Bought my 02 SE Feb 07 with 79K on it. A year and 30K later and the only problems are related to the transmission - and this is just starting. I've yet to investigate this issue further. It maybe a cheap sensor, or it maybe an expensive assembly.

Gas mileage mixed for me is 24 - 27.5mpg and I get on it often.

 

Huh?
I could have sworn the center lock nut did not have to be removed to replace the rotors on out cars.............

Maybe I'm just wrong.

 

The lock nuts had obviously been removed at some point and the brakes on my car were nearly brand new when I got it. Just put two and two together...

 

If you have a Maixma, of any year, and you don't put a fluid cooler on the transmission you are asking for it. Thats the first thing I would do after I picked it up.

 

and why do you say that? i'd love to know. as i have had many with 0 tranny problems and no external oil coolers...

sorry to hijack.

give your car a good tune up if it hasn't had one in a while: plugs, fuel filter, pcv valve, air filter, check what is rattling it's probably a heat shield, i don't know if 5th gens throw a code for a bad knock sensor 4th's don't so check that with a dmm, other then that they don't need much in terms of routine maintenance.

in all honesty they don't get amazing gas mileage.

good luck

 

O, because I was gonna say

 

I dont know about you guys but I get about 420 to a tank highway and about 315 on city roads. I drive it hard too

I too have a dash rattle not rattling all the time just when cold and going over bumps sounds metallic metal against metal real quick. Doesnt bother me..I also have NOISY tires.. sounds like an airplane taking off


P1320 SES CODE and the wonderful P0430 are the only ones Ive had to worry about still havent found the p1320 Bad coil yet, Just keep clearing it until Spring gets here when I can work outside and not freeze to death

 

WTF am I doing wrong, any one else getting anything close? Problems I occured thus far

$ Bad O2 Sensor(blue one can't think of the more descriptive name)
$ Passenger wheel bearing and hub assy
*Radiator (road hazard It had nothing to do with Nissan quality)
Bose 6 Disc (POS honestly the main reason I don't drive much) Annoying

Some random bogging problem which went away after Nissan raped me for a diagonistic and told me I had a bad coil and they couldn't troubleshoot or test coils and recommed all 6 be replaced total cost 700 dollars. I told them they are full of **** and drove the car until the problem arose again 2 years later still hasn't come back.Thank god I'm not a woman or ignorant.
$= Removed and Replaced


All in all I'm happy with my Maxima and will only trade it for a G3?,M?5 or something German.

 

Well, only one problem that I know of. The AC/heat doesn't work indicating a blower motor from what I could tell from talking to the owner. Is this an expensive problem and how hard is it to fix myself? I typically do all work myself.

Car has 160,000 miles, auto and leather. What are problems I need to be aware of or are there specific areas to check out? I had a 96' I30 a few years ago and it was bulletproof. I'm assuming these 5th gen Maxima's are fairly solid as well?

Thank you for your advice.

 

The blower motors are common problems. You can rebuild the one in the car, or look for a replacement at a junkyard.

 

blower motor resistor maybee the culprit? Anyways, these are good cars, as long as the previous owner was on top of the maintanace, you should be fine, look at the shocks, maf, coil packs, o2 sensors, make sure all have been replaced by now, personally I wouldn't buy a car with 160k miles but thats just me. I hope you're getting it for a good price...

 

Thanks for the info. Believe it or not, apparently he's selling it for $1500. Supposed to look at it today.

 

Correction, just found out it's a 2000 model. Would that change the blower situation?

(have yet to look at the car so I don't know what condition it's in)

 

Hey guys,

I'm going to look at the car mentioned in the title. It is a one owner vehicle black w/ black leather, heated. The car has 50,000 miles on it and the seller is asking $13,999. Is that a reasonable price. I've seen its under Kbb value for the car.

I don't know much about 5th gens but have driven my 4th gen since 2002. Is there any thing I should look for specific on the car? To my knowledge it has never been modified.

Thanks for your help and if I'm lucky I'll be posting much more often in this part of the forum!

 

indeed, read the stickies because there ARE a few things you should be looking out for.

At the end of the day, this forum could tell you the car isn't worth more than $10,000, but how does that help with your negotiations? The dealer doesn't care. You should always try to get the car for less than it's posted but whether we say its worth $11,000 or $12,000 won't really impact on how things play out

 

before you begin negotiating for a price, make sure it doesn't have major problems, have your mechanic put it on the lift and go through it thoroughly. Price is always negotiable.

 

if it is indeed in good condition, 14,000 is a good price for the car... mine was stickered at 15 with 49k on it

 

the kelly blue book values is always overpriced, because it is what dealers use to determine what to charge, thus resulting in inflated prices...a better site is www.edmunds.com, they're values are more reasonable...on kelly my 2000 GLE fully loaded in fair condition with 83,000+ miles was listed in the high nines, while edmunds said it was closer to $8500...got the car, completely registered with new brakes for $8800....however that is a very good price for a 2003 titanium edition with that mileage...i would try to lower the price, but if they are unwilling to budge, i would shell out the extra coin and get it anyway

 

If it doesn't burn oil, bose works, no accidents, no grinding of gears, I say 12.5 would be a good offer for her. How are tires/brakes etc?

 

Pretty much what ^^^ said. Don't wait too long though, make a decision cuz theres always gona be someone else wanting it

 

One of the Dallas area members picked up a grey lustre '03 Anniversary edition (automatic) with just over 40k miles for $8900!

 

yeah those 02/03 black/black TE 6spd's sell very quickly, too bad you didn't get it.

 

2001 was the Anniversary edition...

 

maybe he meant TE.. that's basically the "anniversary edition" of the 5.5 gens minus the body kit

 

I'll sell you my 02 6 spd for $ 9000

 

Depending on who you ask, TE are hard to buy. Not too hard to find. But you fuq around and low ball, someone will beat you to it. Happened to me at least 3 times, bfr I bought mine.

 

Brain fart. Titanium edition.

 

I was lucky to find my 03 6 speed TE. Didn't even know it was one until I got to the Nissan dealer. The description online was so vague.....But I knew the car wouldn't last long so I brought it right on the spot.....

 

Hey guys~

I spent the last few weeks studying the 4th, 5th and 5.5th generation maxima, trying to figure out which would be the best for me. I settled on the 5.5 for the sweet VQ35 motor and set up a test drive. Today, I went to drive a 2k3 SE with 110k miles on it that was for sale. I know that is a bit high, but I with all the praise that the motor gets, I should be fine for another 100k, right? The engine was veeeerrry nice and so was the ride down the road, BUT there was a check engine light that came on a day before I drove it. The owner had taken the car to a shop and they read the code as a malfunctioning lifter. The owner said it would be about a $1000 job to get it fixed. You've got to be kidding me!!! Are there many problems with the motor? Is this a serious problem?


Help me keep interest in the VQ35!

 

@ malfunctioning lifter. Get the code, post it here, and we'll take it from there.

 

Like he said... get the codes pulled and post it here for proper feedback on the issue.

 

how do the 3.0 and 3.5 compare with respect to reliability?

PS- I don't really want that guy's car becuase it had scratches all over it and he admitted to being a leadfoot. I'm sure he didn't take very good care of it.

 

all the info is available on here....

 

This is a thread for all those interested in buying a 5th or 5.5 Gen and are trying to do some research, so please lok through this thread and/or post all questions you have in here.

I've merged a handful of the most recent discussions on this to kick start this and hope that ALL questions regarding potential purchases can be kept to this thread. If you have some information you'd like to share with potential buyers, please feel free as well.

Consequently, all other new threads on buying 5th/5.5 Gens will be locked or merged into this one.

 

Why don't you take it to AUTOZONE, get the codes pulled and figure out the issue? You may be able to fix it yourself, and offer lower than he's asking..I have yet to read about lifter issues with this motor. Not saying that others may not have had similar issues.

 

Since ive been outta the maxima world for few years now, ive lacked on all info. Im looking to get me another maxima as soon as im able, and ive narrowed it down to wanting only a 02 or 03... Now from what im reading I am understanding that there are a few differences? If you guys wouldn't mind bringing me up to date as to what these differences are so that i can either narrow it to an 03 only or still possibly both... Thanks in advanced guy, I'm looking forward to getting back into a max.


P.S. I just noticed there is a somewhat of a thread about 5gen/5.5 gen that might have my answer... Ill read through it, but if anyone still knows specifics I would appreciate it.

 

I believe the only real difference is that the 03 was available with curtain airbags. that a a few color changes. But i believe that is the extent of it.

 

Not really worried much about cosmetics or interior things like that... I'm interested in knowing differences in engine or tranny.

 

i have a 4th gen and totaled it and it seems to b fast but im looking at a 5th gen an 01 . just want an easy answer. witch one better for preformance? and why. thanks

 

do you need the Titanium Edition?

if not, they are are exactly the same