So I've been mulling over getting one online, or renewing my subscription to ALLDATA DIY.
Question is: For most maintenance and wear and tear issues, how helpful is the Haynes/Chiltons for a 5.5 gen?

From the cover, it seems like they just saw fit to lump some 3rd, all 4th gen and all 5th gen years together, which makes me nervous. For the Chiltons, they even included the 6th gen!!

who here has a print copy of either and can remember a time where it came in handy for a repair???

 

The Chilton's is the fsm for idiots
That being said I use it here and there lol

 

see? Right? There's those times when you just don't want to boot up your computer/tablet or stare at the tiny phone screen... you'd rather just see something ON PAPER... "here and there" is EXACTLY what I'm referring to. FSM is gold standard but can be too detailed sometimes for something that's soooooo easy like "duh, I knew that!", or sometimes you just feel like doing some general knowledge repair or maintenance reading, to spark a little curiosity. So which one in this case would get the nod, Haynes or Chiltons?

 

Here's the thing about the paper manuals and the FSM. The paper books are written for the novice/enthusiast while the FSM is written for a trained mechanic. The paper books try to hold your hand and start at opening the hood or jacking up the car. The FSM assumes you understand 90% of the job and just need specific details.

To answer the question. I have a copy and found it somewhat useful back in 2004 when I got my first 5th gen. I always had a book for every car in the family and even for some friends cars I worked on. They were displayed on a shelf in my garage. They live in a box now and I can honestly say that I haven't touched one in 10 years. I probably wouldn't replace one if I lost it. Last year I bought an 05 Grand Caravan that needed a lot of work and haven't even thought about getting a paper book.

That being said, my tech shills are a little closer to a pro than a novice and I have good resources. I've worked in a shop and my best friend is a shop owner and highly skilled mechanic. I also have access to subscription manual services like Pro Demand that are really good and are updated with TSBs and tips submitted by users. I can generally get through any job on my own with a quick look at You Tube if I get stuck. If I didn't have all that I might consider the book.

I don't think it's going to hurt you to own the book. I'd just watch eBay for a cheap deal on a used one if you want it.

 

I have used Haynes for years. I have multiple copies; the 3 Maximas I have parted out came with them. They are great for the average person and average fixes. Not so good for super detailed stuff like wiring diagrams. Now I mostly use them for quick references to torque specs.

For more in depth information I referenced the FSM online which became quite annoying. I bought a used copy for $40 to have it at the ready.

 

Your local library probably has a shelf full of Haynes or Chilton's. I never liked them, but free at the library can't be beat. Call and ask if they have them.

 

I got into the maxima game via inheriting glee (my gle). I have always been somewhat of a shade tree mechanic and finally decided to start learning the missing pieces on my own. Glee arrived with a Hilton's manual and I this was my first as I usually purchased Haynes in the past. Repairs, vehicle models, and less ambitious they got me by. Now this is the first car I've needed an fsm for and the initial rason would be the sunroof problem the car had upon arrival. My dad told me he'd replaced the motor, the connector tongue motor, fuses relays, and nothing successful. Here's what I discovered... The sunroof problem I was having was unique in that it didn't respond at all what so ever. Switch checked out ok, pulled the connector and some of the wiring splices looked fine. The Chiltons manual had the 2k2 2k3 electrical wiring pages dog eared where the sunroof info was. I noticed that there were some differences in wiring and it even states that due to the vast variety of models and sub models blah blah blah they specifically omitted my 2k1 years diagrams. This was plainly written. So now knowing my dad had used this wiring diagram to splice a q45 sunroof motor in... lol... i armed myself with an gsm for glee, the q45 wiring diagram, and wondered what else I'm in for with this car down the road... so the motor looked identical, even had the same connector... The pinnout was quite a bit different and there was even 1 color wire on the maxima that the q45 didn't have and vise versa. I don't remember what the job of said wires was but do remember them being I'll related. In fear I went out to the car and pull the sunroof harness down. The wires were spliced to their matching colors which technically meant they were all wrong and sure enough the 2 separate colored separate function wires were spliced together. Then connected to a sunroof motor that thankfully just decided not to work. To my discredit it took me awhile to figure that out. 1 because I had other repairs and maintenance taking priority, 2 also my fault but sèmi trusted my dad's judgement and failed to double check his splice job more thoroughly, 3 I only picked at it here and there until frustrated, and I see why I would get that way. I could not seem to find the appropriate diagrams on the internet, Chiltons specifically left them out, and had the fsm not have been in the picture I assure you this would not have been resolved maybe ever... The fsm also goes into detail about setting, adjusting, calibrating, and installing of course all sensors. Complete teardown step by step without leaving you hanging or telling you to escalate to a professional, i.e. transmission teardown, rebuild, engine same way, and it does all the above referencing twice for if you have nissans consult 2, I use datascan 2, or gst (general scan tool) basically an ob2 scanner and a handy multimeter. There's complete troubleshooting steps, breakdowns of all mil dtc codes, causes, symptoms, repair instructions, and Chiltons books (Haynes also) cover so much they just can give you that. They have to knowing they broke down the models they'd sell a bunch more books so my guess is they're not allowed to.

 

 

Yes ^^^^^^ ..... listen to this guys, he is RIGHT !!!