Red Opulence, Journey, Power Sun roof.

Drove it home (200 miles) from the dealer. Got just over 300 miles.
Awesome road machine, amazingly effortless torque/accel at any speed. Wants to go beyond 85 so bad! Smooth shifts, roomy, corners like it is glued to the road. Firm, but quiet ride.
Love the folding mirrors in the garage.
That GPS really knows it's stuff. Even tells you to get in right or left lane before exits.
Got 27.4 MPG, mostly highway.
Stereo kicks a little better that my Y2K Bose.
Seats comfy. Rode in backseat once...nice.
Glad I got the sunroof...been nice here...65-70.
GPS screen, esp the Birds eye is cool. However, wearing polarized sun glasses makes it a little hard to read (but they do so with lots of LED type devices)

Everyone seems stunned by the appearance. I had people doing double and triple takes all the time. Some about broke their necks looking at it from their car. This Red is quite a rich color on the Max, much more than the Altima, mostly due to the red tail lights, I think.

I'm a nit picker for quality...and I have my list.
1) Service Engine light is on...will not go off...tried the fuel cap...did not help
2) One little paint flaw...prob will not bother dealer with it...cure will be worse than the fix
3) Got a bad "Clunk" from the rear...whenever I turn...eliminated the spare and Jack being the culprits...will have to see a dealer.
4) One of the A/C vents is binding a bit...hate to see a dealer tackle dash fixes...again, cure worse than fix.
5) The Sun Visor (secondary one) sounds like it is full of bb's.
6) Seems like the cassette deck was contrary to push a Cassette in, perhaps past that problem now. Surprised the Max still even has one.

My 4th Max. Hate to say it, but worst initial quality so far. My last 2 were flawless.

Will keep you posted.

Would appreciate more input on finding trouble spots from other owners.

 

When I was getting my 30K service done a woman came in with a 2004 it was a Sliver SL she was complaining of the clunking shound as well the dealer ship took out the spare and all but still same problem. Her service engine soon light was on as well... They gave her a rental but she wasn't happy with her new Max.

 

I've now logged about 1,000 miles on my 04 SL and have not had any major issues at all. My one day "balky" sunroof seems to have straightened itself out and I've never had an engine light issue or a clunk from the rear. I'd say the QC was soemwhat better than I expected considering this was the 1st Max made in the U.S. Car is driving incredibly well.

Had a buddy over Friday night to test drive the Max. He was considering a BMW 5 series. He was absolutely stunned with how good the car felt, looked and handled. The bottom line was he felt he'd be crazy to spend the extra cash for the BMW. He was also not too crazy about going RWD.

 

Not a good list of problems! Tell me what the paint issue is. I had one too. Mine was repaired at the plant (neighbor is an engineer there). They were not happy about the paint problem I had. It was trash of some time...looked like a hair, under the paint layer. I've had none of the other problems you list. My car is number 3424 (last digits of the VIN. Tell me what number yours is.

Congrats on the car, though. I do like the red. I hate to read about such problems, though. Shouldn't be happening!!

srm

 

My two problems are

1) The gas gauge seems to stick at 1/4 when there are over 3/4 some times.
2) The fuse panel cover over the drivers left leg falls off all the time, it is currently in the door pocket

 

Great color choice. Congrats!

 

My gas gauge stuck at empty, then sometimes 1/4. But most of the time, it works properly. Took it back to the dealer, they checked it out and ordered another gauge set (gas, speedometer, odometer, etc). It's all one piece. It hasn't come in yet. I use the fuel econ button to let me know how much gas I have.
Other than that, I have had no problems. As for paint problems, I checked that out carefully when I washed the car. Didn't find any.
The one thing that ****ed me off was the fact that the car I bought had 100 miles on it. Seems that the reps in the showroom were test driving it. Because the mats were in plastic in the trunk, there were smudges on the carpet.
I now know exactly what to check for the next time I buy a brand new car!!!

 

i'm over a thousand miles, too, a few minor issues:

stitching on the passenger side seat (just under the headrest on the back of the seat) looks a little loose.

dust and fingerprints inside the nav system monitor (seems like a common problem)

Black floormats show every speck of dirt (okay, that one's on me, but still...)

Other than that, it's been great. Averaging 26.1 mpg, lots of highway, though. I'm usually between 70-85mph on the highway.

 

My paint problem looks is near the seam between the rear fender and the rear structure. Can't tell if it is just a "run" or something under the paint. How was your repair...scary sounding. My Vin is 76xx, don't recall the whold number.

 

damn, mine is in the 9600 range lol

can someone post the paint issue so we know where to look

 

My only problem so far at 800 miles is... dust & fingerprint on inside of dash screen.

 

The last digits of my vin is 1754! Is that a good or bad thing?

 

let me ask you a ? are all 2k4's being built in america? if so then thats why the problems are arising. build quality is pathetic in the states.

 

Yes,.... and unfortunately, probably.

 

You may correct, everyone knows that domestic autos generally are supbar to foreign makes, however one cant automatically assume that foreign cars produced in the US are subpar. A couple examples being the Toyota Camry, Tundra ( awarded best built full size truck numerous times) Honda Accord, etc. I hope the Maxima's build quality doesnt go down the drain with domestic production but it may.

 

exactly. but in the overall scheme of things its safe to conclude that american= ****ty build quality when compared to a car produced in japan. i was happy that my 2k2 was made in japan. i havent had any major problems with it yet.

 

I haven't read of anyone having major problems with the U.S. built Max. I've heard of minor issues, but I've had minor issues with most Japaneese built cars too.

 

Excuse me, but for around $30K I expect non of those problems and I don't care if it is a first year car or not. I have been looking at the new Max, but right now I am wondering if I should hold off a while or just get an Acura TL-S or G35. Will see...

Pedro

 

g35

 

Pedro,

That isn't realistic. If you pay $25K you expect problems? and at $20K even more? Welcome to the world of the early adopter. This is true for anything, be it software for your computer or a car. If you get one of the first ones off the line, then you are going to get the issues that come with that benefit. This is reality.

As for the Acura TL Type S vs G35. The G35 is faster and better looking, the Acura is more refined (which seems to be an issue for you) and designed much better. The placement of controls in the G35 was an after thought. If you can get past that, then it is a better car. I couldn't get past it, so I leaned towards the Max and TL Type S (which I almost bought).

BTW, I paid less than $30K for my 2004 Max, does that mean these issues should be acceptable to me?

 

http://groups.msn.com/Maximapic/shoebox.msnw

 

Very nice. Red was my next choice, if they had one of each it would have been hard to decide.

 

I'm Esp jealous over your Frost Interior.

 

I'm sure toyota would argue differently.

 

yeah, I have had a number of cars that were built in the states during my life time, most recently (before my 2004 Max) was a 2000 Ford Excursion. I have never had an issue with the build quality of any car I have owned.

Making a blanket statement like "americans=sh*tty build quality compared to..." is just ignorant. Blanket statements as a whole are just dumb, and quite often a reflection on those who make them.

 

Well, it miffed me the cut about americans building cars. The last time that I checked..Toyota has the best build quality followed by Honda. BOTH of those companies are building their flagship cars (and probably all others) in the United States. What a dumb statement that person made.

The minor problems with the new maxima are more likely the result of a new plant coupled with the first year of a new design.

 

New to the forum...purchased my 2004 Radiant Ember a couple of weeks ago. Drove off the lot w/ 7 miles and have approximately 500 now. I do have the same issue w/ the dash display and dust/prints. My display also has scratches on the inside. The dealer is looking into how to replace. My concern is tearing up the dash to replace...may cause problems in the long run. I also have minor scratches on the shifter console. The dealer is replacing that in a few days. I had one other problem with a heat sheild behind the wheel. It was bent and scraping. We bent it back and haven't had the problem since. I've always wanted a Max and am glad I waited. I, too have gotten crazy stares on the road and compliments from all sorts. I would also like to now more about the paint problem. Look forward to chattin'.

http://photos.yahoo.com/dddiaz_j

 

I share your problems and concerns... Let me know how you make out... I'm also not sure how to proceed in correcting them.

 

To MAXSE-RIOUS...I should have the replacements done by this weekend. I'll let you know.

 

Thanks diazj, hope it goes well for you... feel free to PM me if you'd like.

 

You get your display prints and scratches fixed?

I'm going on 2 weeks waiting for a new A/C vent...

 

Sorry I didn't get back to you. Nissan called and said the parts are on back order with no expected arrival date. I'm still waiting. Don't get me wrong I dig my new ride...I don't think Nissan dealers and maintenance reps did the homework. No worries. I know when the parts come in I'm not paying for 'em. I hope you get your vent taken care of...what's really goin' on...DAMN.

 

I have to bring mine in to get the gas guage fixed/replaced. Every once in a while it doesn't register any gas in the tank... even though the Fuel Economy computer will state '310 miles to empty'