after 6 returns to my dealer, they have tried everything to fix my front end shimmy, the first two times they balanced my tires, the next time they did a road force balance, the next time they put on new tires and rilms, the next time they adjusted the steering rack, had my car for two weeks and it did not help, the last time they put in a new rack, adjusted it and it still shimmys at 50 mph. I am going ahead with a service buy back, under the law they have to refund 100 % of price. if your problems are still there, I urge any one else to do this as well.
yours truly
sick and tired of nissans junk

 

I just noticed mine late last week. I'm going to bring it in sometime next week probably when I get the oil changed at 1500

 

This is the only nissan and probly be the last one i buy

 

Must be unique to 04s. Buy a 4th gen, lol! The only problem I have had in almost 10 years of owning my car, is an o2 sensor replacement under warranty. Apart from that a new battery 2 years ago and a flat tire. That is absolutely all the problems I have had, and all I expect in the next 3 or 4 years as the car is low mileage and still like new.

 

How many miles were on your car? Does that matter in a buy-back situation?

To make you feel a little better, my car is in the shop today for at least the 4th time trying to fix the shimmy.

Also, I was turning on my street to go home last night, and now the CV joint or something in the wheel went and it was grinding like hell. So, I waited two hours for a flat-bed to come and followed the flat-bed to the dealership to make sure the guy got it there alright. After all, he asked me what month it was when calling in my credit card and then try to tell me it was expired because it said "'05". I had to explain to him that that was the year, not the month.

Anyway, it gets better. My transmission went at 6900 miles. Had to have a flat-bedded yet again. So, I have racked up over $100 in towing on a 1-year old car.

And yes, I have had the dirty screen addressed, rear deck rattle, you name it.

I had an Altima before the Max and had it for a trouble-free 6 years. That's the only reason I stuck with Nissan but these issues will be the reason i never go back.

 

hmmm.. sounds more like tie rod ends or ball joints than wheel balance or steering rack issues.

 

well, I've got my fingers crossed, because I' at 7500 miles and havent had any problems.

 

It's not made in Japan anymore....that's only reason I can think of.

 

[QUOTEAnyway, it gets better. My transmission went at 6900 miles. Had to have a flat-bedded yet again. So, I have racked up over $100 in towing on a 1-year old car.

[/QUOTE]

Your dealer should defiinitely reimburse you for any towing expenses.

 

Well, I'm sorry you guys have had trouble, but that isn't normal, and you can't just say Nissan products suck because of it.

My '04 Maxima is at 17,000 miles and I've had absolutely no problems with it. It screams when I mash the go-pedal, gets 22+mpg around town and looks killer in the process. What more could you want?

I have friends who had hell with their Mercedes, so based on that I guess I could say Nissan makes better cars than Mercedes.

Mike

 

If you read through this site, you would think, wow, that car is just terrible. But the fact of the matter is, people with the problems are doing the posting. This is just the human nature of the boards and it is not specific to Nissan 04 Maxima. Just pick a product and go research it. I guarantee you that there will be a series of posts that say the product sucks. Go research a restaurant on some group, "this sucks, that sucks." People will rant about their problems because the venting makes them feel better and if others agree, well, misery loves company. This is not to say that you don't have complaints, only that there is a reason we read so many.

So I guess that I am saying that most 04 owners are not contibuting to this board and are very happy with their product. But on the other hand, there could be problems that they don't even know about, and certainly are not complaining about. I had a rattle in the deck of my 2000, that was fixed. But I never wrote about it. I also had a permanent rattle in the rear suspension that came back every winter. But I never complained or got it fixed.

We in this group are not cross section of America owners. We are the ones who con't get over the fact that the car is not perfect. (We includes me)

 

sounds like the dealer didnt do enought to fix your problem. as stated earlier they did not check the tie rod ends or ball joints. no mention was made as to weather they looked into the wheel bearings or cv axles as the culprit. that dealer seems to really not care. if you sold a product that has a problem why not try to fix all the possible causes before giving it back to the customer and telling them it's all set. i know it isnt always a common practice, but they could have test drove the car every time you had it in to check their work before they gave it back to you.

 

I agree this car is no terrible. Quite some car here!!! I would like to know who had a shimmy and fixed this very poor car themseleves? with out DEALERS intervention>>>... thank s soap box

 

I am sad that some are having very tough problems with their '04. I'm still knocking on wood that my '04 SL will remain trouble-free.

It will be interesting to see the reliability ratings the '04 Maxima receives next March when the April edition of Consumer Reports comes out. Their system will represent thousands of '04 owners, and will give a truer picture of the prevalence of each type problem.

I am also saddened in that I feel some '04 Maxima owners have not received top level support in resolving their problems. Whether this is the fault of Nissan or the dealers, the result is the same; an unhappy customer.