1998 Nissan Maxima

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 NISSAN MAXIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, SMOKE STARTED TO EMIT FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE VEHICLE WAS MERGED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WHERE THE CONTACT NOTICED THE PRESENCE OF FIRE COMING FROM THE ALTERNATOR. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE DEALER WAS CONTACTED AND INDICATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 02V171000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 170,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 NISSAN MAXIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE ATTEMPTED TO ACTIVATE THE AIR CONDITIONER BUT IT WOULD NOT START. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND THEY STATED THAT THE A/C CONTROL UNIT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 185,000.

WHEN WE BOUGHT OUR NISSAN AT 96648 MILES, THERE WAS REMARKABLY LITTLE RUST UNDERNEATH. THE ALTERNATOR WENT OUT ON 10-12-12 AND WE HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP. THEY REFUSED TO REPAIR IT AFTER FINDING THAT THE CORE SUPPORT FOR THE MOTOR IS RUSTED AND ROTTED OUT. FURTHER RESEARCH INDICATES THAT THIS ISSUE HAS OCCURRED IN THIS MODEL OF CAR FOR MANY YEARS. IF WE HAD KNOWN THAT THIS CAR WAS SO UNSAFE WE WOULD NEVER HAVE PURCHASED IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. TOYOTA HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH THEIR PICKUP TRUCKS AND THEY WERE BUYING BACK THE TRUCKS FOR LARGE SUMS OF MONEY. WHY ISN'T NISSAN DOING / BEING FORCED TO DO THE SAME? WE EXPECTED ANOTHER 50,000 MILES OUT OF THIS CAR AND NOW IT IS WORTHLESS. THERE ARE SO MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE, THERE HAS TO BE A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN. A MAJOR STRUCTURAL COMPONENT SHOULD BE THE LAST THING TO CORRODE. *TR

I HAVE A 1998 NISSAN MAXIMA I NOW HAVE TO REPLACE ALL SIX COILS, MAF MASS AIRFLOW, ALL SPARK PLUGS AND WIRES, ALL THREE O2 SENSORS IT STALLS, RUNS ROUGH, AND CUTS OFF. NOW IT WILL NOT START. I HAVE READ NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND NOONE SEEMS TO WANT TO RESOLVE THE ISSUES THE CUSTOMERS ARE HAVING INCLUDING ME. SEEMS LIKE NISSAN NEEDS A RECALL ON THESE PARTS IT IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR THE CAR TO SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 NISSAN MAXIMA. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, WHEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN FOR AN OIL CHANGE, FIGURING THAT WOULD REMEDY THE VEHICLE DEFECT, BUT TO NO AVAIL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC AND REPAIR. THE DEALER STATED THAT OWNER OF THE VEHICLE WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR REPAIRS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT EVEN THOUGH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS OUT AFTER REPAIR, THE VEHICLE STILL DEFECTIVE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 177,055. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 177,106. UPDATED 5/6/10 *CN UPDATED 07/09/10.*JB

MY CAR IS A NISSAN MAXIMA 1998, IT HAS 120K MILES ON IT. THIS IS MY ONLY MEAN OF TRANSPORTATION; RECENTLY THE CAR JUST WON'T START. I HAVE TO KEEP TRYING SEVERAL TIMES UNTIL IT STARTS. I RECENTLY REPLACED THE 'STARTER' BUT THE PROBLEM STILL HAPPENS. I HAVE BEEN READING DIFFERENT INTERNET FORUMS THERE IS A LOT OF PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS KIND OF PROBLEMS, THE DEALERS CHARGE ABOUT $1,000.00 TO REPLACE THE IGNITION COILS. THIS SINCE TO BE THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM, I DO NOT HAVE THIS MONEY. I THINK BECAUSE ON BEHAVE OF ALL PEOPLE HAVING TO DEAL WITH THIS PROBLEM, THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL ON THIS CARS. *TR

MY 1998 NISSAN MAXIMA HAS BEEN MISFIRING. IT TURNS OUT THAT I HAVE BAD IGNITION COILS. THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING, ESPECIALLY AT 80K MILES. IT'S ESPECIALLY FRUSTRATING BECAUSE THIS IS A VERY COSTLY PROBLEM. I DID SOME RESEARCH, AND THIS IS AN EXTREMELY TYPICAL PROBLEM FOR THIS MODEL. JUDGING BY THE FREQUENCY OF COMPLAINTS ON THIS ISSUE THERE SHOULD WITHOUT A DOUBT BE A RECALL. *JB

ON 30 NOVEMBER 2006 I STARTED THE CAR WHICH THEN QUIT RUNNING AND STARTED SMOKING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. I COULD SEE THE ALTERNATOR WAS BURNING SO I PULLED THE BATTERY CABLE TO STOP THE FIRE. DAMAGE AFFECTED THE ALTERNATOR, ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR AND SOME WIRING. I DISCOVERED THERE WAS A RECALL FOR DEFECTIVE ALTERNATORS ON THIS VEHICLE. MY ALTERNATOR FAILURE APPEARS TO BE THE SAME AS THE FAILURES COVERED BY THE NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID 02V171000 DATED JUNE 24, 2002. I CONTACTED NISSAN ON DECEMBER 1, 2006 WHO STATED MY VIN WAS WITHIN THE RANGE OF VEHICLES FOR THIS RECALL AND THEY WOULD CONTACT THE DEALER AFTER FURTHER RESEARCH. I CONTACTED THE DEALER WHO STATED IT APPEARED THE VEHICLE SHOULD BE COVERED BY THE RECALL BUT COULD NOT PROCEED UNTIL AUTHORIZATION FROM NISSAN. ON 8 DECEMBER, 2006,AFTER 7 DAYS, NISSAN CONTACTED ME AND STATED MY VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL AND REFUSED TO FIX THE DEFECTIVE ALTERNATOR. NISSAN COULD NOT EXPLAIN HOW MY VIN WAS WITHIN THE RANGE OF VEHICLES AFFECTED BY THE RECALL BUT MY PARTICULAR VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. I HAD THE VEHICLE REPAIRED AT MY EXPENSE AND HAD TO TURN-IN THE DEFECTIVE ALTERNATOR AS A CORE SO THE DEFECTIVE ALTERNATOR IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION. IT APPEARS THE RANGE OF DEFECTIVE ALTERNATORS IS LARGER THAN NISSAN IS WILLING TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY. THIS IS A SAFETY DEFECT THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED AND NISSAN HELD ACCOUNTABLE. THE DAMAGE COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE. *NM

ON THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2006 AT APPROXIMATELY 10:15AM I WENT OUT TO MY DRIVEWAY AND STARTED MY 1998 NISSAN MAXIMA. UPON STARTING THERE WAS A TERRIBLE GRINDING NOISE. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND RESTATED IT AT WHICH TIME THE CAR BEGAN SMOKING. I DROVE THE CAR DIRECTLY TO MY INDEPENDENT SERVICE STATION (APPROXIMATELY 1/4 MILE ) FOR THEM TO CHECK THE VEHICLE. UPON OPENING THE HOOD, WE OBSERVED FIRE, WHICH WAS EXTINGUISHED. FURTHER OBSERVATION CONFIRMED THAT THE ALTERNATOR HAD CAUGHT FIRE AND THE SERVICE STATION MADE THE REPAIRS. THE OLD PARTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION. AS THERE IS A RECALL ON SOME 1998 NISSAN MAXIMA'S FOR THIS PROBLEM I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS MATTER IS BEING TAKEN SO LIGHTLY. THE NEXT TIME THIS OCCURS, THE RESULTS COULD BE TRAGIC. *NM