I glanced at some of the Edmunds forums on the Maxima. What a bunch of morons!

In about 60 seconds of reading, I found these:

1. The 2002 Maxima is heavier than the Tl-S, so it drives smoother.
2. Some guy complaing about his bumper (plastic) rusting.
3. Some guy saying that he got an early production Maxima, so it was made in Japan, unlike the current ones that are made in the US.
4. Some guy worried about the reliability of the Maxima, since he will be trading up from a Taurus SHO.

And one guy saying that his "broken" odometer read in Kilometers, not miles.
This may be legit, but on many cars you can switch between the 2 readings if you want (miles/kilometers). The dealership was going to give him a new car since he didn't want them messing with the Speedo.
Can you change between SAE/Metric readings on the Maxima? I've even see where you change the C/F reading for the temp sensor, and it changes everything else to metric, too.

 

Um, for the longest time, Maximas were only made in Japan, I believe in Nissan's Oppama and Tochigi plants. In fact, I am not certain they are even made in the US yet. Perhaps at the Smyrna Tennessee plant, but I thought that's where they built Altimas, Frontiers, and Xterras. The Sentra is built in Mexico.

 

you are right... all the maxima is built in Japan, the next gen is going to be built in US though.. easieest way.... check your vin number.. if it start with J...it's made in japan...

 

hell yeah, now i can say that car is swimming in jdm parts

 

I disagree.

Edmunds is pretty on the mark as far as how much you can get a car for from the dealer. German cars, at list price or above, Japanese, close to invoice. Some people don't check that and think "$1000 over" invoice was a steal, when on the Web Edmunds shows a Nissan product to be at invoice.

I thought Maxima bumpers rusting was old-news. Mine was rusted when I took delivery of the car. When I went back to the dealer they said it was normal--sure enough I checked other new Maximas on the lot and they were rusted too. You couldn't see it as well on dark-colored cars.

 

WOO HOO!!!! Those of us with black 5th Gens have something to cheer about with our paint

 

I thought Maxima bumpers were made of plastic, can someone explain to me how the bumpers are rusting? I have owned two other Maximas and I have never seen this behavior. My 4th gen bumpers are somewhat fading, and my 3rd gen door moldings and bumper faded as well, don't remember much about my 1st gen 810 but I do not ever remember any rusting. Is plastic capable of rusting?

 

How in the hell does plastic rust? The bumpers have been made of plastic since at least the 3rd gens, and I think the 2nd was plastic too.

 

Try to answer a few q's:

1) Sentras are made in Mexico. The Smyrna (TN) plant makes the Altima, Xterra, & Frontier only. Current Maximas are made in Japan and imported to the US, just like the Pathfinders. However, the Maximas will be made in Tennessee in a few years, it will share the same platform as the Altima Good news for some!!!

2) The TR25 engine is made in Dechard, TN but the VQ35 is currently being imported from Japan. In roughly 1 year, Nissan's engine plant in Dechard will start to manufacture the VQ35's as well.

3) The bumper is metal, typically roll-formed steel. What you see on the outside is just a plastic, painted fascia that bolts & clips onto the outside of the car for looks. The real bumper is made of metal, and sits behind the painted fascia (both front & back). If you take a peek under the car, you'll probably see the metal bumper - usually black primered. It is a rectangular beam that runs from left to right, mounted at 2 points (usually below the headlights). A similar setup is at the back. The mounting points might have hydraulic compressors or some other impact-absorbing design to absorb heavier impacts.

My 0.02!

 

Can't dogg the guy for this comment,

"4. Some guy worried about the reliability of the Maxima, since he will be trading up from a Taurus SHO."

I almost bought an SHO and I spoke to an owner of one and he told me to stay away from them.

 

If one wants to get rid of Max and get a Taurus SHO for more reliability, he is definately in a wrong direction.
A week ago during lunch, I happen to talk with my colleague who has 85 Max (don't know the trim), 93 Max SE and 2001 QX4. 85 Max is his daily car. 302K miles now. Original engine, just a bit noiser that he thinks it needs some valve adjustment. Two times auto tranny failure (some shaft problem?) and at least one time was his own fault not having enough trans oil in it. Water pump of cause went twice and got a life time warranty aftermarket one. Other than those, just maintenence. Saw his car almost everyday, a black one, kind of boxy style.

 

"4. Some guy worried about the reliability of the Maxima, since he will be trading up from a Taurus SHO."

You're reading it wrong. It's saying the guy is trading up to a Max FROM a Taurus SHO.

 

You're right on. If a person looks under the bumper fascia, ie around the tailpipe looking up, the metal is visible. I was shocked to see that it was rusted on my brand-new 4th gen at 0 miles. I didn't believe them when they told me don't worry, it's normal. After taking a look at other brand-new Maximas on the lot I realized that they kidded me not. Annoying? On a 20k+ car, of course. Detrimental to the function of the bumper? I guess not, no problems after 3 3/4 years. Cheesy? Definitely, like sweeping crumbs under the carpet.