2004 Nissan Maxima SE from North America - Comments

As well, we have a 2004 Nissan Maxima and are having the same shifting and transmission problems, and also engine rattling. I have contacted NHTSA.GOV and filed a complaint as of today. I plan to contact Nissan Corp tomorrow, has anyone heard anything or any kind of an update??

Thanks

678/283-5807.

OK now this is ridiculous. I'm from Canada and I to own a 2004 Nissan Maxima and I'm having transmission slipping issues. Mainly from 2nd to 3rd but sometimes from 1st to 2nd as well as some jerking problems. The dealership said they can't duplicate the problem. Anyone have any suggestions? I have an extended warranty and I'm considering getting rid of the car. I would appreciate any suggestions at the address below.

Thank you.

garrybrennan@hotmail.com

I too have a 2004 Nissan Maxima and was experiencing jerking and transmission slipping from 1st to 2nd gear. I paid $1900 to replace the valve body and my car is working perfect now.

Looking to purchase a 2004 Maxima SE. Does buying an automatic matter much? Never thought that these horror stories could fit this car cause it's sweet lookinf. Or is this the 5% of buyers who got subject to a lemon, cause no car is built perfect. Should I, should I not?

thomasipromise@hotmail.com

I am another upset owner of a 2004 Nissan Maxima SE. I took the car into the dealer in March at 58,700 miles, just under my 60,000 mile warranty. The motor mount was re-placed and I was told there would be no more problems. I am now at 62,200 miles and my transmission is slipping and jerking when I go up a slight grade. This is the second Nissan I have bought. I bought A 2006 ARMADA. Four brakes jobs before 3000 miles!!! I was able to get rid of that, but am now looking at a $3,000 + repair bill. I have filed a complaint with the (NHTSA) today and urge others to due so immediately. Nissan knows there is a problem. We need a recall.

WOW!!! This is incredible. I have a 2004 Nissan maxima with the same exact transmission issues. I'm having issues with the trans shifting from 1st to 2nd and vice versa. The dealership acted like they didn't know what to do. I'm definitely submitting a complaint!!

HI... I guess I don't even have to say whats wrong with my car, huh??? After reading all of your complaints I decided to call Nissan (and like most of you, they told me that, "There are NO recalls on the 04 Maxima's transmissions)... so they told me that there have NOT been enough people calling in regards to this problem... Here's a little inside dirt on Nissan...

1.- They have the transmissions in stock at the dealers.. what does this mean you ask (well if they have them in stock, its because they know that there is something wrong with them, right??)

2.- couple of years back they would also replace your radiator when you went in for a transmission problem... Because the radiators were the ones messing up the transmissions, and they knew this but they never recalled them.

So PLEASE call Nissan and complain to them... I told them what was going on and they told me to go get a diagnostic at the dealer and that if it was a defect on there end, they would cover the charges...

CALL 1-800-NISSAN-1

OR if someone wants to start a class action law suit against these people... COUNT ME IN!!!

I have a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The car jerks when changing gears, or when taking off to drive and on stopping. I am calling Nissan in the am. Also will file a complaint.

canchrum@centurytel.net

I also have the same problem. I guess I am headed in for a rough road ahead.

Any one with a 2004 MAXIMA SE with a transmission, Ddrivers side speaker, air conditioner ISSUES please email me @ edieandlin@msn.com... PLEASE!!!

I called 1-800-NISSAN-1, they contacted the dealer, and the dealer said they couldn't do anything. I had my transmission fluid drained and refilled, and it's still jerking. They told me I need a new transmission. I no longer have a warranty on the vehicle, and my car is almost paid off!!! There is a manufacturing issue with the transmission, and Nissan is not accepting fault.

P.S. PLEASE anyone with these ISSUES need to leave a email address to contact each other. Placing the blogs on line isn't helping the situation. We need to come together as a whole. THANKS!!!

I just purchased an 04 Maxima from the auction and it's doing the same general stuff that everyone's talking about here. I had the Nissan dealership check it out and they said they didn't notice any jerks like I had described. They recommended a transmission service (drain and refill which I performed today actually). Turns out it's still doing the same thing. I've come to realize that it doesn't jerk when the car isn't warmed up. Once it's warmed up and hot I can feel it... I wonder if the heat has anything to do with it? Other than that I've read in other forums that it could possibly be a "transmission solenoid" or the "transmission valve body." I have no idea what the hell any of those two parts are or what they do yet but I'd like to get this figured out. I guess the next step for me is to take it back to the dealership and tell them that it's still jerking when going into 1st from 2nd and that they need to diagnose it again. I'm assuming if they knew what the real problem was they'd take advantage of the opportunity and try to get as much money as they can from people out of it since it hasn't been listed as a recall. Then again they might not even know what the actual cause of it is and are doing a little trial and error by telling people to do this and that before ultimately saying that the entire transmission needs to be replaced. I'm hoping it's not the transmission because if so I'll have to sell the car quick. I don't want any part of having to pay an extra $4800 on top of what I've already paid for the vehicle. If anybody finds out what the cause of this problem is please let me or anybody else know. My email address is samirakle@gmail.com. Thanks!

Hi.

I also have a 2004 maxima and have had the same issue that everyone has mentioned. So far we have had our transmision rebuilt a module reprogrammed and have spent over $3,000. Nissan Canada isn't taking any responsiblity and neither is the dealer. I have called the safety board and they need more people to complain in order for a recall to take place. One recall has already taken place but not for the 2004 model, does that tell us something. If you did not have the work done at the dealer you will not be componsated for it if a recall does come out, so a lesson learned for me, but then again I couldn't afford the $5000 or more that the dealer wanted.

I too have a 2004 Nissan SE and today took it to the dealership for an evaluation. The right front "ticking" noise that has been going on for about 5 months is interment. When you open the hood you can't even locate exactly where it's coming from.

The dealer called me today and said I need a primary and secondary timing chain. He swears this will fix the problem. I asked him if this was a known problem and he said "No, but according to the manual I should have these replaced anyways." How much?? $3150.00. What a scam.

Another issue I’m having is the front window is constantly foggy. This has been happening for about a month. I have to drive with the defroster on constantly to avoid this. What did they find after their pressure test today? Nothing. "Your using your air conditioner allot lately and the freon is trapped in the pipes. When you start up your car again, it's escaping". Huh? Seriously, pardon me for using the amenities the car was equipped with!

Besides these two issues, I truly love this car. It's run great for me with the exception of what is mentioned here.

This is ridiculous and if anyone hears of anything about a recall, class action lawsuit, etc. kindly let me know.

Thanks,

jennagallo06@yahoo.

I'm having the same issues with my 2004 Maxima, I have 120K miles on it but bring it in regularly to be maintained at Goodyear because I got tired of getting ripped off at Nissan.

My car was slipping quite often and I was told I needed 2 new motor mounts and 1 transmission mount which I paid over $800 for, and that's not including the broken mount in the back of the engine which would cost another $500 that I haven't done yet. I had a transmission flush done and early tune up done, had my brake system cleaned out but this all was to no avail, my car started jerking very severely a few months ago and it was almost unusable. My transmission is at Cottman right now being rebuilt for $3000.

This car has been a total waste of my money, I have bought countless tires that would constantly have their sidewalls split or deflate for no reason (make sure I have tire insurance now), had to replace 2 rims even though I have never hit anything, had my catalytic converter break and almost go into my engine (fixed for over $2000 at Nissan).

I loved my car and was loyal to Nissan but I will never buy another one again. Nissan is a ripoff that has played us all and never fessed up to their issues, I will also make a complaint to the above websites to see if they can bring a class action suit or recall. I could have bought a really nice Beamer or Benz for the money I keep throwing into this car on a monthly basis.

I feel like such an idiot for going through what I've been going through. I bought my 04 Maxima SL just under a year ago with 44K miles on it... so far I've replaced the tires ($400), replaced a hose for the A/C compressor ($425), replaced both front pads AND rotors as well as my back pads ($1100) {still squeaks}...

If that's not enough, I too have been visited by the transmission fairy. Same slipping between 1st & 2nd followed by a check engine light and a diagnosis from the dealership of a total tranny replacement ($3800). They say they've never heard any such thing as problems with this transmission (lies?)...

This is my 5th and FINAL Nissan.

I miss Datsun!

I am going to email some others on this site who have had the same issues, to see if there have been any resolutions short of coming out of pocket for that much money on a car I owe so much on.

Anybody wanna buy a Maxima with a brand NEW transmission in a couple weeks?