Rust issue on 2001 Maxima

Have not seen rust on recent Maxes here in Massachusetts.....

Any chance your car was repaired at some time? Aftermarket panels are more prone to rust than factory.

Matthew

Under the new deal after year 98 Nissan dropped the Galv.Coatings on their sheet metal this was a cost saving item from their new leadership. I thought it was a mistake then and now I bet they know it also was a mistake. But don't look for Nissan to go back to the Galv.Coatings.

Do you mean when Nissan changed some of their suppliers? That would put the changes in at either 2001 or 2002 model years. I doubt they stopped using galvanized steel, that would be suicide for an auto maker. But I found this article that suggests Nissan might have cut some costs on the treatment of the high quality steel they used in the past.

FreshAlloy news Archive. APRIL 3, 2000

As part of the Nissan Revival Plan, cost reduction in parts suppliers constitute a large area of savings for Nissan. Automotive News reports that it looks like Nissan NA may have to replace 20 percent of it's supplier base with new or other existing suppliers...

Also Hassan indicated one way to save costs, "We're shifting now to the other type of steel." Hassan said, "I think in the past, we gold-plated some of our specifications. We're taking a look at changing them wherever it makes sense to change them."

Our take: We're looking into if that means Nissan will stop utilizing it's touted "Durasteel." (Durasteel is a zinc-nickel alloy with 50% more plating thickness than ordinary galvanized steel. Each panel is then laser-etched, creating an extremely smooth surface on which the paint will be applied.)

Thats it I was off a little but they did cut the quality of their Maximas. I still think my 98 is really the last of the quality Maximas.

Nope. This baby has been mine since I bought it. The shit of it is that I take excellent care of this car.

I suspect I'll be getting this repaired this spring.

Thanks, Patrick