I traded my AE in for an '03 TE in mid July. I just rolled past 15K and I wanted to give some updated info.

GOOD NEWS -

1) Not one single problem has cropped up in 15K miles.
2) There have been a couple of minor issues - a dash rattle that I just can't locate and the occassional squeek from the right front suspension
3) NO Bose rattles yet!!!
4) The six speed tranny is wonderful...the extra gear is giving me 425-450 miles per tank (I drive alot of highway miles).
5) The VQ3.5 is causing me issues though...I can can chirp 2nd at will and I love the rush of a 3K RPM launch. I do both of these things way too much...I can't wait to see the cost of a new clutch at 50K miles
6) The paint (Sheer Silver) doesn't seem to be chipped nearly as bad at this point as the paint on the AE (Sterling Mist).

BAD NEWS -

Two Sundays ago during the severe weather that hit much of the MidWest, my baby was in a movie theater parking lot when the golf ball sized hail hit. I ended up with 92 dents and $7500 worth of damage (dealer quote - replacing and repainting most body panels). I have decided to go the Dent Doctor route instead. They quoted $2k and are gauranteeing that all but two dents (small, but on corners) will come out. This way I don't have to repaint, plus, it will only take about 2 days to fix vs. 3 weeks. I went up and watched them work one afternoon and they did miracles on an Accord that got hit by the same storm.

Here are pics...the last is the car with my 16" winters on. http://home.columbus.rr.com/ms2k1ae/car_pics.html

All and all...the car has been great and I'm happy I made the switch.

 

So you don't have a winnig noise when starting from first or reverse gears? I know alot of people with 2002 Maxima had issue with that. There is even a TSB on it.

Also, you said you have some front right suspension noise, right, same here and dealer can't locate the problem

 

I also have that front suspension noise/jiggle on my 2k2. I believe they all have it. The only way to get rid of it is to change shocks.

 

No tranny whining...I think it could have been fixed for the '03s. The suspension noise is most likely the strut bearing. It happened on my AE and it took a while to figure it out. Once it was replaced, the noise never came back. On my '03, it doesn't happen very often, so I haven't worried about it yet. On my AE, it was a daily issue.

 

I have the same problem but I can't tell if it's left or right. Had the traverse linkage TSB executed thought maybe that would take care of the issue (not). I will have the dealer look at it when we take the Max in to have the bose speakers replaced. The entire left side would inadvertently come and go. Even though the dealer could not duplicate our problem, he is still is going to replace them under warranty.

Besides all the minor recalls and other nik(s) (paint) & knacks (brakes, worped at 17k. Pads replaced, rotors resurfaced under warranty) overall ownership after over 18k miles has been five star, including dealership experiences.

Enjoy, CK

 

Hey just to help you out, it's not your speakers that are bad w/ the BOSE, it's the headunit. If you search a little you'll find that more than half the people with the bose have had a replacement headunit because their left speakers faded in and out intermmittently (sp.?).

Zog

 

Why am I geting such low milage? Is it because it is an auto>?

 

Thanks, search I will and maybe even resurrect the thread; so that I can get info/proof on the source/cause for this problem to the dealer.

 

It's all about the highway miles, baby.


ARFF

 

Any pics of the hail damage?

 

Yep...lots of highway driving...plus, at 70MPH in 6th gear, the engine is hardly turning at all...at 80, it's still around 2500 or so.

On a pure city tank (with lots of hard launches and redlines), I only get about 250 miles out of a fill up.

 

I tried taking pics, but you can't really see the damage. It goes in on Tuesday to be fixed, so I will try to take pics in the garage this weekend. Maybe being out of the direct sinlight will make the dings easier to see.

 

mmmmm, no problems yet. I think I will get a 2k3 rather then the 2k2, btw.

silverstone = Polished Titanium ?
chrome silver = Sheer Silver ?