Longevity of Maximas

I am considering a 98 Maxima with an automatic trans and 90000 miles. I do not know anything about it's history yet.

Background: I have been driving a 1985 Toyota pickup for the last 15 years. The engine lasted 200000 miles with no major problems, but now at

287000 the A/T is giving out and I'm thinking the $800-$2400 repair cost might be better spent on a *slightly* newer vehicle ;-)

Can I expect longevity like this out of a Maxima? Anything I will be sure to encounter from a 98 or 95 that I should know about beforehand?

TIA

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Reply to
noneyabusiness
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I'd be surprised if the Nissan would hold up like a Toyota does. My wife has a Corolla she bought used and I *know* it was abused by a hot-rodder. But the thing still runs like a champ! My '97 Nissan XE pickup has been "Okay" but it still has not been nearly so trouble free as the Toyota is. My next vehicle will be a Toyota, for sure. Their quality is legendary - you can but the Consumer Reports automotive book and check-out what they are saying about cars too.

A guy at work told me his uncle is a Toyota mechanic & has been one for about 20 years. The uncle told him that he has

*never* done any work on a Corolla! This "kid" gave away his old "crappy" Toyota Starlet to his brother who needed a commuter car because he drove a long way to work & needed to save on gas. Now the kid is kinda "pissed" he parted with that car. For a while he had an Olds he'd bought cheap, but then he traded for a used Corolla.

Buy a Toyota! The factory almost forgot to grease the front wheel bearings in my Nissan XE truck. So I tried to pull off the brake backing (mounting) plate on the left side and had to borrow an air impact tool to do that! Then I wrung-off one of those brake & spindle assembly bolts with the impact tool & has to pay a garage to use a torch to get the damn thing out. The grease filling plug in the rear end (differential) was also *jammed* in the diff. case - so the mechanics

*also* needed to use heavy tools to unscrew that plug for me.

The distributor cap kept getting dirty which caused the truck not to start in wet weather. So I still need to clean the plug wires and the distributor once in a while to keep the high voltage from being shorted-out by moisture. Now my knock detector (detonation sensor) is bad and I had to write to this N.G. to find out where they Nissan guys HID that things - it's probably tucked in under the oil filter where its gonna be a bitch to change.

So buy yourself a Toyota! I've only had to replace the starter and the alternator on the Corolla - plus all of the motor mounts too which were torn when this hot-rodder who had this care previously had tried to do wheelies. This '94 car was "showing" 24,000 - but I bet it had at least 100,000 miles on it.

Reply to
Ruth Cory

Whatever people say about "undestructable" a lot depends on previous owner. Owners like myself sell things in near-new orsitine condition, because I am a part-time student and part-time EE engineer I am still far below our engineering fellows in terms of income. SO I thought if my car ever breaks down I am in a megatrouble, I do NOT have a luxury of visiting repair shops or even replacing cars too often, so the way I drive is truly ridiculous. Never hard brake/accelerate and hard means I am like a 70-year old lady, slow acceleration, brake like a mile before lights and always calculating when lights change, I GARAGE MY SENTRA ON RAINY/SNOWY DAYS - IT'S WORTH TO PAY 12 BUCKS AT OUR MUNICIPAL GARAGE FOR 24 HOURS OR BETTER YET A MONTHLY PASS I PAID SEVERAL TIMES THAN FEEL LIKE AN ASS THE NEXT MORNING LOOKING AT YOUR TREASURE BURRIED IN whatever falls from the sky.

So this is one case, if it's your previous owenr then your Maxima is a very good choice. Nissan was known for excellent engines (substance) but poor exterior (appearance) which was perfectly OK now, at present Nissan is trying to change bad exterior legacy with 2005 models designed in the USA known for better exterior design and engines still Japanese better than American.

On the other hand, if your previous owner was a young kid or some rich bastard, I am not sure what's left of a great engine Nissan installed in Maximas.

Reply to
Marco Licetti

You gave the wrong answer. He didnt ask about pickups, etc he asked about Maximas. Nissan is known for excellent sedan engines, it's not that famous for pickups, pickups is a weak are ain Nissan's business so dont complain. Americans (Ford, GM) make best pickups and more or less SUV's, when it comes to smaller sedans you cant complain on Nissan, it's BETTER than Toyota under hood, it may be worse on the outside (exterior design) which I dont care as much as for engine

Reply to
Marco Licetti

Reply to
JimV

what's the heck is the point of discussing your PICKUP when the guy asked about Maxiam sedan you say Toyota quality is legendary, but qe all say Nissan quality is legendary in sedans, we dont discuss pickups which may be btter from Toyota. And if you insist on pickups, Toyota is not even the best, the best are Americans - American trucks/pickups and large SUV's are the best, japanese lead in smaller cars, Europeans lead in exterior design and unique cars.

To each his own, so dont blast Maximas. I dont work for Nissan, I dont work for any auto corporation, I am an electricl engineer.

Reply to
Marco Licetti

It's "electrical" engineer.

Ok, just pulling your chain. Could not resist. Sorry.

Anyway, on to my comments:

Maxima 95-99 has a great engine. The timing chain guide may break in a few, which is a fairly minor engine repair. Good for 250,000, even

300,000+ miles with reasonable oil changes. The water pump may fail at 95,000 but may last much longer. It is buried in the engine, and runs off the timing chain. So, costs about $600+ to fix when it starts leaking. Very difficult for the home mechanic to repair, and amateurs may screw up the timing trying to. Obviously, any engine will eventually lose its pump. Unfortunately, replacing this pump is about as expensive as replacing the fabric timing belt __and__ pump in other cars. But at least the Max will likely go further before needing the service.

(The engines in the generation prior to 95-99 are even more indestructible, except for the SE high-output model around '93 or so, which was not good.)

Likewise, the auto tranny is good for at least 150,000 before the friction material wears out & needs a rebuild (or probably better, a salvage unit). That's assuming you change the fluid once in a while.

Injectors and wheel bearings sometimes start giving out at 110,000 -

130,000 miles, from what I've heard. And it seems to be a bitch replacing the front bearings.

Lot's of people say the struts are good for 100,000 miles. My experience was lousy, my I30t (think Maxima SE) needed new ones by

40,000, and actually got them at 50K when I couldn't stand it any longer. Personally I think any car will greatly benefit by replacing by 70,000.

Nissan starters frequently make nasty noises after 5 or more years of use, because the grease dries up and the bendix sticks. Once in a while the starter freezes up because of this, & people lightly hit the starter with something to loosen it up to get it home. I got tired of the noise and replaced it at 90,000 or so.

The accessory belts last great on this car, as do the emission sensors, CV boots (spray with silicone once in a while), engine mounts, exhaust systems, radiators, etc. In other words, there are no major engineering foul-ups to be concerned about. This is at least partly because the Maxima is made in Japan, and it is simply better than "domestic".

You should be aware that some hot-rodders will have fried the rotors, which are a bit lightweight for the weight and power of the car and can warp, making the car shudder on stops. Best thing, if so, is to replace with aftermarket and the problem will be gone. (Brembo rotors are available on nopi.com for about $38 each plus pretty reasonable shipping charges. These are definitely a grade better than factory; much better ventilation.) On the other hand, heavy-handed and/or uneven torque applied by your friendly NTB idiot (pick your own vendor) will warp them even without driver abuse.

Be aware also, the Bose stereo is a head unit, with the speakers having amps built in at each location. You can't change out just part of the system. There are a couple of firms on the 'net that do repairs of these components; outright replacement is prohibitively expensive. If your Max has a standard non-Bose stereo, this comment doesn't apply.

By the way, I'm at 106,900 miles and my engine uses absolutely no oil. No fluid leaks of any kind. I bought a new 2004 Accord 13 months ago; it has less than 3,500 miles because I just love driving the I30t & it has remained my daily driver. Choose the particular Maxima wisely, and you'll be pleased.

Reply to
jmattis

I bet that's because someone put silicate loaded american style anti-frezze into their Nissan, like Prestone. The Nissan OEM Anti-freeze is silicate free, just like Toyota's. Here's where Nissan may have used bad judgement: Their silicate free anti-freeze is green, just like Prestone. Toyota chose to distinguish their verion by making it purple and it probably reduced the chance of anyone confusing the 2. Nissan's can use prestone, but over the long run, the water pump will die sooner.

Yes, I've experienced that. It is a simple matter of opening up the starter and replacing the grease inside. Does wonders.

Totally agree.

The rotors are small because the 95-99 Maxima is one of the lightest 4 door sedans out there. Try to find any 5 passenger 4 door sports sedan that weighs in the vicinity of 3000-3200 lbs. The new Acura TSX, a smaller car with a 4 banger, weighs about the same. Even todays' 2005 maxima weighs in at 3400 lbs, 100 lbs less than the new Acura TL. Nissans, compared to other carmakers, make light cars.

That's the Bose way in Mercedes, Acura, GM etc. It's a Bose thing, not a Nissan thing.

Like Nissan used to say, "Enjoy the ride"

CD

Reply to
Codifus

Sounds like a good post for the Toyota group. 'Bye!

repair

Reply to
BeeP

I had a 92 and also a 93 SE -- . Weak clutches -- VTC system -- windows -- CV boots -- leaky injectors -- brake rotors. I have owned Hondas since and been richer for the experience.

Reply to
TWW

Their lack of low end torque tends to make it easy on the drivetrain:P

CD

Reply to
Codifus

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