So I have an 04 Maxima SL almost at 140K miles. Yesterday, as I was looking for a parking lot at work, I drove into a dead end section of the parking lot and had to make a U turn of sorts. So, when I put my car into reverse then drive my car would jerk. I thought it was because I was hitting the gas right when it goes to drive. It was happening still when I let it sit in drive for a second or two. This was the first time this has happened to me when I put it in a reverse/drive.

This occurs more frequently than the reverse/drive situation. The other jerking motion happens when I get caught in stop and go traffic. The car does jerk randomly when I'm just driving to someplace, but not a lot.

My question is, is it the transmission causing this and how could I fix the problem?

 

You need to find out if you have a 5 speed or 4 speed auto.Based on what you describe you probably have the 5 speed and the solenoids aresticking. If you are lucky you have not done any major damage to thetransmission. You may try changing your transmission fluid several times andsee if that helps (Be sure use the correct fluid. The 5 speed transmission wasmanufactured by Aisin-Warner and you can use either Nissan, Toyota IV,Aisin-Warner IV or Mobil 3309 fluid. Do not use any other fluid.). If not, thenthe either the solenoids need to re-built or replaced or the transmission needto be rebuilt. All transmission shops knows about the problems with thistransmission and the solenoids. Some shops will replace/re-built only thesolenoids but most will not and only rebuild the unit. If you are an above averagemechanic, then you should be able to change the solenoids yourself. Also, be sure and read the sticky (RE5F22ATransmission Fix) at the top of the page. I believe that it is now some 39pages in length.