Monotaur

Hello,

I had a question about my 5 speed automatic transmission. I have an early build 2004 (built 9/03). Anyway, I've noticed a few times that when I press on the accelerator that the car will start to shift but then the engine speed will shoot up (to maybe 3-4K), the car will feel like it's not accelerating at all, and then about a half second later the engine speed will drop back down to normal speeds and the car will then accelerate again normally.

This isn't like a normal shift, and only happens very infrequently. Is this what it feels like when the transmission slips? I've noticed that my transmissions has sometimes shifted harder than another '04 that I test drove when first buying my car, but based on conversations here I thought it was OK. I've got about 51.5K miles on the odometer, so I still have a powertrain warranty.

Thanks!

SickSE

Yes, your transmission is going. Take it to the dealership now. Don't put it off you will be over 60k before you know it and out of luck. Just looking out for you bro.


Alex

digitalfish

anyone in these forums thats actually rebuilt one of these or do all we have in here is replacers? Mine has been doing this for some time and is out of warranty and price on a tranny was given to me as @2.8k from the dealer for a reman. I've rebuilt many a tranny in my time and wanted to know if anyone could point a finger at a part on this problem. It's 2-3 and 3-4 shift on my car so I've been guessing U/D Brake or maybe second brake. 04SE as well

Nietzsche

iTrader: (7)

Don't worry about it, more than likely it's just the accelerator angle vs load and the TCU is trying to figure out what to do. If your under warranty it never hurts to check it out but all cars do this.

SickSE

.....no

Don't make a big mistake, take it to the dealership.

rabit

iTrader: (1)

I hate to say it but the dealership is your best bet...especially if your under warranty.

digitalfish

this is far more severe than "all cars do this" it's like you hit an ice patch and the tack goes up a good 2k before it goes back into gear.

Monotaur

That's exactly how mine feels... good way to describe it.

Yeah, I'm going to bring it in and ask about it. Thanks everyone.

4MySwee

iTrader: (2)

I have taken mine in before because it has done it twice. With no codes or any way to duplicate the problem, they can't/won't do anything.

We bought an extended warranty from an outside company later.

fcoral 05

mine is doing the same it's an 05 just turned 21000 miles. What i plan to do is to take it in and have the service writer drive the car home overnight so someone can feel what i'm talking about. So i wouls suggest you try that approach.

madmik

iTrader: (1)

Try real hard to identify under which conditions your tranny slips before going to the dealer. If the dealer cannot recreate the problem, they can't really do much. Intermittent problems are much more difficult to diagnose.

Look at the TSB's(bulletins) on NISSANHELP.com and try to line up your language with the of the TSB. One talks about shift shock when cold, another about abnormal shifting (slip, shift shock). One is a TCU program upgrade. The second replaces the control valve assembly(valve body).

I had my 05 SE at the dealer 6 times just to address the TSB's.

Monotaur

I had the cold shift shock TSB applied just a few months after I got the car, but have not heard about this other TSB. Do you have a link or TSB number?

Thanks!

PhotoGus

great info friends.....

madmik

iTrader: (1)

Oops. Was for 4 A/T only. Sorry.

MAXIM0

Im having a very similar problem. Sometimes the car will open up and take off but then when it tries to shift in to 4th it slows down. Its an 04 SL 4 speed. When i floor it, the car will accellerate slower than if i gradually increase throttle.

04maxlover

i have a 5 spped auto and it blew a code saying, (torque converter, ckt intermittent) and it sticks in 5th gear till i shut her off and on start up sounds like an electric engine...

Matts04Maxima

Hey all,
I have an 04 SE with 43,000 miles. I need to know if a slip or a premature shift from 2 to 3 or back 3 to 2 happens to you all. It definitely feels like a slip and happens when going down a hill with the tranny kinda riding 3rd then pushes itself into 2. Or when accelerating gently it will prematurely shift to 3 like trying to race into overdrive. My friend who is a service mgr at a Buick/GMC/Pontiac dealer says it feels like a clogged filter or dirty fuild. Does this make sense or could it be something serious ??

AllBlackMax

Oh man, ya'll are scaring me. I have about 61k miles and even with all of my mods I haven't had any problems out of my transmission.

Lovemycar

A slip is when you hit the gas at a complete stop and your car doesn't move
for a second or two then bangs into gear then you have a problem. now as for the cold shift shock i thought that was normal for a cold motor my max will jerk from 1-2 in the morning cold after that it's smooth as silk. also it's
my car has laways down shifted coming to a stop or going down hill

Monotaur

Well, I was able to ask my dealer about this the last time I brought it in (I'm at 54,xxx miles now). Since it is an intermittant problem, they couldn't reproduce it. They did check for codes, but didn't find any. The service manager said that sometimes this is normal, to prevent damage to the tranny from a hard shift it will slip a little intentionally (strange?). But, come to thing of it, the times that it has slipped the worst when when I was slowing down from a highway off-ramp and then had to quickly accelerate again.

But, with no codes and only happening intermittently, I'm not sure that there is anything to do right now anyway.

MrMarkSH

Mine is doing the same thing, but at 110k miles. Control Valve Assy?

Sarara

Ok my experience with transmission was something like this.

When I start driving with moderate to normal acceleration, I was feeling transmission shifts to 1 then 2 just fine and then 3 but with littler jerking. Just like if you hit one small and deep pothole.

If I start driving with beyond normal acceleration, I was still feeling this jerking shift from 2 to 3 but due to acceleration and speed it was less noticeable then if I accelerate normal.

Sometime when I was driving around lets say 50 MPH and suddenly I see front vehicle stops quick and I slam on breaks, and lets say car dropped down to about 25 to 30 MPH and due to the front vehicle start moving quickly so I also accelerate quickly after I slammed breaks, damn I was feeling transmission jerking like transmission had no clue to go in to 2nd or 3rd gear.

It was happening almost all the time when my car had 40k miles.

What all I did was drain and fill transmission oil and paid about $125 and problem went away permanently. My transmission oil was dirty before I did this drain and fill job. It was hard to believe a dirty oil can do this kind of things on some transmission.

If I hit 30k miles again, I will be doing the same again. I extremely against flushing transmission but it's all up to someone to believe in.

Again, every car is different so ask your dealer or trusted mechanics before attempting any transmission work. My car fixed one way does not mean yours will too. I did drain and fill because my dealer said so not because I found that somewhere on internet.

mahanddeem

Nice info

SmokinMaxSE

iTrader: (1)

Same here. Went 40k on the fluid. I swore it was going to break,jerking up and down shifts. Changed the fluid today at the dealer and I think i got a Brand New Max

LandsEnd

I believe your transmission is out of warranty. Its 5 years, or 60,000 miles whichever comes first. Sept. 03 you said, so I'm thinking the car was purchased way before March 28, 04 to make it more then 5 years.

MaxEx

I think every auto tranny goes through this. It mostly happens because the computer is unsure what to do, the car is cold..and **** just happens. It's like waking up in the morning and then taking off on a dead sprint from your bed. That wouldn't be pretty. If your car is properly warmed up and maintained then you should have minimal problems.

I could also see this happening if you've been driving on the interstate for 200 miles and you all of a sudden stop and then floor it 0-60. The tranny has been lazy and heat soaked for 3 hours and now you want it to do this? Everything mechanical can and will fail, but wait until it fails to actually worry.

My old 88 s-10 use to slip some every now and then when it was cold, and that truck is still on it's original tranny with 185,000 miles.

LiquidIce

iTrader: (1)

+1 I had the SAME exact symptoms.. checked tranny fluid is was brown almost black.. I brought it right to the best stealership I knew of (worth the drive) and they did a drain and fill. I was told my car lacked the valves to do a flush? Didn't make sense to me at all but the tech was a 19 yr experienced nissan technician. He said his experience with the transmission that high mileage tranny's should not be flushed.. just drain and refill and watch closely. It can't hurt to do it in shorter intervals to get the rest of the crappy tranny fluid out.

I have to admit that I do not experience these hard shifts anymore since this drain and refill today. I paid $118 total.

killingbee

i'm having a problem with my transmission. (04 SE, 5 speed AT, 82000miles)
It jerks whenever i try to stop and to go.
which means, whenever the gear changes from 1 to 2 and 2 to 1.
I jerks so terribly that i can see it from outside. (i saw it when a valet drove my car)
I went to different dealers and other mechanic shops several times but they couldn't find a reason. I replaced all four mounts and have done fluid service 2 time already but still having a same problem.
I search a lot because of this problem but couldn't find any solution other than rebuilding whole transmission.
Does anyone know how to solve this problem? Rebuilding is the only solution?
I heard that many 04 maxima owners complaining about this.
Please help me out here if you had a same problem before.
thank you

Sarara

Sorry to hear you have this problem.

The less expensive solution was to drain and refill transmission fluid which you have done it twice. I am not sure what else can be done from here. May be just keep driving until it fail completely and take it from there? Man transmission issue and timing chain tensioner issue with 04 maxima are every where.

maxman7

Man You guys are scaring the crap outta me ! But getta load of this I own a 2004 SL with 5,At tranny 222,000 miles and never had any thing done but a air compressor replacement. It shifts perfectly no slippage at all and has never jerked, and no tensioner noise at all. I gave 7,100 bucks for it with 220,000k on it. It looks brand new in and out, and as for loss of performance I stuck about 2feet ahead of my brothers 05,SL (45,000k) from 0 to 80 MPH. give or take a foot. take consideration all these miles are highway miles and the prev. owner is rich enuff to have all services done. I know I will get mine eventually for buying a car with such miles but if possible I will replace tranny or engine cause I love this car. I do regulate how much I rev on it but I would do that if it had 22miles on it they are passenger cars not race cars and ya will reap what ya sew.Maxman7

NISMOMAX002

I have an 04 SL with 98k. When reversing out of a parking spot, I do not move until I feel the transmission shift into drive. Lately, the transmission will shift violently. I have the Gold warranty, which covers up to 100k.Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Oil changed at:97k
Transmission oil changed at:86k

Oolatec

iTrader: (5)

Bring it back to the dealer.

zeeyo987

okay so im pretty fed up with my 04 max 5AT SE made in 2003. i need a new transmission and was told a 05 and 06 tranny will fit as long as you take the sensor out of the old tranny. turns out it dosent bolt up right so the place i took it too said they had a 06 with like 28,000 miles they would install for 1700 total, but yea i wanted to know is this true or can i still use an 06 or 05 tranny and this guy dosent know what to do. cuz a few people told me it would work. next thing i wanted to know is what did people do when they needed a new tranny and were out of warranty, did you guys replace it with a used one, a remanufactured one, or rebuilt one. i dont have a lot ot spend and was gonna put in a used one from 04 but how do you check to see if the the one ur buying isnt going to be defective, because it looks like the maximas built in 03 and early 04 all have a problem.

p.s. the dealer told me that later year 04's can use a 05 or 06 tranny but i dont think these later month ones will fit something in a 03 built one right? thanks guys!

p.s.s. if someone could call me with some advice or a place in socal that knows what theyre doing and has the part, anything at all really please call me 909 534 5856, thanks

madmik

iTrader: (1)

I first changed my 05 tranny oil at 17600M and had it analysed by Blackstone Labs. They said that it had lots of silicone (left over from building process), solids (dirt and metal), and it had turn acidic. I used the plug at the front of the tranny. 3 quarts came out. Its not a full flush but I do not like the power flush done by the dealer. For all my cars I always change the tranny oil every two years.

The jirkyness went away for one year. Its starting again slowy. Its now two year later so I will change it soon.

The tranny has its own computer program. For those with severe jerkyness, I would ask the dealer to use the Consult-II software to check for codes, possibly a TCM software upgrade. The tranny responds to the various sensors on the car. I may suggest to get the MAF cleaned, and ensure all clamps up to the throttle body are tight. My car runs better after I clean the MAF wit CRC MAF Cleaner. I do it every year.

Sarara

I have one question for fellow maxima owners about transmission fluid.

I have done drain and fill less than 2 months ago and I think my transmission fluid is still dirty. Do you guys know if doing drain and fill again in short period of time will be ok or I should wait for a while? I have 5 speed automatic transmission. Transmission is not slipping but dirty oil there tickles me all the time.

Thanks

madmik

iTrader: (1)

If you drained by removing the front plug, about half came out. The rest stayed in the torque converter. A power flush is the best way to get a full flush and that pure red color you seek.

Sarara

There is no way I am willing to do flush. If it takes 4 or 5 times drain and refill to seek close to red color then I am ok with that. All I am not sure about is how often someone can do drain and refill transmission fluid. What should be the interval in miles or time between two drain and refill job?

2themaximum

I have a 2006 Max SE with about 65,000 miles. I recently began experiencing similar problems posted in this thread. I began noticing when slowing down the car violently shifts down. More recently, it is shifiting violently in stop in go traffic. The RPMS reach 3000/4000 before changing gears.....not normal. I took it to several shops to have the transmission fluid flushed but all refused to do so saying that since its still under warranty they recommend me take it to the dealer.

I took it to the dealer (completely scared) and they tried to reproduce the issues i was having. And of course they were not able to do so. They told me that the fluid was dark in color and burnt smelling and recommended a flush. They are charing me $235 plus $95 diagnosis fee. They also told me that my engine mount needs to be replaced ($330) which is not covered by warranty and I declined on this repair. Hopefully this flush will correct this issue for me.

Bunkei

I'm surprised that there hasn't been a class-action lawsuit against Nissan for this, like there was against Toyota for the engine sludge problem. Obviously, their automatic transmissions were just trash on Pre-07 6th gen Maximas.

Then, I read how some owners here are on their 2nd or even 3rd transmission. To me, it's obvious that there's a design flaw, and exchanging one flawed transmission for another isn't going to solve the problem.

Personally, I think that they should replace these transmissions with the CVT, which seem to be much more reliable. Even if the retrofitting is cost-prohibitive, it certainly would be cheaper than continually replacing these transmissions. Or perhaps, they need to redesign the automatics to address the flaws.

I feel for you guys and I think it's ridiculous what you're going through ..

90max

iTrader: (14)

damn