6th Generation Maxima (2004-2008)Discussion of the 6th generation Maxima. Come see what others are saying.
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Is it me or does the Maxima have a lot of road noise. My cars stone stock. I have the moonroof. When I drive through a puddle it sounds like great adventure. Have any of you guys used sound panels on your yet?
Did anyone under coat the car? I'd like to undercouat it and see how it is after that. Any suggestions besides turn the radio up?
Be glad you didnt get an SE in that case. There is a substantial amount of road noise in mine....and squeaks and rattles, that of course the dealer cannot find.
Like you said, the radio is the best fix. Kind of lame, but these arent Lexus. You do get alot for the $30k though....
Thanks guys. I'm going to try the undercoating first. Maybe when it gets a bit warmer. I'll let you know how it goes. I'd much rather go for 100.00 in spray instead of taking my interior apart.
Have u tried listening to the radio at 20? No, its definately not a lexus...If any of you have ever driven a 2002 Es300 you'd feel like you were at the helm of a fishingboat compared to the maxima...I occasionally drive the lexus, and it makes me fall in love with the max all over again...and the lexus is not much quieter than my maxima.
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2004 SE Frost/Onyx Driver Preferred Pkg with rims
Interesting, my biggest complaint with this car is that it is too damn quiet. I can barely hear the engine, and it is as smooth as any other car I have driven when it is raining outside.
31,300....The car has made one verrrry minor tick in the console area when the car is on uneven pavement...but the lexus made just as much noise from the console too..Im happy to say I think I got one of the good ones.. The car is pretty much the same all around as it was when I got it..The Eagle F1's have given it a more quality feel as well, so now im very pleased with it currently. It makes noise when its going over rough pavement and your usual salt destroyed surfaces. But overall, Ive always chalked that off to a stiff suspention and big rims. Maybe I just dont care either...Its so dang cool looking...But for real, Its solid, and on highway cruises you can go with the fan off, radio off, and hear nothing but the slight hum of the tires and a little bit of wind resistance. I think its unfair to expect taut handling and a nice cushy ride. I take the bad with the good..I love how you can feel the imperfections in the road via the steering wheel, I wanna know Im in control of the car and I want to be able to sense its every move. This car does that for me, and if it comes tt the expense of a few buzzes and tics every now and then its ok with me. The fact of the matter is, this car was designed with performance in mind more so than posh cushiness. One comes at the expense of the other. 18" is really big for a standard rim, and you stiffen the suspention...well look what you get. What I dont see on the forum is people who are taking the most logical approach to the whole issue...Going to 17" rims and putting grand touring tires on the SE. Because the SE is noisier than the SL no doubt about it. I used to drive a taurus GL...and when i first owned the max I couldnt believe how much safer i felt, being able to sense the road.
Read the above post by Max
Case in Point:
Interesting, my biggest complaint with this car is that it is too damn quiet. I can barely hear the engine, and it is as smooth as any other car I have driven when it is raining outside.
I can barely hear wind noises in this car.
He is an SL owner//
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2004 SE Frost/Onyx Driver Preferred Pkg with rims
I hear hardly anything. i may hear a slight creak here or there, but it's close to silent when radio is off. of course at high speeds i close my sunroof shade b/c of wind noise. with radio at 15 all the slight noises are non-existent.
btw I have super sensitive hearing, i hear the slightest noise. (that strut starting to go drove me insane)
now w/ the radio up to 20 (especially w/ bass provided by sirius) the mirror vibrates w/ a lil noise and my sunglasses need to come out.
maybe it was just my '88 Century that squaked so badly that Max seems as near silent as i could hope. (of course my boomin' system drown out those noises. no radio was horrible)
For those (esp. SE) w/ many miles, your RSAs will contribute a lot of noise. 30k miles? yeah your RSAs are very noisy. get some Pirellis or Michelins, quietness will be your's.
Be glad you didnt get an SE in that case. There is a substantial amount of road noise in mine....and squeaks and rattles, that of course the dealer cannot find.
Like you said, the radio is the best fix. Kind of lame, but these arent Lexus. You do get alot for the $30k though....
Sound panels? Hmmm.....
I had 4 - 245/45x18 Michelin Pilot A/S installed a couple of weeks ago. It made a dramatic difference in the cabin noise on my SE. The RSA's were noisy in all circumstances. The Michelins ride/drive/handle/go around corners... Every aspect you can name is greatly improved over the RSA's. If I had known I would have done it much sooner.
I have an SE, i don't have any noise. In fact I drive in 4th gear for miles at a time because I can't hear the damn engine whining when I forget to shift into 5th and 6th gears. I have eibachs so when I hit a pothole the car feels like it might snap in half but otherwise very quiet in the cabin.
I have an SE, i don't have any noise. In fact I drive in 4th gear for miles at a time because I can't hear the damn engine whining when I forget to shift into 5th and 6th gears. I have eibachs so when I hit a pothole the car feels like it might snap in half but otherwise very quiet in the cabin.
To get rid of a wheel gap...that just ain't worth it.
Wow guys, not a Lexus. and a 300 too boot.. I like the 400. Smooth, quiet, roomy, powerful and handles. I had a LS400 for a week and loved it. Too bad I can't afford a new one and all my other toys :P
As for the road noise. I hit a puddle tonight and the sound from the puddle was like a ride at a water park. I guess thats the difference in the Infinaty andhe Nissan. I have the SL and expected it to be quieter.
Does anyone know how to turn the Maitenance Warning Light "Pit Stop" reminder off or to reset it. I had my oil changed at a Jiffy Lube, and the
"Pit Stop" warning came up.
My car has a few squeaks and rattles here and there, but overall it's not that noisy... in fact, when I first test drove it (I came from a POS 94 Plymouth Sundance), I couldn't even hear the Max running... I actually had to ask the salesman as I was getting in (no engine noise whatsoever, and no vibration at all...)... a far cry from the 300M I had just driven (the engine almost stalled when I was pulling out from the lot - had to give it some gas or it would have quit).
Mine is quiet as hell.....except for the buzzing in the rear deck from the subwoofers, well, that is what 1600 watts going to dual 12" subs do for you.
Actually, I get little road noise, no strange rattles. Real quiet, even with 20" rims. Engine is real quiet as well. Almost hard to hear it pulling up in the driveway. Only noise I get is a slight clicking from the AC compressor that is normal.
Coming from driving a heavily modified tiburon and eclipse, this car is as quiet as I need. 32k miles and still enjoying the comfort. That won't last if I decide to mess around with this car and start bolting a bunch of crap on it.
It is explained in your manual...don't piss off Nismo this early in the game....it can be found in the settings menu...make sure the car is parked.
I don't get pissed, but of course I, like many others, prefer someone to figure out the little things and not depend on the Org for the simplest tasks.
btw, and you'll have a wealth of info at your finger tips. (if the car is park too far away to get the manual, that's also in a Sticky.
oh yeah, like I said earlier, the Max is far quieter than most cars I've been in. get some higher end rubber and she'll quiet down.
I've got about 3k miles on mine now and can't find anything to have the dealer take a look at. The car is extrememly quiet from an engine, wind, traffic, rattle pespective, but there does seem to be a lot of "tire" noise, which kind of creates a "white noise" effect in the background while the radio is on. When the radio is off it becomes very noticeable.
My 05 SL has more road noise than the Buick LaCross that I also test-drove, but is considerably quieter than the Honda Accord, which I also considered.
I would say that the tire and engine noise are not bad at all in mine. However, driving over the sand and salt they put down for the icy roads sure makes a heck of a racket..... tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink..... you hear every little piece of sand and salt hitting the underbody. (Yes I like to have radio at 22 too.... but that's not practical with clients in the car) It sounds like the car has no soundproofing whatsoever. I've looked though at the underbody and there is something black sprayed on the underbody... maybe not enough though.
The noise is one problem, but here's my bigger problem.... after owning the Max for 3 months, the sand and the salt from the road has been thrown up and sandblasted the rocker planels.... back where the rocker panel flares out near the end of the rear doors. Anyone else having this problem? Dealer says that stone chips are not covered under warranty... I'm asking to speak to district manager about this. Dealer asked me if I lived on gravel road.... no, car has never been on a gravel road!!!
If anyone else notices this same paint chipping at where the rocker panels flare out - I'd be interested to know how they plan to resolve it. I'm unsure whether it is the Eagle RS-A's that are throwing more sand up on the car than other tires (so replace tires?) or whether I need to have some orange peel coating put on this area? Any ideas guys???
Thank god. So I'm not crazy or expecting too much after spending 36k. As for the paint chips I'll check. They filled all the pot holes this week and you know the debris that leaves on the road. I was cringing all week. I'm going to check the car as soon as the suns out.
Don't know what all the screaming is about road and wind noise. I consider my Max's to be very quiet. Drive a new Accord, the wind and road noise would drive you crazy and the car looks ugly and handles like a Buick. Same for the Camry. Also, the Goodyear RSA's on the SE will never be considered a quiet tire and their "crap" in most other areas as well. I guess quiet is all relative as I traded a 2002 Sebring Convertible in on my Max and that was noisy top up or top down. Just love the two Max's I bought, his and hers, and just marvel at the silence of that beautiful 3.5 liter while I listen to Jim Brickman on the Bose. So all I can say is what noise, but I could be deaf from driving the convertible for the past three years.
Don't know what all the screaming is about road and wind noise. I consider my Max's to be very quiet. Drive a new Accord, the wind and road noise would drive you crazy and the car looks ugly and handles like a Buick. Same for the Camry. Also, the Goodyear RSA's on the SE will never be considered a quiet tire and their "crap" in most other areas as well. I guess quiet is all relative as I traded a 2002 Sebring Convertible in on my Max and that was noisy top up or top down. Just love the two Max's I bought, his and hers, and just marvel at the silence of that beautiful 3.5 liter while I listen to Jim Brickman on the Bose. So all I can say is what noise, but I could be deaf from driving the convertible for the past three years.
You can only judge from your expierence. My past cars 1968 Buick Skylark, sound wasn't an issue then Next car 1969 Camaro, way too loud! 1980 Coup Deville and 1984 Coup Deville DEAD QUIET. 1983 Buick Regal Custom Loud, 1998 Maxima, quiet enough. No moon roof. 05 SL "should be quieter.
My 04 SE is fairly quiet. I boght a complete set of floor mats from the dealer and installed them over the original ones. It improves the noise issue a lot, and the mats fit perfectly and protect the lower ones - when I sell, the car will have new original mats!
I have a sound meter and my 05' SL is at 87-89 dB at 80 Mph. I will be installing a Dynamat Extreme Bulk Pak which will cover most of the car and I am also putting the ExtemeLiner on top of the Extreme on the floorpan under the carpet. I will let you know what results I see/hear. As a side note, my girlfriend has an 02' Sentra GXE and it's 93 dB at just 70 Mph. I am Dynamating it as well. I think the Sentra will notice the biggest improvement. If I can get the Max down to 85 dB then that will be a huge improvement.
2dB is not a huge gain. The human ear can hear increments of 3dB at a time. You will hear a noticeable difference if you can get the noise down 6+ dB. Just my two cents regarding engineering. I am eager to see what happens with the sound dampening. Good luck
how is that different from post #25?
I agree driving over salt makes a racket, but for me it's plenty quiet still. Any quieter I would hear less of the high revs. Maybe we can get the dynomat or similar spray for the wheel wells?
If you really want to go at the noise: at today's Harrisburg meet, a hooked up 3rd Gen had insulation materials from Lowes in his trunk to eliminate vibration. you could disassemble your doors and take out the carpet to apply it.
I would say that the tire and engine noise are not bad at all in mine. However, driving over the sand and salt they put down for the icy roads sure makes a heck of a racket..... tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink..... you hear every little piece of sand and salt hitting the underbody. (Yes I like to have radio at 22 too.... but that's not practical with clients in the car) It sounds like the car has no soundproofing whatsoever. I've looked though at the underbody and there is something black sprayed on the underbody... maybe not enough though.
The noise is one problem, but here's my bigger problem.... after owning the Max for 3 months, the sand and the salt from the road has been thrown up and sandblasted the rocker planels.... back where the rocker panel flares out near the end of the rear doors. Anyone else having this problem? Dealer says that stone chips are not covered under warranty... I'm asking to speak to district manager about this. Dealer asked me if I lived on gravel road.... no, car has never been on a gravel road!!!
If anyone else notices this same paint chipping at where the rocker panels flare out - I'd be interested to know how they plan to resolve it. I'm unsure whether it is the Eagle RS-A's that are throwing more sand up on the car than other tires (so replace tires?) or whether I need to have some orange peel coating put on this area? Any ideas guys???
YES....My passenger side...but not the driver side...and this is because the door is recessed more on the pass, and recessed more on the drivers...tell them thats the reason, and see what they say...thats a manufacturing inconsistancy which lead to paint chips..
I don't get pissed, but of course I, like many others, prefer someone to figure out the little things and not depend on the Org for the simplest tasks. 
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