After Year One, How Is the Car?
 

I'm a potential buyer of a '16 S but wanted to see how the cars hold up after about a year or more. I've read a decent amount about rattles developing after taking the car home and jumpy/jittery transmissions (not sure if this is just new CVT owners getting acclimatized with their new gearbox).

I'm at 2 years and coming up on 36K miles. No significant issues. My favorite car, ever.

Nissans quality control has taken a dive in the recent years... That said, the power and smoothness of the Max will probably outweigh the lack of quality control. In 5 years though, it will probably feel like a 10 year old car. Thank Nissan and their cost cutting practices

9 mo out now on our '17 SL. No problems except a few instances of incorrect trim hardware installation. Loose C-pillar trim and a couple of misaligned and/or missing nylon press-bolts under right rear 1/4 panel.

Transmission is a dream for me. I have not had CVT problem in over 150,000 miles now on Altima and now Maxima.

Not one squeek or rattle anywhere even over rough roads. I think you will find more noises in the stiffer sport suspension.

I have a 2016 SR that I have owned for 1 year and half. It has approx. 22k miles on it. It is by far, the most enjoyable car I have ever owned. It did have some creaks and rattles that I resolved mostly by Dyna-matting the whole car and a couple dealership visits. I still love getting into this car every day and driving it.

Two years in with my 2016 Platinum, and easily my favorite car from sixty-eight years of driving (began with 1949 Studebaker). I have owned nothing but Maximas since October of 1984, and always buy the first year of each new generation. I now have nine years of driving a CVT (all in Maximas) with not a whisper of trouble. I love the different feel of driving a CVT. I had to have my double-panel roof replaced, but that cost me nothing, and I have had no other problems. This car is agile as a tiger and tight as a tick. Trips are so much fun in this car. I keep it shiny, and get lots of compliments. I drive carefully, get all recommended maintenance, and expect to get a price well above Blue Book when I trade it in, just as I always have with my cream puff and ding-free Maximas. Life is truly good.

Thanks everyone for your responses! Reports of creaks and rattles from a brand new car kind of worry me (not that they'll be foreign to me, coming from a 229k mi VW Passat) but since no one's had major issues I think it'll be ok. Now just for the right deal to come around...

I just passed year one with my Max in June and have 7500 miles on the car. I have a Pearl Blue Platinum and still am happy with my choice. After coming from a decade driving several BMW 3 series, trading to a Max was a series of trade-offs: Power is greater in the max but less refined (CVT vs manual), features and amenities are a bit nicer in the Max but the fit and finish are lacking compared to BMW.


Like other owners, I began noticing several rattles and noises after a few months of driving. I had rear clunks before my first oil change and the dealer replaced the linkage pins and that seemed to solve the problem. Not long after that, the weather changed from fall to winter and I started hearing the "Geiger counter" noise from the dash. Once the weather warmed back up in the spring, I began noticing several door rattles. I'm on my 3rd attempt with the dealer to isolate and fix them. I live in the DC area so the temperature change from 100 to 0 throughout the year may be causing some of the creaking.


The paint quality in my opinion is not great. I'm an obsessive detailer and keep my vehicle pretty clean. I've noticed areas in the wheel wells that are not the same color as the rest of the body (like they sprayed lighter) and then there's a couple of overspray areas which have formed hardened drips. These are minor complaints but for a vehicle of this class, quality control is lacking.


I don't get many chances to hit the gas where I live but I enjoy the comfort and driving feel of the car when I do get it out on the somewhat open roads around here.

Since we're sharing stories, my 2017 Maxima S is about to be bought back by Nissan as a lemon for a steering issue... So yeah, quality control is lacking.

next car will probably be a charger AWD

CNTRT - I am sorry your Maxima let you down. I'm glad you were able to get Nissan to buy it back. Your situation was clearly more critical than the squeaks and rattles many here are having.

I am glad you are able to get AWD with the Charger. The Charger has a lot of features, power, etc to offer for the money, and is a fairly plush vehicle. The only possible negative is the fact it continues to rate much worse than average in reliability. If I were getting a Charger, I would absolutely get an extended warranty. I think the Charger styling is very appealing. Drop back here occasionally and let us know how the Charger is doing.

Rattles and squeaks don't bother me so much because nothing can stay rattle free on our roads. It's part of living here. But it's a Nissan so I don't expect Lexus build quality. Still, I love my Max, though it only has 1100km!

Transmission wine while decelerating
 

Is the CVT supposed to make a little bit of a whining/howling sound while you are coming to a stop? Is that normal?

I think it's "common", just not "normal" if that makes sense. I think these cars develop that sound as time progresses, but I don't think they're necessarily supposed to

My 2009 CVT always stopped without a sound, at which point I would then hear sort of a long 'sigh', like a turbo coming to a stop, as if it was glad to finally rest. My wife would always ''sigh' in response and smile.

We have heard nothing yet from our 2016 CVT (redesigned since the 7th gen), but only have 11K miles, and baby the car shamelessly. It is probably helped by the fact the roads in our county are kept pothole-free, and, being retired, we try to time our trips to avoid congested traffic. We sometimes leave on long trips at 3AM in order to avoid traffic and so we can have that wonderful feeling of 'open road and in full control.' Just like those years I lived in the Arizona desert back in the 1950s.

This 8th gen Maxima, like all Maximas, is a wonderful car for long open freeway trips, where it is getting 33 MPG.

Like CNTRT said, I'm not sure we should be hearing any howling sound.

My 2017 ONLY has 2700 miles on it and it makes the wining/howling sound as the car is coming to a stop. Perhaps I should ask the service guys at the dealership where I bought it about this sound? Had I known about these transmissions before hand, I probably would have went with a different brand of vehicle that does NOT have a "cvt type" of transmission.

I would hate to think that the "Z" cars have this transmission.

Mine jerks as it comes to a stop. Is that normal?

Of course not... Nissans quality control issues strike again

What he said.

Possibly normal? We have this to but its of no concern to me. Car runs fine and I also noticed in the manual. It does state in the owners manual the CVT is louder and could be misdiagnosed as something being wrong but working as intended.

That is certainly abnormal for sure.

I know some people on here won't like what I'm about to say, but Nissans in 2017 are built to be leased... Not kept for several years. They're meant to be rented for 2-3 years and returned... That's why the "initial quality" seems decent, but over time and miles they develop more nuisances than other Japanese makes (except Mitsubishi probably). Me and the general sales manager of a local Nissan dealership were having this convo the other day.

They're throwaway cars these days... Which is why they have some of the most aggressive lease deals.

With all of the technology in these cars for the price range, of course they are cost cutting somewhere. Nissan must think that people value gizmos over dependability and overall feel of good build quality. I'm not one of those people

not that I don't like what you have to say but I have had a different experience with Nissan and Maxima's in general. I'm on my fourth Maxima. First three were traded with 150k miles not because they wore out or gave me any problems out of the ordinary, I just wanted the "latest and greatest". Nissan has the best CVT's and the engine hasn't changed much in 10 years so I fully expect the same level of reliability. So I'm looking forward to my 2025 maxima.

Could you point out that section of the manual? I was unable to find it.

Between myself, my father, and my stepmother, in the past 6 years, we've leased 6 cars collectively... And the quality issues are apparent... Vibrations in the brake rotors from as low as 15k miles, non-linear, quirky steering characteristics with the more miles that are driven, radios not syncing with phones, key fobs not being recognized by the car, fit and finish/paint issues, etc...

The engine and trans might not actually break down, but there are other factors to look at with regards to quality...

I'm glad your experiences have been good. Mine haven't been the best. The biggest issues I take with these vehicles are the steering characteristics. There's such an unnatural feeling to Nissans electric power steering. The Accord has more linearity in the steering than my Max. It shouldn't be that way.

One and half years now and 75K km. No major issues.
I had a rattle from the belt tensioner ans was fix for $90.

I'm recently hearing some squeaks from the back of the car but not always and couldn't find the source of that noise.

That's it.

I love my maxima, I was thinking about trading it in for a q60 though.. I just hate that interior. We'll see!

Completed 1 year and 40,000 km in my Maxima in the Middle East. Been a pleasure so far with absolutely no issues faced so far. Close to no rattling sounds even on rough road conditions.

The only rattling sound I head was a tik-tik sound from the back which happens very occasionally. I suspect this is coming from the slightly loose car number plate at the back.

I started noticing that on my '17 Max (2,500 miles) as well. Especially this last weekend when driving from Philly to NYC, during the stop & go traffic on the Van Wyck. It stutters between 18MPH-22MPH when you release the brake and lightly hit the gas.

thats standard cvt, same thing used to happen in my 13' Altima.

I feel like it might be engine braking? I was able to turn it off on my Rogue, but can't seem to locate that setting on the Max though.

Don't accept that as normal just because it happens commonly with these cars. I promise you these transmissions weren't designed to shudder
engine braking still shouldn't cause a pronounced shudder

Since owning 13 Altima until trading that in for 17 maxima, it's the same, "shudder" it's been discussed so many times and no one has been able to clearly verify if it's a problem or it is what it is. I kept Altima without any problems for 100k with the jerk or shudder when i traded it for maxima, I plan on keeping maxima until my warranty and will probably trade. Personally after owning the maxima for 6 months, don't feel this car is built for longevity, maybe good for 3-4 yrs tops.

TOPS is right... I'd say 4 years may be pushing it. But you're absolutely right

NO. Best auto tranny ever driven. Night and day from the previous gen.


You need to take it in.

Absolutely rattle free after 23,000 miles on a 2016 SV. Also agree about the Sport Version with the 19 inch wheels. Very jarring ride on rough roads so rattles more likely.


Not much to complain about considering they give the Max away compared to the competition.

I really wish this were a poll instead of just a discussion thread, is there a way to do that here? It's be great to see numbers to accompany the comments.

Reading this it seems there's only a few that have had real lemons, and a little more common to hear some squeaks and rattles, minor issues. It's hard to say if the lack of quality is a Nissan thing or cars in general. I've had plenty of people tell me Honda and Toyota aren't what they used to be.

I haven't bought yet, hoping to by this winter. I've looked at a number of similar cars in my price range, here are the contenders, in order of preference so far:

1. Maxima (current favorite)
2. Buick LaCrosse (runner up, but gets expensive with features added )
3. Genesis (I like, but too slow)
4. Avalon or Azera, but frankly... too boring

Not interested in luxury brands and Don't ask about the Charger or 300, I got extreme prejudice against any Chrysler products :-(

fishlet - I have had my double-panel roof replaced, but no other problems (no rattles, no shuddering, not any other hint of a problem in two years with my lovable '16 Platinum. Some other folks here have not been as lucky.

My suggestion will probably not work for you but here goes:

My love of My Maxima (I have owned nothing but Maximas for 33 years) is tied to my love of my dealer. Check out the Nissan dealers nearest you. Talk to folks there, especially in the service department. Check out the parking. Watch how folks arriving for service are greeted and treated. Check out the waiting room, snacks, etc. try to get a feel as to whether you feel comfortable with each dealer. The folks at my dealer are now all friends of mine. But I will never forget my experiences with dealers between around 1949 and 1978 (at which time I switched to Datsun/Nissan). Those early years with Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, Studebaker, etc dealers were miserable years for me.

I've had my Max for a year and a half now. It's my first Nissan and I've been very happy with it. I have yet to buy a car that didn't have their share of problems and this is no different, so I don't give it much attention. There's not that many new Maxima's where I'm at so I like that. A lot of features and HP for the money!

Hi Light,

I'm glad your experience with he dealer has been so good. While I too would like to have friendly and competent Nissan reps, it's not a deal breaker for me as I usually only buy cars every 8-10 years, and I hope I don't have to see them too often for service. I guess the best I can hope for is that it scores at average or above average reliability. Seems like Nissan in general lags behind some of the other brands, but they also make the el-cheapo Versa so how heavily does that affect their ratings?

I digress a bit, currently I drive a 2007 Hyundai Azera... which I would have bought again in a flash if they didn't turn it into Toyota clone. That and it's no longer on sale next year. Aside from an annoying seat belt sensor issue that I've had fixed 3 times, it's been the most reliable car I've ever owned, and a real sleeper when it comes to performance. Funny thing was that when I bought it, I also test drove a maxima but was turned off by the ugly grill and bare bones interior it had at the time (IMHO). But wow, has it come a long way!