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2009 Nissan Maxima

681 messages,  Last post on Oct 08, 2009 at 11:05 AM

You are in the Nissan Maxima Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens

What is this discussion about? Nissan Maxima, Sedan


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#606 of 681
TL Front End by poodog13
Jun 23, 2009 (9:56 am)
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Add me to the group that find the front-end redesign of the TL a complete deal-breaker. While I drive an 07 Maxima, I really wanted the 07 TL but could not talk the price down far enough. Had always planned on going back to the TL for my next car.
 
Now, every time I see an 09 TL on the road, I just cringe. I keep looking for the head of an 18th century Frenchman to stick out from under the guillotine on the front of the car.
#607 of 681
Re: TL Front End [poodog13] by greenacura
Jun 23, 2009 (10:29 am)
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Replying to: poodog13 (Jun 23, 2009 9:56 am)

How has your 2007 Maxima been? Good reliability? Has the maint. costs been reasonable? I found my '07 Acura TL was very expensive to maintain. Regarding the 2009 TL, sure the front end is terrible, but I didn't even like the look from the side or rear. It is a terrible design, I wonder if Acura will make a change soon.
#608 of 681
Re: Audio Systems [greenacura] by draz2
Jun 24, 2009 (5:21 am)
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Replying to: greenacura (Jun 23, 2009 8:47 am)

I left the Lexus 'family' after three years with the '07 ES350 because I wanted something that was a lot more fun to drive. The ES was a wonderful car for what it was....which is nothing more than a conveyance. I wanted something with better braking, a more linear linkage between engine and transmission and a tighter, more communicative suspension. The TL fit that bill perfectly. And I'm an acknowledged gadget freak so I immediately fell in love with all the wonderful tech features in the TL as well. As to the front end of the car, I love it. I think it looks distinctive, elegant and aggressive (in a good way). Do any of you remember the public's response when the CTS or BMW's Chris Bangle designs were introduced? I do. Universal outrage and disgust don't even come close to describing the reaction from the automobile cogniscenti. What is their reaction now? And how have sales been for BMW and the CTS?
#609 of 681
Re: TL Front End [greenacura] by poodog13
Jun 24, 2009 (8:25 am)
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Replying to: greenacura (Jun 23, 2009 10:29 am)

How has your 2007 Maxima been? Good reliability? Has the maint. costs been reasonable?
 
Maintenance has not been too bad. I went with the SL rather than the SE specifically to cut down on some of the maintenance costs, particularly the tires (SL's have slightly wider profile, a bit closer to mainstream tire size, and therefore cheaper to replace). I had to have the armrest console cover and the bracket securing the driver's visor replaced due to breaks in plastic latches, but they were done under warranty and I now know to be a bit more careful with these components. Brake replacements were a bit of a shock but the higher end brakes on performance sedans always are.
 
The only other large maintenance costs have been the recommended 15k incremental maintenance packages. I made the mistake at 15k of not asking the dealership exactly what they included in their 15k maint plan, and turns out it was more than the factory recommendation. Scaled back to recommended services only at 30k, and started to do some of the basic stuff myself (in-cabin filters) at 45k now that the car is out of warranty.
#610 of 681
Re: Audio Systems [draz2] by tonycd
Jun 24, 2009 (7:50 pm)
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Replying to: draz2 (Jun 24, 2009 5:21 am)

draz2, I'm glad you like your car. Or, alternatively, I'm sorry you aren't confident enough in your liking of your car to avoid flaming anyone who likes one of its principal competitors.
 
I don't have a horse in this race, personally. But I was a great admirer of the '04-'08 TL, test drove it and recently test drove the new Maxima.
 
I'm sure the new TL is dynamically excellent. But I can't bring myself to bother test-driving it because I personally believe that Acura butchered the styling beyond redemption, inside and out. I agree that the Maxima has some downscale touches inside, like the middle of the dash, but they're easily topped (bottomed?) by the plastic "aluminum" junk counter that is the TL dash, not to mention the nigh-on-incomprehensible clutter of buttons that stick out in the middle like a tumor.
 
On the move, the CVT is a little odd at times, but it is responsive in all modes and returns decent mileage for such a powerful car. And while the engine is a bit crude, it does have a really entertaining feral roar at full throttle. In sum, compared to the TL, it's a car that's good enough with looks that don't make me throw up.
 
One footnote on Bangle: You might want to choose a more favorable example. If you check again, you'll note that BMW has quietly kicked Bangle upstairs and is backing off his edgier styling in models like the 3 and the 7 just as fast as their Germanic ego permits.
#611 of 681
Re: Audio Systems [tonycd] by draz2
Jun 25, 2009 (6:01 am)
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Replying to: tonycd (Jun 24, 2009 7:50 pm)

Tony, Tony, Tony I hardly know where to begin. I can certainly understand your dislike of the TL's exterior (read: beak) but the interior has garnered nothing but universal praise. Holy crap, man, it won Wards Automotive Best Interior this year.The "vast array of buttons" you refer to in incredibly intuitive to use and is easily understood with about an hour behind the wheel. As to the CVT...it is awful at all speeds and it has no place whatsoever in a car with pretenses to being "entry level high end," no less in a car that they badge with their comical acronym "4DSC." The Maxima's nav screen is decidedly inferior to that in the TL and the nav system itself is much slower and doesn't provide anywhere near as much useful information as the TL's. It doesn't have navtraffic or weather and it's audio system can't hold a candle to the ELS system in the TL. You can call the engine intrusive noise level "feral" if that makes you feel better, but the fact is that it's just plain loud...and not in a particularly sonorous way. The entire interior just screams "NISSAN" (which has never made a decent interior in any of their cars and is thus, not a compliment) and it doesn't feel as spacious or roomy as the TL from the driver's seat. So while I agree that its a nice looking car from the outside that has excellent steering, brakes and ride characteristics it fails miserably in its transmission, engine noise, tech features, inferior navi system/screen and audio.
 
As to the Bangle issue you really need to do your homework. Under his design leadership, BMW sales and market share jumped dramatically, both in the USA and in Europe. He was not "kicked" anywhere...he wanted the change.
 
Final note. Why are Acura's resale values the highest in the business and Nissan's mid to bottom pack?
#612 of 681
Re: Audio Systems [draz2] by poodog13
Jun 25, 2009 (9:23 am)
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Replying to: draz2 (Jun 25, 2009 6:01 am)

Final note. Why are Acura's resale values the highest in the business and Nissan's mid to bottom pack?
 
My guess: Because those resale values haven't yet been diminished by how ugly the new TL truly is.
#613 of 681
WOW Max Vs. TL continues by out4cat
Jun 25, 2009 (11:21 am)
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In reading other Blogs in Edmunds, I find that the level of passionate discussion on the Maxima Vs. TL topic is unsurpassed. The topic also goes way back, started a few hundred messages ago.
Here is the way I see it from afar, I neither own an 09 Max or the 09 TL, instead I went from the 04 Max to the 07 Max which I currently still drive and except for the CVT, find it a very nice car.
Living in the DC area and having just landed from a shorty trip to Miami, I can assure you that in these 2 areas of the US, the TL is outselling the Maxima by a long shot. The streets are full of TLs in every trim and color. On the other hand, an 09 Maxima sighting is rare and far between. The Maxima may look good while on the showroom floor or the lot but on the move in traffic, when compared with the rest of the vehicles, the car looks awkward. The styling is too busy with obvious attempts by the design team to distinguish it from the previous version.
Yes the TL grill is pretty awful to get used to, some area dealerships are addressing that by painting it in body-color, it seems to do the trick. By the way, as unpopular as statement as this may be, has anyone noticed the similarity between the exterior design of the 09 TL and the previous Maxima? Even the metal strips over the roof line and the buttress C pillar are right from the previous Max. Yes Acura decided to sharpen up the edges and it works great (Cadillac CTS-likish), but the similarity is there. Even the TL grill is as much an eye sore as the grill on the 04-06 Maxima. Park an 08 Max in line with the 09 TL and you might notice the resemblance; not similarity, I know better than to say that.
I also find the interior of the Maxima as ordinary run of the mill, not too different from some Toyota products mixed with the Infinity dash and center stack. The 04 - 08 model, as unpopular as some may think, had a unique and distinctive interior design. Too bad it was plagued with cheap materials and terrible fit and finish. In my 04 the rattling and squeaking drove me nuts along with the panels that did not line up. In my 07 the rattles and squeaks are gone but there are still panels that do not line up (thanks Carlos Gohsn, poor materials at a high price and Nissan becomes profitable again, what a concept).
Last point - Nissan owners may find it flattering that their Maxima is being compared to an Acura. Clearly the Acura line of cars is the upscale Honda product, similar to the Infinity by Nissan yet the Maxima is teamed up with the Acura.
Oh well keep up the dialogue, especially the great lease deals on the Maxima. Inevitably I will eventually drive the 10 Maxima when my 07 lease is up.
#614 of 681
Re: Audio Systems [draz2] by tonycd
Jun 25, 2009 (12:33 pm)
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Replying to: draz2 (Jun 25, 2009 6:01 am)

Tony, Tony, Tony I hardly know where to begin.
 
draz, on that we are in total agreement.
 
The Maxima's nav screen is decidedly inferior to that in the TL and the nav system itself is much slower and doesn't provide anywhere near as much useful information as the TL's. It doesn't have navtraffic or weather and it's audio system can't hold a candle to the ELS system in the TL.
 
For all I know, you are 100% right about this. Which is one of the reasons I said nothing about this topic whatsoever. Who are you replying to?
 
You can call the engine intrusive noise level "feral" if that makes you feel better.
 
draz, I don't own the car, I merely test-drove it. I, for one, have no need to feel better.
 
  
As to the Bangle issue you really need to do your homework. Under his design leadership, BMW sales and market share jumped dramatically, both in the USA and in Europe. He was not "kicked" anywhere...he wanted the change.
 
Sure he did. And I'm sure he's equally enthusiastic about BMW walking away from all his most trademark styling cues.
#615 of 681
TPMS not showing up by strehlow
Jun 26, 2009 (6:47 am)
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Hello!
I just got my new 2009 Nissan Maxima SV with premium and tech package. Awesome car! I was going through the manual and on page 4-126 through 4-127 it shows that you can access tire pressure information through the voice commands. When I tried to do it, both the tire pressure and trip computer options are not showing up. Any ideas why? Do I need an upgrade on a new car? Thanks for any help

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