Was the 04 Max improved half way through the year?
12-09-2007, 08:19 PM
#1
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Was the 04 Max improved half way through the year?
I know the earlier 04s had some gliches that the 05s had mostly fixed, but I heard that later (as supposed to the earlier) 04s had them fixed as well. Starting at what date if so? Just generalizing...
12-09-2007, 09:44 PM
#3
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Konrad - The date you may be looking for could be February 6th, 2004.
On that date, Nissan adjusted things on the Maxima assembly line. For instance, '04 SLs assembled between January 2003 (yes, the line began then, althought cars were not sent to dealers until March 2003) and February 6th 2004 were equipped with the older 4 speed automatic tranny, while '04 SLs assembled after February 6th 2004 all came with the same 5 speed tiptronic auto tranny as the SEs.
That was also the time at which the 'champaigne mist' color was dropped, and the colors 'smoke' and 'coral sand' were added.
The February 6th 2004 change-over was so significant that Nissan replaced the glossy booklets the dealers stock for customer distribution describing the Maxima. I don't remember Nissan ever doing that in the middle of a model year before.
I feel sure Nissan took advantage of that revamp to address some of the persistent problems affecting very early 6th gens, although it might be difficult to quantify the range or success of those adjustments. And I'm sure there were other dates and times Nissan had to have made attempts at correcting bugs, but we will never know all the details. I know my SL assembled in May 2004 is tight as a tick, and a real pleasure to drive.
On that date, Nissan adjusted things on the Maxima assembly line. For instance, '04 SLs assembled between January 2003 (yes, the line began then, althought cars were not sent to dealers until March 2003) and February 6th 2004 were equipped with the older 4 speed automatic tranny, while '04 SLs assembled after February 6th 2004 all came with the same 5 speed tiptronic auto tranny as the SEs.
That was also the time at which the 'champaigne mist' color was dropped, and the colors 'smoke' and 'coral sand' were added.
The February 6th 2004 change-over was so significant that Nissan replaced the glossy booklets the dealers stock for customer distribution describing the Maxima. I don't remember Nissan ever doing that in the middle of a model year before.
I feel sure Nissan took advantage of that revamp to address some of the persistent problems affecting very early 6th gens, although it might be difficult to quantify the range or success of those adjustments. And I'm sure there were other dates and times Nissan had to have made attempts at correcting bugs, but we will never know all the details. I know my SL assembled in May 2004 is tight as a tick, and a real pleasure to drive.
12-09-2007, 11:24 PM
#5
Konrad - The date you may be looking for could be February 6th, 2004.
On that date, Nissan adjusted things on the Maxima assembly line. For instance, '04 SLs assembled between January 2003 (yes, the line began then, althought cars were not sent to dealers until March 2003) and February 6th 2004 were equipped with the older 4 speed automatic tranny, while '04 SLs assembled after February 6th 2004 all came with the same 5 speed tiptronic auto tranny as the SEs.
That was also the time at which the 'champaigne mist' color was dropped, and the colors 'smoke' and 'coral sand' were added.
The February 6th 2004 change-over was so significant that Nissan replaced the glossy booklets the dealers stock for customer distribution describing the Maxima. I don't remember Nissan ever doing that in the middle of a model year before.
On that date, Nissan adjusted things on the Maxima assembly line. For instance, '04 SLs assembled between January 2003 (yes, the line began then, althought cars were not sent to dealers until March 2003) and February 6th 2004 were equipped with the older 4 speed automatic tranny, while '04 SLs assembled after February 6th 2004 all came with the same 5 speed tiptronic auto tranny as the SEs.
That was also the time at which the 'champaigne mist' color was dropped, and the colors 'smoke' and 'coral sand' were added.
The February 6th 2004 change-over was so significant that Nissan replaced the glossy booklets the dealers stock for customer distribution describing the Maxima. I don't remember Nissan ever doing that in the middle of a model year before.
12-10-2007, 05:52 AM
#6
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12-10-2007, 07:56 AM
#7
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Konrad - The date you may be looking for could be February 6th, 2004.
On that date, Nissan adjusted things on the Maxima assembly line. For instance, '04 SLs assembled between January 2003 (yes, the line began then, althought cars were not sent to dealers until March 2003) and February 6th 2004 were equipped with the older 4 speed automatic tranny, while '04 SLs assembled after February 6th 2004 all came with the same 5 speed tiptronic auto tranny as the SEs.
That was also the time at which the 'champaigne mist' color was dropped, and the colors 'smoke' and 'coral sand' were added.
The February 6th 2004 change-over was so significant that Nissan replaced the glossy booklets the dealers stock for customer distribution describing the Maxima. I don't remember Nissan ever doing that in the middle of a model year before.
I feel sure Nissan took advantage of that revamp to address some of the persistent problems affecting very early 6th gens, although it might be difficult to quantify the range or success of those adjustments. And I'm sure there were other dates and times Nissan had to have made attempts at correcting bugs, but we will never know all the details. I know my SL assembled in May 2004 is tight as a tick, and a real pleasure to drive.
On that date, Nissan adjusted things on the Maxima assembly line. For instance, '04 SLs assembled between January 2003 (yes, the line began then, althought cars were not sent to dealers until March 2003) and February 6th 2004 were equipped with the older 4 speed automatic tranny, while '04 SLs assembled after February 6th 2004 all came with the same 5 speed tiptronic auto tranny as the SEs.
That was also the time at which the 'champaigne mist' color was dropped, and the colors 'smoke' and 'coral sand' were added.
The February 6th 2004 change-over was so significant that Nissan replaced the glossy booklets the dealers stock for customer distribution describing the Maxima. I don't remember Nissan ever doing that in the middle of a model year before.
I feel sure Nissan took advantage of that revamp to address some of the persistent problems affecting very early 6th gens, although it might be difficult to quantify the range or success of those adjustments. And I'm sure there were other dates and times Nissan had to have made attempts at correcting bugs, but we will never know all the details. I know my SL assembled in May 2004 is tight as a tick, and a real pleasure to drive.
Is the leather quality the same in 04s and 05s? I know some plastics where changed in the center console.
12-12-2007, 10:36 AM
#8
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This is interesting. I'm not sure when my girl's was assembled because I haven't checked, but I assume it to be an early model. She's already had a ton of problems with it and actually got some money back from the Lemon Law. Her problems include bad fuel pump from the factory and basically ALL interior electrical not working properly (sunroof wouldn't close, steering wheel and seats wouldn't move, etc.). Now the ABS is activating both under normal braking and even when her foot isn't on the brake!!! 
And all the fake chrome and brushed aluminum look on the plastic is peeling off. Other than the car being somewhat quick for a sedan, she considers it her worst investment ever. 
And all the fake chrome and brushed aluminum look on the plastic is peeling off. Other than the car being somewhat quick for a sedan, she considers it her worst investment ever.
Last edited by Badass94Cad; 12-12-2007 at 10:40 AM.
12-12-2007, 02:08 PM
#10
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This is interesting. I'm not sure when my girl's was assembled because I haven't checked, but I assume it to be an early model. She's already had a ton of problems with it and actually got some money back from the Lemon Law. Her problems include bad fuel pump from the factory and basically ALL interior electrical not working properly (sunroof wouldn't close, steering wheel and seats wouldn't move, etc.). Now the ABS is activating both under normal braking and even when her foot isn't on the brake!!! And all the fake chrome and brushed aluminum look on the plastic is peeling off. Other than the car being somewhat quick for a sedan, she considers it her worst investment ever.
And all the fake chrome and brushed aluminum look on the plastic is peeling off. Other than the car being somewhat quick for a sedan, she considers it her worst investment ever. 
Turbo Baby!! Yeah!!
12-12-2007, 06:15 PM
#13
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Location: a meadow south of Atlanta
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jsmithsole - Thanks! Mine is the wisdom born of very great age, originating with learning the proper application of baling wire to a neighbor's temperamental Terra-Plane in the 1940s. At that time, duct tape did not yet exist.
NYPD-Arnold - My slip. I should have specified the Maxima. I have owned nothing but Maximas for over 23 years, and have not kept up with vehicles other than the Maxima.
bb700092 - The month and year a Maxima is assembled is on the silver plate mounted in the driver's door jamb. Maximas have the exact day they come off the line in only two places that I know of: one is a little piece of paper stuck under the bottom of the rear bumper, which normally falls off during the dealer prep before the car is put on display on the lot. I knew when mine was arriving at the dealer (I had spotted it on the Nissan inventory site as it left Smyrna, and followed it via rail inventory inquiries), and was checking out the bottom of the car while it was still on the delivery truck and saw the little sticker with the date under the rear bumper. The other place is in the tiny print at the very bottom of the right end of the window sticker. Mine reads: BHF2004052916P23332 KC03F01J01K69S03, and the 8 digits right after BHF (20040529) are the same as the date on the little piece of paper under the bumper - May 29, 2004.
konrad - You are correct that the metallic/plastic surfaces in the console area were changed for '05, because the '04 materials, although decent-looking, were very prone to marring. The leather was definitely changed beginning with the '07 Maxima, but I do not recall the leather being changed with the '05 model year. The '05 Maxima brochures cetainly do not mention any such change.
Basass94Cad - I am disappointed your gir's Maxima is having these problems. My '04 has none of them, and there is not a scratch or peel of any kind either inside or out. Even my chrome-like roof strips are still shiny and perfect. As pronto said, her Maxima sounds like it may have been flooded at some time. Did she buy it new or used? If used, the car could have been in some place like New Orleans just after Katrina. Or New York City anytime.
Lovemycar - Yours sounds just like mine.
MaXXXpower - We just have to have to indulge chernmax. Of course, if my Maxima had the looks and equipment that his does, I would reek of superiority and be absolutely intolerable here.
NYPD-Arnold - My slip. I should have specified the Maxima. I have owned nothing but Maximas for over 23 years, and have not kept up with vehicles other than the Maxima.
bb700092 - The month and year a Maxima is assembled is on the silver plate mounted in the driver's door jamb. Maximas have the exact day they come off the line in only two places that I know of: one is a little piece of paper stuck under the bottom of the rear bumper, which normally falls off during the dealer prep before the car is put on display on the lot. I knew when mine was arriving at the dealer (I had spotted it on the Nissan inventory site as it left Smyrna, and followed it via rail inventory inquiries), and was checking out the bottom of the car while it was still on the delivery truck and saw the little sticker with the date under the rear bumper. The other place is in the tiny print at the very bottom of the right end of the window sticker. Mine reads: BHF2004052916P23332 KC03F01J01K69S03, and the 8 digits right after BHF (20040529) are the same as the date on the little piece of paper under the bumper - May 29, 2004.
konrad - You are correct that the metallic/plastic surfaces in the console area were changed for '05, because the '04 materials, although decent-looking, were very prone to marring. The leather was definitely changed beginning with the '07 Maxima, but I do not recall the leather being changed with the '05 model year. The '05 Maxima brochures cetainly do not mention any such change.
Basass94Cad - I am disappointed your gir's Maxima is having these problems. My '04 has none of them, and there is not a scratch or peel of any kind either inside or out. Even my chrome-like roof strips are still shiny and perfect. As pronto said, her Maxima sounds like it may have been flooded at some time. Did she buy it new or used? If used, the car could have been in some place like New Orleans just after Katrina. Or New York City anytime.
Lovemycar - Yours sounds just like mine.
MaXXXpower - We just have to have to indulge chernmax. Of course, if my Maxima had the looks and equipment that his does, I would reek of superiority and be absolutely intolerable here.
12-12-2007, 10:01 PM
#14
12-13-2007, 12:04 AM
#15
lightonthehill
just a quick question, if you know the answer, when did production of the 06 model start and end, I got my car on September 16 2005 and it was swapped in from another dealer cause plenty of 05 where still around and my loaded SE was in short supply
just a quick question, if you know the answer, when did production of the 06 model start and end, I got my car on September 16 2005 and it was swapped in from another dealer cause plenty of 05 where still around and my loaded SE was in short supply
12-13-2007, 05:34 AM
#17
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Nope, she bought the car brand new from the dealership in '04. She actually begged them to give her Chevy back because it was still sitting on the used car lot. I'm just worried reading about these transmission problems that she might face those in the future. The car has about 50,000 miles on it now.
12-13-2007, 05:41 AM
#18
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Join Date: Aug 2007
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bb700092 - The month and year a Maxima is assembled is on the silver plate mounted in the driver's door jamb. Maximas have the exact day they come off the line in only two places that I know of: one is a little piece of paper stuck under the bottom of the rear bumper, which normally falls off during the dealer prep before the car is put on display on the lot. I knew when mine was arriving at the dealer (I had spotted it on the Nissan inventory site as it left Smyrna, and followed it via rail inventory inquiries), and was checking out the bottom of the car while it was still on the delivery truck and saw the little sticker with the date under the rear bumper. The other place is in the tiny print at the very bottom of the right end of the window sticker. Mine reads: BHF2004052916P23332 KC03F01J01K69S03, and the 8 digits right after BHF (20040529) are the same as the date on the little piece of paper under the bumper - May 29, 2004.
12-13-2007, 03:50 PM
#21
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mike5411 - Yep, BigPete right as usual. Happened on Feb 6th 2004, as stated in the 2nd paragraph of the 3rd post in this thread.
bb7000092 - You are very welcome.
I VIK I - Where jsmithsole has 'skyvire', he obviously turned to the right and glanced out the window to feast on his beautiful Maxima just before hitting the last two keys. If we turn him back to the left and re-hit those last two keys, we get 'ew' instead of 're'. That gives 'skyview', and there was a recall of all Maximas with the skyview (i.e., all Maximas without the powered sun roof) between serial number 800000 and around 870000 pecause of improperly tempered glass. There is a stickie with all the details at the head of this forum, if we are able to access those again.
STARR - The productions of '06 Maximas began in mid-July 2005, and ended in early July 2006. The assembly line was down only very briefly between the end of '05 production and the beginning of '06 production, as there were few differences between those model years.
The line was down a little longer between the end of '06 production and the beginning of '07 production, as there were significant differences between those two model years. If you subtract 800000 from the last 6 digits of your VIN, the number you get tells you how many '06 Maximas were assembled before yours was built. This same math applies to every model year of the 6th generation Maxima.
Badass94Cad - That is bad news, as it means your girl actually seems to have gotten one of those things commonly refferred to as a 'lemon'. A few others here were also endowed with unwanted citrus with the '04, and I feel part of that was due to completely redesiging the '04 from the ground up and moving production from Japan to the U.S. at the same time. Please accept my sympathy for your girl's undeserved suffering. I really hate what she has gone through with her Maxima.
4MySwee - I knew I could not slip dawn past our board rooster named 4MySwee. Of course I use my age to excuse my intolerable airs. Then of course most everyone here already knows very old people can not only be cantankerous; they can be so opinionated it makes a person want to reach out and gently slap them (a harder slap would crack their dental plates; big bucks). I think that is why my cheeks stay so red. Or could that be the Old Milwaukee?
bb7000092 - You are very welcome.
I VIK I - Where jsmithsole has 'skyvire', he obviously turned to the right and glanced out the window to feast on his beautiful Maxima just before hitting the last two keys. If we turn him back to the left and re-hit those last two keys, we get 'ew' instead of 're'. That gives 'skyview', and there was a recall of all Maximas with the skyview (i.e., all Maximas without the powered sun roof) between serial number 800000 and around 870000 pecause of improperly tempered glass. There is a stickie with all the details at the head of this forum, if we are able to access those again.
STARR - The productions of '06 Maximas began in mid-July 2005, and ended in early July 2006. The assembly line was down only very briefly between the end of '05 production and the beginning of '06 production, as there were few differences between those model years.
The line was down a little longer between the end of '06 production and the beginning of '07 production, as there were significant differences between those two model years. If you subtract 800000 from the last 6 digits of your VIN, the number you get tells you how many '06 Maximas were assembled before yours was built. This same math applies to every model year of the 6th generation Maxima.
Badass94Cad - That is bad news, as it means your girl actually seems to have gotten one of those things commonly refferred to as a 'lemon'. A few others here were also endowed with unwanted citrus with the '04, and I feel part of that was due to completely redesiging the '04 from the ground up and moving production from Japan to the U.S. at the same time. Please accept my sympathy for your girl's undeserved suffering. I really hate what she has gone through with her Maxima.
4MySwee - I knew I could not slip dawn past our board rooster named 4MySwee. Of course I use my age to excuse my intolerable airs. Then of course most everyone here already knows very old people can not only be cantankerous; they can be so opinionated it makes a person want to reach out and gently slap them (a harder slap would crack their dental plates; big bucks). I think that is why my cheeks stay so red. Or could that be the Old Milwaukee?
12-13-2007, 10:45 PM
#25
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Location: a meadow south of Atlanta
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bdmaxima - If your '05 was assembled in July of '05, you have one of the first '05 Maximas made. The serial number will be not far above 800000.
There were not many 'advertised' changes made between the '04 and the '05. The most visible change was the replacement of the smooth-finished (and scratch-prone) '04 console parts with a more practical mottled finish. There were behind-the-scenes adjustments, I'm sure, as there were a few problems with the '04 that Nissan did not want to be quite as bothersome on the '05. I'm sure they worked to reduce the steering wheel shimmy, and front strut weaknesses, among other things. It helped, as Consumer Reports problem reports for those two areas went down between the '04 and the '05.
As far as problems particular to the '05, I'm not aware of any. Of course there were still a few shimmy and strut problems with the '05, but not as bad or widespread as the '04. And I have not heard of an '05 that had a power roof drain tube blocked. That was ocassionally a problem with the '04.
Your best bet is to scan the posts here when you have time, as any problem an ORG member has with their Maxima will eventually be posted and discussed right here.
There were not many 'advertised' changes made between the '04 and the '05. The most visible change was the replacement of the smooth-finished (and scratch-prone) '04 console parts with a more practical mottled finish. There were behind-the-scenes adjustments, I'm sure, as there were a few problems with the '04 that Nissan did not want to be quite as bothersome on the '05. I'm sure they worked to reduce the steering wheel shimmy, and front strut weaknesses, among other things. It helped, as Consumer Reports problem reports for those two areas went down between the '04 and the '05.
As far as problems particular to the '05, I'm not aware of any. Of course there were still a few shimmy and strut problems with the '05, but not as bad or widespread as the '04. And I have not heard of an '05 that had a power roof drain tube blocked. That was ocassionally a problem with the '04.
Your best bet is to scan the posts here when you have time, as any problem an ORG member has with their Maxima will eventually be posted and discussed right here.
Last edited by lightonthehill; 12-19-2007 at 04:48 PM. Reason: I should have said 'one of the LAST '05s assembled'
12-15-2007, 01:49 AM
#27
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You have a very good date, Konrad. You have one of the last '04s made. Your VIN serial is probably between 930000 and 932000 (the serials began at 800000, and between 130000 and 132000 '04 Maximas were made). You probably have a rather well-made vehicle.
Additionally, the color smoke only became available on the '04 for the last 5 1/2 months of production.
Additionally, the color smoke only became available on the '04 for the last 5 1/2 months of production.
12-15-2007, 04:19 PM
#29
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4MySwee - Now I'm in trouble. I was thinking of using this Christmas season to admit I drive only Maserati GranTurismos, that I have fabricated everything I have ever posted here about the Maxima, then count on the spirit of the season for board-wide forgiveness.
But after your most praiseful post, I'm in a quandry as to what to do. Maybe if I give you the keys to the Maserati and go buy myself an '08 Maxima? Then post spy photos of the '09 Maxima here? I'm ready for whatever punishment you and the board feel is appropriate.
Chuck
But after your most praiseful post, I'm in a quandry as to what to do. Maybe if I give you the keys to the Maserati and go buy myself an '08 Maxima? Then post spy photos of the '09 Maxima here? I'm ready for whatever punishment you and the board feel is appropriate.
Chuck
12-17-2007, 01:36 AM
#31
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Location: a meadow south of Atlanta
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4MySwee - Your heart was almost within my grasp, but my wife says she will not part with her Brabus K-8. We came so close, but I guess it was just not meant to be. My hankie is wet with grief.
To make this thread-oriented: bdmaxima - another thing Nissan finally fixed between late in the '04 run and the beginning of the '05 run was the mis-aligned tail pipes. The very first '04 unloaded at my dealer lot had one left pipe an inch lower than the other, and one right pipe a half inch lower than the other. It looked absolutely awful, and it took the service department an hour of work to reach an acceptable alignment. Most early '04s had this problem, and that boggled my mind. Anyone just glancing at the car could not miss this gaffe. That was my first inkling that U.S. assembled Maximas would have to be checked more closely by prospective buyers.
When I test-drove that SE, I had my second clue: Between 50 and 55MPH on a smooth level road, the steering wheel shimmy made me think at least two tires had gone flat. I understand far fewer '05s had that horrible shimmy than '04s did.
To make this thread-oriented: bdmaxima - another thing Nissan finally fixed between late in the '04 run and the beginning of the '05 run was the mis-aligned tail pipes. The very first '04 unloaded at my dealer lot had one left pipe an inch lower than the other, and one right pipe a half inch lower than the other. It looked absolutely awful, and it took the service department an hour of work to reach an acceptable alignment. Most early '04s had this problem, and that boggled my mind. Anyone just glancing at the car could not miss this gaffe. That was my first inkling that U.S. assembled Maximas would have to be checked more closely by prospective buyers.
When I test-drove that SE, I had my second clue: Between 50 and 55MPH on a smooth level road, the steering wheel shimmy made me think at least two tires had gone flat. I understand far fewer '05s had that horrible shimmy than '04s did.
12-18-2007, 12:27 PM
#32
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Florida
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Light, how do you know so much? Seriously, did you ever work for Nissan? I doubt even some of Nissan's employees would know so much about these things.
Since you know so much, here is a question for you. What do you think is a reasonable time for a Maxima (or any car) to be at the dealership before it gets sold?
I believe, this is how the process works. Cars are brought into the dealership and stored in the lots. Customers look at them, test drive some of them and eventually buy them. During the time the cars are in the lot, no maintenance (including oil change) is done to them. For example, using your info, I find that my car was built on April 29, 2007 while I bought it on August 10, 2007. I am not sure when it came to the dealer's lot but clearly, there were more than 3 months between its manufacturing and my buying it. Is that period normal or more than normal?
Since you know so much, here is a question for you. What do you think is a reasonable time for a Maxima (or any car) to be at the dealership before it gets sold?
I believe, this is how the process works. Cars are brought into the dealership and stored in the lots. Customers look at them, test drive some of them and eventually buy them. During the time the cars are in the lot, no maintenance (including oil change) is done to them. For example, using your info, I find that my car was built on April 29, 2007 while I bought it on August 10, 2007. I am not sure when it came to the dealer's lot but clearly, there were more than 3 months between its manufacturing and my buying it. Is that period normal or more than normal?
12-19-2007, 02:41 AM
#33
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bb700092 - I have been a Datsun/Nissan freak since the late 1970s. For the past 21 years, I lived one block from a Nissan dealer for 3 years and less than 4 miles from a Nissan dealer the last 18 years. There have been times when I checked the inventory of my dealer several times a week. When a new generation (or sometimes a half-gen) is arriving, I might be there almost daily for a month or two. And during every service trip, I usually spend from one to three hours perusing the cars on the back lot.
Of course a lot of my info comes from 58 years of driving. Much info applies to all makes and models.
As to the time vehicles sit on lots, that varies widely. A big agressive dealer may begin making very special deals on anything new that has sat for several months. If a used car does not sell within a short time, that kind of dealer will wholesale it to a company that sells cars to non-dealership used car lots.
Other dealers, especially smaller ones, may have cars (new and used) sit for many months. When checking the inventory of a very small dealer, I might find say five new Maximas, and the VIN serials tell me they were assembled 1, 3, 4, 7 and 9 months ago. New Maximas don't sit at the Smyrna plant very long. They are sitting on dealer lots.
For many dealers, especially smaller ones, a car can easily sit for three, even six months before it is sold. Until a month or so ago, even the largest Nissan dealers around Atlanta were still advertising new 2007 Maximas for $21,750. Those vehicles were all assembled no later than early July.
As to oil changes while on the dealer's lot, just sitting on a dealer's lot (and ocassionally being moved or test-driven) will not change the oil enough to require an oil change. But many new car buyers make their first oil change a little early anyway, in case there might possibly have been tiny bits of anything (metal fragments?) left in the engine from when it was constructed.
But every dealer is different. We will probably have a few folks who have worked for Nissan pipe in here, and each of them will have a different story to relate regarding dealers.
Of course a lot of my info comes from 58 years of driving. Much info applies to all makes and models.
As to the time vehicles sit on lots, that varies widely. A big agressive dealer may begin making very special deals on anything new that has sat for several months. If a used car does not sell within a short time, that kind of dealer will wholesale it to a company that sells cars to non-dealership used car lots.
Other dealers, especially smaller ones, may have cars (new and used) sit for many months. When checking the inventory of a very small dealer, I might find say five new Maximas, and the VIN serials tell me they were assembled 1, 3, 4, 7 and 9 months ago. New Maximas don't sit at the Smyrna plant very long. They are sitting on dealer lots.
For many dealers, especially smaller ones, a car can easily sit for three, even six months before it is sold. Until a month or so ago, even the largest Nissan dealers around Atlanta were still advertising new 2007 Maximas for $21,750. Those vehicles were all assembled no later than early July.
As to oil changes while on the dealer's lot, just sitting on a dealer's lot (and ocassionally being moved or test-driven) will not change the oil enough to require an oil change. But many new car buyers make their first oil change a little early anyway, in case there might possibly have been tiny bits of anything (metal fragments?) left in the engine from when it was constructed.
But every dealer is different. We will probably have a few folks who have worked for Nissan pipe in here, and each of them will have a different story to relate regarding dealers.
12-19-2007, 04:46 PM
#35
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Location: a meadow south of Atlanta
Posts: 8,143
bdmaxima - in post #25 of this thread, I told you that your '05 Maxima, which was assembled in July of '05, was one of the FIRST '05 Maximas assembled. Obviously, I confused model year and assembly year in my senile brain. An '05 Maxima assembled in July of '05 was among the very LAST '05s assembled, not the FIRST. As a result, your Maxima should be relatively trouble-free, as that was two and a half years after the first 6th gen '04s rolled off the assembly line in January 2003. Sorry my brain had a wire short out.
12-19-2007, 05:00 PM
#36
Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 37
12-20-2007, 12:32 PM
#38
Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 146
I don't know, but I was on the highway yesterday cruising with my new 04 SE with the 5 sp. auto and was averaging between 29-30 mpg at 68 mph! I didn't know it would be that great!
12-20-2007, 06:48 PM
#39
It may not be all that surprising. A guy over at the sentra forums got 30mpg on his 6-speed manual Maxima. But it's good to hear the automanual gets very good mpg. But in terms of performance, is the 6-speed quicker than the 5-speed auto?
12-20-2007, 08:35 PM
#40
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: a meadow south of Atlanta
Posts: 8,143
chris - As far as MPG, the '04s with 5 speed auto had 20 city and 27 highway on the window sticker. If I remember correctly, the '04s with manual showed either 20 or 21 for city and 28 for highway. I would expect that a reasonably driven manual might eke out a mile or so per gallon more than an auto. But then who drives a manual 'reasonably'? Manuals just beg to be 'driven'.
For most drivers (like me), the 5 speed auto will be quicker (quick, smooth shifts, and only four of them). For drivers who are very proficient with a manual, despite the extra shift involved (5 instead of 4), I would give the edge to the manual.
Of course the manual has another advantage in that the driver is in full control of everything that happens. In unusual driving situations (say in very hilly terrain such as the Rockies, etc), there are advantages to that.
Just my opinion, of course.
For most drivers (like me), the 5 speed auto will be quicker (quick, smooth shifts, and only four of them). For drivers who are very proficient with a manual, despite the extra shift involved (5 instead of 4), I would give the edge to the manual.
Of course the manual has another advantage in that the driver is in full control of everything that happens. In unusual driving situations (say in very hilly terrain such as the Rockies, etc), there are advantages to that.
Just my opinion, of course.