Paclark01: I wouldn't wish a Cavalier on my worst enemy. My heart goes out to you, brother.

Personally -- and this is just me, mind you -- I'd demand a car equivalent to your Maxima. This is Nissan's problem and there's *zero* reason you should suffer because of it. You bought a Maxima and you should be driving something damned near close to it while you wait for the company to get its act together enough to ship the part to your dealer. A Cavalier is, ah, something less than close.

Be nice but insistent. I've found over the years that it goes a long way with Nissan.

Jarrod

 

I had a choice to get the 2k2 6 speed, just for a few hundred $$$ difference, but i'm glad that i got the 2001 instead, because of the hydraulic cluth, which the 2k2 doesn't have. they have cable instead and as far as i see people on here had complaints about the 2k2 clutch. i like the other things 2k2 has over mine tho.

 

My Altima 3.5 has a hydraulic clutch and I presume the 2K2 Maxima does as well. Nissan has pretty much moved away from cable-operated clutches. Sadly, they've instead embraced cable-operated shifters, which suck lemons IMHO.

Jarrod

 

I called the dealer in hopes of getting a car that is a bit more presentable, and I was quite polite with them. Needless, to say no luck when it comes to an upgrade from the Cavalier. I guess pimpin a Cavalier is going to be the lifestyle for 3 weeks. Thanks for feeling my pain. They only allowed a max per day of 26.99, when it comes to loaner cars. If I wanted a more presentable car I would have to pay the difference out of my pocket.

 

i need to clarify that with 2k2 owners. the dealer had told me this info, unless they are wrong, so 2k2 owners please speak up .

 

I dont know if the clutch is hydrolic or not. I know that the spring is on the Flywheel and not the clutch. there are a few differences between the 6spd and the 5spd. The tranny is totally different from what I know.

Personally I with they would have stuck with the other style. I am always very cautious about my clutch. I over-analyze every little thing with it.

 

It is true . . . the 2K2 Max has a hydraulic clutch and a cable operated shifter. The stick feels a whole lot like the ones in the Volvo S70 T5's . . . actually quite a good feel to them and without all the engine/tranny vibrations . . .

 

ok my car does the exact same thing. I'm going to bring it to service early tomorrow morning. I hope they resolve the problem as soon as possible. What do you guys think I should tell Nissan Service when they ask what the problem exactly is? Is it that the Flywheel is faulty, or pilot shaft bushings are missing? Or should I just ask to reeplace the whole clutch assembly?

Nissan should really put out a TSB for this!! Its really sad that they would rather cover up their mistakes than allow us to drive cars that are genuinely safe.

 

I would tell them that you have done research on this issue and many other owners are having problems with the "throw out bearing". I told the service guys about the boards and they new what I was talking about. Good luck.

 

Sent my car to the service dept this morning. 10 hrs later they call me back and say that they could not hear any noises when engaging the clutch. I too have some problems making this noise. I think it only makes a screeching noise while hanging the clutch while accelerating. I do this a lot in traffic and it bugs me. I'll try to produce the noise again tomorrow morning after picking up my car, if I can reproduce the sound, I will most definately send it in again for repairs. I just hope they'll fix my car in a day. I have a FSTB and some bulbs from midnightmoose.com to install.

 

I had to drive my car for them. Mine did the same thing, it would squeel when engaging the clutch in traffic, especially after it got hot. Just drive it around and take them for a ride.

 

Just drove those @ssholes with my car... He demanded to drive the car... and then stated that there was no noise... Then I drove the car to show him the noise by hanging the clutch and when he heard the squeel he said it was cause i can't drive!!! friggin idiot... Afterwards they sent me another guy and he refused to let me drive my own car to show him. After driving a lil bit he did hear the sound and stated that it is because the clutch needs to be broken in because it is too new. He told me to rag on it a little bit and launch my car a few times and that'll fix the noise in the clutch. What a croc of BS!!

When I told him about Maxima.org and all the issues everyone was having with thier 2k2 6 speed... And that ppl with similiar issues told me that it was the throwout bearing and flywheel... He told me that "No one on those boards knows what they are talking about." And then called it a cult.

dblrr900 can you do me a favor and can you post a picture of your work order from maxima showing exactly what the problem is. These guys refuse to find a problem with my clutch. Or jwright can you give me the name to who you talked with when you opened up a case at Nissan... I actually called them and they were just as bad as the guys at service... Telling me that the best thing i can do is to just bring it into NISSAN service so they can diagnose my car...

Oh and does any one know of a courteous service department in the NYC area that i can go to. this problem is really bugging the hell out of me... I want my car fixed and i cant deal with those NISSAN idiots anymore...

 

bump... someone plz PLZ help me... read above post...

 

Your dealer service department is full of morons. Sadly, 100 percent of Nissan dealerships employ at least one. Even the dealer who did such a superb job on my Altima had its share. My service writer, who was otherwise a pretty nice guy, displayed a certain level of idiocy when I brought up the off-idle judder and throttle response problem I was having and asked him why the '02 Maxima rental I was driving had much crisper off-idle response in neutral.

"First off," he said, "you can't compare the two engines. The engine in the Altima is *totally* different from the engine in the Maxima. Throttle response in the Maxima is, well, you just can't compare it.

"And second, you're driving a Maxima SE, right? Yes, well, the engine in that car is *totally* different from the engine in the GLE, too. It's more of a racing engine. So I'll have my guy look into your throttle response issue, but I'm telling you now that the engine in your Altima is not even close to what's in that Maxima SE you're driving around."

I didn't even try to argue with the guy. Totally misinformed, just like many Nissan employees, and once they get an idea in their heads, there's no dislodging it. At that point, I had serious misgivings about what kind of shape they were going to return the car to me in. Imagine my surprise when I picked up the car and *every* major issue was resolved, including the throttle response. I wonder if they transplanted one of those "racing" motors from the Maxima SE?

Regardless, redfly, I'll PM you with the name and number of the guy with whom I dealt at NNA. I'm sorry to hear of your problems; I feel for you, big time. It's obvious you've got the same problem I did, and it's equally obvious Nissan should fix it.

Jarrod

 

u know what... i dont give a $#@* anymore... im just going to drive it with the squirrel sound... This is simply tooo much trouble... I give up... It's not like its affecting the car's drivability. Right before my warranty expires I'll demand the clutch be replaced...

 

I will look for my service order dood. I have it somewhere. Sucks to hear you are dealing with idiots. I suggest you get in front of the service manager. If he gives you **** then it is time to go somewhere else. My hope is that the Service Manager will make somethign happen. The one at my place in VA is good. He actually thinks .ORG is a great place for info.

I will assure you the squirrel noise is from the throw out bearing or "something" on the clutch, and we all no the clutch does soooo much better when you drop the clutch a few times and get on it, Idiots!!! I will see what I can do to hook you up dood, but get into the Service Manager.

 

U guys are awesome... I'm glad, even though the service ppl at nissan are a$$hole$, that there are fellow maxima owners that'll go out of their way to help me out... no regrets with the 2k2 especially since i found this board... thnx again... and i'll update u guys if and once i get everything straightened out...

dblrr contact me if you do find the service order... it'll be an awesome resource if i can go and show them exactly what the problem was... otherwise i know they wont fix my car and tell me to go back home... btw, did u have to take off your intake before sending it to service?? knowing the service guys i go to they wont even look at my clutch if they saw the franken intake installed... I have a Greddy EVO installed already and when i was taking them around in my car and trying to show them the squirrel sound they were like, "All i hear is your aftermarket exhaust. Maybe if you brought the car in before you started messing with it we could have helped you."

jwright thnx for the contact # ill give him a ring first thing tomorrow morning...

p.s. u guyz = awesome

 

Just an FYI.

Picked up the Maxima this evening from a Nissan Dealer in Gaitherburg, Md. The car has been there since 5/13/02. Anyway, I owned the car for 36 minutes today. It was towed from my home in Germantown, Md because it wouldn't shift into reverse, and the gear shift was hard as hell to operate. I was supposed to receive a new clutch, now it looks like a tranny or synchros are in the mix. I am going to try and terminate my lease via Maryland lemon law and Nissan consumer affairs. I have to commend those diehard Max owners for sticking with the car eventhough it is either a moneypit or a dealer queen. Unfortunately, the good doesn't out-weigh the bad aspects of the car and the dealers who service them. If anyone has some additional insight please feel free to pass it this way.

 

A clutch that isn't fully disengaging would also cause the symptoms you've described. It may just be that your new clutch needs to be adjusted. I would've expected the dealer to properly adjust the new clutch after installing it, though.

Marc

 

I agree dood. Sorry to hear but the clutch just needs to be adjusted. When I had my clutch replaced a couple months ago it would barely go into reverse as well. When it did it made a clunking nouise and you could feel the transmission engage. They took it in and adjusted it right away. That was when they wrecked it too, so yeah they all suck somehow. BTW what dealership in Gaitherdburg. I live about 20 min down in VA.

 

Paclark, I think Mark and dblrr are right on target. It sounds exactly like your clutch isn't fully disengaging. Let us know what you find out.

Redfly, did you have any luck getting your Max fixed? I hope so. The Altima is still going strong and smooth, thank goodness.

 

i lost all confidence in nissan. i currently gave up caring for the issues i am having with my clutch. and now i try to avoid driving around in heavy traffic so as to not hear the squeel. and if i must i just blast the radio. doesnt really matter... in 2-3 years ill be trading the car in for something nicer. german prob. im sick and tired of nissan service.

 

Got the Maxima back today and the Vibration is still there. They told me that it is now running normal. Are there any "normal" running 2002 Maxima's with 6 SPD manual that have a vibration at the clutch pedal, especially when reving up through the gears?

So far the tranny has been out of the car and the flywheel re-torqued 3 times.

Although Nissan has been addressing the problem, I am not closer to having the car be like the first day I drove it off the lot. In fact, I always seem to get it back with other things wrong!

 

isn't there a pattern of this????

 

Sure would be nice to have a Nissan Exec. as part of the ORG. If not to do anything to at least hear the message we portray. Imagine all the lemmings out there that just buy Nissans and don't know any better and just drive the car with all the simple issues.

 

The dealer the car is at is Rosenthal Gaithersburg Nissan. It is Frederick Road, accross the street from Lockheed Martin. I was told this morning, the reason why the car wasn't shifting correctly, was because Nissan changed the gear oil, and the viscosity. Sounds like crap to me but, what can I do?

 

This is a new low, even for Nissan.


I knew those "rumors" of Nissan not doing proper R&D on the 6-speeds so that they could simply "shove it out the door" on the 2k2 models would come back and bite them, and more importantly the owners, in the butt.



The joys of Minima ownership.



I am sorry for everyone's troubles. It's flat out inexcuseable, especially the way dealers treat customers.

 

Unless the techs poured a load of 150W-200 molasses oil in your gearbox, I can't see how the wrong viscosity could make shifting as difficult as you're reporting. As you said, your dealer is almost surely piling a load on you.

Bill's comments about this type of problem being inexcusable sum up this whole experience. People been designing and manufacturing cars for 100 years or more; there's been ample time to perfect a simple device like the clutch. The situation wouldn't have such a bitter taste to it if Nissan dealers -- and in many cases, NNA itself -- had a clue about customer service.

What's so aggravating to me is that I *know* firsthand Nissan can produce spectacular customer service at all levels. The sales experience in buying my wife's G20 was nothing short of miraculous, and the one time she took the car in for service -- to correct two minor squeaks and rattles -- she received so much coddling it was almost embarrassing. (For example, the second she pulled into the dealership a man in a chef's outfit literally jogged across the parking lot to offer her a fresh pastry while she was still sitting in her car. And that was the *worst* part of the experience. I won't even go into what a timely job they did, how high the quality of the work was, the cleanliness of the loaner '02 I35, the over-the-top-is-there-anything-else-we-can-do attitude that pervaded every employee, or the fact that when they returned the car it was cleaner than when she dropped it off. And I'd just detailed it three days earlier.)

So why is it, then, that when I stroll into a Nissan dealer -- whether it's the showroom or the service area -- I get the immediate feeling that I should shut the hell up and hand over my checkbook? Nissan, you may as well be telling customers to go to hell and not come back because that's *exactly* the attitude that you're fostering with your bread-and-butter product line.

Sorry for the rant. You guys' experience just ticks me off. Even though it took 26 phone calls and four weeks to get my clutch problem resolved, I get the distinct feeling I got lucky.

 

Well the first problem with your dealer is the name. Rosenthal. I made ht ebiggest mistake buying my car at Rosenthal in Tysons. I will never go back there for anything at all, not even to another Rosenthal dealer. They suck and are idiots.

Go to another dealership dood. Find another one around you and take it in there and tell them what your pain is and that you feel you are just dealing with the wrong group. Maybe they will do it right to impress you and keep your business.

I know it is far away but my dealership is Passport in Alexandria, VA. Despite the new guy wrecking my car they have done a good job with all my issues and never said crap about my intake. Actually the SVC manager said that when I was ready to go extereme with a SC or Turbo to come see them and they will help.

 

I bought the car from DarCars Nissan in Rockville. Took the car in 1 week later to have the tires balanced. The car sat there all day and nothing was done. Finding a good reputable service dept, should not be a physical chore. Nissan has a long way to go, when it comes to the competitions vehicle quality and customer service. I also have a 2000 Interga LS, that I have serviced at Radley in Bailey Crossroads. Totally opposite end of the spectrum, love those damn acuras....

 

This is exactly what happened to my 91 Explorer when I had the transmission serviced in 93. They put some sort of gear oil, not sure of the viscosity. The 91 manual trans takes ATF fluid which tells alot about its tolerances/lube specs.

The car would not shift easily into any gear until it had completely warmed up. I literally had to use two hands to pull it back into second.

 

Folks, the sagga continues.

I was supposed to pick up the car on 5/30/02, since I had to drive to Alabama on the 31st. Needless to say I was promised the car by 4 pm. I receive a phone call at 3:30 pm informing me that the car is still being worked on and the car would be ready at 6pm, which was okay since from Tyson Corner to Gaithersburg would take an hour with the D.C. traffic. I receive another call at 5:10pm... Sorry, your car will not be ready. We have to pull the tranyy and investigate the causes of the problem. Expect to receive your by next Wednesday the 5th at the earliest. I called Nissan consumer affairs and they are the most clueless bunch of people ever... I am ready to buy a 6 grand honda accord and be happy...

 

I have one of the first 2002 SE 6-speeds and noticed the squeal back in January. I took the car to the dealer back then and they could not reproduce the noise. After many months of living with it, I learned how to make it happen. I took it to the dealer today, drove the car for the service manager and showed him the noise. Nissan replaced the clutch today. I'll be picking it up in a couple of hours and hopefully the noise will be permanently gone.

This is how I do it. Keep in mind that the car can be driven for days without making the sound. I stop the car on any fairly steep hill, even a short one, and slowly release the clutch while holding about 1.5K RPM. The car should roll back a foot or two while the clutch is engaging. The first time or two you get the car moving the noise may not happen. Stop the car and try again. The clutch warms up pretty quickly when treated like this and will begin to make the howling sound. In my case it always worked after 3 or 4 starts.

Good luck and get your clutches replaced,

Luis

 

That is exactly what I did to show them. I took it on a hil and rode the clutch out. I was able to do it for over 5 seconds at a time. The guys was like, Oh, OK. Make sure you check the clutch adjustment when you get it. Check reverse multiple times, it is a good way to tell.

 

I finally picked up my car from Rosencrap Nissan in MD. They installed a second clutch since I couldn't engage reverse in the first clutch. Currently, I am still having problems engaging reverse, and the clutch makes a clunking noise at morning startup, they installed a clutch for the 2k2 model year. I am out of ideas. Nissan Consumer Affairs won't help me. Herb Gordon Nissan in Silver Spring, MD won't work on the car since Rosencrap messed with the clutch. I am trying to claim MD Lemon Law on this bad boy and purchase another car. First thing make sure your dealer has working knowledge of 2k2 Maxes. Second, check on their reputation. Call Nissan Consumer Affairs and ask questions. Third, Cover your a$$, you never know what could happen. Fourth, make sure the clutch that is installed in your car has been produced for the 2k3 model year. The design has changed from the 2k2 clutch assembly. In the new clutch the lubricant is different, the throw out bearing has been redesigned, and the flywheel has been improved. I am trying to get a third clutch installed from the 2k3 model year.

 

The car is back from the dealer and the new clutch feels nice and smooth. We'll if sound returns.

Luis

 

Paclark, I'm sorry to read about your continuing problems. What a nightmare. Most state Lemon Laws require three attempted repairs of the same problem within a short time period (usually 12 months), so I would imagine that since your car has had two clutches and is going on a third, you have a valid claim. Nissan is pretty good about resolving problems when they balloon as badly as yours has, so if you press them in your specific demand that they either fix your car properly the next time or get you a new one, they'll probably do the latter if they indeed screw it up again. The company doesn't want to go to arbitration any more than you do.

Luis, I'm glad your clutch job came through well thus far. Mine is still smooth and squeal free; it's better than the day I picked the car up back in October. I'm certain that mine was bad from day one, even though the noise didn't show up until six months later (the slight judder was always there). And you're right about the clutch squealing much more often in reverse than first gear. If anyone has this problem and wants to demonstrate it to his dealer, park the car on a slight incline, engage reverse and slip the clutch moderately while revving the engine to high idle (~1500 rpm). It'll do it nearly every time.

 

I file with the state of maryland consumer affairs bureau. I am waiting for a call back in regards to what the next step would be. I was hoping to receive better treatment from Nissan Consumer Affairs, but Nissan customer service is not a top priority, which has been made very clear. I will keep everyone updated on upcoming events.

 

I have taken comfort in reading your feedback to a problem that I have been working through as well. The initial "sqealing" problem was resolved with the first visit by changing the clutch assembly and fly wheel. My persitence with Nissan has been to address the vibration that is felt on the clutch pedal now as a result from the repair. They have done all they can and tell me that the car operates normally. I drove another SE 6spd and did not feel the same level of vibration. This car was built in 2/02 and seem to shift a bit smoother.

Is a "slight judder" mean vibration, and if so, Is my MAX SE now really operating normally? I guess I will need to drive it for some time and see if the vibration gets worse.

 

No, the judder in my case referred to an occasional hesitation and vibration that occurred when slipping the clutch to take off from a stop. The entire transaxle shook, transmitting said nonsense into the cabin in a very unrefined manner. Since the clutch assembly was replaced, the drivetrain has smoothed out completely.

I never felt anything unusual at the clutch pedal.