Tiago Alves

Okay so I took in a 2004 Nissan Maxima 3.5L SE 5speed Auto Tranny into Nissan as a last resort to try and fix my delayed shifts, mainly the reverse to drive thump/hesitation/delay and the upshifting to and downshifting from second gear jerk/kick, all of which only occurs when the car is warm.

After paying $105 for a diagnostic that took about an hour and a half or so, they stated there are two updates for the transmission for the ECU/TCM, that my transmission ground strap is broken, and that the tranny fluid is really dark and bad.

They quoted me $160 to reprogram the ECU and TCM, $150 for a transmission flush (I heard it's a drain and fill only on these but they refer to it as a flush) and $105 to replace the tranny ground strap. Going in tomorrow morning first thing to get this done, they said it should take about 3 hours. They also stated it MIGHT fix my issue, but they're not 100% sure. They say they would start with this, and if it doesn't fix it, the valve body is the next attempt (quoted $1,600 for a brand new one from them with everything solenoids/etc.) and even after that I may still need a new transmission.


What are your thoughts? Are chances high that the aforementioned will be enough to fix my issue?

Tiago Alves

$485 and 4 hours later, I'm still experiencing the same issue. ECU/TCM were updated (6 updates for the ECU, 2 for the TCM). Transmission was flushed. Tranny ground strap was replaced. Same issues present. Guess it really is the valve body, ****. Nissan quoted $1,600 just for the valve body itself, new with everything, plus labour. Hmmmm.