1996 Nissan Maxima review from North America

The Front Cam Sensor (FCS) burnt out twice (car won't start); I figured out with help from some online forums and FSM that my car was afflicted by a manufacturing/design defect in the wiring harness (wires too short) that was causing (after years of thermal expansion/contraction due to heat exposure in the engine compartment) the twisted-pair cable between the FCS and the ECM to short, resulting in the FCS burning out (and the car failing to start, leaving me stranded in parking lots various times).

Once I figured out what was going on, I got repair estimates for replacement of the engine compartment wiring harness for some absurd amount like $1200, with the harness part itself costing $500-$600.

So armed with All-Data factory tech bulletins, I tried making a repair on the harness myself. It proved impossible to locate the exact point of the failure, and I feared that if I bent and twisted the harness I would just do more damage, so I bought some hi-temp teflon-insulated twisted-pair cable from an online aircraft-supply house, drilled a small hole in the firewall, and ran the new cable direct from the FCS to the ECM unit under the dashboard. Being 6' 3" tall it was no fun contorting to get a soldering iron in the right positions, etc., but the repair worked, and the car ran flawlessly (for its age). Total repair price was around $50 (plus my time).

Some months later I spun it out into the concrete center divider on a rain-slicked section of straight highway (under a blue sky). Miraculously my wife and I walked away (actually, we drove away in the Maxima, which suffered minor (yet career-ending) body damage) from that adventure with nary a scratch (oddly enough we were on our way to a chiropractor visit when we spun out; we were just a little late).

Anyway, the replacement for that car was another 1996 Maxima, this time with a salvage-title, and it ran great for the 2 years I had it (it burned up in a parking lot fire - I parked over a pile of leaves (doh!) at my work).

So I have a bit of a love hate relationship with Maximas: wonderful power and ride, and, aside from the very annoying (and very expensive to repair) wiring DESIGN/MFG DEFECT, very reliable. Aside from the above repair, I didn't have to do anything except change the oil and filters (and maybe the brake pads?) in 20Kmi of service.

I am considering buying another 96 Max as my Honda Civic is just plain boring to drive, and for some reason doesn't get much better gas mileage than my Maximas. BTW, I got 34 mpg with my first 96 Max driving across AZ and NV one summer (cruising around 80 mph all day long), so it can be very economical on gas in certain circumstances.