tfalcon

How is the overall quality of the 2002 Maximas, any horror stories. If some could post miles driven with no issues would help. Thanks

dmbmaxima2k2

iTrader: (1)

rattles-day 2
sucky service dept- always and forever
shifter action notchy and hard to find 3rd gear.
over sensitive MAF that is on back order.

mine was also attracted to a tree

also other people have had clutch/flywheel issues. i havn'et yet.

KLOOGY

iTrader: (12)

I.m about to hit 3000 miles.... Love it. Ive had no real issues, except for the rattling Bose rear sub. I dont care about that though since Im working on getting a custom enclosure for the rear.....Besides that, I love it....

see5

No probs here. On the other forums I go to you always hear about the problems cause that is what we talk about, but in general Nissan is well above average unless you beat it into submission.

tfalcon

Heard some things about a cold start timimg chain clanking noise, this still an issue?

ajahearn

iTrader: (3)

December manufactur date. Picked up 12/17th. Troubles to date, paint on wheels (which another posting has shown to be simply markings for balancing) they easily came off (never noticed when I picked up the car). Couple of minor scratches in leather (but I have kids and that easily be the problem). 3800+ miles and I'm no slouch when it comes to pushing hard (see my posting where I held out well against a MB430). I do have one paint chip on the hood but I have had a few occasions of following behind someone I obviously should not have. I have everything but NAV and HLSD. Compared to my 89SE this is easily a step above. If you want details, please send me email. Hope this helps.

DrVolkl

800 miles. No complaints...well, not really. (Of course I've only had it a week.

Complaint: Why do japanese car makers put the thinest layer of paint possible on their cars? My integra had some thin paint...so does the max. I just washed and waxed it and I was not happy with some of the marks on the hood. UGh. My fault for getting black I suppose. All the fords I've owned have had WAY thicker paint. Oh well.

The shifter is fine..I don't seem to have any trouble finding 3rd gear.

The car is fast....but I'm still wondering how fast. I haven't run with anyone yet...looking forward to taking it to the track soon.

maximadave

iTrader: (10)

3200 miles no problems at all

CharlieNewbieMax

iTrader: (1)

not good compare to my 96. Gone back to the dealer 4 times with my 02 already. Two times for wind noise, one time for replacing pedal stopper. One time for loose door handles. Might have to go back again for minor oil leak. Not to mention the paint chips. Other then that i love the car. But i've never go back to the dealer with my 96 tho except for regular maint.

lildanny61

after 1.5 weeks of ownership and 300 miles, there are no major problems encountered so far. the only problem id say is that i have excessive wind noise and the rear deck rattles with the bose sub. but those are trivial and when the windows/sunroof is open and you are just enjoying the drive, those dont even matter.

2002 Max SE

Well my '02 6 speed has about 5000 miles after 3 months and I am very happy with the car overall. My clutch was squealing last week so I took it into the dealer and Nissan is relacing the entire clutch assemply, so I can't complain about the service. They are paying for a rental '02 max until mine is ready and the manager has been very professional and apologetic. The car has had no other real problems, although at the first oil change I did have the rear window wind noise TSB done, which helped alot. I am coming out of a jeep grand cherokee, so keep that in mind when I say that I am impressed with the quality of the max

Brendan

KLOOGY

iTrader: (12)

I'm also coming out of a Grand Cherokee LIMITED ..1999 . I had to pay Jeep $7200.00 for excess mileage on the lease !

2002 Max SE

Kloogy,

Ouch on the mileage fee! I really liked my C. Cherokee but I love the maxima. I have to say your max is looking great. I have a 6-speed in super black with Navi (love it) and it sounds like we have some similar mod plans. I am finishing the med school application obstacle course right now and in the next couple of months should have a cardomain site up so you can check out my progress. Take care

Brendan

KLOOGY

iTrader: (12)

Sounds great !

dmbmaxima2k2

iTrader: (1)

and my bose headunit needed to be replaced after 3 weeks of backorder and not having my left speakers THEN when they replaced they didn't tighten all the screws down inside the dash and i had a rattle that i just fixed myself.

kingpin

Dang..db...your service experience has sucked! When I had my 4th gen, the service overall was medium...mechanics sucked, but service writer was really coo. Infiniti service has been cool, EXCEPT, they have scratched my tint TWICE (but paid for replacement) messing with that dang Bose "wanna be sub".

ssiperko

Ditto, I saw a fix for it hear that I will try (don't have the kloogy cash ). The turning radius is very large (also a fix here that I have done) other than that I love it. I hit 2k miles this weekend.
l8tr -- SS

Phydeaux

My top quality issues:

1) Lots of paint chips.
2) An automatic that sucks up all the cars power.
3) Lots of paint chips.
4) Very little road feel from steering.
5) Lots of paint chips.
6) An automatic that dithers between gears too long.
7) School-bus turning radius.
8) A high-dollar Bose sound system that doesn't sound high-dollar.
9) Non-existent dealer service.
10) Did I mention the paint chips?

Mark S.

It's been about 3 weeks (going on 550 miles). My steering wheel was off center. Dealer did another alignment and corrected about 85% of the problem. Then I noticed that the MAXIMA emblem on the trunk lid was canted quite a bit to the left. Dealer provided me with a new emblem and I replaced it myself (spent an hour ensuring it was level and lined up properly with the SE emblem). Other than that...she seems to be doing fine.

alembicf1x

3600 miles, got the dealer to repaint the hood so no paint chips now - other than that the car has been awesome.

ohmitr

6 weeks old and so far it's been perfect. Not a single defect of any kind!!!

Phydeaux

Damn - where do you guys find these dealers? I just polished my hood thinking that it would look better but now every single chip shows up - they all are filled with polish. The front 2 ft of my hood looks like it's sprinked with salt.

Mark S.

Phydeaux, this is not a cure...but I used to use that "Color Polish" (Black) on my dark blue Cougar for the front end of the hood and it did a pretty good job in hiding the small chips. Of course, you will have to use it everytime because if you use another type of wax/polish it will remove the Color Polish. But it did look about 80% better!
They must have something close to your color. I'm not sure about the Sherwood Green...but if it's dark enough...the black Color Polish will work.

Phydeaux

Thank for feedback - I had thought about that. I'll look in to it a bit more. Since I'm using Liquid Glass (which bonds to the paint) I'd have to chemically remove all the polish I have now first. I only wish that I'd put in on the first week I bought the car. The finish would be harder and I wouldn't have as many chips. I can say that aside from the hood and bumper the rest of the car looks damn good. I'll put a bra on it and no one will notice.

Mark S.

Phydeaux,
Liquid Glass is great stuff...but I think I've read somewhere that it really hardens up the paint...and if that's the case, that could possibly cause the paint to chip more easily...just a thought. You may want to use DAWN liquid soap to remove the Liquid Glass and then go back to another polish/wax which keeps the clear coat a bit softer.
I may be wrong about the Liquid Glass, so other forum members please chime in.

Phydeaux

I've read that it makes the finish harder but hadn't heard that it would make it chip easier. I used it on an Integra that I had for 10 years and the finish on it looked better the day I sold it than the finish on my 2-year old Max. I drive it the same way and over the same roads and didn't get the same chips. And the Integra drove a lot lower to the ground presumably getting more road debris.

The theory I have with the Max is that the finish takes a long time to cure. I've seen less new chips recently which could mean that the paint and clearcoat are finally starting to harden. I also park in garages both at home and at work so the finish never heats up which in my case prolongs the cure time. Anyone that get a new one should leave your car in the sun for the first 90 days to ensure a hardened finish.

slick

i have a 2k1 gxe(actually, its my dad's), it has some small problems, but nothing big.
rattles happen, whether a small rattle when blasting the stereo, or a series of big rattles when driving on the interstate at 70mph, its gonna happen. i think the maxima rattles a lot in the cold weather.
and the paint chips, DAMN, i washed the maxima yesterday, i got so many chips in the hood and front bumper, i can't even count them, also have chips on the side of the car, i have paint chipping off the rear bumper and spoiler! black is the worst, i will not bother to ever get a black car(especially nissan), ever again, i can't handle.
other than that, there is nothing bad about the car(to me), i love it, and hope to get it back soon from my dad.

alembicf1x

stevens creek nissan

I had 8-9 chips on the hood within a week of ownership. Pointed them out to the service writer - he shrugs his shoulders and says it's normal. Brought it up with the service manager, she says to talk to Nissan, they can't do anything. Finally brought it up with the General Manager, and he offers to repaint the hood!

I have a feeling this dealership is the exception, not the norm, but it doesn't hurt to ask!

tfalcon

Thanks for the information on the 2002 maximas. It seems like the paint is a common issue with a lot of owners. Is a one color any better or worse for chipping or dosen't it matter. My 2000 Toyota Tundra pickup had the same thing chips all over the front hood.
I have a 2000 GLE with only 15,000 miles but its starting to remind me of a piece of yellow fruit and I am considering a 2002 SE and I just wanted some feed back on them. Thanks again.

dmbmaxima2k2

iTrader: (1)

add to that that i do have paint chips along with i found out today that nissan denied a request for warranty work on my car and now i have to go through the state attorney general's office, once i get this all squeared away i will NEVER buy anotbher nissan new ever again. maybe a 300zx Twin Turbo but that's it. also my alignment was off after about 1500miles and i told them and they looked at it and said yup it is. if you want there is a alignment place up the street they won't charge you much.

-steve

greyse6spd

Three weeks and 1200 miles without any problems. The car is great.

2002 SE 6spd. Grey Lustre, Black Leather

Yianni54

i CURRENTLY HAVE THAT ON MY 02' SE AUTO. It usually does it in the morning when its cold. I also notice sometimes a slip, but not sure if its a slip or not. Do you know anything about this stuff, is there maybe a TSB on it? Please let me know Thanks

CHAZMAX

I just turned 8000 miles on my 2k2. I seem to have more miles on my ride than most... that's not very conforting. I got it Oct/01 though.
Anyway, My car's been perfect except...

1) passenger door didn't close well at first. Brought it to dealer and fixed in 10 minutes. (seems to be a problem w/ a lot of 2k2's)

2) Just recently found out that dealer didn't put my a small piece of my under-body splash guard on after my last oil chg, so my engine got a little dirtier than normal. Already called dealer and they will fix. (that's pretty-pathetic though) Just something else to worry about when going to dealer service. I bet Infinity service is ten-times better!

2k2kev

here's my $0.02
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hreadid=116183

timby01

well the first night i got the car it wouldn't start up again and yesterday i had to bring it in for a bad maf and the steering wheel was shimmying whenever stoping @ high speeds

SptBiz

Left rear ABS sensor failed : the factory rep was present when the sensor was replaced with an ' improved ' sensor. He took the defective ABS sensor with him. He told us that the failure rate was high on the left rear with a lesser failure rate on the right rear. Failures were primarily cropping up on the east coast and mine was one of the few west coast failures thus far. He expected the left rear failure to reach recall status but I've heard or read nothing about that since.

Oil leak from valve cover gasket / sealant : repaired twice. Currently no more oil leak but the dipstick area is still very dirty compared to the adjacent areas which bothers me.

Cold start ( timing chain ) clank : Nissan tells me that this will PROBABLY not damage the engine but they don't know for certain. As one Nissan individual put it " This is a new engine so we are still in a learning curve ". I'd prefer that they learn at someone else's expense! IMO those owners that claim not to hear this noise don't know when or where to listen. I very rarely hear it from the driver's seat. You need to stand near the front by the grill at cold start.

Premium Bose CD player : skipping big time. Replacement on order. Still waiting. Could be several weeks wait for a replacement head unit. This bothers me more than the mechanical problems. A supposed premium Bose audio system that I paid $ 1099 for crapping out like this !. The prolonged wait for the replacement only adds insult to injury.

Donkey®

iTrader: (3)

I have put 20,397 miles on my 2002 and my only issue was a problem with the Bose Headunit. An issue with the speakers fading in and out on the left handside when the CD was played. Other than that and paint chipping with the slightest pebble hit, no major issues at all.

dmbmaxima2k2

iTrader: (1)

THAT'S EXACTLY EXACTLY THE SAME problem i had with my bose and had it replaced after 3 weeks of waiting. paint chipping and sucky service overall.

-steve

woreyah

Paint chips. I'm going on 900 miles and have no paint chips whatsoever. And my Max is black. The paint looks beautiful. Where do you guys live? I live in the city which may explain the no chips. That and the fact that I walk to work everyday. I'm planning a trip to Myrtle Beach Memorial Weekend but I don't think I'll get the bra in time.
ALSO,
I've been told by an ex-detailer that you shoudln't use soap or wax on your car for the first couple of months. I've followed his instruction and my paint looks lovely even under special lighting. By special light I mean a very bright halogen bulb at night(try a well lit parking lot). That will show everything. Try it.

KLOOGY

iTrader: (12)

Besides paint chips, im Ok here. I just went for my first oil change, and had the mechanics staring at my muffler, and intake, peking through my brakes at my YELLOW Maxspeeds for 20 minutes before they actually started working on my car....Im at 3500 miles, and no problems yet..knock on wood ..