mikmax1

Had mine since late April...time to start venting...

I like the car, but quality is dismal...so are attempts by the dealer to resolve.
1) Engine light on for third fix
2) Nav screen was fingerprinted...then scratched all up by dealer.
3) Bound up A/C vent in for 3rd time
3) Paint defect yet to be resolved. Need to call in a Nissan Inspector! But that takes 2 more weeks.

Also...any of you think the door handle latches kinda "stick" when pulling them open?

Anyone Got the Nav screen replaced?

Taking it in Monday again....if this don't get it fixed, I'm starting to get P....d.

Jaeger

This is not terribly encouraging, though in fairness, much of the problem seems to rest with your dealership rather than with the quality of the car. 4 issues in the first 2 months is nothing for Nissan to be proud of, but I gather that if each had been fixed right the first time you'd be feeling a lot less p.....d. My '01 AE has had exactly zero problems in 3 years. I'm staring to think I should just keep this car.

I wish you the best of luck in resolving these annoying service issues.

Cheers,

Jaeger

bluemaxx

My '01 AE was a tird. It was plagued with little problems. The dealer fixed all but one. But it was a logistical pain in theass to keep trekking back and forth to drop it off for service.

My '04 has a couple of issues but none yet so bad that I have any regrets. By this time in my '01, I was already hatin' it.

gmc74

This does sound more like a dealer issue for the most part... I would look into another dealer in the future.

lwebb12

sorry to hear about the problems with your dealer. i hope i wont have those same problems

04EliteSE

Definitely take the car to another dealer if you can...

BLaZin 2k MaX

I feel your pain.

SSurfer

Mine has been great so far, but I did have to warranty the rear door weatherstrips.

hanzar

What do you mean? What was wrong with your rear door weatherstrips?

perrymaxima

Welcome to Nissan service dept the customer service sucks period. I float around to all the nissan dealers in the area to have my car serviced and they are pretty much hit or miss none have had ggod service consistantly...

BLaZin 2k MaX

Huntigton Beach Nissan kicked me off there lot, they told me never to come back or they would call the cops.

gmc74

ROTF

I bring mine to Brown and Brown Nissan of Mesa, Arizona and so far they have been great. I am around 5700 miles on the 04.

bluemaxx

They couldn't have been more friendly or accommodating. They did all the TSBs without question; rear door seals, low speed fuel cut-off, brake judder, front control arm, AE shift **** etc... Plus O2 sensors, ignition coils, drivers lower seat cover, O2 sensors again, drivers side heated mirror etc... They had agreed to repaint the nose and hood in warranty. Everything they did was as I expected. For some reason they couldn't figure our why the air-bag light kept coming on. It was scheduled for its 6th trip for that problem. They gave me a loaner car on the 5th try, agreed to give me a loaner on the 6th but I traded the car before I took it back.
Six tries for the airbag would seem to point to the dealer. But when I look at the list of problems, there were others but I'm working from memory, I stand by my previous statement. The car was at turd!

The '04 has some problems but so far nothing that scares me. The AE may have been a freak of nature. Oh, and I bought it from another dealer.

95emeraldgxe

doesnt sound too bad for a first year model, the acura TSX's on the other hand have some crazy problems - look at the boards

lightonthehill

This thread is mentioning problems with the '04 I haven't heard before. Most previous problem reports were about stuck fuel gauge, vibration in steering wheel, sunroof catching on wind deflector, misaligned tailpipes/mufflers, trunk won't latch, hood not aligned, etc., most of which can readily be fixed by a competent dealer.

I read in today's paper that the Smyrna, TN Nissan plant is officially the most efficient auto plant in the country. They average building a car in around 16 hours. That may be great for the factory and for the bean counters. Not sure that is always good for the customer.

I have 52K miles on my pearl blue 2000 SE (with GLE interior package), and have not had a hint of any problem of any kind. Everything on this car has worked perfectly from day one. And it was built in June, 1999, purchased in July, 1999, which means it was built very early in the first year of a complete redesign. I hope Smyrna can get these early problems smoothed out so I can put in my order.

SSurfer

On the rear portion of the door theres a weatherstrip about 8-10" long that connects to the main weatherstrip, its just double stick taped on and peels really easy. Its on the upper part of the door.

gmc74

You were one of the lucky ones, more than a few people mentioned that they had the same types of issues with their 5th gens.

hanzar

Thanks. Can you post a picture of your car? I haven't seen too many in that color.

SSurfer

Sorry, thats the only thing I did'nt figure how to do yet

specv

how do i get the right muffler re alighned? when i got the car the right muffler was alittle crooked.. the other is nice and straight..

bluemaxx

Me too.

pruizgarcia

iTrader: (1)

This is why my next car will be an Infiniti Q35. After the 4th Gen Nissan has put quality in the back seat. Just my two cents.

Pedro

Frank Fontaine

My experience with a brand-new, all-optioned SE 5-spd was exactly the same. The thing about the paint, they offered to repaint anywhere it seemed defective. Thing is, one a brand-new car the last thing you want is bondo!!! That's all they can do, offer to repaint. They can't give you a new car unfortunately, and that wouldn't make sense anyway because they're all similar.

specv

do u have a finger print inside the screen that u cant get off,its not on the outside of the screen its inside... what the hell should i do about this

MikePSmith

Could you please elaborate on the paint issue? (or point me to the right thread) I've had my '04 for only a couple of weeks and noticed that the nose and hood have a rough feel to them even after two coats of Zaino Bros. I also have a new Nav screen on order, there is a couple of what look like orange paint drops on the inside of the screen. The dealer has been great so far, and I don't think I'll have any issues getting them fixed but I'm curious to know if the exterior paint issue is a factory problem or dealer issue. This is my third Maxima and fourth Nissan, I'm hooked! Actually owned a Bluebird in Australia for a couple of years before moving back, it had a cool heads up display that I've never seen before in a Bluebird/Altima.

mikmax1

I started this thread. So here is the latest on my gripes.

A) Check Engine light. Fixed (I hope) after 3 visits. First they had no parts. 2nd, they replaced an emmisions control valve near the cannister (near gas tank). 3rd they replaced the whole cannister. Time will tell.

B)Bound up A/C vent. Fixed. 1) no parts 2) could not get new part to fit. 3) another mechanic used orig vent and just re-installed it.

C) Finger print inside nav screen. 1) Mech tried to remove. all he did was scratch it all up. 2) got part...installed...now is fine.
By the way, the AC vent and screen are all related in same repair.

D) Paint. Have what looks like a paint brush hair under the paint. Service advisors want to call in a Nissan Inspector to get permission to repaint. So instead of listening to him, I took it to a body shop for advice. He said "don't bother....It is way too minor to disrupt the factory paint." Explained that "while they have excellent painters, they cannot duplicate the factory environment. Factory paints them with parts disassembled, and without interiors and can thus bake at much higher temps". He mentioned a few other things as well.
So, my paint prob is documented. I'm leaving it alone. You'd never notice unless you were waxing the car...I just worry about it peeling/cracking, etc.

mikenatas

i talked about these problems on the fresh alloy forums, but it seems like there are different members in this forum...there is a semi-happy ending to this story-->i got a new car after writing numerous letters.

my 04 maxima has a skyview (butt crack) leak, which collects in the front dome light and drips (sometimes niagra falls on sharp turns)through sunglass holder.

cd player recognizes cd for 2 minutes then can't recognize anything until i turn off the car and turn back on.

and 3rd brake light rattles...plastic on glass.

the 3rd brake light was fixed, but they never fixed the cd player, and the skyview part came in after 6 wks. (the part is not just the gasket, but the whole window + gasket = a lot of money if it happens out of warranty)

i have had my new 04 maxima for about a month and i truly love this car...i have had many cars in the past (mostly buicks), but this is the first car that is unbelievable to drive.

note: the old 04 maxima drove totally different from the new 04 maxima...the old had jerky shifting and had less perceived power on the lower gears.

i too see several paint defects...however, nothing where anybody can see...the paint defects are around the window sill, only seen when you open the door...additionally, check the area around your gas cap and around your trunk...where the parts join are horrendous to look at...i would tell people to look at that before buying the car and see if they can live with poor workmanship like that.

i live in hawaii, so if you are down here and buy a liquid silver on black leather SL maxima, check to see that you don't have my lemon...you can tell because i installed an aftermarket alarm and the there is a hole in the fake wood part beneath the shifter...not to mention there will be over 1100 miles.

lwebb12

so you bought a lemon off the lot. did they replace it for free?

mikenatas

it was a terrible process, but i got the new car replacement for no cost to me...nissan did step up and even pay for the reinstallation of an aftermarket alarm($500)...they did not make me go through the state lemon law process, which is slanted toward the manufacturer, but their process was very frustrating...in the end, i got the new car...

btw, they made me feel like they were doing me a favor, so i insisted on a refund...this was met with an absolute no...i even offered to eat the depreciation, which was $3000...surprisingly they wouldn't do it...i look back now and i am glad that i didn't lose out on the $3000.

lwebb12

when was your first one built? early in production i assume. and your new car when was it built?

mikenatas

how do i tell when it was built?

ocuihs

One way is to look at driver's door jamb, there should be a label/placard with manufactured date of month/year, color code, tire pressure information, etc.

2004SexMissile

This thread has meandered elsewhere, but for a minute, I'd like to return to the complaints that commenced it.

I've had my 2004 SE for just shy of three months now (and I passed the 9,000-mile mark this morning -- yikes!!!) and have had a few niggling complaints that usually melt away whenever I go out to the garage and just ogle the silver beauty for a bit. Anyway, right off the lot, I had a loose right front console piece that was deemed to be in need of replacement, and a smallish glue spot on the fabric stripping between the dash and the windshield. When the paperwork was inked, an addendum was attached providing for these things to be corrected as soon as possible; three months later, neither replacement part has arrived, or so I've been told.

The other issue I had appeared to be more serious. About a month ago, three or four hours away from home and at least 45 minutes from the nearest Nissan dealership, I started my car one bright June morning (in 95-degree Arkansas swelter, mind you) to discover that the A/C that worked beautifully the night before was no longer putting out air of any kind. Predictably, I was chafed. As it turned out, the blower plug had not been secured correctly during assembly, and had just worked its way out over time.

Again, these are minor gripes, but I'm not wanting to proffer too many more. I know I don't own a lemon by any means, but I also don't want my feelings for this vehicle sullied because of such troubles. Ultimately, I guess my point is that you can't expect total perfection from your car right off the lot, but for the $30k-plus you'll spend on Nissan's flagship, you ought to be seeing more reliability, even during the first year of a new-generation incarnation such as the 2004 Maxima.

gmc74

I totally disagree. I have had a few minor annoyances with my car, but I went into this with my eyes wide open. As was pointed out in one of these threads, even Mercedes had issues with their new generation of cars and they are supposed to be some of the best built cars. If you buy a new generation during the first year, add to that the first few months of that year, you are subjecting yourself to being a beta tester.

There is no way for the manufacturer to replicate the real world driving experience without doubling the cost of the car in order to finance the cost of testing it for the amount of time, and in the amount of climates/conditions that would be necessary to find every issue.

mikenatas

what gmc is saying seems to be common knowledge for people that are into cars...so for those of us that are having problems, we have learned something...BUT like i told my dealer, if the first model year excuse is the best one you have, then there is no way i am buying the full sized truck TITAN in the first year...i need to buy a full sized truck within a year, and i will have to resort to the toyota tundra, or my worst nightmare an F-150 or any other american made vehicle.

here are some pics of poor workmanship and a paint defect...please let me know if all of you have the same joint compound looking stuff around your trunk and gas cap...thanks
and if you want to look at my billet grille and debadging click here mikenatas.cjb.net

Redsand187

The only flaw is the first picture. Everything else is the jointing compound they use between the seems of panels. It's like the dry wall stuff when applied, then drys stiff. Yet it is flexible enough to absorb some vibrations, and is a lot faster then welding. Plus you don't have to worry about warped panels like you do with welding. Every unibody vehicle has the same stuff, just as messy.

mikenatas

what a relief...thanks for the quick reply.

2004SexMissile

My point was not that I didn't expect some issues. To be honest, I'm ever cautious about impending mechanical troubles, although Nissan's historically sound worksmanship leads me to believe that those would be few and far between, if they even exist at all.

To me, the issues that crop up on what you call a "beta" model -- the first year of a new generation of vehicle -- should be just that: mechanical. When dramatically new body styles or innerworkings are effected by the manufacturer, that's when one comes to expect the occasion misfires.

In my situation, the problems I've had -- a spot of glue, a loose piece of plastic paneling, a poorly-fastened blower plug -- are not indicative of these "beta" blues, but examples of a mysterious and atypical dearth of attention to detail. I attribute this to the vehicles being manufactured in Tennessee.

I don't want to give the misconception that I'm dissatisfied with my car at all, or that I'm somehow miffed about this little batch of missteps on Nissan's part. But, given the topic at hand, I felt it was prudent to share.

gmc74

I think the only way we are going to be able to tell this for sure is if it didn't happen at all when the 5th gens came out, and it still happens when the 2005's come out. Then all fingers point to TN... until then, all fingers point to Nissan in general because we have no way to tell if it is a 1st year issue or a TN issue. Next year will be the deciding factor.

bluemaxx

I just did a quick survey of my fleet. 2004 Maxima, 2002 Civic, 2000 Chevrolet and 1996 626. They all have the same joint compound looking stuff anywhere interior panels are spot welded to exterior panels. For the most part they look like yours. I think it seals the spot weld joints against water/dirt/salt/corrosion.