2002-03 Nissan Maxima owners ?

[compguy786]

Want to people's own opinions about this car, and the common issues people have or have not had with the car. I personally like it so far, but want peoples opinions as well.

Car i am looking at is black, se, 116k and a southern car. Guy is asking $6500...trying to talk down to hopefully $5500....Ill post pics when he sends them

 

[RKS]

I have an 02 blue 6-speed SE with 120K miles There is some torque steer and brakes may warp easily as with most Nissan products. You may want to check maxima.org for more info. I know some early 3.5 VQ were/are prone to burning oil but the only issue I have had is the need to replace 2 O2 sensors. There aren't to many major mechanical issues with Maximas in general.

 

[Sust]

Agree with everything RKS said esp maxima.org.
I own a 2002 GLE with ~110,000 miles on it. My biggest investment so far has been the O2 sensors, followed by my total brake replacement, and then however many cases of mobil 1 I have used for the last 100,000 miles.
The car is very reliable if treated/maintained well and not left outside to rot. My only gripe that I still have now about the car is the ridiculously poor turning radius.
Some like to knock the Bose system. However, I think it is a fair system that isnt the best sounding, but definitely gets the job done for those of us who only listen to our crappy MP3s and dont want our headunits stolen.
I also believe the days of our HID headlights being targeted for theft in the NYC/North Jersey area are gone if i'm not mistaken.

Good luck.

 

[wasssup]

Good info, I was looking at picking one of these up too but was worried about HID theft (heck, theft in general..had my '99 Civic coupe stolen 1.5 years ago, didn't have comprehensive so I got pwned). Gotta love NJ.

The other car I was looking at was the 01-02 Accord coupe, which is (give or take) in the same class and price range.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: Sust
Agree with everything RKS said esp maxima.org.
I own a 2002 GLE with ~110,000 miles on it. My biggest investment so far has been the O2 sensors, followed by my total brake replacement, and then however many cases of mobil 1 I have used for the last 100,000 miles.
The car is very reliable if treated/maintained well and not left outside to rot. My only gripe that I still have now about the car is the ridiculously poor turning radius.
Some like to knock the Bose system. However, I think it is a fair system that isnt the best sounding, but definitely gets the job done for those of us who only listen to our crappy MP3s and dont want our headunits stolen.
I also believe the days of our HID headlights being targeted for theft in the NYC/North Jersey area are gone if i'm not mistaken.

Good luck.

most cars in recent times are reliable if well maintained. t he beauty of maximas is that they can be neglected and still run reliably.

 

[BassBomb]

I had the 2000 i30 which is equivalent to the 2000 Maxima

Lasted through anything we put that car through, as others stated O2 sensors + brakes. That car is hard to stop if you aren't on top of the brake work.

Great car and you will enjoy it.

A few of my relatives have the 2003 model since it was such a stellar bang for buck ride.

Turning radius is poor but is manageable

 

[compguy786]

great info !

yeah i heard the O2s go VERY fast on these cars...they got like 4 lol

 

[Sust]

In a cruel twist of fate, after I made my last post my "check engine light" came on.
Also my driver's side headlight wouldnt turn on. It'll try to turn on, but then it just blips off or the light is not as full spectrum white and instead having this weak purple output.
This probably suggests that it's not electrical in nature, but I'm going to have to take it in and see what the deuce is going on with my car.
I have a bad feeling about O2 sensors again with cost of OEM xenon light replacement....
Damn you stealerships.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I am the original owner of a 2003 Nissan Maxima SE. It is sheer silver with gray interior, power moonroof, and automatic transmission. All the rear glass is darkly tinted and I have replaced the OEM speakers and head unit with Pioneer BT9800 with Sirius satellite radio and steering wheel controls. I also added an amp and sub in the trunk. I have almost 80,000 miles on it now and it has been an excellent car.

If you push the car hard the brakes will quickly overheat causing fading and warp the rotors. Also, torque steer is atrocious but unless you are really mashing the throttle off the line it is manageable.

I've never had a bit of trouble with the headlights nor have I had to replace any bulbs anywhere on the car. I've had a couple check engine lights, dealership replaced the cam position sensors and O2 sensors. I have nothing but positive things to say about my local Nissan service department. Don't get anything trapped inside the cover for the cup holders or you'll never get it open without breaking something in the mechanism...don't ask me how I know this.

I've always taken good care of the car, following all the recommended services per the owner's manual. I plan to hang onto this car for a couple more years. It is paid for, still looks great inside and out and is a decent performing, roomy, 4 door sedan.

 

[RKS]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I am the original owner of a 2003 Nissan Maxima SE. It is sheer silver with gray interior, power moonroof, and automatic transmission. All the rear glass is darkly tinted and I have replaced the OEM speakers and head unit with Pioneer BT9800 with Sirius satellite radio and steering wheel controls. I also added an amp and sub in the trunk. I have almost 80,000 miles on it now and it has been an excellent car.

If you push the car hard the brakes will quickly overheat causing fading and warp the rotors. Also, torque steer is atrocious but unless you are really mashing the throttle off the line it is manageable.

I've never had a bit of trouble with the headlights nor have I had to replace any bulbs anywhere on the car. I've had a couple check engine lights, dealership replaced the cam position sensors and O2 sensors. I have nothing but positive things to say about my local Nissan service department. Don't get anything trapped inside the cover for the cup holders or you'll never get it open without breaking something in the mechanism...don't ask me how I know this.

I've always taken good care of the car, following all the recommended services per the owner's manual. I plan to hang onto this car for a couple more years. It is paid for, still looks great inside and out and is a decent performing, roomy, 4 door sedan.

You won't believe the number of times I have cursed my car for this. I found yanking the removable cup holder (if you can get the cover open enough) is the only solution without breaking something.

 

[kevman]

I have an 02 i35 (pretty much the same car) and its a pretty nice reliable car. I would look for signs of any headlight theft and any damage resulting from that on the paint etc on the maxima. headlight theft was rampant when those cars came out. agree with all the other comments here, O2 sensors and brakes are probably the first couple things you might need to invest in.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I had a 2001 Maxima SE (with 5-speed manual and Comfort and Convenience package) for about 7 years (I bought it new). The 2001 is basically similar to the 2002-2003 but with the 3-liter, 222-bhp version of the VQ engine.

It was generally very reliable but I did experience a weird issue where the car abruptly started getting terrible mileage (it went from about 23 mpg to about 17) in late 2004. I took it to three different mechanics and nobody could diagnose it - it still suffered from the issue when I traded it for my 330i in April 2008.

The biggest annoyance of the car (and it was REALLY irritating - even more so than the mileage issue) was that my car, which had the optional 17" wheel package, had by far the hugest turning radius of anything I've ever driven. In order to prevent front wheel scrub with the wide sport tires, they had to impose really narrow steering limits. It wasn't noticeable on a test drive but made it tricky to park the car in any moderately tight setting, even in a parking lot. Also, some of the small electrics were a little fritzy (the driver's seat and front passenger window both worked sporadically).

The clutch was also really annoying (obviously this would only matter on a manual car) - it had a very long travel and a TINY engagement point. This made the car needlessly tricky to drive on a daily basis and I would stall the car at least once a year - I don't think I have EVER stalled the Hondas, Acura, or BMW I have owned.

Other than that, I generally liked the car. It was relatively comfy, decent to drive, and sporty for a FWD Japanese sedan. I liked the soft leather and thought it was nicer than the leather in Hondas and Toyotas of that era (I also owned a same-gen Accord EX V6 for about a year before trading it in on the Maxima). The Bose stereo was decent and despite the fact that the interior materials felt a little chintzy when new (the leather shift boot and shitty plasticky handbrake were two major offenders), they really never got worse.

When I was researching new cars in early 2001 the Maxima was the only manual-equipped, 6-cylinder sedan I could actually afford, and I still think it was the best choice out there among sub-$30K sedans at the time I bought it.

 

[SSSnail]

lol

 

[JulesMaximus]

Turning radius does suck. I've driven fullsize trucks with a smaller turning radius.

 

[compguy786]

i hate turning.