Defiant_Max04

iTrader: (1)

Ok, I have a 2004 Maxima with approx 55k miles on it (out of basic warranty of course, but still under powertrain) and I've had a series of problems with my car since 2006. Some aren't major at all, but still, they are a problem. I was told by corporate to take it into the dealer (keep in mind I've taken the car into the dealer 2-3 times for ALL of these issues and I keep getting the same B/S "can't diagnose, nothing wrong" reply from them). I would like to know what you think I should possibly do, since all of these problems were pointed out under warranty and they couldn't find sh*t wrong although they definitely are problems. I'm supposed to get a call from corporate on Monday...so I'll update then and see what they say. In the meantime..here is my long list (yes some of you will think a few probs are stupid but I want them to take care of it). Dealer reply to problems are in bold under problem (as of Friday)....

1) Leather Shift **** Comes Apart (literally I shift with the metal piece..the dealer replaced the entire shift plate the last time I was there and broke off my ****, so I told them about it this time).

Dealer Reply: Do not know how to fix this problem (WTF ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?)

2) Front Under Spoiler Hanging Down (it actually fell off and was in the car for the tecs)

Dealer Reply: Estimate to Repair - $20 (Parts..WTF ITS IN THE CAR??) $88 to install

3) Suspension Concern: At 70+ MPH car tends to shift back and forth on highway

Dealer Reply: Could not duplicate customer concern at this time

4) Suspension Concern: Struts worn (you all know we have POS struts and mine have 55k on them.. I can HEAR noises from them when I'm driving..I KNOW they are worn)

Dealer Reply: Checked struts - OK at this time of inspection..no problem found

5) Passenger heated seat takes long (5-7 min) to heat up and does not heat hot at all

Dealer Reply: Could not verify customer concern

6) Plastic Guards rubbing on front wheels and cracked

Dealer Reply: Need to replace mudflaps, $53 to install Plus Parts. Need to be ordered when want to replace (LOL)

7) Dust Behind Cluster Lid/Info Screen (its hard to see the screen in sunlight bc of the dust)

Dealer Reply: Need to R/R Dash Cluster to Clean dust (THEY DIDN'T!!)

8) Sunroof Leaks when rains sometimes (yes it does, I've got into my car, opened the overhead glasses storage compartment and have had water pour out for minutes!!

Dealer Reply: Recommended clean out debris from sunroof drains - estimate $110 (TO CLEAN? LOL)

9) Mirrors (I have power folding) are loose and don't stay completely out..this is a tsb on 05+ max's.

Dealer Reply: Estimate Mirror to Install $110/each, Mirrors $300.40/each.

10) THE SHIMMY (we took it in the one time, they fixed it..and it came back a month later)

Dealer Reply: Could not duplicate customer concern at this time (!@#$%^ Is this a joke )

11) Driver Lumbar support pops in/out a lot while driving (braking and cornering)

Dealer Reply: Could not duplicate customer concern at this time

12) Speedometer incorrect - when you accelerate, the speedo won't move for 1-3 sec!

Dealer Reply: Could not duplicate customer concern at this time

13) Grinding When Accelerating (we took this in..like EVERYTHING else under warrnaty and they gave us the we can't duplicate it bullsh*t)

Dealer Reply: Exhaust clamps loose recommend to replace

14) Subwoofers Blown (WE TOOK THESE IN AT 20K MILES FOR CRACKLING AND BEING BLOWN...they said "there was a pen stuck inside" ARE YOU SH*TTING ME?)

Dealer Reply: Est to replace $959.60/parts, $110/labor

15) Chrome Roof strips faded/fading (took it into dlr 2 times under warranty, they said they ordered, when we got there, oh we are on backorder, same thing happened the next time.....now look at the reply)

Dealer Reply: Est to replace chrome roof strips, $127.33/each, $63/labor each side (will need to be ordered)

16) Bose CD player not working correctly..cutting out, distorted, going to another side

Dealer Reply: $1200 parts, $200/labor, will take 6 weeks to order (when we took it under warranty though they found no probs...hmmmm)

17) Transmission hits hard from R-D, shifts hard from 1-2 (especially in the cold) and when you put it in D, it jerks into it and does not feel right at all. Pretty much if I go from N--->D or anything to D it will pull very quickly 4 times then hit hard into D.

Dealer Reply: Could not duplicate customer concern at this time.

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What is there to do when a dealer is so incompetent? Sorry if I kind of cursed, but you would probably understand my frustration. Hey, at least they (without me saying anything) found RECOMMENDED FRONT BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS, $220 to replace)..oh great just great. Can't find anything else but can find a way for them to make money. This is ridiculous. Have any of you had problems like this at your dealers?? Service manager is supposed to call back monday as well as corporate..wish me luck??

P.S. - If any of you have experienced the following probs with your car, can you please let me know what your dealer did to help or what the exact problem was?? Thank you.

Defiant_Max04

iTrader: (1)

bump?.

steven614

That grinding noise you described sounds like the loose/rattly heat shield problem that many of us have had...I had to have it fixed several times before i removed it altogether (I recommend buying a y-pipe to cure that one ). I never noticed the lumbar thing until you mentioned it, but mine does that too. I just don't care about it. The guard plastic under the front of the car should only cost however much the pushpins cost that hold it in place (you can get packs of them from the dealer and do it yourself to save the install fee). It isn't a warranty thing because many bad drivers rip them off from pulling in to far in parking stalls (over that concrete stop block). For the 70+mph shimmy on the freeway, you shouldn't be going that fast on US roads anyway, but it sounds like tire rotation/balance or alignment if it's really bad (check all the lug nuts too). Shifting 'shocks' in my car occur only when car is really cold (I have 70k miles now)...let the car warm up for a couple minutes before dropping it into Drive, and go easy on the gas until the engine temp. guage is close to the middle. If it still 'shocks/jerks' from 1-2 or 2-3, you may need to check the tranny fluid. 60k miles is one of the big services if I remember correctly, and if you drive harder, you might need that big service sooner. It ran me about $600 and they basically replace every fluid in the car, do tire rotation/balance, change air filter, check mechanical seals, check electronic functions, etc. and I left the vehicle overnight because it was a 5 hour process. Car felt like new again the next day, but it sounds like your dealership has a bad service dept. It happens. I just changed dealers (been to 4 different ones since I got the car in late 2004). Hope that helped a bit. Oh yeah, and be patient with the seat heater, it's not a flame and it takes a few minutes to warm up

anm6

iTrader: (2)

OK out of the whole thing I can tell you if you have paper work for the issues you have now that you claimed under warrenty you can call Nissan and open a claim and
complain to them( I'm doing this right now) and number 17) is Shifter shock there is a TSB on this ( Dealer told me this) They can reflash the BCM and see if that helps. I have the same issue with shifter shock and will try the flash this week. The other stuff is BS, Just find a real deealer that wants to work most of them hate warrenty work and are lazy..

mynameispee

iTrader: (3)

i'd recommend a new/better dealership. some of those items can be found in the TSBs

Defiant_Max04

iTrader: (1)

I provided dealer with ALL TSB's. Still waiting to hear from service manager and northeast regional consumer affairs specialist...Also today when going from R --> D the transmission hit so hard it felt like I hit a pothole! (I'll post this bit in the topic about the transmissions to see what kind of reply I can get). I'd like to go to a different dealer, but wouldn't it be great if they were forced to fix all of these? Then they would feel stupid and I win.

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

without an extended warranty you need to pay for those items. TSB does not mean recall/ free repair.

The transmission might be covered under powertrain, but nothing else. when did your drain/fill the fluid? you could be at fault for not maintaining it.

Nissan will not force them to fix any of the items, unless you pay.

Defiant_Max04

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the quick reply. The problem is that all of the problems WERE pointed out to the dealer prior to warranty being expired. The car was taken in several times under warranty for all (except 1) of the above mentioned items. I know TSB does not mean recall/free repair, but I gave them the TSB numbers to help them diagnose the problems. It was drained/filled @ 30k. Can they still force them to pay or did they do a good job of scamming a customer?

Defiant_Max04

iTrader: (1)

Just spoke to service manager and be basically told me to go f myself. Also told me that what the people @ his dealership broke on me he won't be fixing. Will follow up when I get to talk to regional specialist.

He also told me that it is normal for the speedometer to still read "0" even if you've taken off / accelerated for 1-2 seconds. This guy sucks

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

Well it is a tough battle. Nissan will tell you that dealerships are privately owned business and are not under Nissan. They have their own rights to run their business as they choose including to choose warranty work.

BUT if you persist you can get it done. It may escalate to legal matters though. Attitude goes a long way. Or you just need to shop around for a dealership that is willing to go out of their way to ensure your future business.

Or Nissan can get involved if you have legit issues. It will likely end a relationship with that dealership though. I would prioritize my concerns. What is fixed cheaply enough, what do you want to fight for.

I had my chrome strips replaced twice. They just fade again anyway. I had my front struts replaced once. Next time I will upgrade on my own.

thecritik

iTrader: (2)

Out of curiosity, what is the manufacture date of your car? It's on the drivers side when you open the door. On the frame.

I'm trying to put together a correlation of the manufacture dates because you have the same exact problems i've had with my car and the dealer responses are almost identical.

Defiant_Max04

iTrader: (1)

Made: 11/03
Purchased: 5/31/04

Defiant_Max04

iTrader: (1)

I've called Nissan CS and am still awaiting regional specialist reply. They have 18 pages of notes on me. Regarding the chrome roof strips, I spoke to the service manager and kept screaming at me saying 2004, OUT OF WARRANTY and wouldn't let me (actually I explained it 2-3 times but he ignored) explain the fact that we went when it had 20k miles on her and they ordered for warranty replacement, we went, they didnt have them, they ordered, we went, they were on Back order. They don't even care. It's horrible. At this point, I can care less about a relationship with the dealer. If they don't fix it, this will be my last Nissan (well excluding the GT-R of course!). Most of the things are expensive (Bose CD player & subwoofers will come to almost $3000 total), and I didn't get an estimate for some other things that will also be expensive. When they broke my shift **** & I explained it to the dealer he didn't care. He said WHY WOULD YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT WAITING A FEW MONTHS TO TAKE IT BACK TO US and I stated I called to let them know and do not have time to schedule an appt at this time, but I am letting you guys know you broke something & it has a 12month/12k mile warranty.

He stated "I wont fix it, no way". Every corporate person I called was pissed at the dealer reaction. I'm filing with attorney general of NJ, and BBB. If they don't want to help, I'll hire an attorney and pursue legal action if possible. I will persist and fight for what I have been entitled to..my warranty. Sure, I can buy an extended and then laugh in the dealers face when they have to fix everything, but I don't know if it will be necessary. I'll update you when I get a callback..hoping tomorrow.

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

more power to you. i can't stand the position Nissan puts the dealers in. I understand it's all business and the $ rules, but Nissan has to care how they are seen through dealerships.

Defiant_Max04

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Nismo. I know exactly what you mean. It makes them look like a terrible company when you come across a bad dealer. I just can't believe that the dealer DOESN'T even have to fix something under warranty if they don't want to (I know I'm out of warranty but all things wrong with car were taken in under warranty). Just strange. Oh well.