Hello, I am new, I need some help with my Nissan Maxima 2011 DOHC automatic. When sitting in idle, in traffic or parked, the temperature gauge rises to Hot. I cannot run the AC as it rises faster when running. When I checked the reservoir this morning it was empty. A few months back I had a leak from a hose and we replaced the clamp on it, what else could be causing this? A local shop quoted me for a new radiator but I want to make sure that’s needed before I jump and spend that type of money. I’m not sure why the reservoir would be empty when I topped it off a few weeks ago. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

If you topped if off a few weeks ago and it is empty again you have a problem. Take it to a reputable shop and have them pressure test your cooling system to check for obvious leaks. If they don't find any then it is possibly burning it in the cylinders and going out the tail pipe. How hot have you let it get? Need more details because the damage could be bad or not that bad. If you maxed out the temp gauge and continued to drive it a while like that you could have damaged a head gasket of cracked a cylinder head itself. Good luck and let us know what you find out.

Hi there, thanks for your response, typically It gets to just before the H and i start driving again and it goes back down. When the temperatures are cooler outside 82 and below I dont have much of a problem but 83 degrees and up temps outside cause the temperature rise up once im sitting in traffic or parked after driving for 20 minutes or so. It doesnt start right away, only after driving for about 20 minutes. How can I check if there's a leak, should I just check the reservoir and hoses? This started in March and after getting the hose clamp replaced on the radiator hose, as there was some leakage there, it went away for about a month and a half, it came back and has slowly gotten worse. Any suggestions would be helpful! Also, when I run the AC it gets much much worse, i dont even run the AC anymore, and in FL heat thats unbearable.

if you want to do things yourself, go to Advance auto or Autozone and rent Coolant pressure test kit. It is basically a hand pump with bunch of adapters for different styles of radiator caps. Make sure to get right adapters for the Maxima.
Then perform the pressure test, pump to 15 psi and let it sit. If the pressure starts dropping visibly within short amount of time you have a leak. The engine bay is packed pretty tight, so it may not be obvious what/where the leak is.
You maybe able/hear the leak. Take it from there.
Max

Thanks! I do want to have a mechanic I know to look at it to help save Money as im limited on funds and cannot afford for a shop to charge me arms and legs LOL. I will definitely try this pressure check, I placed a piece of cardboard underneath it last night to see if any drips would be visible and there was nothing this morning when I left for work.

It could be a faulty radiator cap or a number of other things. But the pressure test will help a lot then you can make decisions from that point on. Good luck and let us know what you find out.

So I had it looked at yesterday, Wednesday I filled the reservoir with Radiator fluid it was empty yesterday when checking it although the radiator itself had fluid. Going to try pressure test today, hoping it will detect something so I know what needs replacing.

I am having rather same exact issue you are talking about here with my 2014 Nissan Maxima. DID YOU FIX IT?

If you're constantly low on antifreeze it's a leak somewhere. Normally hoses, sometimes pin-hole leak in the radiator. You should be able to smell it, or even see it dripping if it's fast enough

I actually had a bolt sticking thru mine, but even after replacing it still lost fluid to where I would check it every week. Found the issue to be the plastic "manifold" that connects the main hoses to the radiator (by the cap) was cracked. I couldn't find it by itself but think it was about $40 with the hoses already attached.