Can anyone elaborate on the problems associated with the 5.5 gen?

 

I have had zero reliablility/mechanical problems w/ mine.

77k, got it when she had 39k. Exactly 2 years ago.

Some people complain about bad wheel bearings, front struts, MAF's, autotragics slipping

The things that annoy are the stock Bose rattle, Bose cut out(can be fixed with a quick ), the creepy hood wiggle during highway speeds, and of coruse the rear window/sunroof noise.

None of which are major mechanical issues IMO, and all of which have an easy and fix found in the stickys or somewhere on the forums.


My car still doesn not burn oil either. Build date is 11/02

 

- HID theft
- Blatant demolition of unmodded 4th gens in a straight line
- Too much comfort causing former 4th gen owners to think they're driving a boat

 

Well the thing is I think its time for a Newer car. I had orignally planned on getting an 04-06 G35 Sedan 6speed but I saw an 07 at the dealership and there is no way I am going to get the any G35 other than an 07. So I think another Maxima would be a good interim plus they are cheap. Between 13k-18k and they car be made very fast. High 13 sec NA car is more than enough for me.

 

Why not just stick it out with the 4th gen for a while? You're going to lose money by switching cars twice...

 

I had these problems with mine except for the wheel bearing and the auto trans slipping. Biggest problems were failing front struts, noise from the rear window area, bose rattle(real bad), and the head unit would actually fluctuate volumes. It was replaced once and still had the volume problem, not really a big deal to me though. The interior had a few rattles, dead pedal cover fell off(lol). It was a nice car for the time I had it though.

 

Is the '04 treating you much better, then?

 

if you live or work or park the car anywhere with high theft, the HID theft is a serious concern.

Good luck

 

What's up Zack? I almost bought your 4th gen when you had considering selling it a little while back. I ended up with an 02 6spd w/HLSD and I love it. I'm sure I would have been happy with your car too though. If you are considering buying the latest G before too long then I don't know if I would buy the 5.5 gen or not. Your car is just as fast as a stock one now I would guess and you have it just the way you want it. If you get the 03 you know you will end up putting quite a bit of money into that on mods before you sell it for the G, not to mention the hit you will take on depreciation will be considerably more in the next two or three years on an 03 compared to a 99. Plus you know for sure the maintenance and repair status of yours and an 03 may cost you more in that area too.

With all that said, I have a history of having a hard time sticking with one car for very long, even when that car is one I still love and one that has been very good to me. And I don't really regret all the car changes I have made in the past either. There is something really great about getting a new, different car and getting it the way you want it. There is little doubt money is lost in making these changes, unless you sell a car you know is due to cost you some money in repairs/maintenance, however to me the benefits have typically outweighed the costs. It's all about what makes you happy and your priorities in life; and how good you are at delaying rewards. I am a little too much all about the short term sometimes, but like I said, I have no real regrets.

 

i just got an 02, love it. its a great car. havent had any problems with it so far. although i heard on them consumer a lot of oil at times.... just make sure it isn't losing oil between changes.

 

Ive had my '03 for 2 years and a couple of weeks. Bought it with a little under 32K and currently have 72.5K. Ive never had any of the already mentioned problems; i.e. bad wheel bearings, front struts, MAF's, autotragics slipping, but I did find oil on 1 of my plugs when I replaced them. I have the warranty, so it was replaced by it. The rear window is a little annoying, but Ive gotten it pretty quiet with weather stripping. The Bose radio has been replaced once because of the the left side cutting out, but since I mainly listen to my Ipod with a FM modulator, it really doesnt bother me. I dont believe to have an oil consumption problem, but have been checking it out for a while to make sure Im good. Other then that, my Maxima has been a great car.

 

3rd gear can be a b1tch...be careful with quick shifts up to 3rd or 6 to 3rd downshifts on the highway to pass...I had the tranny replaced at 40k and its getting kinda rough again...not a true grind where you cant get it in but a quick short catch as if the syncro's are not working properly. get the hlsd if you're looking at the 6spd! everything else mentioned is accurate.

 

HLSD is a nice option. Also, '03 offered the titanium edition package if you're interested.

 

Nothing. My 03 6 speed is at 62,000 with zero problems.......Runs very strong like it was still new

 

Helical Limited Slip Differential (HLSD) - Definitely don't leave home without it, especially with the 6-speed. EVERY front-wheel-drive car (with decent power) ought to have it. I've read that one giveaway that you have the HLSD is the presence of drilled metal brake/gas/clutch pedals, but to be sure, check the transmission code on the plate attached to the firewall in the engine compt. I forget the code, but it's here in Maxima.org somewhere. The key is a suffix of "H".

I bought my '03 6-sp 3 weeks ago @ 70K miles. I had a bad rear wheel bearing ($120 part + $5 nut, EZ fix) and a wind-leaking sunroof (required two $3 shims and 10 minutes to fix). Besides Carfax, I think you'd also be smart to check for noises/rattles in the suspension. And get it on an alignment machine, because almost nothing's adjustable except front toe-in, so an alignment machine will readily tell if it's been in an accident affecting frame/alignment.

Make sure you run the Blose radio through ALL of its paces, b/c they are very trouble-prone, and cost $200 to $280 to get fixed correctly. On my car, the display and CD player/changer were dead. My seller sent me another radio (from a salvage yard), and while its display worked, it ate 5 of my CDs and wouldn't play or eject them. So I returned that radio and he's sending me another salvage yard radio. Hopefully the next one will be a good one.

Final tip - the handling/agility of these 5.5 gens isn't real good IMHO, so if you find one that already has a rear sway bar and/or front strut tower brace installed, don't let those mods deter you from buying the car - you will need them!

 

love my 03 SE, 6speed w/ hlsd. had since 39 miles, has about 30K now. NEVER had any problems with typical complaints. 03's were last year made in Japan, a damn good thing, period. rear window noise bugs, but it seems like an easy fix on one of the diy stickies.

love the 6-speed, but learning curve was a few months, at least to master the shifts both for hard drivin and seemless manual crusing, for me anyways. love the hlsd on the tight/medium/long twisties. extra traction when i head into the heavy snow at lake tahoe during the winter months is very reassuring and confidence inspiriing.

i must agree with a previous members comment on stock suspension, too boaty at least with the 6speed manual SE, the automatics are less so, imo. i have vogtland springs/stock struts with a front strut tower brace. it is very nice now, much, much better in every way, only negative is a little harsher ride.

i burn about a 1 quart of mobile 1 full synthetic 5W-30 in between 3k-3.5k oil changes. im so, so, so happy for those of you who 'don't burn a single-ingle bittly bit of oil' in between changes, but i think it is totally fine. in the nissan manual it actually state that adding some oil in between oil changes is normal.