I would like to first start off saying I am an idiot who had no idea what to look for when buying used cars and rushed into buying a 2005 Nissan Maxima base model with some body scratches and about 112k miles for 4000 cash.

The number of issues and workarounds I have had to figure out have really left me wondering if I should put money into repairing the car, keep driving it the way it is, or sell it for a better car.

So the first issue was the cat converter. When i bought the car it didn't have any engine lights on or anything, then suddenly started giving me SES p0420 codes for bank 1 catalytic converter inefficiency. The weird part is this code was on and off and i actually passed the car through emissions after buying a cheap code reader with i/m readiness and took it in when the code wasn't glowing on the dash and all the i/m were at OK/Ready status (i only did this to buy myself time) I take this issue as a problem i will have to maybe dump 700-1000 dollars into to replace the cat converter (in 2 years when emissions expires). I've also read that sometimes if people are lucky it is just an 02 sensor that needs replacing but I am preparing for the worst, but for now since emissions are passed I am not worrying about it (the code randomly comes up sometimes and goes away on its own to this day)

The second issue is a common issue I read about with nissan maxima 2005 transmissions. I have two big issues with my transmission. When i first got it, it leaked fluid. It also 'bumped' or jerked whenever the car was slowing down and hitting the 20 mph mark. Shifting from P>D and back also sometimes results in a second hesitation and slam sound (This doesn't occur all the time though and some mechanics said it might be due to hill slanted parking) So I researched and found the valve body of the transmissions in the 05s are really **** and need to be replaced to fix the common shifting issues, so I want to eventually sink in $998 from level 10 to fix the valve body. I don't know about the leak, and i don't know if level 10 will even acknowledge that leak when i take it to their center in NJ. Im hoping the issues might be related but it might be more to repair the leak, maybe some experts here can tell me if its connected to the problematic valve body. As for the leak, I have topped up the ATF fluid and accidentally over filled it a bit because im a noob with cars and according to a random mechanic i took it to, they said the pressure in the transmission was really high and causing the leak, even though there was a leak before i over filled it. Not sure if that info is relevant. After the extra fluid, i haven't noticed new problems, still the same issues described earlier with shifting and ive been driving a semi over filled transmission.

Also, my engine sounds weird when accelerating, kind of like when the RPMs relax as the transmission changes gear it sounds like a woodpecker is tapping away within the engine (the hum of the engine just sounds weird and is going on and off making an odd sound) Not sure if this is a sign of age of the car or if its something with cracking mounts or needing new spark plugs. (Unknown how much this will cost to repair and i need help figuring this one out)

So my question is, is it worth it to keep this car and dump the 1.7k-2.0k to repair the valve body and replace cat converter only to not be sure if the leak and weird engine noises will be fixed? the car was bought at 4k and I can slowly save up for these repairs and do them by the end of this year. Also, is it even safe for me to keep driving until i can afford these repairs or should i stop ( i have driven this car through the summer and up until now from 112k miles to 116.5k miles and it hasn't really changed, same issues and nothing new, all i have done is the 3000 mile oil changes necessary) ?

Thank you for reading!

 

Welcome to the forums ! I think you are being a bit harsh on yourself. First relax !

I would suggest the following...Rank the most annoying issues first and see what it takes to resolve them. You will need a good mechanic to help you trouble shoot these.

1) First, the transmission leak is concerning. You will need to get the car on the lift and see what exactly is the source

2) Shifting issues - Yes I would agree it could be the valve body but I would look at the leak first. How is the fluid ?. You wouldn't want to fix the shifting issues only to find out the fluid is still leaking.

3) Engine Noise - Is it the humming noise or the ticking noise ? If it is the latter, it could be the timing chain issue.

4) Cat Converter codes - How is this affecting your driving ? How is the gas mileage ? If it is not serious, I would look at this last. I don't know much about this - I will let the experts chime in

 

I have a 2004 maxima 5at and a few weeks ago it started gushing fluid out of what looks like a pressure drain, a friend suspects something inside is causing over pressure or something. I have had enough of this and can't find ANYTHING online about this issue or anywhere on here so far. Does anyone browsing over these responses have any idea??

 

yes get rid of the max

sell it to an unsuspecting 19yr old, tell them about the best in class V6 power and let them figure out the headaches themselves

buy a toyota/honda product and thank yourself later