I'm a 19 year old college student and after consulting my good friend/mechanic I bought a 1995 nissan maxima with 150k miles on it. After some minor maintenance at a large chain including an oil change and fluids change, I noticed the following problems.

1. When I drive, the leg area gets warm. Not burning hot but noticeable warm.

2. Idk if its because the hood gets hot or whatever but when I use the ac it takes about 2 minutes before I feel cool air coming out. It's a gradual change from really warm to cool.

3. What kind of gas should I use? I live in NYC and I usually get the 89 octane.

4. Anything else I should know about the car?

 

1. I think it's normal, felt it sometimes in the winter

2. Not very sure cuz I use ac once in a blue moon.

3. Only use premium.

Let the experts chime in tho

 

First, Welcome to the Org. Second, see the links in my signature which will cover a lot of questions you may have. Third, since you are in the NorthEast, check your radiator support and make sure it's not all rusted out.

The org is a place of great information and with the 4th gen cars, most everything has been covered at some point so be sure to SEARCH before posting new threads to see if any old threads answer your question.

As for your questions:

1 Maybe you have a heat shield missing from under the car which is making it get warm inside. I've never noticed mine getting warm.

2 Be glad you get any AC , my compressor has been shot since I bought the car so I am not even sure about that. I imagine though, it will take a minute before the warm and cool switch over...I mean, we are talking about an 18 year old car.

3 As above, use PREMIUM only!!

4 Thats kind of an open question...there is a lot you should know about it Just browse the 4th Gen section...but like I said, the radiator support being rusted is common on these cars.

 

we will not tell you everything, you must search!!!!! engine warms up, it gets hot, 2 minutes is fast for ac, it takes even longer on a hot day, plus (89) is what i use all the time, premium is a waste of money imo, lower rad support rusts out, check that, scan for codes, ob2 compliant, plug is on passenger side. now get moving!!!!

 

^im with Max Ride, ive been using 89 for about 6000miles and havent noticed anything out of the ordinary..gas mileage has stayed the same

 

I may have to save a buck at the pump and switch to 89...not that 91 is hurting anything.

 

^^^ except your wallet

 

Agree with everything max ride said. Also as for the gas, I use 93 octane which is premium but for paying an extra $2 for each full tank, I will spend it.

 

I have a 97 and the a/c is slow to take effect. My current 2000 (and my former 94) will freeze you out right away. One thing about a/c is that if you do city driving, meaning low engine rpms, the a/c doesn't work as efficiently as it could. When I first start my car, I will drive in a lower gear to keep the rpms at 2K to get it blowing cold really air.

 

I'm in NYC, if you want to bring ur car to me,ill check it out for you, u might need a heat shield by the cat converter, the AC issues would require getting a pressure check done on it to determine if it's at correct pressure etc, there's several things such as rad support rear calipers valve cover gaskets corroded battery terminals that might need attention,

 

+1 on regular (87 octane); been using nothing but regular since I bought the car w 130K. Now up to about 235K and still runs like a scalded dog with no knocking or pinging. Difference at 30 cents/gal for a 15 gal fill-up is $4.50. Last test I did on mileage for regular vs premium, it was more cost effective to run regular. As long as you don't get any knocking with regular, you should be fine. Some strong opinions on this issue on this forum, however, from the "premium only" crowd.

 

I haven't run premium in awhile now, but basically if the 87 doesn't cause detonation you can run it,( i wouldn't) but in hotter climate it is more risky. Once the knock sensor detects knock, the ecu will retard the timing and the car will run really sluggish and have poor mileage. The key is getting the car not to knock with whatever fuel you run, so premium is recommended to help prevent knock and the ecu reverting to almost -10 degrees of timing. I use 89 since most of my driving is commuting to and from work. High compression motors use premium to prevent the fuel from igniting before it is supposed to. This chance is increased with lower octane and warmer intake air.

 

I don't know about the rest of you, but if the manufacturer recommends at least 91 octane, there must be a reason for it.
When I used 87, it would get 300-325 of city driving on a full tank, and the car felt slow.
After I switched to 93 (NJ), I can get 350-375 of same condition driving.

tl;dr IMO in the end, price wise, i end up spending the same per mile, but I won't have to worry about knock sensors, etc..