madlaw1071

Did anyone see Consumer Distort's hit job on the Maxima this month? They trashed the interior claiming:

1. poor interior quality
2. exposed screws
3. plastic mold lines
4. a/c controls too far away

I'd swear they were reviewing the wrong car. The interior of the Max is among the best I've seen, rivaling even my $62,000 Audi S4. I have no plastic mold lines and couldnt find any exposed screws. The a/c controls are within finger tip reach when my hand rests on the gear shifter.

Maybe Nissan didnt pony up the "contribution" to the non-profit magazine?

tate0328

It is a pretty good reach for the ac controls on a non-tech package.

madlaw1071

I have tech and didnt realize they were located in different places.

tate0328

Yeah, they are located where the navi controls are on yours. I do agree with you, the report was way off on the other arguements.

Mick7

Motor Trend also seemed to have a bias against the Maxima. WTH do they think controls can be located? Other mags have raved about interior quality..go figure.

Here is Consumer Report's first drive..contradictory I believe.

"Once inside, you are treated to mostly high-quality materials—an improvement over the old car. The steering wheel adjusts for tilt and distance with one lever. The wheel is also heated. The driver's seat has a cushion extender to increase thigh support. The rear seat is significantly less roomy than it was in the old car. Controls are intuitive. Visibility, especially to the rear and sides also suffers as a result of the lower, coupe-like silhouette. The trunk is wide, if a bit shallow. It can be expanded by folding the rear seatbacks, but that requires stretching far forward to pull release straps in the trunk.

CR's Take: The Maxima is very quick and has a nice interior, but the driving experience isn't dazzling"

Scottwax

iTrader: (8)

Without seeing and driving all the other cars in the test, it is hard for me to say how right or wrong CR was in this test. I do know they tend to favor softer riding cars than most driving enthusiasts would.

I read the article last night when I was over at my parent's house. I haven't been inside a new Maxima but I've never seen one with the problems they mentioned about the mold lines and exposed screws, and that goes back to the 1985 Maxima my parent's had and every single one I have detailed. One of the reasons I have been buying Honda or Nissan lately (the 626 doesn't count ) is the interior quality vs other cars. I can't imagine that Nissan would make major interior upgrades like the '09 and end up with mid 90's GM/Hyundai problems.

bk2k3max

I'm not sure where CR is getting their ridiculous screws exposed and molding problems but I have not seen any of those issues in my car. As far as the AC controls; that is an easy issue to solve>>>MOVE THE SEAT FORWARD!!

liypfhe1

i have only 3 issues with the interior which are:

1. the controls to adjust the side mirrors are not in the logical place to be.. me being 6'2 i drive with my seat all the way back and its a pain to reach forward to adjust the mirrors to the perfect location...

2. the buttons for the heated/ cooled seats and the heated wheel could also be in a better location.. the control for the seats as well as the mirror adjusters could have been mounted on the arm rest where the window controls are.

3. i don't understand why the driver is the only side that does not have the above handles on the roof (don't know what they are called). its not really a big deal but i just don't understand why they only installed 3 they should have just added the fourth one.

mr305

I agree with you I detail my 09 max and i did not see anything at all i love the way de interior looks ...

tate0328

I believe the handles are called "O sh** bars". They don't have them on the driver side because the driver has the steering wheel to hold on to.

Radsil09

The only interior issue I have is the 3 part composition of the dash board. The main dash is set on top of the instrument hood and the nav/radio display hood. To me, the gaps between them are considerable, though not intolerable.

This could easily have been a single mold process, which alot of manufactures use.

Still a great car though!

dauntlessmax

It's almost like you read my freakin' mind man! Except it's the same thing on my 4th gen.

Radsil09

lightonthehill

I heard my neighbor mention that Consumer Reports did not even recommend the 2009 Maxima. I also saw that same thing mentioned by another poster on this board (not this thread). WE MUST KEEP IN MIND that CU NEVER recommends a car during the first year of a complete redesign. They wait until they have at least a year so as to have an idea of its reliability.

Having exonerated CU on that one item, I must say I was stunned by the exaggerations and mis-statements in CU's review. I have been a loyal subscriber to CU since spring 1961, and used them in helping with many vehicle purchases. I have found any complaints they had about Maximas of previous years to at least have some basis in fact.

But not this time.

Their report on the '09 Maxima is the first one I have ever completely disagreed with. I can understand differences in taste and opinion, but having paid very close attention to the problems CU mentioned while breaking in my '09, it has become clear that CU has gone further than 'differences of opinion', and has included several factural errors.

I have not had the slightest trace of torque steer, although I have not been in extreme driving situations with my '09 so far. I can't imagine there would be enough to promote a complaint about this in their review. I looked very carefully around the cabin of my '09, and could find none of the screw heads that bothered the CU tester. I have been particularly careful to note the steering and ride of my '09, and, other than the light steering at low speeds, did not notice the problems CU reported. I like the light steering at low speeds. My '09 (unlike CU's test car) rides unusually level in corners, is very precise in freeway maneuvers, has a comfortable ride . . I could go on, but I am simply wasting server space.

In 48 years of reading CU, I have never been more disappointed by a review. Thank goodness I bought based on my own checking, on reading other's experiences here on the ORG, and on close examination of the vehicle, and not by anything CU said.

rkurlander

Light. Consumer Reports recommends the complete redesign of the Acura TL in the same article.

RF951

I took my first test drive last week. While I was paying more attention to driving dynamics I definitely noticed the mold seem on the console drivers side. It struck me as odd because it looked like a quality control defect. Maybe not all cars have it. Only negative I saw.

pearle

I don't mind the look of the interior but I am experiencing some annoyances.

I find the A/C controls a bit of a reach for me. Also, the console unit squeaks quite a bit. I get a fair amount of rattle from various parts of the car.

The ceiling fabric is also lower on one side than the other where it meets the rear window.

Mick7

CR has been irrelevant for at least twenty years. Often their criteria has nothing to do with the performance of the product or satisfaction of the consumer. Like criticizing a hammer for not having the appearance they expected..disregarding performance entirely.

Car rags are as bad..if it doesn't have a "proper" manual, it's going to get ripped. Motor Trend gets way faster numbers than other pubs in things like 0-60. I swear they use a program with ideal conditions and ignore real world performance.

rkurlander

A lot of people make their buying decisions trusting Consumer Reports. In this case I wish they were irrelevant, but that's not the case. It's a real shame Nissan has to deal with this awful review - a hatchet job with numerous factual errors.

STEVE1214

pearle i am experiencing the same squeaks and rattles. good thing the audio system sounds great as i never notice the squeaks and rattles with the radio so loud.

also, i am friendly with a guy who works for CR and test drives all the cars. he told me his eval of the 09 MAX was very good and liked it very much. go figure.

Mick7

And, as pointed out in an earlier post, they contradict their own first drive impressions where the interior was praised. The verdict..Consumer Reports..NOT RECOMMENDED.

angrye

"Oh $hit Grips". Sounds like someone at CR has a grudge.

I have had a couple torque-steer scares. I almost plowed into the side of a left-lane lolli-gagger when I punched it to go around them once....little scary.

SoonerGuy

Having driven Hondas for nearly the last ten years, I was a little skeptical that I could be pleased with the build quality and interior quality of a Nissan. But, after having owned the Maxima for a little over a week now, I am not seeing any of the problems CR was seeing. Furthermore, my Max is fairly early build (June) so I was expecting to see something. I think Nissan did pay attention to interior quality, the mag guys must have just picked out the "built on a Friday afternoon" car on the lot.

lightonthehill

You are absolutely correct. I looked back and did not see where other newly redesigned vehicles were approved in recent years. How long has the new Acura TL been out? Obviously long enough that CU already has a feel for its reliability. If the new TL has not been out long, then CU must consider it to be a glorified 'makeover' with mostly new sheet metal instead of a complete redesign.

The article did, however, tell why they are not yet ready to recomment the '09 Maxima. Their words: 'We have insufficient reliability data for the (list here includes the Maxima). Evidently, they had enough response from drivers of the new TL to make a judgement. We are aware there are not too many '09 Maximas on the road yet.

I found their review of the new Acura TL interesting. Such gems as 'vague steering', 'small trunk opening', tight rear seating, 'more road noise than typical upscale cars', 'head restraint was too close', '(rear) head and foot room are relatively tight', 'audio controls are between the climate controls, and that is confusing', 'there is a tune **** for the radio, but it is situated off on its own', 'the steering wheel is cluttered with no fewer than twelve buttons, which can be difficult to tell apart', 'cars with the optional navigation system have a complicated multidirectional controller', 'the center mounted climate and audio display can wash out in sunlight', 'large luggage has to be squeezed through a small opening', 'the rear seat has a lockable pass-through, but it doesn't fold down', 'a small rear window is blocked by large head restraints', 'infant bases are difficult to secure', 'lower LATCH anchors in the outboard seats are difficult to use', etc, etc. The CU testers must have been in a really bad mood when running these tests.

madlaw1071

Light, the new TL, a COMPLETE REDESIGN, came out in late Sept 08, 4 MONTHS AFTER THE MAX. Face it, Consumer Reports had an agenda when they rated these cars. As I suggested in the OP, perhaps Nissan didnt donate enough to the publishers of this allegedly non-profit magazine.

bk2k3max

Motortrend did about the most fair and honest write up of the Maxima when they first got ahold of it:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...est/index.html

But that's the thing with most of these car mags, you'll always have one or two critics who do not like something about the car and they'll just spiral (usually downhill) from one issue to the other.

It appears though that nowadays most writers/critics simply want to compare the Maxima to current RWD offerings with big Motors, I've seen several mentionings or write-ups of Maximas being compared to G8s, RWD Dodges or in some cases more expensive BMWs.

The justification for most of the comparisons has been mainly due to price, most of the G8 crowd only do it for comparisons in performance (as if that's all that matters) others have done it because they say that the Max doesn't have a "Proper" Manual and/or simply because it requires Premium Fuel.

I think in most all those cases where comparos are made that they were not warranted, the Maxima is a niche vehicle, for instance if a G8 owner wanted to compare how well his RWD 361HP car performed in the snow/ice vs Maxima then he would see how much of a detriment and how feeble-minded his comparo would be.

I really do not put too much stock into CR because most of them seem to be ultra-conservative and the Max offers too much style to fit their view of what a car should be or look like.

rkurlander

Light...The 2009 Acura TL has only been around for 3 1/2 months. With mostly mediocre reviews it's not selling well. I haven't seen one on the road. CR's publishing lead-time is about a month. This issue was published around January 2, which means it was put to bed in early December, less than 2 months after the TL was released. There is no way they received any owner feedback.

lightonthehill

I have to agree. This makes no sense. I had thought the TL came out later than the Maxima, and did not understand how CU could already have a 'reliability' feel in less than six months. There is obviously someone in the auto testing group at CU with an axe to grind. That is very sad. My forty-eight years of taking up for CU have ended. I will no longer give weight to their auto ratings.

madlaw1071

Welcome to the party light. IMO, Consumer Reports has been a joke rag for a long time. They fill up there pages with the likes of ratings on coffee. As if their taste buds are better than yours or mine. Some people swear by Starbucks, others Dunkin Donuts or Folgers. A purely subjective rating is absoutely useless and if someone actually bases their coffee purchases on someone elses opinion of how it tastes then they are really clueless.

bk2k3max

Well, these guys seem to like the new Maxima a hell of a lot:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/blog...s/4264643.html

ChipperX

...And I have found that the automobile industry CONSISTENTLY downgrades the performance and reliability of the Maxima. The only thing that most magazines take NO issue with is the engine -- and I suppose that's because the motor performance figures / statistics speak for themselves in such a way as to be incontrovertible. Occasionally I will see a good review of the Maxima, but this is NOT the norm. I don't know why the industry hates the Maxima, but the fact remains that WE EFFING LOVE IT and will CONTINUE TO BUY IT for as long as it is produced. The car is an icon for anyone who values high performance and personality at a relative low cost. Let the idiots go on hating -- while we BLOW BY THEM on the highway. My first Maxima's name was Madonna, and my second Maxima's name is Azulla -- and they'll BOTH kick your a$$ ALL DAY LONG.

drakutis

Here is the latest Motor Week update with a road test!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL9pip6pePs

rkurlander

Fair and positive review.

musama21

i think the new maxima interior is really different too aside from the paddle shifters im not a big fan of what nissan/infiniti has done