Hi all, new to the forum but have been reading it for a few weeks.

I test drove a 2012 with sport package but not for very long, and didn't get a chance to see how it is at full highway speeds. If I buy one it will be with the Premium package. Yes, I should get it on the highway and see for myself, but then again I don't completely trust that the demo car the stealership gives you to test drive is exactly the same as the one you'll actually buy. (Different tires, for example?) Also, it's only in the long run that you really find out that stuff imo.

I've heard very conflicting things about road noise, wind noise, cvt "droning", squeaks and rattles, etc, which is one of my main concerns for choosing my next car. I have a daily commute with passengers, so it'd be nice to hear them without shouting. I'd also like to be able to listen to music at less-than-deafening levels when alone. According to some reviews, the Maxima is "known for" a quiet ride. Then you also see entire threads of complaints, sound-deadening mods, etc! (Then again, every car forum has these cabin noise threads, even the Camry.)

Any info or opinions from those who travel a lot would be greatly appreciated. (Yes, I should still drive it on the highway myself, understood!)

Thanks!

 

Why wouldnt you test drive the one you want to buy? I wouldnt buy a car a i have never driven, just shy of a lambo or ferrari . Just staying.

 

Quiet is subjective, but it's way quieter than most cars at highway speeds. Ride in a 2012 Civic then ride in a 2012 Max and you'll see the difference.

Oh and the other poster is correct, you usually test drive the car you buy so you know about it. No gimmicks, special mods, etc that way.

 

I drove the one that the dealership had prepped and ready to go, and at that point I wasn't too concerned about which specific package, etc. They don't sell many Maxima's here in Canada since they cost about $6000 more here compared to the U.S. For that reason the dealerships don't exactly have a fleet of Maxima demo cars on hand. You can have your pick of Altimas to try out though!

 

my right side mirror inside make so much noise

 

I don't understand. When you go car shopping here, you pick out the car you want, options you want then drive the actual car itself. Not a demo car, etc, but the actual car you are buying. There isn't a "fleet of demo cars" or anything like that.

 

Interesting, that hasn't been my experience at all around here. Quite often people sign the bill of sale before the dealer even has the exact car on the lot. Obscure cultural difference maybe? No idea. Maybe it's due to the lower overall volume of sales here.

I'm sure you can drive the actual car before signing the final agreement if you insist, but I don't think people normally start off driving the exact car for the test drive. I'm no expert, haven't bought a new car for about 9 years, and I had no idea what I was doing back then.

 

I came from a 350Z, so I know all about droning and road noise at freeway speeds. IMO, the Maxima is pretty quiet even on 19s.

The CVT does make odd clicks and whatnot at lower speeds and idle.

 

I don't quite get it either. Are talking about getting the car you want transffered in from another dealer?
Dealers to that stuff all the time.
So never sign anything until they get the car in and you drive it and are happy with it.
Remember YOU are in the drivers seat in regards to negotiations.
If the dealer balks at your request it's time to take a hike!

 

There is no car that I want at this stage. Still shopping! But yes, that's what I'm talking about. It's pretty common to test drive a different car than the one you actually buy, at least as part of the decision-making process while car-shopping. Common here, anyway.

Thanks to all that have responded so far, would still like to hear more opinions.

 

The situation in Canada is far different that here in the states.

It is normal for the dealers in my area near Atlanta to have dozens of Maximas on the lot. Some dealers in the Atlanta area have occasionally had over fifty Maximas on the lot at one time. When we also consider that there are 23 Nissan dealers within a 90 minute drive of my zip code, then I would almost surely be able to find exactly the car I am looking for fairly near me.

In Canada, however, Maximas cost two arms and two legs. Many Canadian dealers might not sell an average of one or two Maximas per month. In such a situation, there will be a very limited number of Maximas on their lot. Also, there are fewer Nissan dealers per square mile in Canada, and there are many situations where there might not be many Nissan dealers within a hundred miles of a particular spot.

Considering such major differences, it stands to reason that both marketing and buying a Maxima in Canada would be completely different than it would be in, say, the Atlanta area.

In three years of driving my '09, I have not been bothered by wind noise on freeway trips, although the rain guards I installed did increase the noise level slightly. I have had no squeaks or rattles whatsoever. Neither have I noticed the CVT droning.

The road noise may vary depending on the tires, road surface, etc, but the wind noise should be the same on all versions of the 7th gen Maxima. Because of that, if you are unable to drive the exact car you plan to buy before ordering it, be assured that the wind noise on whatever Maxima you do test drive should be the same as it will be on whatever Maxima you order.

 

Those clicks and noises at idle or low speed may not all be the CVT.

For instance, there are distinctive noises after startup when the speed reaches around 15 mph when the door autolocks activate. This happens whether the doors are already locked or not.

There are also some strange noises after startup as the speed reaches around 17 mph. Those sounds are the ABS system testing and calibrating.

 

The auto door locks I am familair with, but the ABS is new info for me. Thanks!

 

I know that mine came with Nankang tires...which are noisy as hell...otherwise its pretty comparable to the Benz cabin noise...the engine is very quiete

 

Mine came with Goodyear RSA tires. Every brand of tires started life quiet as a church mouse, but then variably got noisier as they wore down, except for the Michelins I had for 50k miles. It is easy to complain about cabin noise if the tires are not fresh, and complaints posted on forums really should take that into account, but they usually don't.

The Max is super quiet compared to my previous Benz, all tires considered.

The only issue I have is with the sunroof on tilt. The wind noise is noticeable at that point.

 

Road noise is average for standard midsize sedans (e.g., Camry, Fusion). Expensive midsize sedans (e.g., Genesis, ES350) have more sound deadening and less road noise. Wind noise varies with equipment. With my mud flaps and sunroof wind deflector, noise is again akin to standard sedans, and more than the expensive ones. It would be quieter without these additions. I have no trouble conversing at highway speeds. If I were to replace the stock stereo, however, I'd want to install Dynamat or equivalent to lower the noise floor.

The CVT produces deep low-frequency vibration from 1000 RPM to about 1400 RPM. It's apparent in reverse and from 0-15 MPH. It's too low-pitched to be a drone and you rapidly stop noticing it. At highway speeds, the engine RPM is usually 2000-2500 RPM, so there's no additional vibration or noise relative to an automatic.

This low-speed vibration does exacerbate cabin rattles, however, and this is the Maxima's weak point for me. I've been chasing rattles of various sorts since I bought the car. The headliner area in particular seems prone to them. When there are no rattles, the car feels vault-solid and I love it. When they appear, I stop liking it. As ever, YMMV.

 

Thanks to all that responded. Sounds like it's a pretty average car noise-wise overall. Too bad it is so overpriced here. Apparently it's $6000 or so more in Canada than in the U.S., with 13% sales tax on top of that - puts the car at over $50000 if you get Premium and nav. The Canadian dollar is almost the same as the American dollar right now so it really is as bad as it sounds!

Then again, I'm having trouble finding anything else that I like - don't want a luxury badge in my neighbourhood and don't want another rattly econobox. Oh well, my current p.o.s. still runs and the payments are zero. I'll stick with that for a while.

 

The Maxima is far quieter than standard mid-size sedans. I have test driven Camry, Fusion, Sonata, (own an Optima), those are way noisier than the Maxima.

The Maxima truly is quiet, and when I am talking on the speakerphone, people cannot tell that I am driving at all, in local traffic or on the freeway. It is the only car I have driven in a long time that I am comfortable doing company conference calls on. Even the BMW 328i I rented was noisier and people could tell I was driving.

It is a class above most mid-size sedans.

 

This is not my experience. Some objective figures from Edmunds:

70 MPH cruise--

Maxima:66.7
Sonata: 67.6
Fusion: 66.3
Optima: 64.6
Camry: 63.7
Altima: 63.1
Accord: 63.0

LS 460: 58.2
CL550: 62.3

The Maxima is definitely on the higher end of the noise scale.

 

I own a '12 Maxima. Bought it new with 1.6 miles on it. Initially liked it a lot. The amount of road noise present in the cabin is really annoying. So much so that I now regret purchasing the vehicle.

Road noise is so prevalent that I can barely have a conversation on cell via bluetooth - and that's both the built in version as well as portable earpiece.

Almost everyone I talk with complains about there being so much noise that they can barely hear me. This is at normal highway speeds 60-70 mph.

The only time I can have any kind of conversation is when I'm stuck in traffic and crawling along at sub-20mph speeds. Anything more and it gets progressively worse.

I noticed that the frame loosened considerably after initial break in around 10k miles. I currently have 29k miles on the odo.

For what amounted to a $38k purchase, I had a lot higher expectations. I have owned many cars that (@ a third of this price used), would blow away Nissan in terms of build quality and fit/finish.

The only redeeming quality is that the powertrain is fantastic. Engines are powerful and basically bulletproof. As others have pointed out, the CT is a love or hate thing. It probably contributes to the road noise, and does have a droning Moo-like operating tone. Exhaust tuning is 'meh' quality, and pretty weak for a 290hp motor.

As one reviewer pointed out, Maxima is really lacking refinements you should expect in a $40k car. It has no identity that makes it stand out, and some major flaws in the usability department. I'll keep mine because of the powertrain and legacy of being a fantastic daily driver / commuter car, but after less than 2 years I can think of a half dozen cars that I'd rather have for the kind of money I spent on the Maxima.

 

To the poster above, you may need to change your tires. I have an 09 sport/tech and most can't tell I am in my car while on the phone with the windows up at highway speeds. I have Michelin MXV4 tires or something like that.

 

Mine is really quiet. As a matter of fact when my friends test drove it, instead of fast, they said it drives really smooth and quiet. I drove Infinity M37, Q50, and several mercedes C300 at the same dealership when I was buying the car and none of those are quieter than my maxima. Mine is 2014 Premium. I have always thought that some minor issues with the first year of a new model get resolved in the consequent years.

 

Which Benz would that be,,,,,C class maybe.

That's is the one thing I noticed going from my 2002 Caddy STS to the 2006 Max was a lot of road noise,,,,, my 2010 Max is a lot better ,,,,, huge improvement IMO

 

I traded a 2010 Honda Accord for a 2012 Maxima with the sport package because the Honda was too noisy. The Maxima is one of the quietest cars that I ever had. Noise is not only a function of the tire wear but also of the road surface condition, speed and wind.

 

I drive on the highway all the time, with and without passengers and sometimes while speaking on the BT phone system.
I came from an 05 Accord and compared to that, the Maxima is really quiet. I was taken for a highway ride this weekend in my friends Buick Verano, which is a VERY quiet car, and it seemed a bit louder than mind (quality of sound is important - I heard a lot of background white noise in his car that I don't get in mine).
Plus, the wife and I drove from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale and back at speeds up to 85 mph and we had no difficulty speaking to each other. Yelling or straining to hear was not an issue.
Squeaks and rattles aren't a huge issue. There are some minor squeaks (my drivier side visor squeaks a bit from time to time and the sunroof sort of squeaks sometimes, but I just close the shade and I can't hear it anymore), but not much else.
All in all, I'd say the car is pretty quiet on the highway. It's no bank vault, but it blows my old Honda away, which is one reason I had to get rid of it (and I loved my Honda).
For comparison's sake, my brother's CC is a bit noisier and my dad's BMW 5 series is a bit quieter.

 

I drive between 2000 and 3000 miles per month. Just got my 2014 Maxima sport and it is extremely quiet. Actually the blower is louder than the road noise when the AC is running. The fan went over mid way today while I was on the phone and I thought a window was cracked open. Can't believe how quiet this car is.

 

I got only 1000 miles on mine now, and there is virtually no tire or pavement noise coming from the floor, but I do hear my mirrors a lot, and perhaps from the front pillars. However I found this to be an illusion, only because the road noise is so low now. I thought my Subaru was a quiet car but I went fishing last weekend and found all noises were louder than my maxima, to the extent that now I think my subaru is loud. There is an app on your iphone that measures the decibels, so you can confirm this yourself if you want.

 

I would say that it definitely depends on the type of road you are driving on, the tires you have, and the model you have (sport vs. premium). I have the premium and have only had mine for a year and some months but it's as quiet as a whistle on the highway. I love that sound.

 

Just took our '09 Maxima SV Premium out of storage (it only has 10,000 no salt kilometres on it) and in truth, I'm not really looking forward to any more long trips as the road noise is exhausting. A trip between Toronto and Ottawa on the 401 is torture. I'm not sure why they even bothered to put a sound system in this car because it has to be played at painful levels, and the Bose is painful to begin with. Out 2008 Pathfinder is way quieter than the Maxima and it will be getting the call for long distance runs. I'll check out other parts of the Forum (haven't been around for a while) to see what tire recommendations are out there. So the Maxima may be relegated to just running around town.

 

Depends on the road surface and the condition of your tires. Tires will get noisier as they wear.

Here in Jersey the highways are all asphalt. The newly repaved roads are much quieter then the older roads.

Overall the Maxima is much quieter then our old '05 Altima but I think our '12 Grand Cherokee is quieter then the Maxima.