I had a 98 Sentra SE (with the sr20de) and a close ratio 5-speed, man I miss it. It was small, and not nearly as powerful, but it didn't rattle. Most people talk about the BOSE making the rear deck rattle, I don't know what's wrong with my car, but the whole interior rattles ALL THE TIME! This is my last Nissan...without a doubt. I bought 4 in a row because the 3 previous were excellent, a 941/2 Sentra LE, a 98 Sentra SE, and then a 98 Maxima SE...then I bought my wife a 2001 Pathfinder SE...everything was going great, then I buy my 03 Maxima...horrible...I am ashamed to be driving it. For $30,000 I could be driving a BMW...but no, I have a Pontiac...

 

Isn't this a Maxima forum?

Who else would care, if not Maxima 'enthusiasts'.

Do you like your rattles? What about your 240bhp 3.5L V6?

My BOSE also sounds no better, actually worse than my clock radio.

I find all of this unacceptable. Especially for $30,000.

You must be new to Nissan ownership, maybe not to this forum, but I've never had such a quality problem with Nissan before, and you could tell by looking at the interior of the Altima that it is even worse.

The French have brought Nissan to an American level of PROFIT and QUALITY

-the org troll

 

My car a 2003 SE is very solid car and no squeeks or rattles at all, maybe you just got a bad car or something, I would take it to the dealer to see what they can do

 

Then why the hell did you buy it, you made your bed now live in it and stop *****ing like a little girl who lost their Barbie doll, or sell the damn car.

No one has proven that the Maxima only has 240HP. When I see several chassis dyno results proving it then I will believe it.

I have no rattles and I am happy with the Bose.

French people, what do they have to do with Nissan?, Carlos isn't even French.

 

What exactly is it that rattles? Also, is it cold where you live? I'm in MA, and it's been pretty cold the past week or so, so when I start out driving and the cabin is still cold, there are some rattles. This is natural because the materials expand/collapse with the temparature, and when it's cold, the material contracts and gets pretty stiff, and rattles when you go over bumps. I think you should give your Max a chance, and see if these things go away.

How are the other things on the car? Notchy shifter?

 

My Sentra didn't rattle at all in the cold, it gets awful cold here in K.C. tomorrow's high will be 25F.

I had the rattles when it was warm out too, I bought it in September, it was plenty hot then. There are so many rattles I can't even begin to start listing them. The cup holders, the doors, and not just over bumps...but then a well built car shouldn't rattle even over bumps. I will try and do my best to help with the 255bhp lawsuit, and use that to get my car bought back from Nissan...

My car dropped WAY to much in value to sell already, even at 4.9% I can't be anything but upsidedown in it still...I financed in my negative equity from the 98 Maxima (no rattles EVEN IN COLD) and sales tax, and put nothing down...so I still probably owe way to much...no way could I sell the thing.

 

French people, what do they have to do with Nissan?, Carlos isn't even French.
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Nissan is owned by a French Company. They were bought out in 1998...before they almost went bankrupt...because they didn't know how to make a quality car and profit, now they make a profit, and can't make a quality car. The engine is still awesome, but fit and finish is horrible compared to what it used to be.

 

Well, I don't know. My 2003 (1 week old) rattles slightly when it's cold, but when the interior gets warmer, it goes away (99%). Every car has its downsides, and I think this is one of the bigger ones for the Max. You gotta look at the good things in the car too, although the bad sticks out more.

Give it a little more time, and see if the interior softens up. If not, take it to the dealership and demand that they fix it. Good luck!

 

thanks for the positive feedback, but the interior isn't going to "soften up". My 98 Sentra SE was bought brand new, and my wifes 2001 Pathfinder was bought brand new. Neither rattled...if anything plastic gets harder with age, and it will only get worse. I see there are 'service bulletins' on this, and Nissan is well aware of their declining quality. The question is, are they willing to fix the problem to keep customers?

 

My 2k3 doesn't rattle. Take yours back to the dealer and tell them to fix it (yes, I realize that may be easier said than done - but would you rather lean on your dealer, or drive a rattletrap for a few years?). If that doesn't work, talk to your local Nissan rep (another dealer will probably give you contact info), and get him to help. Good luck!

 

Yours does not rattle at ALL? What about when it's cold? When it was new?

 

Rattles won't get you stranded on the road, a Pontiac will!

 

Every once in a while this will happen. Complain, complain, complain to the dealership and they will eventually get it right. Just don't quit. My 2k2 has absolutely no rattles with exception of the rear deck lid like all the Max's do.

 

yes a Pontiac will get me stranded...that is something I still feel good about w/my Maxima. I just liked the all around quality my previous Nissans had.

About complaining to the dealer...are they going to call me a little girl that lost her Barbie?

 

I haven't lost my faith in Nissan after owning 5 cars/trucks but then again I don't have a 2003. I wouldn't worry what the dealer would say or think, you have the right as a customer to complain about anything you think is wrong with the car.

 

Don't attack or harrass people. If you dont have anything useful to add, resist the urge to post. Sure, it's a tired subject... but its a valid complaint. You guys act like the maxima is your sister or something.

 

btw, mine rattles like crazy in the winter.. I've had the TSBs done, redone them myself (replaced the foam tape) and the rattles are back. I'm ready just to leave my A-pillar, pass door, pass seat and seatbelts at home..

 

WTF? What was up with that comment? Now it's gone, oh well.

I care . Just to chime in, my 2003 has no rattles except for the rear deck (with the bose was bad, with the dual 12"s it was horrible) but I fixed that with egg crates.

Again, not that it's gonna be any help but you probably got a bad apple out of the bunch. The quietness of my car is one of the things that I like most about it!

I agree with you about the dealer it can sometimes be more trouble than it's worth. What I would suggest is try to find out where the rattles are coming from so you can address them yourself (with some window A/C foam) or at least take it to the dealer and point to say THIS is rattling. No matter what, you paid for a car and deserve to have it perform the way it should. The fact that other people say there are no rattles should be reason enough for the dealer to recognize it as a problem.

I almost went the BMW route, but to get a car that is as quick you are spending more than $30K. If you do sell, I hope you are happy and problem free with your new auto!

Good luck with it, let us know what happened.

 

Hmmmm, Kansas City? Why haven't you visited us in the Midwest forum. There are quite a few of us in the area. Have you tried Mc Carthy Nissan in Olathe, KS?

My 96 has a few rattles when it's cold out and then stops rattling when the interior warms. No car is perfect. My buddies 96 Supra TT is a rattle box. Don't get me started about my old 94 Z28 or my 90 CRX Si. The rattles were deafening.


Dave

 

the only rattle I have when its cold is from the passenger side dash, and it goes away if I hit the dash with my fist once. solid car aside from that....

 

Man, the more I read on this forum, the more I appreciate my car. I have an 02 6-speed with all the goodies except lsd and nav, and honestly have no rattles at all. The car is pretty close in interior noise as my previous E46 3-series. Just without the snob factor, and an *** load more of low end torque. I feel for you guys.
-Getz

 

My Max is 2003 GXE with about 6000 Miles on it so far and it seems tight - no rattles anywhere yet. Yesterday morning was -18F. The car was in an unheated garage and no rattles on the way into the city or anywhere since I've got it. The first couple of miles were a gravel road. After coming from a Dodge product this is a very nice tight vehical.

 

A 2003 GXE? Not too many of those around. I also had a Dodge before I bought my Max. I had a 2000 Neon ES 5 speed and that more rattles than any car I ever owned. I needed a cheap car because my wife was staying home with the children. I went through 4 sets of rotors on that car. The first set at 2,000 miles! Cannot turn these rotors because they are kinda thin.

 

It was a loaded 99 Durango. Had a lot of trouble with it and very litle help from Dodge. Their quality control leaves a lot to be desired. The last of many incidents was when the bolt connecting the right front shock to the lower control arm sheared so I went to an independent garage I trusted to deal with it. They decided to remove the bolt connecting the right front shock and it sheared when they tried to remove it. You could see on that bolt where it had been corroding from the outside in. One bolt maybe but both? Seems like a bad batch of bolts. The Dodge dealership where I bought it wouldn't talk to me about it - they gave me an 800 # to call Dodge/Chrysler who wouldn't talk about it - said they'd take a message - never heard from them. This is a safety matter. I gave the sheared bolt to the dealer to pass on to the tech rep. Never heard any more. Bought the Max shortly thereafter. Beautiful car. Performance with the auto is quite acceptable to me. I'll do the FTSB and RSB in the near future.

 

It was the left front side that sheared first.

 

Nope. Nope. It's still new - <3k miles. And seriously, the only rattle is when my wife puts her lipstick in the passenger door pocket.

 

his first comment was a valid complaint for his car, not all maximas. The taunting 21 minutes later was meant to incite.

If he gets flamed... sorry, that he's getting flamed is his fault, so here's mine:

VQMAN, if you paid $30k for your car you didn't do well. Good luck on your next car purchase, whatever it may be. But you'd better not get a Ford, Volvo, Mitsubishi, or Honda because I've had them all in the past 5 years and all of them had creeks and groans on cold winter mornings. Come to think of it, so does my dad's Chevy, mom's Jeep, and sister's Toyota. Maybe, just maybe, winter has that effect on plastic left out in the cold for days.

 

He said that everything squeeks on warm days as well. Mine squeeks a little when it's cold, but once the cabin warms up, they go away.

If you did pay $30K for the car, you were "owned" by the dealer. On another note, my old accord also squeeks when it's cold, but not when it's warm. If it's squeeking badly when it's warm out, then you DEFINITELY have a problem with the interior. Get it checked out.

 

What part of *not* *personally* *attacking* people is so hard to grasp?

 

I am glad my pontac dosn't rattle like my maxima it's has 75k and is out of warranty,as for the rattles in the max turn up the the bose and you won't here the rattles oh thats right the bose sounds like s--t to so turn it down an listen to the rattles I think thay sound better then my bose

 

My car rattles too:

Check to see if you didn't bend a rim, this would easily do it.


Also, check the allignment.

Bring it in and just *****

 

sorry, edited that naughty part out.

 

You guys know what he means he means in the 25-30k price range, remember you have to add in taxes and title etc.

 

2 may whiners out there. the 2k02 and 03 max's are great cars. i love my 02. A few rattles, maybe, but where can you get a LOADED car for 26K?



NOWHERE....but nissan

 

honestly speaking - i have been a die hard nissan fan ever since 1994, but after seeing where nissan is going..... i'm seriously considering moving on to honda. Although one car might have more power, the honda has overall better finishings(i.e.fewer rattles)...when we go premium though - infiniti still has my support(but the blown MAF problems are worrying me a bit)