2000 Nissan Maxima SE from North America - Comments

I've owned the car for four months and have had no mechanical problems with it. The tires were due for replacement and I was unhappy with the performance of the original equipment (Bridgestone Potenza) tires so I went with Michelin Pilots and because it was at 50k miles I had a four wheel alignment done. This took the overall performance level of the car from great to unbelievable!

I noticed that there were a lot of Maximas on the road so as I was looking for a new car I did some research on them, specifically the SE, and found that in terms of performance per dollar it is one of the best values on the road. When you factor in the quality and reliability that comes in owning a Nissan it's a very difficult car to find a problem with! If I had to make a criticism it would be the fairly high cost of parts and service because of the high performance nature of the car.

I've owned my 2000 Nissan Maxima for only a month so far, but I've had plenty of time behind the wheel. I honestly drive about 2200 miles per month (work is 55 miles away) and I have NO complaints about this car at all. I have Potenzas on it now and I think it handles excellently, so I'm seriously considering those Michelin Pilots. I haven't had anything go wrong with the car after my first 2500 miles (approx.) and it seems to be near the point of trouble-free...exactly what I need for my daily travels. I have the Sterling Mist color, which I love, and recently put on rain-guards and a hood bra... VERY sweet looking. She looks like she's speeding when parked! I'm hooked!

I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima SE with one performance upgrade (turbopro performance chip). The upgrade probably adds about 4-5 HP.

Besides that I have got to say that the car is unbelievable! It's hard to resist punching the gas because the performance is unbelievable for a four door sedan that a lot of people underestimate.

I bought the car last year (05) with about 59 k on it... not even one year has passed and I have added 10 k to it because it's just a joy driving this car.

I have came across many comparable cars in the 2000-2001 Nissan Maxima's class, and they do not perform like this car...

I know its stupid for me to post the races that I participated in on the STREET!!! (sorry mr. officer! buts its hard to resist)

The follwing cars that I raced:

Acura CL Type S (sitting on 20's or something like that... The guy started complaining when I wooped his ass)

Surprisingly!! (Nissan 350Z) (last night I was going home from the gym and saw a 350z at the traffic light ahead of me... I told myself that I wouldn't do anything for once and just drive home in a relaxed manner... anyways I was just rolling right next to him after we passed the light and this fool right here just wouldn't leave me alone, so we both punched it at the same time going 100 on a 45, and myself being ahead of him by one car length. I eventually hit the brakes gently because I was approaching a construction zone, so he got ahead of me and never wanted to bring his window down at the next light because he got his ass kicked!

Ford Mustang GT (98-99?). I managed to beat his ass with my quiet car!! (The Mustang GT's are just loud, their performance is OK that's all, and everything else sucks about that car!!!)

BMW M3 (e36 convertible): My brother and I raced and I had him on take off, but he came back rubbing that ///M power emblem in my face!! (don't ever underestimate the M's, love those cars!!!)

Acura RSX (modified) (pointless race) modified and yet this guy lost to a (pretty much) stock Maxima.

Acura TSX (This guy had nothing on me when it came to take off, but I manage to keep ahead by one car length!

Fast CAR!!!

I know a lot of people may not agree with me or believe me, but I did manage to win over the cars that I listed and am not haten on these cars (just speakin the truth dudes)...

I wouldn't recommend any of the 5th or 6th generation Maxima's for any beginners because the car's performance is not necessary for a starting driver...

I am the second owner of this vehicle and after driving it hard at times, I have not had any problems at all... I get all oil changes on time and do the necessary things that a car crazy person would do for his or her car...

I'm trying to post the most information as possible because I'm sure it'll be interesting or helpful for someone:

Ten possible points

Cars performance: 7.5

Interior options and look: 7

Bose sound system: 7 (good speakers (stock)

Exterior: 7.5 or 8

A lot of people love the 2000-2003) Maxima's front portion of the car...

The next upgrades that I may do are:

1. Cleared out signal located on the side of the bumper.

2. Upgrade to the Anniversary Edition head lights

3. Definite upgrade: K&N air intake

If I ever plan on doing a lot of upgrades on this car, I would drop a body kit on it, preferably the Anniversary Edition kit that is not too exotic, catalytic converter (5-10 hp), exhaust headers, strut bar, eibach lowering suspension.

I don't know if I want to upgrade the grille though, because it already looks fine and I'm not sure if I like the mesh grille.

Let me know if you wanna talk cars or if you have any questions because I am here to expand my knowledge about cars and yours.

Take care,

Mike

mike_bakhsheshi@yahoo.com

I am the original author of this review and just wanted to add on to it. I have now been driving the car for three years and have put close to 50k (bought w/49k now at 96k) miles on it. In that time I also experienced the coil problem which was fixed under warranty at the dealer I bought it from. There was a problem with the (manual) transmission that first showed up as intermittent failure of the back-up lights to come on when shifting into reverse. I found that I needed to hold the stick “in gear” to keep the lights on. Then a small oil spot began to develop under the car which turned out to be from the trans not the engine (same type of oil). After three tries at fixing what they thought was a seal they opened the trans and found that second gear was coming apart and had filled the housing w/shavings. Nissan authorized a complete replacement of the transmission. I had a problem w/the engine shutting of at idle which turned out to be an air flow sensor. Also had some engine light issues that were sensor related and a “grunt” type noise from the right front that turned out to be a bushing. All of these things were fixed under warranty at the dealer. I hesitate to say it, for fear of jinxing myself, but have not yet had a major mechanical problem not covered by the warranty and have never had anything come up, other than the trans work (during which the dealer arranged for a rental at no charge to me), which took the car off of the road or could not be addressed at the scheduled maintenance intervals. In terms of how it drives it’s still a champ, does all of the things I said in the first review well and I love driving it! I take very good care (too good if you ask my wife) of this and all of my cars – all scheduled mileage interval services done at the dealer, oil and tires rotated balanced every 3k, 4 wheel alignment every 15 k, check tire pressure and fluids weekly etc…and I hope that it’s because of that, and not just good luck, that I have not had some of the problems described by other owners as I approach the 100k mile mark. I hope to drive this car w/little or no trouble for another two years (until it’s paid for) at which point it should have around 122k miles. We’ll see I guess, but so far I am satisfied enough to be considering trading it toward another Maxima or stepping up a bit into an Infiniti G35 coupe, but at this point have no problems w/this car and/or how Nissan and my dealer have treated me.

Hi, I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima as well, and I have to say it is the best car I have every own. With that being said, this is only my second car. When I took ownership of the car I acquired it from my father, my father in only a mere 4 and 1/2 years only put 60000 miles on this car, and in the past 1/2 a year I have put only 8500 mile my self on the car. I have had almost No problems with this car in terms of maintenance, so far our family has taken it for every scheduled oil change at 3000 miles as well as every scheduled service on time, or earlier. just recently when I took it in for an oil change I was informed that the CV joint and boot were broken/ripped, so I tried to have my extended warranty cover it, but alas it was not covered, so I have been on an never ending battle with them now to fix my car =). tomorrow it is scheduled to be fixed and I am getting my new set of tires on the car. hopefully I won't have to replace my WHOLE transmission like our friend, but I am concerned about it and I am trying to keep a close eye on noises, smells, and performance. thank you for reading by the way, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE CAR, the only thing take is better to drive is a 350z (thank god mom bought one). Truly Townley.

Hey I own a 2000 Maxima SE myself, my first car and I'm 17 years old, and same as you guys I love driving this car, I mean what more can you ask for in a first car!! same as you guys I want to keep good care of my car, I do oil change tire pressure and all that, but as I was reading the article above, I found that one of the post has the same problem my car's experiencing right now >>>>>Small Oil Spot Under the Transmission<<<<< as you said you can get that fix at the dealer? is that true? would my car be still under warranty??

PLZ Contact Me: LongWeng99@yahoo.com.

Hello! I am a 2000 Nissan Maxima SE owner. I bought the car almost a year and a half ago with 110000 miles on it. Since I had the car it lacked power. I know because my girlfriend has a 1999 Maxima SE and her car has serious power. I was told that it needed O2 sensors. I changed them and still had the problem. A while later codes for Air Fuel Metering came up on my scanner. I called the dealer because it was not in the obdII code book. They told me that I needed a Mass Airflow Sensor (MAF). I put it in and it was like night and day. I never knew how powerful the 2000 maxima really was. I also put race headers, angel eye head lights, and performance spark-plugs on it. Future upgrades include Ingen cold air intake and performance chip. As you can see I really like my 2000 Nissan Maxima SE. Thanks for looking at my comments. Any questions or comments send me an email at dwaynebmwe30@yahoo.com thanks!!!

YEA!! Maxima!!

My first car was a 2000 Maxima, and let me tell you WOW, hell of a first car to have: all the power, the nice looking body, I just never want to leave it alone.

Also the Bose system sounded like I had a sub in the back, but here is the sad part, it got totaled and I was angry. I originally purchased the car at around 7,800 dollars with 100k on it, and after the accident the insurance company paid me 8,800 for the car since it wasn't my fault. So the resale value of this car is top notch, and I just purchased another Maxima today, because I enjoyed my first one so much. Can't wait to get my hands on it LOL.

I bought my 2000 Nissan Maxima SE in July 2007 with 57k miles on it. I have had to make several repairs/replacements on it in the past year including: the O2 sensor, a coil, axle rods, belts. Today I am taking it in for the transmission. I bought the vehicle because of its low mileage and reputation for low maintenance. Honestly I wish I had gotten a newer car because of the amount of money I have had to put into this one. Admittedly for much of this time my commute was 80 miles a day to and from work, but I have also kept up routine maintenance and I feel like I paid too much for the vehicle for the amount of major work that has gone into it.