1997 Nissan Maxima SE from North America - Comments

Toyo tires - two bubbled up on the side at approx. 27k miles. Were still under warranty. Dealer said deal with Toyo directly. Toyo said take it to a Toyo dealer so I did. Without ever looking at the tires, they said it was a road hazard which isn't covered. I asked what kind of road hazard hits tires on opposite sides of the tires on a car at the same time? They wanted an outrageous $300 each for new ones. I took it to a local guy to me, who took off the old tires and explained that if it was a road hazard the tires show damage on the inside. These did not. He then put Continentals on it for $200 total. They currently have 48k miles on them.

Air bag - the light came on three times. Twice under warranty and they replaced a harness. Then it happened a third time after the warranty expired and they wanted $260. How many more times will it have to be replaced?

Wood trim interior - melts and bubbles up within a couple of years even though I protected it. Devon Nissan quoted over $300 to replace two pieces that were approx. 8 inches long. I got on the Internet, bought them for $80 (which I still thought was expensive) and they were self adhering, so it took me 10 minutes to install.

Remote battery burned out. You can't just replace the battery. It cost approx. $150 for the dealer to reprogram it. So I bought a new one off the Internet for $25 and a dealer reprogrammed that one for free??? I don't understand.

Most importantly was the electrical problems. In the car everything is electronic. The wiring was shorting out constantly. It cost hundreds of $ and may reach a thousand $ for the dealer to find a short and replace it.

Devon Nissan - very unhelpful, unfriendly and ridiculously expensive.

Don't buy into their special group which is supposed to get you priority service. It is wasted money.

Attractive, fast, smooth car, but I never found respectible service in PA/NJ/DE area and for the markup/expense of the car and the cost of repairs/parts, you might as well get a BMW or the like.

I have a 1997 Maxima. At 62k miles I had the alternator replaced. Since then it stalls when put into reverse. Since it stalls randomly... the service department says they "can't duplicate the problem" and according to their computer checks... "everything checked out fine". Now I drive and park as if I have no reverse because I never know if it will stall. I park in areas that I can pull out of (as opposed to backing out). It's a real pain... but I've taken it in for service 3 times and they say they can't find anything. I've run up hundreds of dollars in rental car fees (when my Maxima was in the shop) and the car still stalls.

I have a 1997 Maxima SE with 130K miles on it. Bought it with 69K miles for $7200 in Northen. It has a manual transmission. It is the BEST car I have ever owned. The most reliable. Only did a starter at around 95K miles. I had toyo tires on front when I bought. I hit a curb at about 20 mph and when up it. Hit it real hard. Barely a nick in the tires.

And whats this about not being able to replace the remote's battery. You can. and its about $2 in the pharmacy.

My 97 max with 130K miles still has the original batter in it from 5 years ago at 69K miles.

Don't believe this poster. This car is very very dependable. Just see them for sale on the internet with 200K plus miles for over $3000. That says something.

I bought a 97 Maxima about a year ago with 150,000 miles for $2700. This car has been great, when I bought it there were a few problems that I had to replace pretty much immediately, but I knew this when I bought the car. I replaced the struts, two wheel bearings, and painted the back bumper. This all cost around $550 with labor (I had a private mechanic that gave me a great deal though). Since, I have had the O2 sensor, and the knock sensor go out which was a little steep in price but it was worth replacing for gas mileage reasons. Other than any of that it has been my best and favorite car I have owned. The power is better than average (and will beat most ricers). The leather heated seats are in great condition even with the amount of miles on it. I replaced the stereo in it, but nothing with any wiring has gone wrong. I love this car and won't sell it until it dies on me. I suggest if you are looking for a 95-99 Maxima, GET IT! It is definitely worth the money with getting okay gas mileage (I get around 24 on average). The reliability of this car has surpassed any other cars, and the features beat any other cars too.