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Nissan Maxima Maintenance and Repair

4048 messages,  Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 4:23 PM

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#1659 of 4048 Jittery rattle by mrtrace Dec 20, 2003 (3:16 pm)
Hello all. This is my first time posting in the town hall, but I am sure I will be posting alot more in the future as my mother just bought a used 02' maxima gle. So far everything has been okay, except for having to replace the front brakepads and resurfacing of the rotors and a new battery along with a reset of the computer. I guess thats enough for the 5 days she has only had it. But to get to the problem I've driven the car and tested it on all road surfaces and on bumpy roads there is a jittery bounce in the steering wheel and I dont know what it could be. I've never driven a max before and I didn't know if this is normal for this vehicle. In addition even on highways if you go over slight uneven pavement you can feel the steering wheel bounce, as if its a very light vehicle. However, when you are not driving and riding as a passenger the ride is very smooth and quiet, almost lexus-like. Any suggestions would be helpful, as we are trying to find out all the problems wrong with the car so we can get them rectified by the dealer before they start that "it wasn't like that when you bought it." Thank you.
#1660 of 4048 Jittery rattle by mrtrace Dec 20, 2003 (3:21 pm)
Also, I've checked the tires and they seem to be in fair condition with enough tread left, but maybe its just the ride of the stock turanzas. I am hoping not every max drives this way, as I find it to be a premium car, but the bouncy steering and choopy ride over somewhat rough surfaces not worthy of anything premium at all.
#1661 of 4048 by kennyg5 Dec 20, 2003 (5:34 pm)
I also have the GLE. I agree the ride is gittery over rough pavements and speed bumps. I think you can blame the crummy stock tires and the inferior rear suspension. On regular and smooth roads, the GLE glides as if it is on rails. I have never experienced rattles, even over rough surfaces. My car is well put together.
#1662 of 4048 re: kennyg - jittery rattle by mrtrace Dec 21, 2003 (9:52 am)
Thanks alot for all your feedback. I went out again late night to test the car and I've decided that it has to be the tires because there are times that they do feel choppy, maybe they've never been rotated at all (as I look over the service records I don't see anything mentioned), but they could definitely go for some balancing. However, when I was out last night the "service enging soon" light came on for the second time in 3 days. The first time I took it back to service and they said it was a bad battery so they changed it out and reset the computer. As I dont know a whole lot about cars, I do know that "because they battery was dead you wasn't getting all the power you could and thats why it was sluggish" was bulls**t. But I said why argue, even though I was thinking to myself doesn't the alternator run the car after once its started and the battery plays nothing to do at all. So today I started the car and disconnected the battery is there was a slight power loss, but the engine didn't conk out. Does anyone know what this could be. Thanks for all your responses.
#1663 of 4048 6 speed Maxima by honestbill2 Dec 21, 2003 (10:18 am)
I test drove a 2003 maxima 6 speed the other day. My question to anyone is... I noticed on slow shifts, with the clutch depressed and with my foot completely off of the accelerator , that the engine revs remained high, and slowly returned to idle rpm. It wasn`t an issue when running through the gears quickly. The dealer said that is relate to the "drive by wire" throttle control system as engineered into the vehicle. I didn`t like the feel and the delay in idle return.. has anyone experienced this or can provide an explanation. thanks...
#1664 of 4048 response to 1662 by p100 Dec 21, 2003 (3:17 pm)
You should never disconnect the battery with the engine running on a modern car with an engine computer and electronic controls - not even for a test run. You risk damaging the elecrical system. It is possible that your old battery voltage dropped around 12V or slightly below when engine was shut off. I am not sure if the engine computer would pick up this "low voltage" and turn the engine light on, but if so, this would not affect the car performance because once the engine is running, the alternator charging voltage is about 13.5 to 14.5 volts. My See Doo jet ski diagnostic module always displays "low battery voltage" message when the jet ski is parked for some time, but this does not affect anything and the jet ski starts and runs just fine.
#1665 of 4048 mrtrace ses light by ccermak Dec 22, 2003 (7:37 am)
Take your 02 Max to Autozone (if you have them anywhere nearby), they'll read the code for you for free. Takes them like 3 minutes. If the ses light came on again that quick I'd take to Autozone so YOU know what the code is and don't have to just arbitrarily believe whatever the dealer tells you. Unless the dealer will show you the code on the handheld computer as they pull it. My guess is rear O2 sensor or bad gas cap. Those are the two most popular. Otherwise a bad coil or MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensor. Just my .02 as I've been lurking on this board and other Max boards for 4 years now.   Seeya
#1666 of 4048 by monte4 Dec 22, 2003 (7:43 am)
Bridgestone Turanzas and Potenzas are a crappy "expensive tire" many people have had balance issues with them. They tend to have lots of jitter at highway speeds and its very difficult to balance them and they have flat spots alot as well, it has nothing to do with the rear suspension. Go look at Maxima.org/tirerack.com and AcuraTL.com the new TL is having lots of problems with Turanzas as well. Those that complain about the beam you should not have purchased the Max or did some research first. The beam isnt that bad and has its benfits or the independent as well as short comings.
#1667 of 4048 Thanks for all your responses by mrtrace Dec 22, 2003 (9:52 am)
I appreciate everyone's advice. I am going into Autozone today so they can read the code, and from what I've been hearing is that the tires are really crappy. So far the car only has about 20k miles on it so it will be sometime before she changes out tires, I imagine, so she'll deal with the ride until the time for new tires arises. The sad thing is the Maxima seems like a stable car with good road manners but the tires just dont make the car live up to its potential. Also as I checked the car yesterday I realize they didn't give her a manual upon purchase (I guess dealers are still getting over on some people) and I do not know how to work the memory seats. Can anyone give me some insight on this? Again, thank you for everyone's help, about the ride, ses problems and the "do not disconnect battery while engine is running" warning.
#1668 of 4048 '03 Maxima Brakes by jnjjr Dec 22, 2003 (10:26 am)
I have been driving an '03 Maxima SE, 6 speed, for close to a year now. Since day one, I have felt uncomfortable with the brakes. So far, the master cylinder has been replaced, the rotors resurfaced, and the lines bled--all on different srervice visits. I have scheduled another service appointment for next week due to continuing unease--brake pedal low and soft. I have checked but have found no TSBs on the issue.   This is my second Maxima--I had a 95 SE, 5 speed that gave me 206,000 great miles. There are tims I wished I had kept it!   Any suggestions?   Thanks

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