What a suprise i was proud owner of maxima 03 gle now i bought this beutifull looking peace of **** called maxima 2011 s model and i dont have words how dissapointed i am at built quality at this vs my old maxima. Dont tell me s vs sv is big difference i drove one. My old maxima was made in japan and i think thats where we got ft moving this car to be made in here. Just had to express my self about this. If you looking to buy one DO NOT pass this peace of **** honda civic is better quality from stupid slugish cvt to windows glass having so much play trunk ratles like crazy. This car has never been in any kind of accident and it fills like it was dropped out off airplane.

 

Sorry man.

..And I'm pretty sure that 4th gens were the last gen to actually be built and shipped from Japan AFAIK.

 

I agree my '01 and my '03 was far better quality than my '13. This is my last Nissan.

 

5th gens were made in Japan including 5.5 gens.

 

OK, I get it....as a past V6 Camry owner 95/00 I agree Nissan still lags far behind in the quality and reliability dept.
But with that said I still enjoy my 10 max even with it's issues...mainly because it's still looks and drives unlike all those mundane cookie cutter cars that I see everywhere every day.
I would suggest you understand what you are buying ahead of time (CVT) and test drive the damn car before buying.....dropped out of an A/P- LMAO.

Just buy your Civic and get over it.

 

I suppose I am just lucky, but, having owned all Maxima gens from 2nd through 7th, I have had very reliable service from all gens.

My 2004 SL (built in Smyrna) was a smooth, roomy, attractive and reliable drive for five very pleasant years.

My 2009 7th gen (built in Smyrna in September 2008) has been rock solid from day one. No squeaks, no rattles, still original tires which are wearing very evenly, best brakes I have ever had on a car, and such a pleasure to drive.

I have always suspected that drivers who abuse their cars tend to dump them after a few years, and the victims who buy these castoffs have no way of knowing just how badly a used car may have been driven. I would NEVER base my opinion of any particular model of any make on either a sample of one, or on a car bought used, as there is no valid basis for doing so.

Per the latest Consumer Reports reliability ratings, based on dozens of thousands of responders, the Civic is no more reliable than the Maxima. Both are above average.

 

This is build quality issues:





I bought the car brand new and these pics were taken a month later with only 3,000 miles on it.

 

Maximam it looks like your car was taken apart and put back together very poorly before you bought it. I have a 09 SV sport with none of the features you show.

 

I have a 2014 that is so far completely noise and squeak free, but I do have the leather issue, though not as pronounced.
I am registered at www.driveaccord.net and post there occasionally cos my gf has accord. You should go there and have a read for the 9th gen accords. IT IS SCARY. These issues here are nothing compared with the issues of the new accords.
- the cvt shudders, now a recall issued.
- the auto upshifts at 1300 rpm, MUCH WORSE THAN OUR CVT
- VCM causes vibrations that cause premature engine mount replacements (also recall now)
- mirrors and B pillar seals defective installation cause lots of noise
- oil leaks caused by bad gaskets
- infotainment system was voted WORST IN CLASS. Nothing works!
- thin leather easily brakable

Dude, I kid you not, Honda is not a bed of roses, go take a read.

 

Lol just get your Honda and be done with it. Bye bye. Good luck and Have fun!

 

assiduous, I believe your car and my car have similar mileage and year on a previous post you made before but I could not quote you due to some forum glitch that made the reply page a white blank screen. I'm currently at 1650 miles.

Anyway, so far my car has been a dream to drive. There is one issue though, the window switch controls on the driver side is rattling a little going over small imperfections on the highway. Once I rest my hand onto the leather arm rest on the door, the rattle stops. Wondering if I should take the car to the dealer to get it fixed, but otherwise everything operates as it should!

I also forgot to mention that when I was reading upon the Accord (9th gen) before purchasing the Maxima, I was absolutely terrified of the issues. You think the Maxima has constant posts about issues with the 7th gen? You'll be wrong. I monitored the Accord forum for a couple of weeks, and there were issues after issues sometimes the whole forum had pages filled with them. At least with the Maxima, only based from the forum, there are (happy) owner discussions about subjective issues like what color paint or headlight mod should I do to the car. Granted, the 9th gen had just came out but I am still wary of the issues for a new car I was going to purchase.

 

I understand some of you have hard time facing truth, or you are getting money to post how great this car is and thats not my problem. I am telling you for cars that 35.000+ quallity is 2 out of 10. I drove accord before i bought maxima, it was 2013 and beside being slow on take off its better in every way in test time of bouth cars. Only reason i got thus max is deal i got on it. 2011 22000 miles for 17000$ out the door. Accord was more like 22.000 this maxima is last one for me.

 

Lol, calling us jokers when most of us have no problems at all. Sorry for your troubles with your vehicle, but to the majority of us you're the joker. We're not going to put you down for wanting another vehicle, but you can't speak for our experiences. Whatever happens, I hope things get better for you.

 

Sounds like you got a beater. Somebody must have taken a really bad care of their car, and you ended up with it, and now have bitter taste. You need to better inspect your vehicle beforehand.
Have you even gone to Accord forum? You can confirm yourself, no? Maxima has its issues but they are nothing compared to what the owners of 9th gen Accord are complaining about.

 

I don't have any rattle issues, but I went to 17" rims with 225 tires from almost day one, and I keep tire pressure ~ 32psi.
My complaints are with the throttle control and CVT control but I realize there is no defect there.
My biggest issue is mirrow wind noise that appears at exactly 50 mph and disturbs my otherwise complete serenity. Going to dealer for oil change tomorrow and will just ask if they have any solutions.

 

The last picture looks the same in my car so I want to venture out on a limb and say that it is normal.

The other pictures minus te seat one seem normal depending on how you drive your car and where you drive your car so you can't really blame nissan for that.

 

Car seems to be well taken care off who ever owned it before me, by carfax. I drove it and look inside out and it didnt look or drive like beater trust me i am picky.
On other side i expect maxima to be much better quallity then accord, cant put them two in same category.

 

I showed u picture of my repair order, the solution is to have the dealer replace the mirror

 

I have that printed in my glove box - thank you!

Will have them check it out with my first oil change..

 

That was the car at 3,000 miles and one month old. I drove the car down the highway to the office for a month and this is the result. There is a fastener issue.

The Accord just like the Maxima went from being built in Japan to being built in America, that is when the quality started to slip.

I also think the best quality cars were Japanese cars built late '90s early '00s. After that time there seems to be too many bean counter involved and I can tell a decline in quality. Little things like the rubber used for our door seals are not what it once was. I had a 1998 GS400 that felt and drove like it was new with 165k on it before I sold it. No rattles, no dash cracks, rubber like new etc....


With the change to the 3rd gen (2006+) GS I immediately saw where the bean counter got involved and there was a lack of quality materials used. It was night and day.

I remember when I had a '01 and a '03 Maxima. I put nearly 100k on the '01 so I thought I'd buy a new Maxima.

I go to the lot and sit in a '05, I remember immediately sensing the lack of quality in the 6th gen when sitting in it. It did not have that refined feeling the '01 or '03 had. That "feeling" when I sat in it at the dealer was not there. I remember having to sit in 5 cars on the lot to find one with a drivers seat that was not crocked. I ended up buying one anyway having such a good experience with my prior two Maximas. I have to say the 6th gen was not the quality car the 5th gen was and I was noticing Nissan start to slip.


Now I gave Nissan one last chance and I am done! Nissan is no better than a Chevy or Ford to me at this point. I used to buy Nissan for quality and reliability but now I am done.

 

You and I weren't one of the "lucky ones"...also so don't forget the fugley designed of the lower/forward most body to rear tail light lens MISFAIR

 

I have a sudden urge to return my car and buy a Civic...I don't understand why.

 

You have to admit your 5th gen is a better car.

 

I haven't had my 7th gen long enough to really make the call (one month on Thursday). I'll go with the cheap cop out and say there are aspects of the 7th gen I like better than my 5th gen and vice versa.

I love my 5.5 gen, but I have far worst problems than you had with your 7th gen (from what I see in this thread anyway). Including transmission issues, throttle body issue, the car's insatiable appetite for passenger front wheel bearings, and more recently A/C problems.

Talk to me after the honeymoon period with the 7th gen. That's if I don't go get a Civic.

S

 

OP, do what a I did and trade it in. I too was very disappointed in the 2010 that I ended up buying. Only owned it for 6 months before I decided to wash my hands from it and ended up buying a brand new 2015 made in Japan Mazda 6. Sure it isn't as fast as the Maxima but that's probably the only knock I hear from Maxima owners.

 

Maximam well said my friend. Thank you. I loved my 5.5 maxima after 7 years owning it and that car was rock solid when i sold it. This peace of **** is joke. I am european and really think that cars made in japan are best over all cars, not bmw's or chevy. This is how i see german cars. Lets build it where owner can not change oil without our stillership. American cars are make box put engine and trns in it wheels and tires get it out and sell it.

 

O its already on craigslist it will be gone sooner or letter.

I didnt like mazda before it just wasnt for me with that smily face front bumper and i had few friend had nothing but trouble out of them.

I am thinking more infiniti or acura.

 

Yeah I too wasn't a fan of that smiley face, thank god that's a thing of the past. I never considered a Mazda till I actually test drove one and seen the new look. But yeah I'm not actually trying to convince you, you actually can't go wrong with a infinity or an Acura if price isn't an issue. A new Infiniti or Acura was out of my league.

 

it is a shame...i agree that build quality is not where it used to be. just got rid of our '01 (fantastic automobile) with 230k and at least 200k left in her.
Drove an 09 max and was sorely dissapointed, drove an 07 G35...not much better.
Picked up an 02 RX300-talk about fit and finish and some very nice materials.

 

Put Mazda in its place

All seriousness, it is a decent looking car, Mazda has certainly stepped there game up

Also this is how I formally welcome people to boston

 

You know, I have criticized Maxima a lot in the last couple of months, but my criticism was entirely about the behavior of the electronic throttle and CVT.. trying to save gas and all. I have received nothing but awe and praise from anybody who has entered my car, and I work in a corporate office and people are used to expensive cars. I live in northwest suburbs of Chicago. You come and take a drive with me and try to hear a rattle for find a flaw with my interior. It did have some defect in the driver's mirror but since that was fixed, now its really a super quiet car as well.
Most of you deserve what you get. Half the people on this forum ghetto-up their cars with lower springs, big rims, no-sidewall tires, stupid intake and exhaust modifications and then complain that things begin to rattle.
But seriously, these issues on the pictures and the other complaints are nothing. Go to driveaccord.net and check the new hondas if you want to feel better. At least with the maxima we don't have drivability issues.. mostly cosmetic and superficial.. Maxima may not be what it used to be, but in the NON LUXURY MIDSIZE SEDAN domain, its quality is above average, even compared to the japanese only.

 

Sorry to see you have some issues. I've had my fair share of things I've noticed just aren't up to par as well.
I've noticed some build quality issues, some paint issues, some fitment issues, and admit the CVT takes some getting used to.
The interior piece where the door hits the dash is raised on my car too (and other people's car), so I can only assume it is a sacrifice made for shape of dash/doors.
The exterior trim pieces can (and should) be fixed at a dealership.
The car itself is quite nice, though. It's not a Lexus. And even though the sticker on mine is a hair over $40k, my lease payments are more like they would be for a $30k car.

 

I paid $20k for mines 7 months ago @30K Miles SV. You underpaid. You get what you pay for.

 

You're exaggerating. Nissan is certainly not as bad as GM's(reliability or quality wise). You are talking about build/workmanship quality. All the problems you talk about don't cause any mechanical issues. GM has no problem pumping out a million vehicles with bad intake gaskets and they get away with stuff like that. Nissan cant do that. Most people don't even have time to look at these details ( Not that Nissan should be getting away with this). I remember my impala had a leak in the trunk. I took the lining out and they actually did not weld part of the trunk.

 

The picture made me LOL... So far things been great with the 3rd generation 6 over at the mazda6club.com no reported problems other than spontaneously dead battery on a few members car.

Anyways, what people fail to see is a lot of the little things that add up to big thing. Both my tail lights had condensation, in which the dealer claim was normal. I had a flickering side mirror light. Also had a thumping sound from cold take offs. A lot of these issues have been discussed here.

 

Here is my Ford experience:




All had better build quality than my Maxima. I had a '02 Z28 that did not use the best of interior materials but I did not find assembly defects with that car either.

I had a '13 Altima that had many issues.


Altima issues:

1. Clicking, tapping sound in passenger side "B" pillar. Only with speeds above 40 mph. Seems to be related to wind and not vibration. Seems to now be intermittent as a day can go by and nothing then it will come back for two more days. (Was constant for over 800 miles.)

2. Slight tranny whine at speeds under 40 mph while decelerating. Has become more and more prevalent, concerned may get worse. (Tranny whine has stayed consistent and maybe a feature of the CVT, not sure)

3. Loose trim on roof gutter on drivers side, seems not sealed like passenger side.

4. Drivers seat material becomes loose (bubbles). Its the bottom cushion toward the rear next to the back support. Material can be tucked back down but will bubble back up again. Seems defective as passenger side does not do it.

5. Scratches on back window. Both sides on bottom have scratches. A piece of glass came loose on bottom corner drivers side. Salesman asked me to notify him of dings or damage as the car was delivered in the dark. (Not a big deal but was a defect at delivery)

6. Pulls to the right. Slight pull but requires constant correction when driving.

7. Slight wheel balancing issue, not consistent of a brand new car/tires. Most prevalent at 65-75mph.
7a. Please increase tire pressure to 32psi cold, last visit to dealer they were dropped to 29psi cold and are under inflated.

8. Windshield weather stripping installed incorrectly across top. (I fixed it)

9. The drivers side weather stripping not installed correctly, gap between stripping and window allowing for water/debris to enter. Located on driver's side toward the top side.

10. Intermittently, when started in the morning there seems to be excessive accessory drive noise. The same sound as a power steering pump with no fluid would make. Sound increases/decreases with rpms.

11. Alternatively, there is an intermittent high pitched variable noise (like Morse code, almost a whistling/beeping sound), which can be heard at lower speeds. Coming from under hood, not related to rpm.

12. Seat bottom not installed correctly. Looks as if the cover was not properly installed, off center and the seams are not in alignment. Material detached from foam. Much worse than before. (Service manager "Frank" looked at it and agreed to order a new seat bottom.)

13. Wheels still vibrate, seems like the rear wheels. They lowered the tire pressure to 27 psi (cold), I asked for 32 psi (cold). on all four. (I took the vehicle to Discount Tire and they properly balanced and inflated the tires.)

14. Power-steering pump pump still makes a Morse code sound. Drives my wife and I nuts. Tech claimed "no problems found, advised customer". Nobody advised me of anything, I have yet to have a service advisor talk to me about my vehicle.

15. I get an inconsistent smell of anti-freeze from under the hood. I can not find a leak or source of the smell.

16. Strong smell of burnt rubber when going up hill and or accelerating. Is worse in high altitude; a trip to Tahoe had the car smelling like burnt rubber driving over the hills.

17. Driver's side front strut makes a "clunk" when going over some bumps and especially when braking over a speed bump.

I did not even put 10k miles on that Altima before trading it for the Maxima thinking the Altima was a new design and had growing pains so I'd go with a Maxima that had been built for many years prior. I've owned a stupid amount of vehicles outside of Nissan and IMO Nissan's quality is no longer there.

 

Nissan use to build this car rock solid and had good amount of features now its got small million of them but by 50.000 miles half of them wont work half time because they are made fast and cheap materials. Trust me i use to make fuel pumps for maximas. Place i worked for vent from .3 to almost 3% falier rate tolerance. Its about quantity not quallity any more.

 

Why do people jump on the man for having a difference of opinion that isn't favorable to our Maximas? I say, to each his own.

If he wants to downgrade to a Civic then he should go for it, there are many issues with every brand of car no matter how much money you pay for them or the prestige one thinks that the name brings to the model.

I own 3 Maximas and have had absolutely none of the issues that anyone speaks of regarding the things that are wrong with their cars, I guess some of us are unfortunate and some of us just nitpick for whatever reason(s).

Good luck dude with your Civic, I hope the quality and fitment issues do not plague you with your new ride.

 

I agree, man.

I'll even say that a buddy of mine leased a brand new Maxima, he was the first to drive it and it was a complete dud. It really was. He had that issue where the battery got stuck in the 'on' position or something like that or the car wouldn't turn on or something weird; pretty sure there was a TSB on it. I was in his car one time when I was pouring out and it started leaking on me from the front door on the passenger side, and he had a few other problems as well that kept adding up.

Just bad luck, I guess. I told him that his car must've been assembled in the late afternoon on a Friday and the assembly workers must've already mailed it in for the day. He now has a new Camry and will never have another Maxima again.

I love Nissans and am thankful to not have some of these issues, and to the OP: I think you just got a lemon, man. It happens and it sucks, so, I understand your frustration.

 

OP's vehicle must've been assembled in the late afternoon or early morning on a Friday, Mon, Tue, Wed, or Thursday. The quality of the Nissan and most other brands leave a lot to be desired.

Most of the issues addressed on this forum are not what I would consider nitpicking. Nissans new motto should be "It is what it is".