Hey guys! Just thought I would introduce myself. I just bought my first Maxima for dirt cheap and so far......I love it!
It is an 04 SE. I was able to snag it up for $2000 even. Body is in fantastic condition (Red Opulence Metallic), and the tan leather interior is FLAWLESS!
I was told by the owner that the heater core, both camshaft position sensors, and transmission were bad. I bought the car and noticed that it had a busted radiator. After I fixed that the car quit shutting off (reason she assumed cps), quit overheating, and the heat blows extremely hot. Needless to say.......I'm as happy as can be.

Now onto the transmission. It only shifts rough from first to second gear, and only when it heats up. Never on a downshift. I checked the fluid and it's pretty dark. Any chance that just a flush with the correct fluid will fix my problem? I'm hoping its simple and not the valve body. Everything else has went my way so far with the car so my fingers are crossed. lol

 

Welcome to the ORG. Sounds like you got quite the steal of a deal. Im no expert on transmissions, but I'd change that ATF see how she does

 

nice congrats is it a manual or auto?

 

Great deal, but sorry man, what you're describing is typical valve body failure and it will get worse. My problem began just like yours, and eventually it was slamming into all gears (after heating up) and on downshifts as well. Have it checked out and have the codes read, if any.

 

Its an auto. It had codes when I got it but after the radiator was fixed I reset the codes. 50 miles so far and no codes.

 

DAMN what a Steal, and welcome to the Org. if you got the cash and keeping the car for awhile upgrade the transmission a little, Good Luck on the Ride....

 

I'm pretty sure I'm keeping this one. I already have an 03 Mazda Protege5 with a full KLZE swap. I'm thinking that can be my "GO" toy and that Maxima can be my "Low&Slow" toy.
It needs to be lowered BAD! lol

 

Great price, my advice to you, upgrade the valve body along with some headers becuz the precats in these cars will ruin your engine,

 

I have been doing some research on the tranny and it seems like everyone is saying that the Transgo shift kit is the fix. Any have good, or bad experiences with this? I am leaning towards doing this and saving my money on the tranny flush.

I have heard that about the precats. Any recommendation on headers?

 

Btw......The car has 180,000 miles on it. lol

 

First off, DO NOT FLUSH YOUR TRANS!! Just drain the fluid and change the filter. Flushing will remove debris caught by shaving magnets and the filter and redistribute the contaminants all over the inside of the trans. Another option to look into is plug in a scanner and see if there are any remaining pending codes, and if any specific solenoid codes are present, try replacing that solenoid. (If it's external, of course.) Valve body replacements are nowhere near an easy task and definitely not recommended for the everyday do-it-yourselfer!! For the price of the new valve body and the labor charge for install, you could have just rebuilt the trans. And even then you could still have the possibility of a malfunctioning shift solenoid(s).