2010 Premium Package bought brand new

Strut insulators broken replaced under recall.

Heated / Cooled drivers seat did not work for the first 14 months it took over 10 dealer service visits to get it working and its still intermittent and Nissan has informed me they will take no further action regarding the seat.

The shade for the sunroof has become jammed repeatedly resulting in 5 dealer trips. The most recent one involving 4 days of repairs which include removing the windshield and a $6,000.00 part according to the service advisor.

I have owned my car less than 2 years and it only has 17,XXX miles on it.

I am sick and nauseated over this thing. I am looking into a 3 or 5 series BMW.

I wish I would have never purchased it. I kept it for over 24 hours before I bought it and had multiple different people check it out. Everything worked fine ... before I bought it.

The Nissan dealer has been less than helpful and so has Nissan North America. When I pleaded with the owner of the dealership to do ANYTHING to save my view of their brand. I was basically told yeah intermittent problems suck. Nissan has taken no action to fully repair my vehicle or do anything to relieve the torment I have been feeling.

I am now done with this car and this brand :-(

 

look on the 3 series forums. those cars have more problems than anything else.

 

Man that's horrible to here! My dad just bought a new M3 and loves it.

 

Oh I wish I had the budget for the M3! I know no car will be perfect. But I have had more problems out of this Max than I had out of my F150 w/ 250,XXX miles on the ODO.
The owner of the dealership acknowledged that my seat is not working right and told me they would take no further action to fix it. . .

How could I keep this piece? There is just nothing else in my price range with this nice of a body. :-/

 

Yea i hear they have a common problem with the engine. Also, i hear bmw's have a lot of electrical problems. Thats why if i ever buy a used high end car, i will be prepared for those repair bills.

To the o/p. Sorry to hear about all your problems. Sometimes people are just unlucky to get a lemon. Happens to all brands. Google lemon laws for your state. I believe your car has to be repaired a certain amount of times to apply and the dealer has to buy your car back or replace it or something.

13k on mine and so far everything still works fine.

 

My 2009 was a total POS - constant issues: driver's seat rocking, sunroof creaking, master cylinder failure, creaking rear suspension, cracked strut insulators. Every issue took multiple trips to the dealer to fix - and the sunroof issue was never fixed. I ended the lease early just to avoid continued headaches. Luckily, it was in perfect visual condition and the miles were low, so I did not take a bath on it.

 

My buddy has a 2010 5 series with about 35k miles on the clock that has been to the dealer at least a dozen times for various issues in the last year, he pretty much hates/loves the car. One day cannot stand it because of the constant issues and trips to the dealer, but when it is running right, loves it.

 

I am aware that every car and every brand has their issues. That does nothing to quell the temper of when its your car though.

-CarAddict- The sunroof creaking was a constant problem of mine too that was fixed right about the same time they made the seat heater work (only works on high and is still intermittent)

The rocking drivers seat was repaired in mine as well.

I tried researching lemon laws but it sounds as if it has to be engine/tranny/structural issues. The kind of b.s. I have been dealing with don't seem to be included AND I have waited to long to peruse that any way.

I wish there was another car under 50k that looked half as good as this one. Everything else I want simply does not look as good. :-/

The list I have of cars to look at are:

335i/535i
Legacy Turbo 6spd
G37 sedan 6spd (GASP another Nissan product - my main drawback on this one)

Any thoughts on other vehicles that offer more power and similar luxuryness in a similar price range with the max?

 

Forgot I have the roof creak problem but its very minor and only happens when I pull out of driveways after its been sitting for hours. Seats are fine.
Jag XF
CLS 500
GS 350
Hyundai Genesis
Chrysler 300
Cadillac CTS

If you can hold out for another few months, you might be interested in the 2012 Hyundai Azera. I think the fully equipped model will be about $35k. It's slightly bigger than the Max and has more features. Check out the brochure...
http://worldwide.hyundai.com/e_broch...%20English.pdf

The Dodge Charger is fast for it's price. Interior has gotten a whole lot better and has features the Max doesnt have.

The Buick Lacrosse is very nice but it has a very plush ride. nowhere near as sporty/stiff as the max.

 

Anything out of Detroit is out of the question.

Forgot to list the rear suspension makes a "SQUEAK SKUSH CLUNK" over bumps when its colder than 60* out side. This is normal operation according to Nissan's "engineer."

Over the course of my infinite dealer trips, I have been given every car Nissan makes. Everything has less N.V.H than my Maxima ... The current Murano I am driving has 0 vibration through the steering wheel, seat or anything. Although the Murano only has 1,600 miles on it. The check engine light has been on the last 3 days I have been driving it...

 

Similar situation...2010 premium, bought used however at 28K, now around 40K. Both front strut insulators, passenger seat frame broke, moonroof frame cracked, rear sway bar mounts are gone, it makes all sorts of vibrations and creaks. I have been spending time eliminating them on my own since its out of warranty now. I am going to keep it through the winter and see if it gives me any troubles before deciding what I want to do. I would like to upgrade a lot on the car but I am not going to sink the money into it, if I continue to have major problems.

I am also looking into other options, the G37 sedan and 335i are on the top of my list. I love the looks of the max and the rarity of seeing them on the roads, but these constant problems on a 2 year old 40G sedan are a big concern of mine....I just need to get the wife on board now, shes already hesitant with my current purchase after I just finished school but if the numbers work out...the numbers work out and I don't want to deal with a lemon at higher miles.

I am confident I can unload the car locally and break even when buying one from a local high volume dealer for either the G37 or the BMW....

 

....oh yea, transmission valve body needed replacement because the car was slower than 4cylinder camery, its not much better now 0-60 is still around 6.5 seconds..., and the clear coat on the bumper is starting to peel around the fog light and the hood, "only" 2 spots but its all adding up.

 

i traded in my 2010 premium last week for a 08 audi a6.

 

OP, have you tried contacting Nissan corporate rather than accepting the local dealers BS. I have to admit though these local dealers are full of it. I have the cracking roof sound and I asked them to look at it and they said that they could not find the problem. Even though the counter guy was well aware of the issue in general and what was needed to correct it. Seems no one likes the warranty work.

It should be noted that all cars have issues, it's just the way things are built these days.

For Lanzz, was there a penalty for ending the lease early. I didn't know there was an option to do that.

 

Golden Rod,

Keep us posted on the maintnence costs for your 08 A-6. Oil change costs etc? Good luck.

My 10 Max SV/Premium/Tech has been great over the last year and a half. I do get an intermittant creak now and then when going over an un even drives way though.

 

It's funny that I saw this article today. I've been thinking a lot lately about the build quality of my car and how I've been having issues.

*Sunroof creaks (Panoramic) - Not so concerned because it's only when I enter the drive way at home or parking lot at work.
*Driver's Seat Rocks - Haven't mentioned this to the dealer yet. I will next service.
*Front suspension issues - The car was making ticking noises as driving. Fixed after 5k miles, dealer claimed the suspension was loose. Fixed with no further issues.
*Rear Suspension Creaking - Haven't mentioned this to the dealer. I will at next service.


Then in addition to the quality issues above, I've not been having the best of luck with this car.
*Terrible gas mileage - 19mpg or less / highway isn't bad though. I'm just chocking this up to my driving style and traffic.
*Several flat tires - In fact driving to work today the low tire light came on again....
*Front bumper damage - Turned near a high curb and now there's curb rash all across the lower driver's side of the front bumper.
*2 wheels scuffed - The driver's side just happened as I attempted to get closer to an ATM. The other side was when someone ran me off the road because they don't know how to drive or stay in their lane.
*Rear Bumper Damage - ******* cousin clipped my rear bumper. Only a couple small marks remain, but I can still easily tell.

 

Yup - I too am surprised at the amount of issues people (including myself) have been having. I'm so tempted to go get a 2011 F-150 Lariat... I've had my eye on that truck all year!

I've got a 2010 SV Premium/Tech - everything but mud flaps and a rear spoiler.

I came to the Maxima from a 2009 Lincoln MKS ... at 5k miles, the brakes squeaked, and occasionally didn't want to stop the car. After 17 days at the dealer over the next 3 months, I got rid of it, and got the Max.

Here is a list of issues I've had:

3 days into ownership: Intermittent sunroof motor short. (panoramic)
2k miles: Noticed the "boom" between 20mph and 45 - bothers my tinnitus (ear issue). Heard about the TSB, haven't had back to the dealer to get the TSB applied.
3k miles: Panoramic roof pop/creak - fixed at around 9k (wasn't a big issue for me).
5k miles: Driver seat rock. (not yet fixed - haven't had time to head to the dealer)
19k miles: Rear sunshade issue - it wouldn't roll up the shade properly, so the whole works got hung up. Happened repeatedly, finally got it to close. I didn't use the feature for about 3 weeks, and then it worked fine. Will bring up next time I go to the dealer.

It's frustrating to have a $40k (MSRP) car with so many issues in the first 20k miles, and it surely isn't from abuse.

Meanwhile, I am averaging 20.9 MPG lifetime, with about 10% highway, 90% city.

 

To all the people saying the sunroof creak isn't a big deal to you. That is what my sunroof has been doing. Now they are supposedly replacing a $6,000.00 part. Granted it's under warranty. But if the creaking leads to that expensive of a repair down the road you may want to get it taken care of.

 

Nissan North America has been no help. As previously stated my heated / cooled seat did not work for the first 14 months I owned the vehicle. Now it only works on the maximum settings. If you try to use either of the 2 lower settings it does nothing, you can hear the fan on but it doesn't heat or cool. Nissan North America has reported to me the dealer says it's working properly. I explained to N.N.A. how it is not working properly it does not function on the lower settings. They said at this point they are going to have to believe the dealer and refuse to even test the car anymore... They have not even tested it after the repair that made the seat work on the high settings.

Just called the dealer, my car is still not ready. Friday they told me the car was ready they just wanted to keep it in their garage over the weekend to let the sealant around the windshield cure. Today they said they are still putting it back together. They said they ended up not taking the windshield out... WTF

They said the entire track and opening / closing mechanism for the sunroof has been replaced...

 

That is what mine was, $4700 i think from courtesy nissan parts online. Its the entire frame assembly, as it was cracked. I noticed a popping sound when leaving my driveway. I would leave on an angle and force the body to flex, that is also how I found my bad strut insulators.....I am hoping that, since the vast majority of the problems have TSB's and/or have been complained about on here frequently, I have eliminated all of the routine problems and the rest of the car will hold up just fine for a while.

I really really like the looks and features of the car...and typically Nissan has a good build quality and reliability track record so I would like to stay with them. I guess we will see what this spring brings.

 

Man I feel for you guys that are having issues. So far my car has been working perfectly, but then again, I am only at 9k miles so I have plenty of time for something to come up. It seems the more gizmo's your car has the higher the likelihood that problems will arise.

 

jhatfie - The gizmo's on my car that re giving issues are things that you would not expect. Sunroofs aren't new technology, struts aren't new technology, heated seats are anything new. It just goes to show how Nissan is using cheap @$$ parts and poor build quality for their 40k flagship sedan.

 

My 2004 X5 had less issue than any car I have owned since I drive, I will more than likely buy another bimmer next year, I'd like to get another X5 2k9 or an X5M 2010 if budget allow.

 

I'm interested in how you ended the lease? Did you just bring it back to Nissan? Did you need pay fees or anything?

 

Man, what a bummer. Consumer Reports and several other rating services I use all show the Maxima as very reliable. My '09 was made in Sept 2008, and I have not had any problems in the three years since. I hate it when someone buys the Maxima in good faith, then has a miserable time with it. It isn't fair that you can't invoke the lemon law, as you clearly have one.

I have owned nothing but Maximas since Oct 1984, and the reason I have stuck with Maximas is because they have never given me any serious trouble in over half a million miles during those 27 years of owning them.

I would advise against any product made in Germany. German reliability is not good at this time. The only American company with a good reliability record is Ford, but their Taurus is not as nice looking as the Maxima. If I were you, I would look hardest at the G37. It has a very good reliability record. Hyundai is also fairly reliable these days.

I.m truly sorry you have had such bothersome problems, exacerbated by questionable dealer support. I guess I'm lucky to have an excellent Nissan dealer.

 

Unfortunately, I think a lot of these problems have to do with location. OP doesn't mention where he resides but I call Mass home. The roads are usually horrendous so a lot of my problems I think have to do with the constant impact of potholes and patch work. I would definitely attribute the strut insulators and moonroof frame to this. I might even consider the seat frame under this. If you live in an area with out a freeze/thaw cycle for 4 or so months a year then your roads will generally tend to last longer I would imagine, and thus you wouldn't have the 'ability' to experience these problems. Just my $0.02.

That being said, there are manufactures who are capable of making parts to handle this abuse, it is not as if this is a new problem, and I would hope that Nissan would be able to solve this problem.

 

Lightonthehill - What you described was my hopes! This is my first new car and my first nissan. I had every hope that this car would take me 10 years and 150k miles with nothing but routine maintenance.

Vr4zo6gt - I live in Charleston, SC. Our road are terrible but not how you would imagine. Pot holes are rare, its more of there is nothing under the top layer of asphalt and every lane of every road has huge ruts so when changing lanes or crossing an intersection, its like driving across a ditch. This being said my car has NEVER had a single hard impact on anything! The strut insulators was within the first week of owner ship and the first handful of miles, straight up manufacturer defect, no way around that. Sunroof frame, I have been complaining about it creaking and popping since the first scheduled maintenance. I firmly believe this was never properly assembled and should not of passed out of the factory.

 

zman764, sorry about what is happening to your car. I would lose my mind if I bought me a brand new car and everything went wrong on it.

But I just believe you were unfortunate to get one that was maybe not properly put together. For I believe for every car manufacturer and for every year of production, there are always one or more cars prone to problems from day one. You might have gotten one of those.

Well, I hope something good comes out of this for you and you find what you want and it serves you right.

 

I haven't had any suspension problems (yet), but I think the dual panel moonroof bolts weren't torqued down properly at the factory, or worked their way loose. Since they torqued them all down, I haven't had a problem with them, just some noise from the moonroof opening and closing, and something up there rattling when it's open and I go over a bump.

I am quite good at avoiding potholes, so my car has only had a few jarring bumps.

 

Light have you read the latest new car edition of C.Reports? Unfortunately the only Max that they recommend this time used from 2001 to 2010 is the 2008, all the rest of the yrs they just have the normal circle for average....

 

In checking back, you are correct. That still puts the Maxima above most German and American makes, easily detectable by the black ***** of 'much worse than average.'

I think I have been overly influenced by the reliability ratings maintained by serious car fans, such as www.truedelta.com, where each car owner reports on his vehicle each month. The truedelta reliability tables show each year of the 7th generation Maxima to be well above average in reliability.

I feel that, as Nissan loads the Maxima down with an ever increasing array of goodies (such as individualized driver seat air conditioner, double-panel roof, etc), they increase the number of places something can go wrong. I know I was concerned from the first day that my double-panel roof could be a problematic thing. But I guess I have been lucky; not a whisper, and not a creak. And I use it frequently.

 

LEMON LAW - End of thread...

...you've been more than kind to let them keep the car that many times. 3 times for same issue within certain time period is covered under Lemon Law. Been there. Done that. Got all my money back after 13 months of total HELL!! Saturn Relay. POS!

 

yea i mentioned the lemon law, said he didnt qualify.

 

I am copying from the S.C. Consumer .gov website.

"Defects which do not substantially impair the vehicle's use, market value or safety are not covered. Also not covered are defects caused by the consumer's abuse, neglect or unauthorized alteration of the car, or defects that do not show within the first 12,000 miles or 12 months, whichever occurs first."

- The lines where is says, impair the vehicles use or market value - is where they have me. Neither of these issues hinders its use or market value :-(

Further more, if your car does qualify as a lemon, the manufacturer determines the value of the car. And pays you that amount. - This puts me in the same situation as simply trading it or selling it.

- OR -

The manufacturer can elect to "replace" the car with one of equal value. . . So they would give me a used car similar to mine ... which I certainly do not want.

My only realistic course of action is to take my @$$ pounding and just steer away from these cars and dealer in the future :-(

I am glad to hear so many of you enjoy your Max's tho, I am very jealous that I am not one of you. I want so bad to love this car.

 

I would have argued with them that the market value of your car is indeed lowered by those problems. Of course they then throw the 12,000 mile thingie at us.

My heart aches to see someone who wanted very much to like this 7th gen Maxima be put in your position. I only wish you could deal with my dealer's service department. I know how bad dealers can be. I have owned cars since 1949, and until I found my current dealer 16 years ago, I never had a dealer I really liked.

It is a shame that the fine print in the lemon law leans so far toward the manufactirer and dealer side. But I'm not really surprised. Many warranties, guarantees, etc are that way.

 

I sympathize with the folks having problems with their cars; it's enraging to have a new premium car with annoying issues. I bought my 2011 SV in April; there are no issues to report. I'm noticing the problems identified look to be premium package issues. The panoramic roof, drivers seat, steering wheel tilt motor, rear shade. Are people having issues with these components in the 2011 year car? If not, Nissan has figured out what's wrong and should have a fix. Some of the problems your having may be due to lazy, less skilled staff at the your dealers. I think I've found a dealer that has a knowledgeable staff--I'll talk to them about the seat and the panoramic roof. My previous car had a drivers seat that creaked horribly when I sat down or pushed back on it. I took it in, got the ums and errs and they sprayed it with wd40. I put up with it a while longer then took it to another dealer. As I talked to the service manager a tech was listening and said "I know exactly what's going on." The seat frame has a weld joint that sometimes fails. He said that they'd order a new bottom frame, inspect it well and put it in. That fixed it--not another problem. I am curious that Nissan North America has not stepped up. Corporate Nissan seems to be keenly interested in the customer experience.

 

My experience with Corporate Nissan has only felt like I was talking to someone else at the dealership. The person at Corporate Nissan would just repeat the exact same lies the dealer had told me. The first 14 months when my heated seat did not work at all... When I would turn the seat on the light on the switch would turn off after about 5 seconds and NOTHING would ever happen. The service manager sat in my car and watched this happen. Interestingly the dealer was the one that contacted Corporate Nissan. I was contacted by Corporate Nissan and I was expelling how dissatisfied I was. The rep cut me off and goes, "SIR, the dealership has explained to us they have not been able to replicate the problem." I said, "MAM, the service manager has sat in my car and seen the problem with his own eyes." She simply replied oh and that was the end of the conversation.

Probably the most annoying part of this ... Throughout the entire time, no one at the dealership or Nissan has ever once said, "I am sorry you are having so many problems and we have not been able to fix them." Seriously that is all it would take to give me some chance to trying this brand again. But as with this whole experience it seems as if Nissan & my dealer are doing everything they can to make this as painful as possible.

I do appreciate all the support on this forum.

 

zman, I have seen several people with other brands that had problems post on facebook, you should try that http://www.facebook.com/Nissan?ref=ts

 

The problem is, to comment on their wall ... you must first click "like" I cannot do this, haha

My car has been @ the dealer for 7 days straight now. No clue what is going on with it.

 

Op sorry to hear about your problems, I hope you get them resolved to your satisfaction.

General comments about BMW. I had a 330 for a few years lease ran out and I gave it back after 48000. I had zero problems with the car.

Bmws in my opinion and those of my BMW owning friends are in line with other luxury brands. Favorite story is the 275 dollar service on friends Mdx. All brands including Lexus have their issues and can produce a bad car.