30th Mar 2008, 20:33
OK, so my 2000 Maxima SE has been good to me. Just started having tranny issues; it's slipping.. like all my O2 sensor has been changed, but not sure what to do now.. when on the highway, if you gun it at 60 mph, the rpms just rev up and no acceleration.. if you just drive normal she is fine. Have 13000 k on it.. Do I dump it??
10th Apr 2008, 11:02
I have a 2001 Nissan Maxima GLE with 99k miles on it. I purchased it from a dealer pre-owned few years back with 25k miles on it. Compare to other cars that I owned before or own currently, this car has cost me 3-4 times more... So far I have already replaced breaks (twice), battery and alternator (yeah it died around 70k miles), tires (twice), bulbs/lamps (multiple times), some of the belts, coolant system and so on...
I am currently having the same problem with Idle system and ECM that every one is complaining about, but my total repair estimates from a Nissan dealer is in 6-7k range (ouch). I am thinking of dumping this car as-is, but can certainly relate with the feelings that every one on this thread has expressed. It is so true that right after standard warranty expires, this car starts giving you a lot of trouble. Nissan is aware of all these problems and should have already re-called these vehicles. One thing for sure, I am not buying a Nissan vehicle again.
15th Apr 2008, 03:40
I have some of the same problems with my 2000 Maxima. I have not replaced anything and continue to drive. The only problem is that when entering the highway and trying to accelerate that the car loses power. There is a chance that this will happen to some family and they will be killed by a semi. Trying to make left turns in traffic or entering the highway poses a great threat. Unfortunately it takes a tragedy for a corp. such as Nissan to listen. It will be too late then.
8th May 2008, 15:51
Well Well Well, this has to be one of the saddest things to ever happen to consumers. Where do I begin, My wife and I bought a 2000 Nissan Maxima GLE in 2006. It was used of course with fifty thousand miles. Within a month of purchasing, the check engine light came on. I had a friend who happened to be a mechanic check the code and he told me that it was the downstream oxygen sensor. He made it out to be the end of the world, but I read about it online and even posted questions about it on Nissan forums. They said that it was a problem, but not one that would kill the car. So I told my friend I didn't have the money to fix it. According to the internet, the worst thing that would happen is that the car would run on the rich side. About a year later I decided to finally fix the problem. So I went to discount auto parts and bought a downstream oxygen sensor. I had trouble with my tools of getting it off, so I took it to a Goodyear, they told me that it was one of the front bank sensors. And that they couldn't use my sensor (besides it was junk in their eyes) but theirs was much more expensive. I declined to have it done and still to this day have rode the car as is in respect to that problem. After reading this page I don't know what to do, should I have it fixed and hope that this is the only issue? I guess I can just continue driving until I notice some of the problems that other owners are having.
Another problem I have had which I had to fix was the starter. About a year ago it just locked up on my wife at the gas station. Had it towed and Nissan fixed for an acceptable price. But even after putting in a new starter, the car still starts rough. Another thing I noticed was that the electrical power surges and drops. The lights go bright then they go dim. I have checked the battery, the volts are fine. Could this be a problem with the alternator? Could it just be an electrical problem my ignorance does not allow me to decipher?
It is good that I live in Florida, we don't have emissions inspections and it never gets cold enough to have the stalling issues that previous posters are having. I imagine if I lived up north, I too would fall victim.
What upsets me the most is that I have owned a 1998 Honda Accord since 2001. It has never given me this kind of trouble. The check engine light has been on for years, but every time I get it checked they say it is an emissions controller and being we don't have inspections here I shouldn't worry about. The car still gets about 25 miles to the gallon. No electrical trouble, or anything else of significance. I regret the day we bought that Nissan, I wish that I had just got another Honda, but my Wife really liked the Nissan and I figured hey it is Japanese what could go wrong.
I think that as consumers maybe we should get a hold of an attorney or maybe the Better Business Bureau. We must do something, there has got to be an attorney out there that owns a Nissan and is having the same trouble. We need help. My condolences go out to all of you who have really put some money into the car.
If anyone has had the same electrical issues as I have had please inform me about them. I want to know how serious they are. And one more question, if a mechanic reads this can you please explain the importance of oxygen sensors and what will happen if I do not correct them.
14th Mar 2008, 13:26
It's unfortunate, but all these problems that I've just read are just like if not similar, to the problems I am now facing with my 2000 Maxima GLE. I know it isn't the engine because it is one of the best 6 cylinder engines in the world, mainly because of its versatility & power. unfortunately, I can't say the same for the electrical system that Nissan put into this car. It is a great car and runs smooth, but once the ignition coils or any of the sensors start giving you problems, it's time for a new car. And I mean literally a new car from another car company altogether.
Nissan, like Chrysler, doesn't really believe in nationwide recalls on a manufacturers defect. If they did, they would have done a recall on the ignition coils way back when the 2000 GLE model car was first sold, but they didn't.
I didn't know about this problem, so I unfortunately purchased this car. Now I'm having not only the ignition coils problems but also sensor problems also. I say sensor because I have changed at least 3 sensors on this car since purchased it back in 2002 with ONLY 35,000 miles!
I also wrote to a similar blog in the car & driver website under "customer reviews". I mentioned the ignition coils in this website and lo & behold, I was not the only one with this problem. In fact, one foolish customer, who still thinks the car is great, had ALL HIS IGNITION COILS REPLACED AT 16,000 MILES. He said it didn't bother him because it was still under the car's warranty. I guess he didn't realize that you shouldn't have to have this kind of problem AT 16,000 MILES! Mine started when I had put my first 1,000 miles or 36,000 on the car.
I bought this car used and for a good price. I recently had the mass air intake control sensor replaced, or at least I think that's what it's called. Basically the problem is when you're driving along and suddenly, the car loses a massive amount of power, making the gas pedal feel like mush. It feels like the car is going to stall out, but doesn't. Then you get a bad burnt rubber smell, no doubt from the fan belts or other belts that are working over-time to keep the car moving. This little problem cost me over $700.00, and I still get the "service engine light", which I have had on & off since about the time that I bought the car. Since then, like I said, I must've replaced 3 other sensors of the over 100 sensors that this car has.
I have written to the headquarters of Nissan International in CA, but to no avail as they didn't have the courtesy to write me back. I even called a car repair radio show to see what I can do and they gave me a repair station nearby. Hopefully, this guy resolves the problem of the "service engine soon" light.
I want to get another car but I can't sell this one with this light coming on. I am looking at Honda Pilots and was thinking about buying american with the NEW GMC Acadia, but I read that this car too, has certain problems with the propane smell coming in from the engine, as well as problems with the transmission and low gas mileage.
I looked at maybe a used VW Touareg, but similar stories about bad gas mileage & easy wearout of the tires and the brakes, rotors and pads!
Although with Acadia, it did say that the problems with the propane or gas smell eventually go away as the car breaks in some of the parts since it is new.
I think right now, Honda is looking to be the only choice as Toyotas are also expensive to maintain and VWs sadly, have gone way out of a decent price range. The computer chip age has ruined most of the car industries' otherwise great cars. They're ruined not only VW, which I used to love because it was german and my VW ran till the wheels almost fell off. I say this because my VW was stolen before it was completely broken down. The computer chips have also ruined most of the Mercedes out there and definitely ALL american and some Japanese makes & models.
Like I said, it looks like I'm going to get the Pilot unless I start reading more positive reviews of the Acadia and cars like this. As for the Nissans, all I can say is "Caveat Emptor", which means buyer beware in the real estate business.