1994 Nissan Maxima GL review from North America

. I bought this car as a used vehicle with high miles and expected some dollars to be spent on running costs. The rear brakes locked up. Nissan uses an unusual system for rear disc brakes which have a hydraulic piston driving a screw against the pads. It gives multiplied power to the brakes, but as I found out they are expensive at $600 just to repair the rear end. The other item was the connecting rod between the two windshield wipers. It is a nylon ball and cup fitting which was inexpensive enough at $12 but a bear to replace. It took me two hours of playing mechanic, but once on all things worked normally. The starter motor went out, but in less than ten minutes I had the replacement installed. Two large bolts which are easily accessible made the replacement actually enjoyable, a rare event.

I think of Maximas as Japanese B.M.W's. They are solid, well engineered cars and they can scoot. My 1994 model had the five speed manual transmission and it could pull 60 miles per hour in second gear with some reserve still left in the engine. And second gear for acceleration was fierce,..lots of fun. The rear end set-up was good too. It was a full independent design and was/is better than my current 1999 Maxima with a solid beam rear end which can step out of line under cornering loads. I believe the '94 Maxima saved my life when I got T boned in the drivers side by a full size pick-up truck. I was impressed by the structural integrity of the body that its replacement was automatically another Maxima.