8th Jun 2010, 19:02

2004 Maxima SE, 79k miles currently, bought it about a year ago, has the same hard shifts everyone else has, well, not as bad as everyone else's, but it's there. I have an extended warranty that covers my car for another 34k/3 years, so I plan on beating the hell out of it, getting the warranty to cover a rebuilt unit, then doing the valve body fix while it's out to save me money.

My biggest pet peeve is the vibration I am feeling. It's not in the wheels or the tires.. But it's there... 60-70 mph, goes away above 110 :) The irritation is that no one can find the issue... really bugs me.

9th Jun 2010, 08:26

Yes, yes, yes, yet another one bites the dust. The car seems to be a very nice one if you want to keep it for show on a trailer.

Transmission issues; if the temperature outside is over the 90's, it will stall and I would have to wait for it to cool down. It goes into safe mode, then wait until the next day for it to run fine again. Did I say wait... Please note that the valve body has changed part numbers at the end: Old # 31705-8Y002 New# 31705-8Y00B.

11th Jun 2010, 17:11

Yep, the 2004 Nissan Maxima will cost me too.

The ABS pump keeps running even when the keys are out of the ignition. I took it a dealer and had it unplugged, because it was draining my battery and I had to jump start the car. After unplugging it, now the speedometer want work. I was told it will cost 2000.00 to fix it. I guess I just have to drive with no ABS brakes and no speedometer. This is pretty sad when I have dealt with the horrible transmission for a few years.

I bought the Nissan Maxima because I wanted a quality car; man was I wrong. The best thing to do now is to try and get rid of this thing; if I can find somebody who wants it.

This is a horrible car that Nissan built, and what's messed up is that most people who are on this page has probably got rid of them and moved on to something better, therefore Nissan will never have to pay for this mess. Maybe because they wouldn't take care of their customers, all these people will tell their friends to stay away from Nissan, because if you have a problem, they will never take of you. I know you hate to tell your friends that you bought a terrible car, but let's face it we did, and let everybody know!!!

16th Jun 2010, 10:50

I too own a 2004 Maxima. I've already had all 3 motor mounts replaced, as well as the balance bar in the front end, which was broken, and had already worn the 2 front high profile tires. So that meant new tires. None of these repairs were cheap. The downside is the tires could have been saved if the place that was rotating the tires often had noticed the wear and tear on them. That would have been a clue, but I guess they thought I would just buy more tires from them. But guess what, I bought 800.00 worth of tires from somewhere else :). The balance bar was making front end shake/vibration, I could really feel it in the steering column & front end, but the broken motor mounts were also causing a lot of shaking in the steering and front end. But now the VBS light and the check engine light are both on, and the car has lost power when trying to take off from a stopped position, and trying to accelerate, the power doesn't want to pull the car. It did OK after a couple of minutes, it did have a couple of hiccups on the way to the shop, can't wait to see what's happening to it now. My guess is transmission.

I will never own another Nissan.

16th Jun 2010, 16:10

I too have the same problem with my Nissan and don't know what to do. Nissan won't help, and I'm afraid of spending $3200 on a transmission that will give me the same problem later. I owe too much on the car to trade it in; believe me, I have tried.

19th Jun 2010, 09:05

OK, I guess it's my turn. No problem with my 2004 Maxima auto transmission until a week or so ago. I have about 110k miles on the car, bought it new. Coming out of a red light the car went very slow, it did not engage into first gear as usual, very unsettling. I guess this is what "slipping" is.

Brought it to the dealer. They said I need a new transmission for about $3,600. I went to Aamco for a second opinion.

Aamco actually checked the error codes on the cars "computer." Error codes said it was not the transmission, said I needed a new ECM (the thing that controls the transmission and tells it when to shift and do other stuff.). So, I changed the ECM ($985 plus $180 labor). Still did not work right.

My Aamco guy called the experts. The experts checked the database and said the answer now is to change the 2 CAM sensors. Expert said this is 100% the next move BASED ON MY ERROR CODES - THE ERROR CODES ARE THE KEY. Changed the 2 sensors ($198 for both of them plus $128 labor). Aamco guy test drove it for 20 minutes - it needed to get hot. No issues. Aamco guys tech drove it home for the night, 40 minutes ride - no issues. Tech drove it back to the shop the next morn, 40 minutes, no issues.

I picked up the car today and it drove well. I will keep you updated.

I know nothing about cars, but here is my advice: Get a second opinion. Make sure you get a guy who will check the error codes. If the code says you need a new tranny - you will have to suck it up. But, you may not get a tranny error code, it may be a code pertaining to the computer that controls the tranny or some sensor. I cannot say for sure if my dealer checked the codes. I think he had some tech drive it, it slipped, they called and said I need a new tranny. This is when I went for the second opinion. Bottom line, I spent about $1,580 instead of $3,600. We'll see what happens.

21st Jun 2010, 16:41

Okay, was your transmission a 4spd or 5spd?

21st Jun 2010, 18:05

I'm also a 2004 Maxima SE owner who is experiencing hard shifting problems between 1st-2nd and 2nd-3rd gears. My Maxima has 95k on it, and of course out of warranty. I will be trying the 2 CAM sensors as mentioned above, instead of forking out $3600 for a new tranny! Nissan should answer for such a poorly built tranny. I love my Maxima, but will never own another Nissan after this one!