1992 Nissan Maxima 3.0 V6 from North America

Summary:

Great motor, good transmission. OK performance

Faults:

Clock on dash illuminates when it wants to.

Rear windows do not function. They are stuck in the closed position.

Front rotors need replacement.

Rear brakes make a scraping sound and squeal. Shoes look OK.

Front bumper cover split on drivers side.

Climate control temperature slider malfunctioned.

Dual cooling fan motors have bearings that are failing.

Trunk liner has come loose from rear seat back.

General Comments:

I bought this car from a friend who needed some money for court. I test drove a new Maxima back in 1991 and didn't like the way it shifted. This car with 200K on the clock shifted just like the new one I drove in 1991. I assume this is normal for a Nissan 4 speed auto. The car is ugly, faded paint, molding, upholstery and interior plastic. Alloy wheels look bad too. The best mileage I have gotten is 27mpg. The A/C works!

Now for the good stuff.

The motor has had regular 3k oil changes.

New plugs wires and distributer cap/rotor

New timing belt

New front axle shafts.

New battery.

The motor runs very well for its age. It uses no oil. Idles smooth has acceptable power. The transmission shifts like the new Maxima I drove in 1991. Not saying it's great, but it doesn't slip. The car has been very reliable for the 2 years I have owned it. I change oil every 2 months and blow out the air filter every month. I WD-40 the cables and connectors every month and inspect the CV boots every 6 months. I add gas conditioner once a month. I have done this on all my vehicles I have owned. The Maxima motor in my opinion is well engineered. Periodic maintenance items are easy to reach. The biggest draw back is the transmission. It shifts to hard. Go slow it shifts hard, go fast it shifts hard, put it in gear it shifts hard. But it has 260K miles on it and it still shifts and doesn't slip. I would not hesitate driving this car anywhere in the USA. Due to its age the front seat is uncomfortable after 2 hours of driving. The last trip I took, 7 hours in a day, My butt hurt for a while.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 16th June, 2006

1992 Nissan Maxima GXE 3.0 from North America

Summary:

Too expensive to maintain

Faults:

Fuel Injectors

Timing belt

Water pump

Master Control Window switch

Window Regulator

Wiper Linkage

Fuel Pump.

General Comments:

-This car is great to drive when running correctly.

- Dealer parts are to expensive to keep this car running.

-Regular maintenance is not bad it's all the other stuff IE. fuel injectors that kill you.

-Nice car to drive on long trips... if it starts

-You need to be a part time mechanic to drive this.

-Car is mostly nuts and bolts which is nice when pulling the doors apart.

-Car is now sitting in drive way waiting for someone to buy off me for parts.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 4th June, 2006

1992 Nissan Maxima GXE from North America

Summary:

Got to have it

Faults:

The only real big thing with mine is that the hub assembly went out. My transmission filter is dirty.

A few months ago I blew out the oil pump with the bad transmission filter.

General Comments:

The car is great. It has good performance and it is the best "4dsc" (4 door sports car). I am still working on it as we speak. I am giving it a new look... (skyline R33) The handling is great and there is very little roll. the bucket seats are the best. I would say this car is a great family and or sports car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th April, 2006

1992 Nissan Maxima GXE from North America

Summary:

Piece of junk money pit

Faults:

Fuel injectors, window regulators, transmission slips all within 5000 miles!

General Comments:

This car only looks great everthing else is garbage I thought by buying a nissan I would have no problems especially with the miles it has! I've read good reviews etc.. i did my homework on this pile of crap and I got a "f"! very unpredictable and unreliable and very costly and I will not ever buy nissan again and nothing will ever change my mind.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 4th June, 2005

5th Jun 2005, 02:21

I agree with the above comment. Used cars are great! I too actually have a GM A body like the above and it is a great car!

8th Jun 2006, 20:05

I agree with the original comment. My 1992 Maxima had the same problems and I drove it like the queen was riding in the back. I felt fortunate to get $500 for it. This car was not worth the $800 every 2 months to repair.

27th Jun 2006, 09:47

I don't care how many years old this person's Maxima is. All the problems they mentioned are notoriously common with these older Maximas... faulty (and costly) fuel injectors, window regulators, and slipping automatic transimissions. Especially given the 80-something thousand miles the car had, it should NOT have had so many major things go wrong so soon. Judging by this, I'd have to say I'm very unimpressed. If you are careful, used cars are a FAR BETTER value than any new car on the market.

8th Jul 2006, 12:46

I actually have a 1992 Nissan Maxima GXE that has been in my family from the beginning. My father drove it to work over 140 miles a day and now I use it as my car. The car has over 351k miles on the original motor and just now has the transmission started to slip. This along with other minor electrical problems, like windows and the door locks, have been the only ones that I have ever had throughout this cars life.

27th Jul 2007, 20:51

Well, we bought a new 1995 Maxima SE. It was quite evident after a month that we had made a huge mistake. It didn't perform like the demonstrator did, leading us to believe that the demo had been tweaked.

The dealer back-dated the delivery date to make his books look good.

We needed warranty work very early on. Didn't have that problem with our GM cars. Unloaded the Maxima with only 9,600 and bought a Camaro in 1998. Much better.

19th Feb 2009, 09:21

I also own a 1994 Nissan Maxima, automatic. I agree, this car's transmission design is crap. Too many of these 3rd generation Maximas have the same exact problem. Of course, Nissan won't admit it and compensate for it. Stay away from them unless you have a lot of time and money.