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Nissan Maxima Maintenance and Repair

4180 messages,  Last post on May 03, 2013 at 1:26 PM

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What is this discussion about? Nissan Maxima, Sedan

    
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Messages Page 217 of 419

#2154 of 4180 Mass Airflow Sensor by sfreitag

Nov 17, 2004 (3:26 pm)

I have 2002 Nissan Maxima SE
My car is less then 3 years old, with 40,500 miles.
Went into Midas to check Brakes.
10 percent left on front brake pads.
I had them replaced.
Anyway, when they test drove my car (before they put the break pads on), the service engine light came on, and my vehicle loss power/acceleration.
I had no problems when I gave them the keys.
It turns out the problem was with the Mass Airflow Sensor. I took my vehicle to Nissan, who replaced the sensor... $822 dollars later. They are blaming my K and N filter, stating the filter was not seated or sealed in airbox properly, causing excessive amount of debris to destroy sensor. I really don't know how true this is. They also said I better stick with the regular air filter.
 
I know for a fact Midas did check my Air Filter...so I am trying to get them to fork over the money. They state the engine light came on before they opened the hood. Either way, the car was fine when I gave them the keys.
 
Any thoughts or comments? Am I going after the right person. I will know Midas's reponse tomorrow.
 
-Steve

#2155 of 4180 Re: Mass Airflow Sensor [sfreitag] by just_phil

Nov 17, 2004 (4:15 pm)

Replying to: sfreitag (Nov 17, 2004 3:26 pm)
At least your Nissan dealer knows what K&N is. I had an experience when a Nissan service manager was shoving my K&N filter in my face, claiming that it was dirty and needed to be replaced, when it in fact had been cleaned and re-oiles less than 10k miles before.
 
I doubt that MAF could be damaged by debris in the short amount of time that the filter was not seated properly. Also, I've been using K&N in the last 88k miles (I've got 178k now), and it's been fine. Maybe Midas spilled some brake fluid on the airbox, or knocked the harness out.
 
Good luck, anyway!

#2156 of 4180 Xenon HID Maxima 2004 by nel1

Nov 18, 2004 (7:56 am)

I am thinking about getting this model, but have read about the thefts of the HID headlights on previous models.
 
Is this still a problem, especially in the NYC area?
 
Thanks,
Nels1

#2157 of 4180 MIDAS and MAF by ccermak

Nov 18, 2004 (10:08 am)

I'm leary of Midas. I had them here in MN check my brakes and they told me the same thing, 10% left. I think they're full of crap. I didn't get mine fixed and I'm still running on same pads 6 months later with zero problems and zero squeaking, etc. I just brought it there for a free brake inspection because I have 74K on my car and haven't done brakes yet so figured I'd get them checked out. I then had them checked at the dealer later and they said 40% left. Midas may have just been looking for a sale, did you have brake problems before you went in?? As for the MAF sensor, that is a hugely common problem on 2000-2003 Maximas. If you go to maxima.org and search on MAF you'll find a TON of info. And a K&N filter will not hose your MAF, I've run one on mine since 25K. An aftermarket intake on the other hand, that's more likely. It is widely known that Nissan had a bad batch of MAF's, just like the coils. And for $822, I think you got hosed there too. It's a plug and play little sensor that you could buy and most likely change yourself. Do some research on MAF over on the .org. As for the brakes, upgrade to aftermarkets all the way around, something like Brembo blanks, bendix, etc and scrap the OEM. Once you have probs with OEM rotors on 5th gen Max they seem to linger. Pay the fee and junk em. For some reason mine haven't gone yet, but I baby them and I'm lucky, most others have probs.

#2158 of 4180 Re: 04 Maxima Vibration Service Advisory [glmilmo] by johngo

Nov 20, 2004 (10:03 am)

Replying to: glmilmo (Oct 24, 2004 11:19 am)
I found your message very helpful. Thanks. I lease a 2004 SE. Since I got it, I felt the front end was not right. Let's face it, with 265 horsepower, we knew there would be torque steer. But, I am 40 now, not 17. My tires have worn badly on the inner portion. I have documented with the dealership complaints of vibrations at different speeds as well as while braking. The solution was always to balance the tires. Now, I am not even halfway through my lease (15,000 miles) and I have poor treadwear and a bad "roaring noise while I drive. I am going to look in to this service advisor. Has anyone seen this. These tires are $250 - $300 bucks each. Ouch. I dutifully did all maintenance and now Nissan is saying I am responsible for what the dealership calls an alignment problem.

#2159 of 4180 Ignition Coils by maximadan

Nov 22, 2004 (1:10 pm)

I have a '00 Maxima with 70,000KM (54,000miles)with my first experience with ignition coil problems. I have been told that all will need replacing next time the problem occurs. Upon my review of this message board I believe that there is some worth in chasing Nissan with a publicity approach. I could not find any hidden warranties, but it is obvious that this is major problem with thier design. Previously i owned a 1990 Acura Intergra GS with over 400,000KM (240,000 miles) with only one transmission replacement. NO engine work every required.
 
Has anyone tried a publicity angle to have the problem fixed? (i am not a lawyer or an ad guy but an accountant)

#2160 of 4180 coils by ccermak

Nov 22, 2004 (2:39 pm)

I believe various different people have gotten their coils replaced for free, or partially paid for by Nissan, because yes it was a bad batch and yes Nissan knows it. I don't have specifics, but I do know FOR SURE that people have done this, and yes outside of the normal 3yr/36k , 5yr/60k warranties.

#2161 of 4180 Clutch Disk, Engine Light, Air Conditioner, CD Changer by njay1

Nov 22, 2004 (3:40 pm)

My 2002 Nissan Maxima is falling apart. This is the Fourth Nissan I have owned, starting with a 1982 280ZX, and I believe Nissan is no longer building reliable cars. My 280ZX ran for 163,000 miles with barely a tuneup. In contrast, My Maxima had its first Clutch Disk (6 spd) replaced at 23,000, now its second clutch disk 43,000, also 43,000 the air conditioner motor failed and had to be replaced, and a day after driving my "fixed" maxima out of the service bay, the Engine Light appeared. My 6 disk cd changer skips constantly. I have never driven anything but a nissan, I follow all maintenance schedules, etc. But now that nissan is making vehicles where the "warranty glue" runs out after 36,000 miles, I am done.
(P.s. - I argued with nissan to pay for the Clutch disk since they obviously have some sort of problem with it considering there is a service bulletin on it...they are paying for half, but this still is bad considering they just replaced it 20k miles ago, I guarantee I will be making the same trip to the service dept another 20k miles down the road) Saddest part is my wife is expecting our second child and we were looking at Murano's. I'll drive an ugly honda pilot before I go through this again.

#2162 of 4180 Re: Ignition Coils [maximadan] by suydam

Nov 22, 2004 (4:44 pm)

Replying to: maximadan (Nov 22, 2004 1:10 pm)
See post # 1678-1679 or so, where there is a link to the specific TSB that might be your problem. But there are several things to cause the coil packs to go bad and you have to find out what caused yours. It is a pain if you have to pay for them (I had to replace the ones on my Forester at around the same mileage) but it's not the end of the world. I put it in the category of annoying parts that eventually need replacement but not killer problems like transmissions or head gaskets. I don't think coils are "engine work". And Nissan isn't the only car company that has had trouble with them, so I'm not sure it's poor design but perhaps poor quality with a particular batch of them.

#2163 of 4180 check service soon, P0420 by t2029

Nov 23, 2004 (5:01 pm)

Hello,
 
I have a question about the "check service soon" light on my 2001 GXE, 48,000 miles.
 
The light came on this morning and the car is running fine as normal. I went to AutoZone and they found out the error code is P0420. Two years ago, the light also came on with the same error code. The Nissan dealership reprogramed ECM per TSB NTB00-070A and it worked.
 
I read quite a few messages here today and it seems reprogramming ECM is recommended for the first step for P0420. So my question is whether I need to have the ECM reprogrammed again? What should be my next step here? Let the dealership install the O2 sensor or do it myself?
 
Any input is appreciated. Thanks.
 
Eric

Messages Page 217 of 419

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