7th Dec 2008, 21:08
Hi. I am a miserable owner of a 2004 Maxima SE, 6 spd.
I first had tire problems six months after I purchased it. The dealer told me no dice, go see Goodyear. $500 later I had 4 new tires. Two years later, same thing.
Once I got the recall notice, I got 5 new tires. I am trying to get Nissan to reimburse me for the initial $500.
2nd problem, my BOSE stereo drops the left channel half the time while playing CDs. It is terrible.
3rd problem, the clutch absolutely sucks. It totally burnt out one day on me at 20 miles an hour... I got cutoff and tried to downshift to accelerate to avoid an accident from 4-3 and it just smoked out. $2700 later I got a new clutch. Both clutches were a nightmare to shift when the car is not warm, and once it is I can push it out of gear with little to no effort.
The gear ratio is terrible. Unless I am at a dead stop, it is a complete guess as to what gear to be in, and you can forget shifting in the cold.
I just registered a complaint this evening with the NHSTA. I am interested in others experiences. Please feel free to contact me at ptquimby@comcast.net.
I am very interested in what I should do next. I have 98K miles and I owe $7k on the note. Do I sell while I can make a bit of money and upgrade to another car? Thoughts appreciated.
Oh I forgot the brake judder...
10th Dec 2008, 15:21
I have a 2004 Maxima SE 89k miles on it, and I have the same problem that just started this week, when I start the car it has a hard time starting and when it does it is stuck in high drive/5th gear, and if I stop turn it off and start it again it starts right up and I can drive normally, but once while driving it jumped into high gear and I drove it to work that way, I read somewhere here where they had the transmission valve body replaced, does anyone know what the price of that is?
16th Dec 2008, 10:37
I have a 2004 Maxima with 47000 miles on it, and I've been having the same shifting problems for 2 months now. I took it to the dealer twice and they couldn't duplicate the problem, even after the tech took it overnight. I finally had the tech drive with me on my normal route and he was able to see the shifting problems. The dealer said they'll have to replace the valve body and hopefully that helps. I'll post here when its finished. This is definitely my last nissan.
16th Dec 2008, 15:15
Please everyone on this site... go to http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Owners/ and place your complaint about the 2004 Nissan Maxima transmission slipping and jerking in 1 and 2nd gears. If enough of us complain, we can get a recall started, save lives, time, and money. Please do not sit on this issue. Go to the website, and take the time to fill out the information, and let's get our rights back as Nissan owners.
tennardt@aol.com
18th Dec 2008, 18:10
Please file a complaint on-line at www.nhtsa.gov about this 2004 Maxima transmission problem. It only takes a few minutes, but without it, the government will not look into it, and nothing will be solved. Clearly a new transmission has to be designed, and a mass recall has to take place. OLEON18382@AOL.COM.
20th Dec 2008, 04:24
Unbelievable!! My 04 Maxima currently has just over 50,000 miles on it. I have noticed some hard shifts over the past few months, but they had been very intermittent.
The other day however I noticed the service engine soon light was on, and when accelerating from a stop I realized that I barely had any power! A buddy of mine has a shop and he had the code pulled and reset. P 0797 Pressure control solenoid, stuck on. I have also had to replace the battery.
The front right rotor is warped and causes steering wheel shim when downhill braking.
My car had begun to idle very low twice and actually died once.
A weld on the heat shield of the catalytic converter has come loose and causes a noticeable vibration when accelerating when cold. This subsides once it's heated up, probably due to metal expansion.
I have also replaced the tires due to bad alignment camber on some, and also castor. I believe it was wearing the tires unevenly. I went with Kumho's instead.
I will be putting my complaint into the NHTSA website. Hopefully I can either trade this car in for an 09, sell it, or at least get that transmission problem fixed at no cost to me. Hopefully there will be a recall because I otherwise like the car... although that 09 is nice! From what I've read, it sounds like it has a different transmission.
22nd Dec 2008, 13:40
04 Maxima owner, car has 45,000 miles to date. I have had the following serviced under warranty and extended warranty to date (I have been lucky enough not to pay for anything yet -- I am so glad I sprung for the extended warranty) :
* 6-8 front struts the first one 6 months after purchasing the car brand new (the strut goes within one week of being replaced, had one strut that lasted 6 months -- within 1 month had 3 struts installed -- all on my time and leaving my vehicle for a full day)
* New transmission with less than 30,000 miles
* Timing belt replaced within the last 6 months
* Numerous minor problems
* Have complained about my rear speaker, but have been told it is fine.
Can't wait to get rid of the car. Funny thing is every time I bring the car in I am told I am the only one with these problems. They do not have a repair history on any of this! Guess that is a big lie!
22nd Dec 2008, 14:55
I had my transmission replaced under the warranty at 54,000, but the hard shifting is still there.
Brought it back to the dealer, drove the car along with the mechanic and Nissan engineer, but they will not do anything else.
I still own a 1996 Maxima that I gave to my son, and at 140,000 it drives better then my 2004. If I knew how bad this 04 was, I would have gotten a Camry instead..
This 04 Maxima is noisy, I can feel every bump on the road, and the previous owner I found out traded for a Mercedes because he was tired of all the work he had done on it under 50,000 miles.
I have always been a Maxima lover, but this car is a big disappointment and I will trade it in.
6th Dec 2008, 09:14
My friends I am so mad to the top of my head that Nissan is taking our money and giving low performing vehicle like the Maxima SE 2004.
I just purchased this car (2004 Maxima 04) because of my prior Nissan that worked excellent for over 10 years. But my new Maxima at 80,000 has been jerking on me every time I accelerate from 1st to 2nd gear, and I frankly don't want to dish out more cash because Nissan failed to recall this product.
All of you are having the precise dilemma that I am current facing; certainly this will be my last Nissan and I will make sure the word get spread out to all my friend and (business) and churches, hospital, my local newspapers etc... any one will any ideas how to handle this defective vehicle please email LeslyC826@aol.com.