I think that Nissan has figured out that the problem isn't so bad...hence, no letter yet.

 

Ok, got my letter today... I would still like to see Nissan state exactly how many cars out of a possible 90,000 had experienced this problem. I mean if we're talking about 10 cars that had a problem...then they're exaggerating this situation. Come on NISSAN, be upfront with your customers or they may be looking at HONDAs instead. A recall on a body change which occured three years ago is very UNSAT!!



Letter does state, "bring it in at your earliest convenience..." this tells me that it's NOT URGENT. I really hate having the dealer mess with my vehicle so early in the game.

 

Does Honda (or any manufacturer) release that sort of info in Recall letters? My Camaro, Lincoln LS, GMC truck never included anything like that.

Interesting that your letter sounds like the one that I got in that it doesn't say anything more than 'at your earliest convenience...'. Is it possible for you to scan your letter in so it can be compared with what is posted at the Nissan site. I would have scanned mine in but the dealer took it when I had the recall performed.

Albert

 

my recall was done recently and i felt the front a little more stiffer.

 

Had the recall done a few weeks ago, and I have noticed the steering feels a little tighter, and more importantly, turning radius has definitely improved! I bet the tech did not swap the "bump stops" from the old arm to the new arm . . .

 

ABS, see this is what I'm saying...why mess with something until it actually breaks...again I think NISSAN was forced to make this recall (by the Nationail Transportation Safety Board or whomever) because of probably three or four vehicles (out of 90,000 units) had a transverse link failure. This is ridiculous. All I have read is that others have had their vehicle returned mis-aligned, doesn't feel the same, etc. Has anyone on the forum actually had the noise and/or "abnormal steering" that the recall letter talks about?

 

i heard the noise in the past, but it didn't break yet..took mine right after i got my letter.

 

I guess this is what they say about ignorance being bliss.

This is a critical problem. This is not a minor issue. I'm surprised how much Nissan has downplayed this. When GM had a recall on the control arms on the last gen Blazer (not the trailblazer) they told people not to even drive the car to the dealership. They went to the media and flat out said, "Do not drive your car." GM paid for people have their cars towed to the dealer.

You've suggested that you're going to wait until one breaks. If you do that odds are you won't be calling the dealership to schedule an appointment, but you'll be calling your insurance agent to have an adjuster total your car, or someone else will be calling the hospital to see how you're doing. When that control arm breaks there is no longitudinal strength to the whole setup any more. The wheel will jam against the wheel well and it it's not going to rotate. Your steering's going to be useless and you're going to have a locked wheel. IE: your car's going to spin out of control (unless one happens to fail at a stop or while you're going 5 MPH).

At the very best when one breaks it's going to be very inconvenient for you. The car is not drivable with a broken control arm. That means you have to get it towed. I had one break on me when my car was 32 hours old. Mine broke during braking on a bumpy surface. Trust me when I tell you the car isn't driveable afterwards. There are horrible scraping and rubbing noises. I think I made it a few hundred feet before I had to get it towed to the dealer. It happened at 10pm on a friday night. I was without the car all weekend and it was really inconvenient. It's just not good experience.

But I guess it's up to you. If you don't value your life, your car, or your time; roll the dice and see what happens.

Stereodude

 

Deven2kStickMax, when you took it in did the tech tell you that your transverse link was about to go (or had it broken already)?

 

well i didn't say anything to the dealer when i got there, they took the letter from me and told me to wait for 2 -3 hrs and by 1.5 hr this chinese mechanic was done with it. i took my car back and drove off. i didn't get to talk back to the mechanice to find out if it was broken or not and the service man didn't know either. so basically the chinese dood did it and took off for lunch.. all i care at that time was once it was fixed, becuase that day i was in a hurry to head out south..

 

Stereodude, so what you're saying is that there are probably thousands of Maximas that are out there that will have this happen to them. Like I said, I think NISSAN is downplaying this because you're probably more likely to win the Big Lotto than suffer this problem when you look at the statistics. Sure, I could be one of those unfortunate lucky ones, like yourself.
I guess what really ticks me off is that after owning only American Made cars for the last 28 years I finally decided to go with an import and sure enough, no less than after three months of ownership they have recall on a design that's been out since October of 2000. I guess I should consider myself lucky to not have the "accelerator pedal stop" problem, or the hood lifting/shaking at high speeds. This may be my first and last import.
I should have known when the car was delivered with a "crooked" MAXIMA emblem on the rear and a steering wheel that wouldn't line up straight when driving straight that I was in for some trouble.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mark S.
[B]Stereodude, so what you're saying is that there are probably thousands of Maximas that are out there that will have this happen to them. Like I said, I think NISSAN is downplaying this because you're probably more likely to win the Big Lotto than suffer this problem when you look at the statistics. Sure, I could be one of those unfortunate lucky ones, like yourself.
I guess what really ticks me off is that after owning only American Made cars for the last 28 years I finally decided to go with an import and sure enough, no less than after three months of ownership they have recall on a design that's been out since October of 2000. I guess I should consider myself lucky to not have the "accelerator pedal stop" problem, or the hood lifting/shaking at high speeds. This may be my first and last import.
I should have known when the car was delivered with a "crooked" MAXIMA emblem on the rear and a steering wheel that wouldn't line up straight when driving straight that I was in for some trouble. After all this ranting and raving I will most likely have my wife take it in and have the recall done...because if I go down there I'm likely to strangle the *&^$%#ards! And if the Maxima comes back with a mis-alignment or any scratches...I will really go through the roof!!
Time for me to cool off!

 

Deven2kStickMax, roger that...understand...too bad, it would have been nice to know if you actually did have the problem. Thanks for the info.

 

Mark, you have to calm down a bit. Though the Maxima is an awesome car for the price you can't expect it to be perfect. There are numerous cars wherein recalls aren't published for several years while the manufacturer tests it out extensively. In fact, there are other problems wherein the manufacturer doesn't even bother doing a recall (remember the Mitsubishi fiasco a while back?) and just leave the problem to the consumer. I, personally, am greatful that Nissan is responsible in this case. Even if my Transverse link wasn't broken at the time i brought it in (i think) i'd rather have peace of mind that they fixed it rather than drive around and later on find out - in the middle of the highway - that i just lost total steering control.

As far this particular problem goes, you seem to be focusing more on the problems that people have experienced after having the recall done. You fail to recognize the experience of those who had it done and have nothing but good things to say.

Personally, the steering response has tightened quite a bit and i no longer have that "all over the road" feel when driving over bumpy roads.

If you're so concerned that Nissan might just be downplaying the problem or whatnot. Then don't get the recall done and go on with your life. It's that simple.

 

soundmike, I just got off the phone with my dealer and made an appointment for them to do the recall next Tuesday. I will have my wife bring it in...I did, however, inform them that some folks have mentioned problems such as misalignment, ABS lights going off, etc., and that I expected the vehicle to not have any of those problems once they complete the job. I also told them that they should provide my wife with a loaner while they do the job (car is 4 months old with 1,500 miles on it)...I think that's the least they could do. Of course, the answer was that "we'll have your car finished in the allotted time (2 hours) and there is really no need for a loaner." We shall see. But like I said, I'm not happy with NISSAN. I hope this is the last recall we see with the 5th generation.