...

From what you're taliing about (engine dying, not sensors) I have a VQ with 229k miles, though it's not the DEK, it still is a VQ, and the not that it has anything but the DEK is much smoother than mine. Common DEK problems are MAF's and coils .. other than that it's a beauty .. both style, sound and reliability.

 

I assume you are asking about 3.5 liter engine since you mentioned 6 spd transmission. I haven't heard anything bad about this engine only good. Besides, the same exact engine is used in most Nissan and Infinity vehicles, so it gatta be reliable.

 

Just because it's used in a lot of other cars doesn't mean it's reliable.

 

well GBAUER has the highest mileage for the 5.5 gen on the .org and he's at 117k i believe (last i heard) he has had some problems, most notably the transmission failure (auto) but since you're looking to get standard, that shouldn't be an issue....
my moms 2k with the VQ30 has 203k on it now, and it's still purrin like a kitten...it's still on it's original auto tranny, too...well good luck finding the car you want!

 

this 2002 lasted 179K so i guess they must be decent
http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ca...p=y&cardist=16

 

Interesting find ...

 

10gz for a car that ran 179k?

 

its a 2002 + its a dealer

I have seen smilar at my local dealers

 

How the hell does a car that is less than 4 years old, get 179K+ on it? It would almost have to have more than one driver taking shifts on a regular basis. When did they first come out? Even at 48 months old that's 45K/year, at 42 months its over 51K/year average. The owner wouldn't have much of a life driving that much over such a short time frame.

 

I would just consider that since this has been the same basic engine (with upgrades every 2 years) in 11 consecutive years that has received the only award from wardsauto as one the top ten v6 engines in the world, you have a reliable engine so whoever said it may not be reliable clearly has not done their homework. AND this is the same engine that Nissan so craftily decided to use in 4 additional models that have been well received by their respective market. I don't think a company as hell bent on becoming the best at everything as Nissan would just slap any old engine in the models that have become widely respected. Just some info on the reliability of the engine. Now, I did my homework and I am sure this year, the very same engine will be on the very same list, which makes it 12 years IN A ROW... Reliable, not even a question

 

BTW i agree with this statement. who in the hell drives that much??

 

Maybe late on child support and alimony payments and running from an ugly wife as far and fast as possible, lol!

Seriously, some people drive for a living, eg. salesmen. Others are drive-a-holics. I have a friend who drives about 35,000 miles a year and works 40 plus hours a week in an office and has been like that for many years.

 

Even if this person drives as much as your friend, 35,000 x 4=140,000 NOT 179+. I seriously don't get it..

 

my mom put 90k on her 2000 max the first year she owned it....a lot of people put tons of mileage on their cars...when my mom was in medical sales, she put 170K on her dodge caravan in two years...i agree that it is insane to drive that much, but you gotta do what you gotta do....i put less than 1000 miles/month and i think i drive too much...

 

VQ30/35 one of the best engines out there .. you'll easily see 200k from it w/ regular maintenance

 

Tell me about it! I've got less than 59K on my 95SE and I've owned it since October 1, 1994.

 

The VQ30DEK has always been rated as one of the "best" engines ever made in terms of reliability, smoothness, etc.....these were ratings comparing car engines worldwide....

 

jesus christ! and you're sitting here complaining about people that drive too MUCH??? you should drive your car MORE! lol....

 

I've never heard of anyone driving that much in my life. 260K in three years is the equivalent of almost 10.5 times driving around the Earth at the equator. That's torture, not a job.

 

I know, lol! I threw that out there to p!ss NmexMAX off. We'll see if he rises to the bait. I've owned three cars during the time I've owned the Maxima (only 2 at once) and have driven them a combined total of 116,500 miles. The Maxima is not a daily driver and has about 80%+ highway miles on it and will last for many years to come I hope. It's seldom seen snow or ice and has no rust on it.

 

Maybe you should spend more time in your car to get the experience/know how and less time posting ... j/k...

I put ~ 34k/year on my 1995 (bought in 00) up until I got my 2003 in October of 04. I still use the 95 as a daily driver, and love driving it. Within the next couple of months ... I will have an extra foward gear ...

 

Do you ever sleep? Or just drive and aggravate people on the internet, lol! j/k

 

close to 120K on my 01, I've owned it since May of 01 and my engine purrs like a kitten, sees redline every day, deep tripple digit speeds, and its never burned a drop of oil, always starts up like a new car. Interior of my "cheap" GXE looks like new- cause I keep it sparkly clean, I love my VQ.

 

iam pretty sure iam the second most Mileage 5.5 gen here after GBAUER i got 91k as of know the engine is bullet proof but the auto tranny is messing up and so is the MAF sensor.

 

i believe dustrman has over 100k on his 2k2 auto...from what i understand, it's still going strong, including the tranny!

 

FWIW I've got 55K on the clock with no problems, runs great and burns no oil.

 

dude you wont see **** burning for a long time , if you maintain your car

 

66k on VQ30DE runs like new. As for the auto trannys from my experience Mobil 1 Full Synthetic ATF will keep it running like ne. Also Lucus transmission treatment saved my 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee

 

Areas of concern

MAF, Coils, VIAS valve.

 

I think the actual engine is great...Its usually the other things that will go bad---not the engine.

I dont think that Nissan is quite up there is quality and bulletproof cars compared to some other manufacturers---there are too many wacky things which happen with these maximas---but the engine is definitely great.

 

I've got 56K on my 00 and the only problem is that the engine will run rough for like a minute when I first crank it up but thats it. My mom has a 98 GLE with 58K and its never gave her a problem