zx2max

iTrader: (1)

A friend of mine has a 2000 Maxima. It has only 90k on it and the transmission just went. It doesnt go forward and only a little in reverse. I am surprised it died with so few miles. Do you think I need a new trans or can this be fixed for a reasonable cost. Ther is still $9,000 owed on the car.

OC guy

iTrader: (7)

cant you get it rebuilt? anyway its very rare that the tranny can go bad on 90k. did your friend ever had a transmission service?

astley101

I wouldnt say its rare, actually seems like a common thing. My tranny was replaced at 110k. On a 2002. They dont make these cars like they used to. Save costs= cheap reliability.But like OC guy said was it ever serviced. My tranny was slipping but it at least moved forward and reversed.

Zero Deuce SE

How often did you service your transmission and what went wrong with it?

OC guy

iTrader: (7)

if i am not mistaken shouldnt the service interval be on every 30k tranny flush to stay on safe side?

Zero Deuce SE

Yes, it should be serviced every 30,000 miles but I would like to know if he did his and still had a failure.

zx2max

iTrader: (1)

If I were to guess, I would say she never had it serviced. I will check with her tomorrow for more info. I know she has only had the car for about a year. Not sure what the previous owner would have done. I have a 97 max so I'm not to familiar with the common problems for a 5th gen.

maxwannabenow

iTrader: (3)

my 2000 5 speed had to be rebuilt about 77k and I don't think it is that uncommon from what I have read

Eenis

mine was toasted at 7x,000 miles too. had it replaced.

OC guy

iTrader: (7)

from my opinion if we service the tranny on recommended intervals. it should last for over 180k or till life of the car. i have 01 max with 120k and i have been doing tranny flush on every 30k and have had no problem so far. (knock on wood) anyway bottom line is: transmission service does make a diffrence and increase the life of transmission.

kukx30de

iTrader: (4)

135K on my 01 GLE auto now !!

regular 25-30K mile trans flushes... hopefully last another 65K miles... want her to last 200K

Love_00_Max

I have been doing flushes from 45K miles (after dropping the pan and cleaning magnets) with regular dino DexronIII ATF and my odometer has 115K miles.

I believe regular flushes every 30K miles is the best way to extend the life of the tranny. In hotter climates, a external cooler like Hayden would help in addition to the regular flushes.

Investing in a good filter is well worth the money, but then I haven't since I am concerned about flow thro the filter.

OhOhMax

iTrader: (2)

144K+ still going...

OC guy

iTrader: (7)

penzoil dexron 3 right choice.

Love_00_Max

I have Chevron MerconV/DexronIII presently. The regular DexronIII shears pretty bad within 10K miles, so I went in for a better fluid so that I can take it to 30K miles. Incidentally Chevron MerconV is the company's MultiVehicle formula.

Pennzoil DexronIII is good for 15K changes. Why not try the MV formulas, they are blends and can go to 30K miles -- don't have to flush every year!!!

Zero Deuce SE

I used Amsoil ATF at 30,000 and plan to keep using it.

OC guy

iTrader: (7)

so chevron mecron dex3 is recommended for our tranny? i have been flushing on every 30k using penz dex3 and have had no problem so far. did 2 flush allready. i'll see if pepboys can switch it to chev dex3 that would be great.

CoolMax

iTrader: (7)

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=149056

zx2max

iTrader: (1)

Well I checked with the owner of the car and she said she never had transmission serviced. I think she learned her lesson. How hard is it to remove and replace the transmission? I have replaced my clutch on my 97 max which wasnt too bad. How would this job compare?

OC guy

iTrader: (7)

i dont think that you can compare the clutch job with tranny replace/rebuild. get the transmission rebuild. used one will not do any better in long run and the new one will cost you more than what your car is worth. get it rebuild with warranty and that will last for another 50 to 80k if kept serviced.

BUSi87

Sad to say but i think i hold the record. I got my maxima at 45k got the tranny replaced at 56k, ran mt90 ever since and have not abused it since. Now i'm at 66k and taking it bak to the dealer to get the tranny replaced because it is stuck in 3rd gear with no chance of hell of it coming out of 3rd. This time i'm goin to upgrade the clutch and flywheel and drive it like an old folk.
P.s. Does anyone know where i can get a 6puck clutch and a lightened flywheel for cheap???

V8KO

I just picked up a 2000 maxima with 110,000 on it...I dont know the car history so is it safe to get a trans service done with that many miles without knowing if it ever had anything done to the trans?

Reason I ask is two of our local lube places I checked to get a flush on our explorer with 85,000 miles said the car had to many miles and it could hurt the trans at that point.

optimus1

1. It is completely safe, if they know what they're doing.
2. How could a change hurt. Sometimes a change from dino oil to synthetic might cause a leak (b/c synthetic cleans as it goes). But a change is always good. It removes alot of suspended metal particles.
Go to a synthetic (i prefer Amsoil), Will help in extreme Cold regions. Less damage on start ups, etc ...

Love_00_Max

With 110K, I would take it step by step. Drain and fill the 4Q the pan holds with some cheap ATF like SuperTech DexronIII. Run it for 3 months, repeat the drain and fill with some quality ATF like Chevron/Pennzoil/Castrol and run it for another 3 months. If nothing has changed, drop the pan, clean the magnets and then flush with any good dino/syn ATF and call it a day!!!

By flushing right now, may shock the tranny with all the new fluid and the new detergents may stir up all the stuff in the tranny!!!

whazzzzuup

iTrader: (22)

My transmission was completely fried at 60k miles. It's probably from too much racing though. When I bought the car with 33k miles on it, the shifts were already sloppy.

Here is my DIY transmission replacement thread:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=457144

sair

i am hitting 158k and my tranny is slipping, the service is done regularly....i know there was a tsb#39 i think....i have attached a link....

http://www.nissanhelp.com/Ownership/.../NTB00-039.htm

talks about tranny slip....hope it helps....maybe nissan will cover under warranty....i am going to call them and tell them to cover mine....

Zero Deuce SE

How do you expect them to cover your high mileage out of warranty transmission issue?

V8KO

Thanks.
Thats a pretty good plan.

pinakbet

Wow, great pix in your diy thread! In the picture included, where is the output speed sensor located?

thanks,
-b

5thgenmaxima

iTrader: (1)

The lube shops use a transmission flushing machine. On some vehicles this can be very harmfull and is not an authorized tool from the manufacturer, especially if hooked up to push pressure backwards. (Our Nissan service Dept. has one of these machines also.) I'm not sure that it's not recommended to change it, but like Love_00-Max said, it's better to drain and fill that way foreign materials or crap isn't going thru the valve body, gears, etc.
What is defiently not good is switching from ATF to SYN after using Regular ATF for that long. I've seen this done to engines time and time again from people trying to fix oil burning problems, fix a knock, etc. and the result is usually the same.

The normal ATF has been used and deposits have built up on the seals over time. Then they switch to SYN and this better lubricates the seals and helps wash away those deposits. The seals in turn start to leak. Even worse off with a transmission, those small deposits could work there way into the valvebody and start causing the valves to stick then jerk.

A few flush and fills with the normal recommended fluid would be fine. I'm not sure that it's necessary to wait 3 months in between flushes though. Just long enough to get the bad fluid back down to the pan should be long enough. It's not the new fluid that causes the trans to go bad, it's the pumping of the fluid thru the system and the crap that works it's way into your trans.

DcMaN

iTrader: (13)

not only is servicing the transmission important, but keeping the tranny cool is one of the other most important things(Tranny cooler) . My car now has 180k with original transmission, serviced every 4-5 oil changes a tranny fluid change was done using mobil atf.

Love_00_Max

I had the Hayden cooler, but then it took a long time to bring the ATF to normal temperature. I disconnected it and using the stock cooling via the radiator. I think a cooler is a must in AZ, NV, TX where the summers are blistering.

A tranny filter is also good idea so that one doesn't have to drop the pan and clean the magnets -- but then I am concerned about flow and restriction. That is why I haven't had one on my maxima.

I recommened 3 month intervals so that the tranny can get used to new fluids and detergents, you could cut short it if one is putting real miles like 2K/month.

The only way to extend the life of a tranny is fluid, cooling and filtering (and offcourse being nice to it).

bluesky2702

It can happen.....mine went bad at 74K, was diagnosed as a bad thrust needle bearing. This evidently is extremely rare, as the parts guy at the local dealer said he couldn't remember ever ordering one. And no, Nissan USA was not amenable to giving me a little "good will".....'sorry about your luck, your maintained to the max Max is out of warranty'. Found out the part was on national back order, would take three weeks and then i'd only have 90 day warranty on part(!!!) and labor. I got a rebuilt with 3/36K warranty installed for 2600 at Aamco, as opposed to the dealer's 3300. Of course, Aamco forgot a few minor things like hooking up the air intake boot, etc, but that's another story and I gotta watch my blood pressure.

Had all scheduled service (30K, 60K) done on the transmission and I'm not an abusive driver.....only explanation I or a couple of competent mechs can come up is that an automatic transmission has LOTS of mechanical components, and very rarely a defective part WILL get through QC.