My 2k SE with 30k mi. developed quite a noticeable shake in the front end while braking. Dealer says front rotors were warped, pads still had 80% left. He would have to use new pads and machine the rotors. Wouldn't cover under warranty. Cost me $200.00 to fix. Have any others out there had this problem?
I called Nissan Corp. - they took a report and asked what I
would like to see happen. I said how about paying for this repair? They are supposed to get back to me. Haven't yet.
Told them I never warped any rotors on my '90 SE - even with
372,000 miles on the odometer. Any ideas?

[Edited by david mouchou on 10-13-2000 at 05:16 PM]

 

when I brake, but I think some of it is comming from the road surface too. I have 17" rims on my 2000 SE and it transfers the road feel much more in the car.
But I think my rotors might be worped too.
I only have 9K on my car.

Damn Nissan quality.

Eh.

 

at all....I just look at it as one more defect to look forward to....what else can go on the car?

So far :

1) Going on 3rd set of engine mounts and 3rd ECM
2) Needed TCM replaced
3) Rattle galore...unbelievable for a car in this class
4) Drivers seat feels like it is falling apart at times
5) Steering wheel vibe at just about all speeds
6) Scratchs on trunk lip
7) Windshield has some kind of mark on it that is only visible when there is moisture on it but refuses to come off no matter what I try to clean it with.
8) Hood does not sit tight at latch, can move hood up and down and have it rattle just by placing my fist on the front of hood at latch
9) Some body panels do not line up with each other
10)Paint chips way to easily
11)Windshield has many pits in it already and I don't tailgate semis
12)Now in Drive at a light the rpms seem to run real low and I get a groan or some sort of funky noise like something is vibrating under the car or in the driveline...


And folks there are only 3200 miles on this pig....

Honest I'm not making this crap up....I am so down on this car...my second AND last Nissan....

All you guys with the problem free Max's ...awesome...I wish like hell I was in your shoes....but I'm not so I hope you see where I am coming from and not crabbing just to takeup disk space

Seriously...coming from a decade of Toyota I am totally sour on Nissan quality and product...sometimes it does take more than a powerful engine to make a car....

I guess I'm so pissed as I know I'm going to get raped if I sell or trade this car now.....

All these problems are irritating and annoying but not serious enough to do anything with lemon laws...not as bad as domestics but I expected SO much more from Nissan.....

Ack! Can't wait till my rotors **** the bed

 

Great... another person with warped rotors. I don't even know how mine got warped in the first place... sorry to hear.

 

add another to the list of rotor warpage. My GXE is getting a noticable shake under braking. Light braking its not really noticable. under hard braking though, man you'd of thought I put a quarter in a vibrating bed in a rent by the hour roach motel (no other problems to speak of though. Maybe some paint nicks on the front, but I dont want to get a bra for my car as I think they look horrendous.)

 

all you guys say is how bad the max is. this defect and that defect. that is why we have a warrenty. i got my rotors replaced for free. i had them badly warped. and for tranny probs. i dont notice anything. the only thing i question is that when i gunned it, it shifted at 6200 today,
thats only 300 below the red. is that what you guys are talking about? the only thing that sucks about my car is that,
1. damn it this is a pain to wash.
2. damn it, i cant keep my foot off of the ground.
3. damn it, every GLE i see has toyo's on it and i got the crappy goodyear's.
4. damn it, this is a great car.

 

Hey max2kgle, I have no complaints, except that the rotors seem to be aging prematurely for us all. About washing the car. i love it. I love to wash, wax, polish etc. Keep her looking her best. Plus Im proud of the car she is.

 

im not saying i dont love washing it.
i wash it 2 a week.
here's a list of things i love about my max...

it looks good
it handles good, body roll is virtually non-existent.
it smells good <he he> (the leather)
it sounds good, the engine.
it moves fast
it has a great sound system
it is comfy
it... do i need go on?

 

Guys

I am not sure where all of you are. Nor am I sure of your History with Nissan atos. But here are my 2 cents.
I am on my 5th nissaan to date. This is te forst i have had any trouble with. (reallybad experiance with the clutch and 1st tranny) But here is wat i have learned.

1st Cent all nissans seem to experiance premature warping in the break roters.

2nd Cent We are all driving our cars hard.

List of fun
91 Maxima SE (Wish I still had it) replaced break roters 3 times and Pads 20 between Jan 95 and Oct 98 befor the stock timeing belt broke at 235000 miles

92 Q45 ( and you think maximas shutter ) Try stopping 5200 pounds dry with fndementaly the same breaks (granted it ad dual piston Calipers. Changed Roters once to cross drilled and befor that the pads every ~9k miles.

Just keep this in mind Nissans stop well. But most of the damage is the Antilock under heavy breaking. I have come to accept this as a Proud nissan owner. But if it realy gets to you Get a new breaking system once tey are available. I am awaiting the Brembos myself.

 

Nissan really needs to redesign their rotors to be a few mm thicker. I can honestly say that all Nissans have warpage problems, ranging from the 300ZX, Maxima, Sentras, yada yada yada. My beater 87 Maxima has 140+ k miles and the ONLY problems I've had are the brakes. I torque them down to 75 lb-ft in a criss cross pattern, break them in correctly when new parts are installed, etc.. and the damn pieces of **** rotors still warp, the calipers seize up due to excess heat, etc.. If I didn't have high miles on this car (and if it wasn't my beater car), I'd take the time and redesign the brakes to fit the Z32 rotors and calipers

 

The 2k rotors are a few millimeters wider (compared mine with Jane97se's). Do you carry x-drilled or slotted rotors for the 2k, got rice? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

I checked a week ago and no rotors are available for the 2k Max, yet (Powerstop). Axxis pads are available, though.

If they do release the rotors, they'd be around $75-85/ea

 

Could you please announce it in here once they're available? I would be very interested in getting some rotors, pads, and ss lines. Thanks again!

 

don't worry, I will =) 40% of my business is selling brake parts to 300ZXs

 

Do you drive that 300ZX in the snow? Sweet car btw.

 

no, that's why I have a Maxima, for the times when the roads are wet/snowy/icy/etc If there's any chance of rain, the Z stays in the garage. It's only seen rain less than handful of times in 3 years (those damn popcorn thunder showers that pop out of nowhere!)

 

My fronts are definately warped haven't had a chance to get to the dealer. Around 50-70 mph the front wheel shakes when I hit the breaks. I also have the scratchs above the bumper where the trunk lip has been hitting it. Dealer going to have to fix that one too.

[Edited by SilverSlick on 10-16-2000 at 09:40 AM]

 

Wow seems like you got the bad one. My 220k mile 87 max didnt have that many problems in its first 60k miles. I have a couple of questions, how did the engine mounts go bad? Well the TCM is given, its better than having to do a recall on fuel injectors like my max needed otherwise it would catch on fire! Explain how the driver's seat feels like its falling apart, mine is well worn and it doesn't feel like that? Looks like you got the 1 in 10 maxima's with all the problems. I bet 90% of the problems can be fixed by readjusting the mounting bolts, fasteners, clips. Usually when rattles happen it means something has wiggled itself loose. Then add some weather stripping and voila rattle cured. As for brake rotors all nissan's have had problems with them. You should sell your car if you have anymore problems but I can tell you that your next car you should give it a very extentsive shakedown.

 

except for the motor mounts, what he's listing is pretty common. My seat clunks back and forth too. I think the main issue here is the cost of the car and the disappointment after thinking the max would be as near perfect of a car that could be had (in the $ range). Rather than improve on the 4th gen, it seems most of the problems carried over and introduced new ones.

 

1) Needed new TCM due to slipage.

2) Trunk scratching the bumper. Had this looked at today. The dealer is ordering parts. I also looked at 3 more Max's in my parking lot. All have the same problem.

3) Head rest covers come undone on both driver and passenger sides. Requires an occasional tuck. I haven't seen a TSB on this yet. My brother's '95 GXE does this too. I suspect this is a GXE specific problem.

4) Plastic switch plates scratch easily. Resolved this by using aftermarket trim.

5) Rotors. [UPDATE] Mine seem to be okay. I did a lot of heavy braking on my way home from work to test it. I realized they are okay afterall.

6) Hood. I have hood play too. I can move the hood about 5 mm when I press down. It doesn't shake when I drive though. I thought that was because of my damage from the tire tread that hit my hood, but it sounds like a a general problem.

So far, I still like my car. I really enjoy driving it. If anything more serious occurs, I'm going to change my mind.

[Edited by Paul2kGXE on 10-17-2000 at 08:49 AM]

 

You know, im very ashamed to say that out of those 12 things you mentioned i have bout 9.
Oh well its not no Infiniti, cause if it was i would kick Infiniti's Butt all over the floor.

Roger

oh yeah you know what i just found out, the rear arm rest. I had the trunk open and i lowered the rear armrest to clean the leather and there is this gap(bout 1/2inch wide 5 inch long). i can see the trunk area (and outside)with the armrest down. Thats another R&D thingie for you.

 

of frustration...I think that is true in anything that is complained about....when I have the radio on or the windows cracked a bit, the car is a gem....rattles do not affect the performance of the car...only the driver by driving him stark raving loony!

Tim is right also...most of the stuff is minor in the whole scope of the car but they are issues that should NOT be there and I guess most of the frustration is due to the repeated trips to the dealer. You drop your car off in the a.m., go to work, go to pick up the car 8 or 9 hours later and either they say the rattles are fixed(yeah right) or they look at you with a blank stare and say "we ain't hearing nuthing" Obviously...

I feel like Joe Pesci in Lethal Weapon regarding drive thru windows...honestly!

Since it is raining here and friggin raw 40 temps I'm noticing the mark on my winshield all the time now..(only visible on a wet window and vanishes the instant it drys....must be something with wax in it as you can make out the shape in the form of water beads in the morning dew....I'm telling you...nothing has removed this mark...wtf is it made of?

Nismo...my gripe with the seat is if I take a corner, sometimes the whole bottom of the seat shifts with my not so fat ****...I can grap it by the part that supports your thighs and shake it from side to side and it sounds like a can full of paper clips..passenger seat is solid as a rock.

All this being said, I would take another Max in a sec if offered as I do have fun driving it(windows down, radio up lol)but I would go over the thing with a fine comb....

I drove a Olds Eightyeight this weekend and wasn't crazy about it....upped my regard of the Max a bit...but would still like to have problem free one no matter how trivial they may seem....

 

Paul- You are correct about the hood thing...about a month ago after I dropped my car off(again) I took a stroll through the lot and did the hood test on about 15 Max's...I'd say 3 or 4 of them had the hood rattle. Salesmen were looking at me like I was crazy....guy walking around pushing on hoods...no wonder no-one came out...lol

Who checks out hoods for rattles on a brand new car???

You know I will next time

 

kev we all know it's cuz u lowered your car.. eh ya know what? i've got my fronts replaced, now my rears are warped.. neone else got the same problem?? please email me, i'm not on the board all that much nemore...

 

I had that same ghost in my 91 se on the front window directly in front of the passanger. Hate to tell ya old boy it is there forever. I tried everything to get rid of it. I then came to accept it.

 

Iam happy with the car so far i had it for a month.
But the hood does rattle
and the max seems to eat a lot more gas than my previous car which was V6 Camry. I just cant believe that the extra 32 horses max has over camry can make such a difference in milege.(seems that iam the only one with this prob)

 

Well it was "dewy" this morning and sure enough the mark was there...although I did run my fingernail across the windshield and I could feel something there..it is some sort of buildup for sure....the mark is exactly where the passenger wiper travel ends so I'm still thinking that those clowns at the dealer did something when preparing the car(got crap on the wiper) There has to be some flipping product that will remove it....theres gotta be Passenger side I can deal with...my side no way


Whitemax..I'm getting about 22-23 mpg and my highway commute is only about 5-7 minutes each way...I am a little heavy on the gas from a stop though...

 

I asked some peeps at Nissan about that a long time ago and they said it had something to do with the Boat over from Japan (My 91 had final assybly in japan ) as do our 2k Max's.
maybee that has something to do with it.

 

Try wiping down the entire windshield with bag and tar remover. If that doesn't work try this stuff called "AFTA", it's a cleaner/degreaser and takes just about anything off. You can find it near the carpet cleaning chemicals in Home Depot.

 

i had the same problem with my maxima.
well, i took the car to the dealer, but it didn't go under warranty since i was already over 12,000 miles. so i took the car to the Midas, and ask the guys to machine my rotors(both fronts) and the problem was fixed. since any machanics are not allowed to do this by law in california, they ask me to pay cash for the service rendered. but it only cost me $50 for the both front rotors!!!