2004 Nissan Maxima

PROBLEM 2 OF 5: PURCHASED 2004 MAXIMA BRAND NEW. CAR IS NOW 10 MONTHS OLD. ON OR ABOUT 2/24/05 MY STEERING WHEEL WAS STUCK IN THE UP POSITION. THE MAXIMA'S TILT MOTOR WAS NOT WORKING. WHEN YOU TURN THE KEY THE STEERING WHEEL MOVES TO DRIVER'S MEMORY POSITION. MY CAR WAS STUCK UPRIGHT. IT WAS STUCK SO HIGH UP IT WAS LIKE DRIVING A BUS AND VERY HARD TO TURN. I BROUGHT MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP RIGHT AWAY BECAUSE I COULD NOT DRIVE THE CAR WITH THE STEERING WHEEL UP LIKE A BUS DRIVER. IT WAS DANGEROUS AND VERY HARD TO TURN THE WHEEL. THE DEALERSHIP HAD TO ORDER THE PART AND HAD TO MANUALLY ADJUST MY STEERING WHEEL TO A MORE COMFORTABLE POSITION SO I CAN DRIVE MY CAR UNTIL THE PART CAME IN. ON 3/11/05 THE DEALERSHIP FINALLY REPLACED THE INOP TILT MOTOR. ALSO, MY TRUNK STILL POPS OPEN SOMETIMES IN REVERSE.

PROBLEM #2 (OUT OF 4/5): PURCHASED 2004 NISSAN MAXIMA BRAND NEW. MY SECOND MAJOR PROBLEM, I THINK THE CAR WAS ABOUT A YEAR OLD. WHEN YOU TURN THE CAR OFF AND ON THE STEERING WHEEL ADJUSTS TO YOUR LIKING AUTOMATICALLY. WELL, IT BROKE. SO WHEN I TURNED THE CAR ON, MY STEERING WHEEL WOULD NOT MOVE TO ME, IT WAS STUCK IN THE UPRIGHT POSITION. WHEN I TRIED TO MANUALLY MOVE TO DOWN AND CLOSER TO ME SO I CAN DRIVE THE CAR, IT WOULD NOT BUDGE. THE STEERING WHEEL WAS STUCK UPRIGHT LIKE A BUS DRIVER'S STEERING WHEEL. I HAD NOT CHOICE BUT TO DRIVE IT ALL THE WAY TO THE DEALERSHIP LIKE THAT. IT WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS DRIVING LIKE THAT, SINCE IT WAS VERY HARD TO TURN THE WHEEL, CONSIDERING HOW HIGH IT WAS AND CLOSE TO THE WINDSHIELD IT WAS. HUNTINGTON, NY DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE PART TO FIX THE STEERING WHEEL, AGAIN A ELECTRONIC PROBLEM. I DID NOT HAVE MY CAR FOR A FEW DAYS. I HAD TO MAKE ANOTHER COMPLAINT TO THE CORPORATE OFFICE, WHICH BY THE WAY, DOES NOTHING. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT THIS DEALERSHIP TREATS CUSTOMERS LIKE GARBAGE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE WOMAN. ALSO, STILL HAVE THE PROBLEM, EVERY NOW AND THEN WHEN I REVERSE, MY TRUNK POPS OPEN. *NM

BOUGHT THE MAXIMA NEW IN SEPTEMBER 2004, AND SEVERAL MONTHS LATER I STARTED NOTICING STEERING VIBRATIONS, WHICH WAS GETTING WORSE WITH TIME. THEY MANIFEST TYPICALLY AROUND 55 MPH. AFTER TAKING IT SEVERAL TIMES TO THE DEALERSHIP, THE SHIMMY HAS NEVER BEEN RESOLVED. THE SHIMMY IS DISTRACTING, EXTREMELY ANNOYING AND PROBABLY CAUSE EXTRA WEAR AND TEAR ON FRONT STEERING COMPONENTS INCLUDING THE TIRES. AT THIS MOMENT NO SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN FOUND FOR MY CAR. *JB

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED ON A POSITION AND WOULD NOT TURN. THE CONTACT SHOVED THE STEERING WHEEL EACH TIME TO GET THE STEERING WHEEL TO UNLOCK. THIS OCCURRED FOUR TIMES WITHIN A 5 MINUTE INTERVAL. THE CONTACT DROVE THE VEHICLE HOME. THE NEXT DAY THE VEHICLE OPERATED NORMALLY WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. *AK

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

BOUGHT THE NISSAN MAXIMA ON AUGUST 10, 2004 FROM VOB NISSAN IN ROCKVILLE, MD. UNDER 100 MILES, TOOK BACK TO DEALER DUE TO UNACCEPTABLE LEVEL OF VIBRATION IN THE FRONT WHEELS FELT THROUGH THE STEERING WHEEL GENERALLY BETWEEN 40 AND 70 MPH ON SMOOTH SURFACED HIGHWAY DRIVING. INITIALLY I WAS TOLD THIS IS PROBABLY DUE TO FLAT SPOTS ON THE TIRES PER CAR SITTING IN THE LOT FOR AN EXTENDED TIME. BUT THE VIBRATION CONTINUED. WHEN CRUISING MORE PRONOUNCED. DEALER INITIALLY PERFORMED WHEEL BALANCING WHICH DIDN'T WORK. THEN THEY REPLACED THE FRONT TWO CONTINENTAL TIRES WHICH STILL DIDN'T WORK. THEY PERFORMED ??ROAD FORCE BALANCING?? CHECK. THE TIRES HAD READINGS OF CLOSE TO 40 WHERE THE ACCEPTABLE READING SHOULD BE BELOW 10. THERE WAS ALSO AN ISSUE WITH THE BRAKES. WHEN DRIVEN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND BRAKES ARE APPLIED, THE STEERING WAS VISIBLY VIBRATING. VOB ALSO NOTICED THE WARPED ROTORS IN FRONT AND RE-SURFACED THEM. DEALER REPLACED THE CONTINENTAL TIRES WITH MICHELIN MXV4. NOTICEABLE IMPROVEMENT IN HANDLING BUT NOT QUITE. DEALER DID EVERYTHING POSSIBLE PER WRITTEN TSBS, ETC. AND THAT THERE IS NOTHING ELSE HE COULD DO, THEREFORE CALL THE MANUFACTURER. 3/22/05 I CONTACTED DARCARS OF ROCKVILLE. THEY REPLACED THE BRAKE PADS WHICH WERE UNEVENLY WORN AND ALSO RE-SURFACED THE ROTORS IN A SPECIAL MACHINE WHILE THEY WERE ATTACHED TO THE CAR AS RECOMMENDED BY NISSAN. VIBRATION PROBLEM WAS MARKEDLY BETTER AFTER THAT. HOWEVER, I STILL FEEL THE PROBLEMS WHEN PRESSING THE BREAK PEDAL LIGHTLY GOING AT SPEED. ALSO WHEN DRIVING ABOVE 60 MPH ON STRAIGHT ROADS. I AM DEBATING WHETHER TO TAKE THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALER NOW OR WAIT FOR IT TO GET WORSE. IT HAS BEEN A CONSTANT FRUSTRATION.

THERE IS A RUMBLING NOISE COMING FROM THE RIGHT FRONT WHEEL AREA WHEN GOING OVER BUMPS AT ANY SPEED. IT SOUNDS LIKE A LOOSE TIE-ROD ENDS OR AXLE. THE NOISE STOPS OR IS MUFFLED WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED WHEN GOING OVER BUMPS. I HAVE TAKEN IT BACK TO THE DEALER FOUR TIMES AND THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO REPAIR IT. I ALSO HAVE A 1997 NISSAN PATHFINDER LE, WHICH I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THE TIE-ROD AND AXLE NEED REPLACING AND IT PRODUCES THE SAME NOISE WHEN GOING OVER BUMPS EXCEPT MORE SEVERE. THE PAINT ON MY MAXIMA ALSO HAS A ROUGH FINISH TO IT. *JB