Well, we bought a red 2004 Maxima last week. So far, we love it.. handles great, has plenty of room, etc. One thing I noticed yesterday was that there was a pretty loud engine buzz at around 2000 RPM. It doesn't happen all of the time, but it's pretty frequent and fairly loud (still have to open a window to hear it though). I think I've read a service bulletin describing this somewhere but I can't seem to find it now. Has anyone else encountered this? What should I do? If there is a service bulletin, is there something that the dealer can do to correct this? The only other thing that I've been a little unhappy with is the shifting (SE w/ 5 speed auto)... I noticed that the lower gears shift a little more harshly and inconsistantly than the higher ones (cruising at interstate speeds+ is effortless and very smooth). Any ideas? I guess I should probably check the tranny fluid. Also, when I take my foot off the gas it seems that sometimes the car rides how you would expect (no los in speed) and other times it shows considerable resistance and decelerates fairly quickly (like tranny isn't disengaging correctly?), independant of incline, etc. Anyone else experience this?

We bought the car at 16 miles and now it's got nearly 375. I know this question is probably asked a lot, but would you guys recommend going to an oil change at maybe 500 and then 1K miles (then every 3K after that) instead of the recommended first 3K?

Thanks!

 

I have only done oil changes at the recommended intervals, and haven't had any issues. The only time I have noticed harsh shifting is when I first start the car and get going in the morning. After a few minutes it settles right down.

 

Yea, I agree with gmc74. Also, your car is brand new, still hasn't had time to fully break in, only 365 miles? Give it another 1500 and things should smooth out considerably. Mine usually shifts hard in the lower gears when it's still cold, as gmc said. Everything else is fine, no engine noises though, only the sucking sound coming from the intake

 

Thanks for the reply guys. I just checked my tranny fluid and it looks like its really low... I saw some pink, but it was at the very end of the stick... well below the lower limit. Is the fluid easy to see? If not, I guess it could have been higher but I doubt it. There was also quite a bit of coolant splashed around the radiator/engine/surrounding area too.... kind of disturbing.

The reason I think this one is shifting a bit more harshly than it should is that I test drove another Maxima on the dealer lot (it had 400 miles and some interior problems....) and it shifted much better than mine. :/

I've got an appointment for Monday afternoon to check on the engine rattle and low tranny fluid.

 

good idea, I would definately bring that in

 

Check out TSB 037. Since the Alti and the Max have basically the same mechanicals it might be your problem.

http://www.altimas.net/tsb/

 

I've had my 2004 white Maxima SE since May and I've noticed the same intermittent buzz especially when the car is first driven in the morning. I notice it mostly on the upshift from 1st to 2nd gear under steady acceleration, i.e. I'm not flooring it. I took my car in for an oil change in August, but of course it didn't buzz for them when they looked into it. Thet wanted me to leave the car overnight so they could cold start it in the morning. Since it doesn't bother me too much, I'll wait for a convenient time to do this. TSB 037 for the Altima noted in post #6 sounds like the same thing. I'll show them a copy of this when I decide to take it in. Thanks to jvitale for the info.

 

They had a vibration TSB for flat spots on the tires... interesting

 

Cool, thanks for the info!

 

Ok, looks like everything is sorted out.

I got the dealer to take a look at the tranny fluid a little earlier (on Saturday), and it was down.. although they said it was still within the "safe zone". It shifts much more smoothly now.

The engine buzz/rattle turned out to be a couple of overlapping (?) heat shields in the exhaust system. Fixed that in just a few minutes.

Thanks for the help guys.