When I bought my 02 se maxima in June 2005 I never noticed that it didn't have the donut spare tire in the trunk. I am in the process of trying to find a new one. The other option I have considered is going to a junk yard. If I do that what year range of the Maxima has the same lug pattern as the 5th gen? I tried to do a search for replacing the donut tire but had no luck. Any info would be appreciated.

I have one but it's from 5.0 gen

00-03 they are the same..just to be safe....junk Yard is your friend...you can try other cars like Toyotas etc....

I would suggest finding a 16" steel wheel with a new tire and using that for a fullsize spare. I have an extra 17" SE wheel in the spare tire well on our car and it does fit. Donut spares are a JOKE!

I believe the actual measurement of the bolt pattern on the Max is 5 on 114.5 MM or 5 on 4.5".

Travis

when i had an extra wheel, it would fit diameter-wise, but height-wise, it would stick up to where the trunk liner was uneven...and yeah, the bolt pattern is 5x114.3

Yes it does.. but a small inconvenience for having a full size spare.

I would sell the donut I have but it is in storage in OHIO and I am in Iowa.

I have a full-sized spare too. With that, you don't need the board that goes over the spare and under the carpet. I put my carpet directly on the spare and have no problems. It's a little uneven, but it's been really nice on the two occaisions I needed it.

On that note, the 16" steel wheel from an 02-05 Alitma 2.5S works perfectly- I've gotten them for several customers. One from a yard might even have a good tire!

So what you are saying is that the 16" steel wheel will fit in the spare tire well perfectly? If so what is the cost of a steel wheel? Or would I be better off going to the local junkyard to fine one?

Thanks for all of the feedback. It has been a great help. I have been driving this car for 8 months now and never knew that the spare was missing. I have a few long road trips planned in the next few months and I would hate to get a flat with no spare on one of those trips.

My regular 5.5 gen rim w/ the craptenza spare fits perfectly. Dave is suggesting the alti rim because it's a little thinner I think. If mine were 1/2" thinner, it would be perfectly flush with the rest of the trunk.

1/2" Narrower might be a better way to say it. My trunk is like GBAUER... width of the stock 17" wheel and tire sticks up higher than the trunk floor.

Travis

I think the Altima wheel does stick up a little even if you remove the trunk board, but that's a small price to pay. I don't think the board will work with ANY full-size cause of those plastic legs it has.

If you can find a thinner tire, you should be able to rip out the plastic legs.

Regardless, any tire up to the stock diameter will fit. (the donut can't be too much smaller than the stocker or else the car wouldn't track right)

I had on '01 I30 that had a full size spare as a factory option and that's exactly how it looked. There was no board but there was a foam type square piece that went between the carpet and the tire.

The OEM donut spares from our '96 and our '02 are EXACTLY the same thing. The spare from any 1989-2006 Maxima should work fine, same bolt pattern and close enough in size fr temporary use. Having a full size spare would be great though.

Toyota lug vs Nissan
So my spare is missing so i thought i use my wife's spare from her 2013 Toyota corolla, same 5 lug count but didn't fit. And unlucky for me i didnt check and find out until it was needed. Ended up having to leave car overnight in parking lot of 7 11 cause I never checked just assumed cuz both are imports and both had 5 lugs and looked the same as the spare i had that was shredded. Just hope this will help someone else before they find out the way I did.