po8pimp

take it to a transmission shop not Nissan and get a quote to rebuild your current transmission. I recommend you look at Level10 Performance for the parts and upgrades for your transmission. You will not be disappointed. Also helps to know what kind of tranny you have, 4speed, 5speed, manual. You also can look into getting a CVT transmission too. Talk with a transmission specialist.

JayR'04

Is is even possible to put a CVT in a 6th gen? Will it bolt up? And what else beside a new TCM would be involved? I have an '05 SE 76K miles with a dying tranny and I really don't want to replace it with another that's going crap out in another year or two. I just want to know if there is a CVT option besides a manual swap(never cared for manuals). Otherwise, I was thinking about just trading in the max even if I have an upside down auto loan. If i only knew what I was getting my self into. Dealer>>>>>

LittleLittle

LittleLittle is new, but has never had a problem with the 05 til now. Runs fine til it gets to quarter tank of gas at 20mph. It's a big jerk and rmp revs up. After that it runs fine, until the break down and hits 20mph again and it does the jerk. No lights are on check engine, etc... I took to auto shop this morning and I was told it could be bad gas. He didn't check it or anything; advs to run all gas out and put injection cleaner in it. When it does the jerk; its a sudden jerk like the power somehow decreases or something. I'm really scared as a single parent to the maxima and no clue about car problems as I never had any. Max has 81200miles. Help if you can. I'm thought i would get onsite and see. Newbies can't post so if you have a clue or suggestion you can respond to this or 843sunshine@gmail.com.

po8pimp

I would run the gas out and get some shell premium gas and fill up at least half a tank and add some injector cleaner like lucas gas treatment. follow instructions for the gas treatment. If it happens again post with more specifics on how it is acting up.

bluefox1081

First post here.
Well, rarely does this happen, but it's happened to me 4 times within the past month or so. It only does it after it's been driven, never does it when it's the first start up of the day. I'll start the car, but it will take a noticeably longer time to crank over than usual. After I'm in drive, the car will accelerate extremely slowly. Today I found out the reason why it does this, by switching to manual shift, is because the car is stuck in 5th gear. I've tried manually downshifting, but nothing happens.

I've never had any problems when I don't have the start-up issue. The trans never slips, or downshifts improperly, etc. I'm not leaking trans fluid. It actually drives quite nice if it starts up properly, and I've never had this problem while driving after a good start. It only does this when it takes longer to start up than usual.

po8pimp

Hook a code reader up to it and see what you can come up with. hopefully there is a code you can run with.

Deuuuce

My girlfriend's '04 3.5L automatic was replaced at around 100k. Problem is, it's still shifting harshly and jumping. No CELs. And it's getting WORSE.

The trans shop (saving thousands vs. dealer) says the transmission is fine, it's the code that needs updating.

The dealership says no, it's not the code, its the rebuilt transmission that is the problem.

You can imagine how frustrating this is, being stuck in the middle.

Any ideas, insights, etc would be great specific to the transmission. We know what steps we need to take regarding the two shops, but if someone has had a similar experience, please advise.

We plan on going back to the trans shop for a detailed explanation and then asking him to be our advocate at the dealership based on his knowledge, assuming it isn't mechanical.

Assuming it's the code, we then we plan on going to the dealer and asking the correct code be uploaded again and that they fix it until it's right.

Then the car is going to be sold.

Can anyone share any knowledge specific to this? Thank you!!

LittleLittle

Littlelittle's car is home from the shop, no codes are on car. and the car didn't jerk when the mechanic drove it... but the ticking that is my timing belt needs replacing and nissan has a recall on but may give me the run around about replacing it. He gave me the recall print out and my car has 81K on the dash. He told me to give them hell, No one has been able to find the ticking problem til today. OOOHHHHH Man!

po8pimp

recall on the timing chain? can you explain and provide recall information? Thanx

LittleLittle

Ok I took my call car for checking cause it's jerking when it's get to quarter of a tank at 20mph. Gregg advised it's the time chaing for the ticking noise which could be making the car jerked. He gave me a paper that he printed out and was explaining to me that it was a recall; after taking it to nissan, nissan explain it was a technican service bulletin. and it's just for technicans. I like wtf.. so if you have a bulletin to check specific cars how are you going to check if you a check the car if it never is brought it. I don't take my car to the nissan dealership for oil changes. so they act like that is a crime. So Nissan North America would like Nissan to do the diagnostic test and then once the test is ran to give them call back. Gregg Imports advise they check engine light should have came on by now with the ticking my car is doing, but it hasn't. Sorry if I confused anyone.

06maxima22"

hi i have a 06 se auto tranny, the problem im having is that once in a while, when im driving my RPM goes up high but by car dnt accelerate till a couple secs later does this mean my tranny is about to give up on me , i have 78k on it

06maxima22"

my tranny is skipping , does any one now any good liquids or suggestions thanks

po8pimp

you can try AutoRX. I have read real good things about it.

04vqmaxsl

Holy **** that's hard to read.

KRRZ350

iTrader: (29)

LittleLittle, there are two possible ticks that are expensive and not uncommon: Timing chain area = guides are fubared, pull out a fat wallet or trade it in. Or rear valve cover area = oil consumption & damaged exhaust lifter, pull out fat wallet again & expect future problems or trade it in.

Notice I said timing CHAIN, there is no belt. Go to a different dealer if you need to have guides replaced, and yes I recommend the dealer for this job, I'm probably the only independant garage anywhere near me that would do this job, most will pass and for good reason, same with the lifter.

There could also be something stupid like a belt/accessory pulley, exhaust leak, injector, etc.


'04 (SL's??) with the 4-speed auto used the Re4fo4A which was also used in the 3.0's, they can't handle the tourqe of the 3.5, stupid move on Nissans part. If I owned one I would swap in an re4fo4B from an 02-03 or an re4fo4Vw/shift kit & trans cooler if I owned one, don't know what that would entail but I can't imagine much, selenoid pack & sensors at worst would be my geuss.

sdi

I'm another newbie with a problem. My 06 has been shifting roughly from 1st to 2nd for a few weeks. It wouldn't always happen but took it to a mechanic two weeks ago. He said wait for a warning light to go on and bring back. It got worse while stuck in heavy traffic so I left it with the dealer last Friday. They hooked to the computer and there were no error codes but based on the symptom and the color of the tranmission fluid, they said replace the transmission. I took it to another shop Friday night. They drove the car and while it took 15 minutes for the symptoms to start, they did. Again, rough shifting but the mechanic that drove it said it was also slipping from 2nd to 3rd, and 3rd to 4th, and back down. I really couldn't tell there was a problem other than the jerky shift from 1st to 2nd and also felt somewhat rough fro 2nd to 3rd. He acknowledged that the fluid looked and smelled bad and that I needed a new transmission. He was supposed to call me with a cost but hasn't yet. I had to drive the car today and the symptom is still there and I realized I hear a running water sound between the center console and passenger seat. This has been occurring lately but wrote it off to the AC drain since I've been running the AC during the summer. Today, no AC and I still hear it. Any idea if this sound could be related to the transmission problem?

Today I spoke to a fairly reputable transmission guy who couldn't check the car for a few weeks because he's so busy. He says check the coolant because it's used to cool the transmission and if fluid is low, it could be causing a heat related problem and sound could be from air in the line.

I have an appointment with Aamco tomorrow and just wonder, is it the transmission or something else. Am I better off waiting for an error light and drive easy in the meantime? Again, it doesn't always happen and when it starts, it only jerky at low speeds. Is the fluid color and jerky shifting enough to diagnose the issue? Any opionions, insights would be appreciated.

LittleLittle

Hey I hear that water noise too but when I took to the shop my Tranny was fine. It's just the Timing chain for me. If you find out what that water noise is please post it on this site.

po8pimp

water noise.... That's an indication there is air in your coolant. Burp it and you should be good.

sdi

I checked the coolant last night. None in the reserve and none I could see in the radiator. It took about a half gallon to fill the radiator and the resevoir to the max line. I also noticed some dried greenish residue where the large hose comes off of the top of the radiator into the top of the engine. I drove the car about 15 miles this morning with one small jerk only though it ussually takes longer to get the real jerks. I'll keep my eye on the coolant to determine if I have a leak. Funny the car never ran hot by the temp guage anyway. Also, I'm a bit pissed at Nissan. They did a courtesy check of all fluids Friday and they gave me the sheet that says everything was good. I can tell you that resevoir was dry for a while!

LittleLittle

That makes two of us; Nissan dealership is very rude. I went up there for the diagnostic test and dude informed me right off the bat, since I had diagnostic test by Gregg's Import in SC. We are not obligated to fix this. I was like slow your horse boss man. I didn't say your were. North America told me to go to Nissan for diagnostic test and she will call be back on the 10/7/09 and we go from there. Then when I called Nissan dealership like at 60K the told me I didn't have an extended warranty but North America said I did. . I'm probably will not by another maxima after this one.

JMSports

iTrader: (1)

You can add me to the list, mine failed at about 78,000 miles. Nissan replaced it after a 50 dollar deductible.

KingkongNYC

Hello,

My first time posting. So my '04 Max 59K miles started showing signs of tranny problems, much like what everybody posted here on this thread. It jerks on 2nd, 3rd gear and occasionally slams into gear depending on how I'm accelerating. After 2 weeks of changing my transmission oil it turned brown AGAIN.

I am planning on taking it in to get it checked out next weekend, hoping that I will not have to get a new trabnsmission. If I do need a new tranny I was thinking about changing it to a six speed. Has anybody on this forum get the auto to manual tranny swap? HOw much more would it cost to do auto to manual swap rather than just gettting a new tranny?

po8pimp

there are a couple guys talking about it and only one who has done it so far.

tlepre897

I had the same problem and it cost me 3k+ to get fixed!!!!

07whitey

i have an 07 maxima with cvt i am thinking im getting some serious problems slips into second(if it had real gears) after running it hard it will also have no power till like 10 15 mph weird? and sometimes ill be driving hard on the highway and ill try to use triptronic and it wont let me downshift and at 20-30mph i get a ticking-knocking noise if i keep steady throttle some one help!!

slvrmax7

iTrader: (4)

I am getting the parts together and will have it done mid Jan. .

Mu33rto

iTrader: (1)

I was quoted $850 for labor to install a level 10 rebuild kit. Is that a good price for a 2006 auto?Or should I look around.

KingkongNYC

Cool.... HOw much do you think the whole thing will cost? Are you doing the swap yourself?

I am planning on doing this only if it is not too costly. My auto tranny is dying on me so if i need a new tranny i might just do the sawp to manual as well.

BLACKMAC

i have a 2004 max and the check eng light is on what could it be any comment will be appr.

Oolatec

iTrader: (5)

Go to AutoZone and have them scan for the code(s)... write them down, and post them here so we can give you some idea what could be wrong.

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

almost at 60k was waiting to get a flush but ended up draining and filling. only 3.5 quarts came out. I swear it shifts smooth as can be now. We will see in the cold morning. I will do it again in 2 weeks since traveling 300 miles in that time frame.

No issues whatsoever.

Oolatec

iTrader: (5)

Yeah don't get this tranny flushed. Drain/fill is the only way.

bluefox1081

Well, my car finally decided to break down while I was driving home from work the other day. I didn't even notice the car shut off until I realized I had no power steering. When I tried to start it back up, I got the same problem...stuck in 5th gear.

My brother's a mechanic and has a code reader. It threw a code "PO340 - Bank 1 camshaft sensor". It's currently at Nissan right now getting checked out so they can diagnose and fix. I just hope whatever is wrong is covered under my warranty.

bluefox1081

Well, they just called and said it was, in fact, the cam sensor....which is covered under warranty. And they also found that my front right strut is leaking...which is also going to be replaced under warranty

Will have the car back tomorrow.

Apollos2

iTrader: (16)

Hmmmm, I think its first I've heard of CVT issues. I wonder if I can update my poll to include CVTs.

So far it's about 60% no issues, so that means 40% of us have had some sort of problems with the tranny

po8pimp

That is real good price for labor on a rebuild. There is alot of work involved in rebuilding transmissions.

RYENZERO

I was told the 04 maxima transmission hard-shifting issue was caused by a poorly manufactured selanoid inside the trans case. While that is a pretty general description, i am told the labor to re-solder the selanoid is expensive, while the part itself is less than $4. I guess I'm gonna have to just stick it out. I love my max--besides the mf problems i'm having after changing my plugs (p0300 code).

Mu33rto

iTrader: (1)

My boss got this fire bird and corvette built at this shop and he says they go great work. My boss told me to tell them I work for him and that they will give me a discount if I say that..So is gona be $850 minus discount. I want to get all my ducks in the row before I go there. My other friend is a mechanic So should I have him take out the tranny then I'll drive the tranny to the rebuild shop to save $$$$. Also does the rebuild kit from level 10 has all the parts that you need to rebuild or are there some others I would need to get before I take it to the shop. Also should I take this time to get MM,UDP and what else installed?

KingkongNYC

Ok so my 04 max tranny is done, I took it to the dealer and they quoted me $3400 to replace the tranny. I also took it to a transmission specialist and they said that i wont need to replace but they can open up the transmission and just fix the parts that are bad and quoted me around $2,500.

I'm thinking about going with the transmission specialist. Has anybody done this instead of replacing the whole transmission? any recommendations? im thinking the safe bet is going with the new transmission but if they can fix it without replacing the whole thing and i wont have trouble with it down the road... why not?

NiZMo1o1

iTrader: (45)

Dealer doesnt give you a new tranny , they also replace the parts with the broken ones inside with parts that will prone to be broken again.

give level 10 a call or www.atfspeed.com for more quotes ,
If anything make sure this tranny place gives you a written estimate and parts that are install.

Im sure they will want to crack open the tranny or already has driven the car and told you what is excatly is wrong.

Do some research around here and you can find the parts and parts list from aftermarket places to beef up the tranny.