EiSEMax04

Unfortunately I am on the complaint side. I bought my car in Oct 03. I have had it in the shop, 18 times excluding oil changes. I have 25,000 miles on it. I think I might pursue the lemon law on my car.

I think that Mike from TX has a point, however, the cars that have problems are BAD. It is like the problems can never get fixed. I have tried different service departments on the same problem to find that in a couple weeks the problem returns. I think that Nissan invested to heavily in the plants here in the states, thus putting pressure on engineers to get the cars rolled out. Has anyone thought about the fact that they now make 3 trucks (Frontier, Pathfinder, and Xterra) on the same frame, but the Xterra (most simplistic) came out 4 months later than the others? Did Nissan learn a lesson from the Titan and Armada, 2004 Maxima, and the 2004 Quest? These were all new cars, ground up. I don't think 2003 Muranos had these problems, (Japanese made). Do the Infiniti counterparts have the same issues or do you really get what you pay for? It is sad to say that a "Flagship" for Nissan does not warrant premium craftsmanship from a manufacturer that built their reputation on the Maxima.

However, the 2005 Maxima is a gem, or so I am told by service staff. Maybe first year production customers are the "Beta" testers, just like Microsoft. I hate that.

04BlackMaxx

I think this forum attracts a disproportionate amount of negative feedback about this car because when someone is having issues with a car they are more likely to go on the internet to do research. If someone is happy with a car, and not a car fanatic, they will not. There seems to be alot of negativity from people who are not heavy users of this site and are on a quest to see if they are the only ones with problems. There is a less greater tendancy for someone who is problem free to log on to the org just to comment on how fantastic and trouble free this car is, than someone to log on to discuss a recent problem and anger towards Nissan, thus resulting in the disproportionate numbre of people with problems relative to all maxima's out there. This is just my theory, but look at the age bracket of people on here, most in their 20's and 30's. Im sure if someone had the statistical information regarding age of ownership, you woudl find the mean is higher than that for all owners. It is no secret that younger buyers like me are more likely to log onto the org to chat about this car, the rest have not the time or interest. Therefore, the younger buyers outweigh the older ones on this forum, we dont have nearly a large enough sample to analyze the total quality of this car. The results are further skewed by the before mentioned theory that problem plagued owners are drawn to this site to investigate other owner's experiences. When it is all put together, the percentage of dissatisfied customers is increased. We do not have the whole picture. This site is made up of mostly enthusiasts who are usually not part of the target market for this car, myself included, which is only a fraction of the total number of owners. If a random sample of owners was taken by the entire owner population the results would most likely reflect a different outcome, and less negative responses. This is because that sample would not reflect the negative bias of those individuals who were attracted due to problems with the car. I have not seen any valid publications based on statistical evidance which reflect a negative opinion on the quality of this car. Take a look at who is complaining about this car, how long they have owned their car, and when they registered. You may find, as I did, a lot of people register upon having problems, many of which would have never registered had they not had a problem. Thus, many satisfied and problem free owners are out there, and will never post anything or look for answers. This forum is not a valid measure of the quality of this car because the sample was not drawn at random. End of story.

NJHOCKEYFAN

Can you give me some detail as to how this worked out for you?

My 04 max is now in for its 3x for the same mysterious problem and Im fed up.

clayman88

iTrader: (1)

I did some research online to find a good lemon law lawyer. I dont know what it is for other states, but in NE, the law requires 4 unsuccessful attempts and then you qualify.

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

04BlackMaxx, I've pointed that out before. (in a few less words though)
We have a few just curious about their Max like everything else in life.
We have those that are looking for answers to problems.
We have a few enthusiasts that want to mod.
We have some as a mix of the above.
But majority are seeking help. Many more are out there just driving and no problems.

btw, NJHOCKEYFAN there is a nice write up in the Sticky about Lemon Law.

Bobo

claymann88

have you considered negotiating your settlement then turning around and buying a low mileage 2003 Maxima given money might be a consideration. You would have the best of both worlds, a proven vehicle built in Japan, and perhaps some cash left over.

Just a thought.

jc53

yes they are the first.

clayman88

iTrader: (1)

Right now my lawyer is negotiating terms with a representative from Nissan. Basically its going to come down to two different options.
1. Nissan buys back vehicle (minus some mileage fees)
2. They offer a cash settlement & we keep the car. If we go with this option, I will probably trade the car in & use the cash to offset the negative equity on the car loan.

Once my lawyer gets the numbers crunched from Nissan, I'll have to decide which deal to go with. My wife & I both have decided we'd like to lower our car payment by a few hundred so we'll probably be looking for a low mileage pre-owned vehicle. Not sure if it will be another Maxima or not.

msoemax

Clay, i too am rowing my boat in a similar stream...I lost my arbitration because the problems with my car were better, yet not fixed :butkick:Nissan I guess it's ok for struts to squeek and make noise over bumps huh?

Sorry...I am just fed up with Nissan. I'll keep everyone posted on how things turn out. I am now going with a lemon law lawyer in IL.

Aus_Maxima

Australian 04 maximas are great, just thought i'd say.
I guess their built in japan, but still a fantastic car with no problems. I used to own a 96 max and i just sold it (dec 04) and bought an s15 200sx(240 over there) 2 days later my parents rocked up with a 2004 maxima.

One things for certain, they are both great cars and i couldn't be any more pleased with the 2 maxima's and the 200sx. I dearly miss the torque monster VQ but you never know, it too may have vq power one day 'looks round for 350z front cut'

From a very satisified Nissan Owner

clayman88

iTrader: (1)

Well, its finally almost over. Nissan has agreed to pay off my loan and then cut me a check for whats leftover. More than likely I'll be taking it to the dealership on Friday to give 'er up. The service manager is supposed to inspect it and then it will be theirs. Honestly though, with as many problems as I've had with the car I will miss it. I haven't decided yet what I'll be replacing it with. I've been looking at a 2003 Saab 9-3 as well as an 2002 Acura 3.2TL Sport. I'm even considering leasing a new Acura...too many decision.

Just a word of advice for anyone dealing with a lemon...get ahold of a good lawyer & dont take crap from Nissan...or any other manufacturer for that matter.

qlaval

Hi CLAYMAN88,

Before switching for an Acura TL you better think about it.
(I just did the switch but the other way around...)
They are having a lot of problem with the transmission...
I've changed mine 3 times within 80,000KM, Acura already extended the warranty
of the transmission to 160,000km in Canada (100,000Miles in the US).
And they still haven't find the perfect solution for it, go take a look at
http://tl.acurazine.com or Acuraworld.com you'll see, looks like there is no perfect car...

clayman88

iTrader: (1)

glaval,
Are you referring to the earlier model 3.2TL's. I've heard about alot of issues with the older model 3.2TL's, but I haven't heard about rampent transmission issues with the 05 TL's, which is what I'm looking at.

qlaval

Hi clayman88,

I was refering to:
"...I've been looking ... as well as an 2002 Acura 3.2TL Sport..."
and not the "...I'm even considering leasing a new Acura..." part.
No never heard anything bad about the 05 TL yet, but consider that I don't look
for Acura since I don't owe one anymore...
Better check the Acura forum before making your final decision.
Never too curious!

craziisraeli2

i'm going through the same issues with my 04 maxima

Nissan is being really horrible. They wont terminate my lease after having a handfull of problems. Has anyone else experienced this?

clayman88

iTrader: (1)

I might as well let everyone know the conclusion to my Maxima ordeal. Nissan did settle out of court and ended up buying back my Maxima. They ended up paying off my loan and then paid me back for the sales tax and licensing fees that I paid. They do deduct a certain amount for mileage, but thanks to my awesome lawyer, it wasn't a whole lot.
I ended up replacing the 04 Maxima with an 01 Infiniti I30, which I have been very happy with so far. As far as features its an upgrade, but nowhere near as quick as the Max. Maybe someday I'll get another one...who knows...

thecritik

iTrader: (2)

I have an '04 that i bought as a leftover and this may not come out right but I thank all of you that have had these problems and have talked about them. I took my car in for service after 2300 miles with the following complaints :

1. Chrome roof molding faded
2. Front suspension problems
3. Steering Wheel Shimmy
4. Rear end swings out(hops) in the opposite direction when turning while driving over a bump.

I got a call back from a service advisor today and he says, we're replacing the molding, the front struts, doing an alignment and balancing the tires.

Whether or not they fix it, is yet to be seen but I know this, they have been nice so far and i'm keeping my cool. I will keep a close eye on all the repairs they are doing and HOPEFULLY they nip all this in the bud so that I don't have to buy myself a spiral notebook and start taking notes.

Needless to say, a car is a car and if they didn't have problems, there wouldn't be service departments. I've had other cars and they have had problems too but not so early in the game so I feel all of your pain.

Wish me LUCK!!! And any advice would be appreciated!!

mattlerose

Just curious, how much the lawyer ended up costing you?

idnumber1

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for letting us know the outcome. Good luck with the Infinity, at least you are still in the Nissan family.

clayman88

iTrader: (1)

Thats the Great thing about the lemon law. I cant say this is true for all lawyers, but in most cases the car manufacturer has to pay the lawyer fees. The fees were $1500 and that didn't come out of my pocket at all.

thecritik

iTrader: (2)

Got the vehicle back today....
Work order states :

Moldings replaced
Tires Balanced(shimmy)
Replaced Front Struts and did alignment
Could not duplicate rear hop when going over bumps

Now I get the car back and I want to test drive it. Chick at the desk says that's not necessary. I'm like give me the keys so I can test drive MY car please. So she does. On the test drive the front feels tight and on the work order it has the part number for the new struts, ends in a 6 so i'm thinking kewl.
I look at the molding and it's still discolored, so I look at every other Max in service and the molding looks the same. No biggie i'm thinking, so i drive to the lot where they have brand new Max's and they all look just like mine. So again no biggie.
So as i leave to get my kid, i'm on the expressway and I look down at my steering wheel and it's off center.... WTF!!! Next I hit a bigger than average bump and the front end goes NUTZ!!! WTF!!! By that time I was too pissed to even think about the shimmy. I call the stealership service back and ask for my advisor, gone for the day. WTF!!! So i get home and first call a good friend who's a lawyer. He says call Nissan and file a complaint. Tells me some info about a class action suit with the early 350z's and how part sharing may or may not make that apply to my vehicle. Anyway he suggests I call Nissan immediately and file a complaint.
So I'm on the phone with a young lady in Consumer Affairs who sounds like she's had a very customer servicy day and i'm explaining my issues. The conversation basically ends with what would you like Nissan to do for you ... I"M LIKE WHAT!!!! She says they can try to repair the vehicle, so i'm like really, how about Nissan replace my vehicle that's less than 60 days old with a little over 2300 miles. Then she goes on with the blah blah blah we'll contact the dealer **** and someone will get back to you within 24 hours.
I'm like ok ... i'm not taking out my frustrations on this chick.
So i just pick up the phone again and call my lawyer friend again and he advised to keep cool and see what they offer. So here I am!!!

clayman88

iTrader: (1)

Bro, I know how you feel. I spent many hours speaking with Nissan's customer affairs people and they weren't any help at all. As soon as you sick a good lawyer on 'em though...they'll start reacting. Good luck to you!

thecritik

iTrader: (2)

I have to watch my temper and be sure not to start using expletives with these people on the phone. I used to work in service for a major computer company and boy does it make a difference when you're protected over the phone.

So I get a call back from this guy in Consumer Affairs and he states he spoke to the service manager at the dealership where my car was fixed and of course he stated that they fixed everything that they've documented. Needless to say the guy at consumer affairs tells me that they are under no obligation to test drive the car before or after the repair to verify the problem nor the repair when the issue that exists is a common one. Is it me or is this a line of crap. Nissan Consumer affairs as clayman said is useless. I asked the guy at Consumer affairs what does he suggest I do and he states that I should take my car back to "A" dealership, after I stated that I was skeptical about bringing it back to the selling dealership and he advises that I could bring it to any dealership I chose. GRRRRR

Now i'm reaching out to you guys..... What do you think I should do, now that none of the repairs with the exception of the molding were really resolved and even that, wasn't entirely resolved because my Max and every Max that i looked at on the new dealer lot and on the service lot, had the same moldings of different color.

My wheel is still shaking @ 60 initermittently, a moderate road bump sends the front end into convulsions and my rear end is still hopping along!!!!

clayman88

iTrader: (1)

It really depends on what you want. If you want a new car and you're willing to be a little patient theres no reason why you cant contact a lawyer and pursue the lemon law. I dont know what state you're in, but in Nebraska the dealership is allowed 4 attempts to fix the issue and after that the car is technically a lemon. I would suggest documenting the dates and times of all of your conversations with Consumer Affairs as well as all of your service visits. That documentation will come in handy if you chose to pursue the lemon law rout. You also have the option of trading the car in for another new one, but you'll end up takin' a big hairy loss. Or, you could just deal with the imperfections.

thecritik

iTrader: (2)

If i had 10, 15 or maybe 20 thousand miles on the car, i may consider dealing with it considering I love the car.

I finished with consumer affairs yesterday and what an interesting conversation I had with that "nice" gentleman.

I call service back this morning and the Service Manager states that Nissan is releasing an entirely new suspension setup for the car and there will be a TSB for it. I am bringing it in for the alignment that they screwed up to be fixed but I cannot live without my car so for now the suspension problem will hang until the poopy their feeding me either holds true or doesn't.

msoemax

PM me and I will give you my phone number...this needs a phone call...not three pages of typing

clayman88

iTrader: (1)

Who is this directed at?