Hello everyone,
I just recently bought a maxima se 04 and i really like besides the point that it is bone stock. Well as of today my car is at the dealer cause the car was jerking when it was shifting gears (auto). I took it to the dealer and they said that the chip needs to be reprogramed. hmmm sounds kinda cheese. I am a previous civic si owner (EP) and know nothing about maximas. My question is if that would be a good reason, why a 2004 used maxixma w/ 23K would jerk when automatically changing gears.

Another issue is that when my car was at rest but running I could not get any heat, only cold air, but the only time i would have heat is when i would drive the car. The dealer said that it was due to the coolant and that i have to pay 59 bux to change.
1. Wouldnt that be covered under warranty?
2.What does antifreeze coolant have to do with the inside heating?
3. I did buy the car used, but it is still under warranty.
4. Is this dealer trying to screw me?

I know I have a few questions for a first post, but please i know nothing about nissan, any answers would be greatly appreciated, and taken into consideration.

Thanx in advance.

 

The '04 Maxima should be under full warranty for three years/36 months (whichever comes first), and the drive train (engine, tranny) for sixty months.

Unless the car's 'big brother tell-all' recorder reveals clear abuse (most unlikely), the tranny problems should be FULLY covered under warranty. Period.

As to the lack of heat unless the car is moving, assuming the engine was fully warmed up when you couldn't get warm air, there is a problem. This should also be covered under warranty.

As to the 'caused by the coolant' theory, if the coolant has never been changed in this car, it is time to do so, and this is a routine expense of driving any car, and not covered under warranty. But, assuming the car has coolant in it, unless there is some voodoo I don't understand going on here, I can see no connection between the coolant (old or new) and the lack of heat at standstill. Maybe others here have some thoughts on this.

 

There is in fact a TSB out for bleeding air out of the coolant system. The air could possibly cause low heat problems for you. Check the stickys at the top of this forum for more info.

The TSB should be performed under warranty at no charge.

 

I picked up my car today, and paid about 66.69 Bux.

They supposely fixed somewhat (it does feel better) the tranny jerking by reprogramming some whatever chip.

They said the reason I couldnt get heat at a staindpoint was because of a 10% coolant imbalance WTF?

So i didnt argue paid that money hoping it is the last I pay, for now and the car runs fine.
The reason they said that there was a coolant imbalance was due to the fact that someone might have added water to it.???

I dunno, but I never heard of this B/S before.
Maybe they did this due to the fact that I didnt buy the car from them?


Anyways thanx for the info.

 

at least they fixed your tranny. Mine is all jerky etc and they said "your car doesn't fall under the TSB you brought us". So I said, did you at least drive it etc to see what it was doing and he said no. I get to the dealer and the receipt said, "could not duplicate problem". WTF?!?! Of course you couldn't....you supposodly didn't test drive it. It'll be goin back soon

 

I hate dealers, they are really nasty people.
when I had my old car i did most of the things to it myself because it was a small car and I know a lil about hondas, but this new maxima it has gotten me against the wall.
I really hope the tranny wont fail when the warranty is over, that would realyy suck.

Even with my old car the dealers always gave me rap about not trying to warranty stuff they should.

What is the catch with these dealerships, they dont get paid or something??

 

The 'coolant imbalance' was probably caused by someone adding water instead of a 50-50 mixture of water and coolant. But that imbalance alone will not cause the heat to fail. I think the TSB CanadianMoFo mentioned is a more plausable cause.

If the $66 bucks covered replacing the coolant, especially if they flushed the system, then you got a decent deal out of this.

I may be one of the few here who has no major complaints with my dealer. They have not always done everything perfect first try, but they usually do. They are very quick to act if I have any complaint. I have always been treated with utmost courtesy, even when driving a fifteen year old Maxima with over 200,000 miles on the odo into their service department.