I know that a lot of people have written about that annoying whining problem coming from the transmission bearings, and now I have new questions & mixed thoughts about this whole situation. So here are my concerns and what I take into consideration:

From what you guys have written, you say that it primarily affects 1995-1997 5-speed Maximas. I have never heard anyone say that it affects automatics, but I have a 1998 automatic SE with only about 35500 miles on it. The whining is especially audible when the engine/transmission is cold. It is heard in almost every single gear and shift range and it sounds like wheeeeee-yum (I am not trying to be vocal) and the "yum" part is when it stops until the next shift. When it warms up, it sometimes goes away, but since the subzero temperatures, it is still heard. However when it is put into overdrive, you can hear it all the time, even when the gears are not changing.

I remember even when I test-drove it before buying; it still was making this sound. The transmission still pulls the car strong, and there are no problems, except one thing that I kind of don't like. That is if the car is cruising at 35-40 miles and hour for too long, it will change gears, but when it does, it will kind of jerk the car forward. Not too harshly, but it is the kind of pull you would expect at 70-80. A person sitting in the passenger’s side or back seat would not feel this, because it is very slight and brief. Other than that, no tranny oil leaks, but they said to change the fluid at the dealer. I told them to check for possible metal shavings in the fluid, and they said that there weren’t any.

These three things here though are very important to note:

My mom has a 1990 Maxima with about 309,000 miles and from the day it was bought, it had the same whine. It is an automatic as well, and she got it with 14 miles on it. It never broke down, and the tranny is as good and strong as the day that it was bought.

My dad has a 1995 automatic Mercury Villager with 185,000 on it. They say that the villager is the same thing as a Nissan Quest, except with an American body. It even says Nissan on the bottom of the oil pan. It is the same comparison as to those Chevy Nova's that were made in the 1980's which were basically Toyota Corollas, and which by the way were great cars. I had a 1985 Nova before my Max, and it died on me for the first time, at a whopping 482,000 miles. Great car!! For those of you who have them, always maintain them, and hold on to them. They are like tanks and will never fail if taken care of properly. But anyway, my dad's villager has the same whining sound. Never broke down, no leaks, and is as good as new.

My friend also bought a 2002 automatic SE, and it has the same whining sound, but no problems and leaks.

So to make a long story short, I don't know anymore if I should worry, or leave it as is. Just because those cars were lucky, doesn't mean mine will.