Richard66

If you want better representation and participation in this poll then it should be moved to the index page of this forum with its own sticky and not buried in a thread.
If you notice poll takers are out in the front where the traffic is heavy, not in the back hoping someone will stop by.
Just my thinking

Warriors55

Well, I ran my car for around 10 minutes this morning and got out to check and everything sounded normal. It was 44*F this morning when I let it run, maybe it wasn't long enough. I'm assuming it'll be around the same temp tomorrow morning, so I'll let it run for about 20 mins or so and see what happens.

zoemayne

iTrader: (4)

I cant find this to be something thats widespread.... the two main things widespread about the max are the "rocking seat" and steering motors for the 09'. Most of those who havent voted on this site prob would of voted no I assume...

shook187

iTrader: (5)

I don't have any sound but I was just wondering would this be covered under the powertrain warranty on a certified pre-owned vehicle?

ricknyce

The video that i posted on the first or second page, well the car was in the same spot, I never moved it and I never shifted gears. The noise just appeared during warm up

ricknyce

If im correct its covered under the factory 5 year / 60k warranty... It is a powertrain issue so I don't see it being a problem being covered

zoemayne

iTrader: (4)

Well look at the bigger picture. This engine/Tranny has been in use since 2008 probably has over 50 million miles? of public use. Let that sink in.

GNCMaxima

But so does honda? Audi? Bmw?
These problems dont normally fall into the Maxima family

My cars
97' 170,000
99' 125,000
02' 146,000
06' 70,000
12' 31,000

Out of all my years of ONLY owning maximas I can honestly say these 7th gen has started to let me down :/

4DSCMikeHz

It's a 2012 with 26,000miles. I already have the extended warranty so not much I'm thinking Nissan can do. I will ask for a few free oil changes as it is my daily driver and I rack up the miles pretty fast.

I will call call Nissan to see what can be done. Kind of disappointed in the fact that the car will be at the dealer well into 5 weeks once it is back on the road. Lemon law wouldn't be enacted as this is the only occurance. I think there needs to be at lease 4 occurances within the 2 years and at least 30 days in the shop for the CA lemon law.

Maximam

I agree! You can see my history of ownership in the sig. This 7th gen has caused me to consider other brands.

13Maximasv

Since we have so many members on this forum diagnose the problem within the last 4 weeks ONLY AFTER being alerted to the issue and TSB isn't is safe to say there are MANY cars out there undiagnosed ?

I ran into a guy in a parking lot last night and asked him about his car as he parked as I heard the knock....................he was literally shocked. 2011 with 20,000 miles

As I said they don't release TSB's if only a few cars are effected, dealers were telling ( and some still are) people this was normal up until the TSB was released a year ago

Now we have short blocks on back order

Believe what you want but this problem is very real

13Maximasv

Are you sure you're reading that right, in MN it's 4 occurrences OR 30 days in the shop.

The Manufacturer's Duty to Refund or Replace



The law has special refund and replacement provisions for cars that have substantial defects or problems, commonly called “lemons.” Under the law, if the manufacturer or its authorized dealer has been unable to repair a car’s problem after a “reasonable number of attempts,” the buyer or lessee may go through a manufacturer’s arbitration program, or to court, to seek a full refund of the car’s purchase price (minus a deduction for use of the vehicle). The law considers a “reasonable number of attempts” to be any one of the following:

• Four or more unsuccessful attempts to repair the same defect; or,
• One unsuccessful attempt to repair a defect which has caused the complete failure of the steering or braking system and which is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury; or,
• A car which has been out of service due to warranty repairs for 30 or more cumulative business days.

Did you buy the 8 year 120k warranty ?

Has the car had any previous shop time ? Don't forget to count those days

Seems 5 weeks is going to bring you close to 30 days alone.

Play it smart, let them keep the car as long as they need to, don't rush them and maybe this issue alone will be 30 days

Good Luck

13Maximasv

He seems to think this knock is easy to diagnose as if there are flames shooting out of the motor or something, add to it that some dealers are saying it's normal

This is a car enthusiasts forum, if this bearing knock was easily head virtually every member here would have noticed the issue long before I posted this thread which is not the case

I'm not sure how many issues they have to find before they release a TSB but I imagine it's quite a few

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

I feel the same, in my 98 the Maxima was voted "Best Engine" by Ward's Auto World. Not happening this time around. Maybe I'll start a new thread titled "What car would you get if Maxima's were no longer produced".

13Maximasv

I wish I had risked not living near the dealership and got G37X. Being the Infiniti dealer is 90 minutes one way I went with the MAX

13Maximasv

Well it's gone, I stopped by the Infiniti dealer tonight just to browse and picked up a 2013 G37X Premium for $6,200 and my car

Given this was about the same price difference I would have paid back in February when I bought my Max I jumped on it.

The dealers is 90 minutes away so it's a bit of a risk but my 13 Max has been a total POS, now the headliner is rattling


Good luck guys, I'll still answer bearing related questions for a while

shook187

iTrader: (5)

How much did they give you for the Maxima considering I was just at the dealer and they offered me a new 2013 SV for 28k

13Maximasv

26K with a 8 year warranty. It was a take it or leave it price, they want the G37's gone, best I had was $33,400 on cars direct and they beat it. I offered him my car and $6k cash and walked ( actually drove ) away and have called me back, we settled on $6200

This Infiniti dealer owns the Nissan Dealership where i bought my Max, I told them the whole story so not sure if that got me some $$ off

13Maximasv

I have provided all I can to the bearing thread, good luck to you all and feel free to PM me with any questions as poster like ME are here to help others and contribute.

Compusmurf

I'm about to hand out bans.

HoustonQX3

No bearing noise from my "11" SV sport. Tight as a drum, but it is very frustrating to hear that this is an ongoing issue.

TXPO

stodge

So should this be a deal breaker for anyone looking at a used Maxima? Not trying to stir the pot, just curious.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

I'm considering replacing my 98 SE after 15 years with an 2011 or such. Much as I'd like to buy one now I think waiting to see how this plays out might be a good idea. I'm trying to figure out how common this issue really is. It's a shame because I think the engine in my 98 is bulletproof.

If I'm going with a Maxima I will probably wait till spring. In the mean time I'm also considering other cars.

lightonthehill

If I was looking at a used 7th gen and was concerned with the bearing problem, I would simply run the test suggested earlier in this thread before handing my money over.

I think most 7th gens would pass the test, because a quick check of reliability tables amassed by Consumer Reports from thousands of owner responses shows the 7th gen Maxima with nothing but solid orange ***** (top rating - much more reliable than average) for both major engine problems and minor engine problems (as well as for major tranny problems, minor tranny problems, drive system and fuel system).

And this solid record is true for every model year of the 7th gen Maxima. Many Maxima 'competitors' have not matched this reliability according to CU tables.

I have made the suggested bearing checks twice on my '09, and it passed easily. This has been a perfect car for five years, and I will really hate to part with it when the 8th gen Maximas arrive.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

I appreciate the advise/information. I rather base my decision on the reviews of thousands of owners of 7th gens and not just a handful of owners on this forum. I'm thinking if I buy a used 7th gen with 20-30k miles if this problem were to happen it would probably have occured on the vehicle by now.

13Maximasv

I just showed another person yesterday the bearing issue who had no idea as they parked next to me at the dog park. So that's 2 people outside this forum who happened to park near me and I heard it.

This is a very hard to diagnose major issue, not many people are outside their warm car as it idles in Park and to complicate it further some dealers are saying it's normal

If you want to get a general idea of how many cars are effected try to figure out how many times Nissan has to see an issue before it releases it a TSB. That will give you an idea of how many cars may be effected by the bearing issue, hint..............it's not 1, 2 or 10 cars............it's a decent sized number. Now add in short blocks are on back order now and the TSB is only about 1 year old.


How many female owners are noticing this problem.............unless she is a real gearhead I doubt ANY are as it doesn't effect how the car runs at the moment.

Good luck, I am so glad that car is gone. build quality was TERRIBLE as I had many other issues

goog67

I own a 2009 Maxima with almost 10,000 miles,I have never heard a noise in the engine bay other than the pinging and popping of the catalytic convertor.
My local Nissan service wasn't even aware of this bearing tsb# as he stated no Maxima's in this area have been in for this issue.
This is the best and most problem free new car I've ever owned!!Build quality is not terrible and any other issues have been minor.

13Maximasv

Seems the 2009 was the best year for this car as others have echoed what you said about quality. My 2013 was A POS and that is why it's already gone. I actually had one more thing go wrong ( to add to the list ) on my way to trade it in, the display for the climate control wouldn't show up. It worked but no display.

It doesn't surprise me that your dealer never heard of the TSB. I bet they never heard of most TSB's as unless you do your own research and push it dealers love to say the all sorts of problems on any make/model of car don't exist or are normal

My advice is if you want a max get one but I would lease it and then buy it if it's a good car, if not turn it back in. If I had leased my car I would have never even bothered with the bearing issue and turned it back in with the knock

shook187

iTrader: (5)

13Maximasv

Thanks for the thread, but are you going to just sit here and just bashed the Maxima going forward?

You stated earlier in one of your post that you're done with this thread, and the fact that you don't own the car anymore and your constant bashing of the maxima is starting to cross the line of trolling.

We understand you had a bad Maxima and we understand you want to make the world aware of the issue you had. But besides you I don't see anyone in this thread standing up and saying yes this is an ongoing problem.

I also don't like the fact that you're now stating you approach 2 strangers and they both had the same issues? BS

dmcmahan12

Thank you shook187 for the post and well said.

13Maximasv

If you think I'm lying about the 2 people I met you are nuts. I have no need to.

If I was a bashing Maxima's why would I say to lease one and make sure it's good before owing it ?

I suggest you read back about the guy who had the block replaced and had the knock come back within 3,000 miles if you think I'm the only person mad

Also read where I told him it could happen to ANY CAR if you think I'm bashing Maxima's

About a dozen people have Pm'd me concerning the issue


The only reason I am here is to make people know what could happen, not everyone can ditch a car in 8 months like I did.

If the car only had the bearing issue I would still have it

There are several threads questioning the build quality of this car.

CorollaULEV

The build quality of the Maxima's is crappy aweful.

My 2010 Maxima has 90,000 miles. It has had the bearing knock since new, which I had at a dealership specifically about the knocking and actually drove in the car with the tech. It was before the TSB. He couldn't hear the noise and it was deemed to be "normal engine noise."

I have smelled coolant when getting out of the car...again since new. Both head gaskets leak coolant. I had to add a pint of coolant to fill it back up at about 70,000 miles. Lots of pretty blue crust at the head gasket mating surface where it's leaked out.

It makes that aweful thunk on the first time I pull out of the driveway every day. Broken motor mount.

Bad main bearing, two leaking head gaskets and a broken motor mount pretty much means that I own a vehicle worth $13,000 and owe $23,000, it's out of warranty and I am pretty certain the day will come that I'll be stranded because of Nissan's awesome craftsmanship. Will never own a Nissan again. This coming from someone who has owned a 2007 Altima 3.5SE, a 2009 370Z and now the 2010 Maxima.

Ohh....and haha....almost forgot about the monitor...it froze with the screen on. Wouldn't shut off. I am in the middle of a 5 hr drive to a class at 2am in the middle of nowheresville, KY. The audio systme locked up and screen froze ON. Turned car off completely and let it sit for 20min....screen froze. Required a trip to walmart to purchase the tools to disconnect battery terminal. The Altima and Z were wonderful, this Maxima was a Friday evening build I'm afraid.

Kawowski

I provided all engine block numbers/letters/stamps to my dealership to find out the new short block build date... they responded that they have no way to trace the engine block and provide a build date.

I think I am officially being dismissed by Nissan.

I believe they gave me a replacement short block that was of the same build quality as the original (bad bearings)... Being I came in 5 months after the TSB, I think they had remaining faulty engines stocked, gave me a new, yet faulty (older), short block... and hoped it would shut me up for the next 10,000 miles until my engine warranty ran out.

Thank you, Nissan.

ckam888

Hi all. I recently posted that the fix to my 2012 sv engine noise at 5k miles was still going strong at 18500 miles. Well, on Saturday, while waiting for my wife to come out of the local mini-mart, I heard a familiar knocking sound. I got out and sure enough I heard the same knocking sound I heard at 5k miles ... only louder (19900 miles). I will be calling the dealership tomorrow. At this point, I don't have any confidence left that this car will remain trouble free. I just don't what I am going to do going forward. Just getting it fixed and maybe getting an extended warranty won't make me feel any better. Heck, the reason I buy cars new is so that I don't have to deal with this stuff. I'll keep you posted. I should have gotten the 2012 Chrysler 300........ darn coin.

13Maximasv

Did you have the bearing replaced or a new block ?

If you read that TSB there is SO MUCH that can go wrong replacing that bearing it would actually surprise me if that fixed lasted long term on any of the cars it was attempted on as this is not an everyday job for mechanics at a Nissan dealership. It involves making tools to do the job ?


76. Remove the upper half of the #1 main bearing as follows:
CAUTION: While removing the upper half of the #1 main bearing, be careful not to mar, nick, scratch, or of otherwise damage the crankshaft journal or the engine block where the bearing seats.
a. Use a 3.2 mm (1/8 inch) cotter pin to shape a special tool as shown in Figure 58:
• Cut and shape the cotter pin to the dimensions shown.
• This tool will be used to remove the upper half of the #1 main bearing.

Maximam

I used to love the VQ because it was a very quiet and refined engine. The 3.0 was the best, it was quiet and very smooth. The 3.5 lost some of the smoothness in '02 and for some reason got a bit worse in '04. My current '13 has a timing chain rattle at start up and when idling sounds like a diesel.

13Maximasv

What does Nissan say about it ?

Alerotaz

I would love to see what about all the Altimas? That might be a reason they are being very careful.
The 3.5's for the maxima are the same engines they use for the Maximas. all Altimas coupe and sedan are made on the same line as the Maximas.

Just think about what a problem it was when the Shock towers were and issue on a car that was only about 60,000 per year..
Altimas were at 330,000 Sedans 30,000 coupes per year when I left.

Just a thought

Maximam

I have not been it yet. I have the timing chain rattle at start up, coolant smell big time when in drive thrus when the fan kicks on and not sure if its a knock but it sounds like a diesel when idling.

ckam888

The original TSB repair on my 2012 SV was just the bearing. I am out of town so I asked my wife to drop the car off at the dealer. They did give her a loaner. The ycalled me back late in the day to say that they couldn't hear any knock. I told them to keep trying. It's not like the knock will go away. If it comes to it, I'll get the car when I get home in 8 days and drive until I hear the knock and take it back to them. Just wasting my time. I will be looking to get another car no matter what happens.