2004 Nissan Maxima: engine knocking or ticking

Filed Oct 26, 2016 · Electrical · TX · fire

On october 5, 2016 my husband came home from pt and parked the car under our carport. When he got out of the car there was not signs of smoke or any warning lights on in the car. He came in the house and started to get dressed and about 10 minutes later our neighbor was knocking on the door" screaming your car is on fire". The fire department was called out to put out the fire and after it was out they found that the fire started in the engine and ruled it an electrical fire. I called nna and explained what happened, sent photos, the police report, and fire report and they stated that it would take 6 weeks for them to even decide if they would investigate and that they would not help with any fees to have the car preserved. We live on a military base so we had to have the car towed away so that military housing could assess the damage that was done to the carport and we can not afford to pay daily for having the car sit at a tow yard while nissan decides if the will even investigate the cause of the fire. I really feel like there should be a class action against nissan because with all these complaints this can't just be isolated incidents.

Filed Mar 7, 2013 · Transmission · 100,126 miles · CA

In heavy traffic, the 2004 nissan maxima transmission was knocking and slipping, had excessive high RPM's causing the car to "burn rubber", and jerked heavily when shifting. A rating severity of 10 is given due to having had 4 near miss (possible) accidents in a period of 20 minutes. The car was sent to the repair shop and items were replaced that the mechanic said would fix the problem (engine mounts). The car was driven again and displayed the same defects. The car manufacture was notified of these defects on 3/7/2013. These conditions pose a safety hazard not only to myself but also to my passengers (which are family and friends), other drivers on the road as well as innocent pedestrians that may come in contact with my car when I finally do have that serious life threatening accident due to my transmission defect.

Filed Apr 27, 2012 · Engine · 115,000 miles · MN

I own a 2004 nissan maxima and when I bought it I thought I was buying a great car that was less than 6 months ago although I still like the car it is starting to make this ticking noise the ticking noise is coming from the timing chain and is doing that because of a piece of plastic has gotten loose on the timing chain guides so now that this piece of plastic is loose my timing chain could possibly snap and damage my entire motor so I decide ok ill just fix it but oh no its 1500 dollars to fix because of all the labor that is needed to get my car repaired because of the labor involved in getting to the timing chain so my complaint is that why do you have a stupid piece of plastic that is now failing for almost all vq 35 engines it just doesn't make any sense why as a company you are so cheap that you cant design something more durable than a piece of plastic to hold together the engine of my car that when it first came out in 2004 was going for like 26000 dollars how cheap can you get unbelievable you would think I would not have to worry about my car dying because of this one stupid piece of plastic that is basically defective and was not meant to hold together a timing chain what a crap company now im on the hook for 3 years and I have to pray that my chain doesn't snap because I cant afford to pay 1500 dollars to fix my car because of a stupid piece of plastic.

Filed Aug 8, 2011 · Transmission · 88,700 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan maxima. The contact stated that the transmission would make a loud knocking noise when shifting gears. In addition, when shifting gears while driving over 20 MPH, the engine would rev. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic, who stated that the failure was due to a gear shift malfunction. The failure mileage was 88,700 and the current mileage was 94,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Aug 1, 2011 · Transmission · 70,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan maxima. The contact heard a knocking sound from the transmission gears. The dealer advised the contact that the motor mount caused the failure and replaced it; however, the failure continued to occur. The vehicle was taken to the dealer a second time after the warranty expired and the contact was informed that he should have the transmission replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. No repairs were performed. The current mileage was 120,000. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Mar 18, 2011 · Engine, Transmission · 84,170 miles · MD

I purchased a 2004 nissan maxima in august 2006, and it all seemed fine for a bit but once I reached about 84k miles, the transmission started having problems. First, when I shift from park to any other gear. It seems to either hesitate to shift into gear and once it does it shifts in a horrible knock! It continues to do the same problem as well as slip gears while in motion. It usually slips from 1st to 2nd, or 2nd to 3rd. It causes the car to rev and shifts when it wants. That makes it snap even harder. I took the car to a local transmission shop which placed it on the computer. The error was a faulty camshaft position sensor (bank 1). Cost was $181.52. I'm still having the jerking with second gear but only when I slow down easily. The car shifts now, but the jerking continues. The local transmission shop said that I would have to replace the transmission for around $3,500 in order to alleviate the jerking and transmission slip issue. I bought a nissan because they are supposed to be dependable long lasting cars. I would hope that it would last over at least 100,000 miles before any sort of problems would even occur.

Filed Jan 14, 2011 · Transmission · 47,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan maxima. The contact stated that all of the motor mounts were fractured and were replaced. After the repair, the transmission began knocking and shifting abnormally hard when going from second to third gears and also when shifting into reverse. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was advised that the transmission would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure mileage was 47,000 and the current mileage was 48,000. Updated 2/28/11 *cn updated 03/07/11

Filed Sep 8, 2010 · Transmission · 143,000 miles · SC

2004 nissan maxima se 3.5l v6 transmissions- jerking, knocking and sticking in gear. Many dealers already know about the problem. Internet searches have shown the same results of consumers having issues. The normal cost for replacement is almost 50% of the car value. Dealerships will not repair the problem only suggest for the placement of the entire transmission $3800! If the car is engaged in 5th gear (like this one) could cause other vehicles to crash into it due to poor acceleration.

Filed Jun 11, 2010 · Brakes · 124,000 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns 2004 nissan maxima. The contact stated the ABS actuator warning light would illuminate and the vehicle would shake, rattle and knock violently. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for the failure and was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted to report the failure. The failure mileage was 124,000.

Filed May 25, 2010 · Brakes, Electrical · 117,000 miles · TN

I bought the 2004 nissan maxima sl for my wife in 2008. It was a one owner with about 90,000 highway miles, I loved the car and had no problems until feb 2010. The ABS system started acting up. Sounds like the ABS is trying to engage every time you hit the brakes. Nissan dealership wanted $100 just to hook it to computer to see what the problem was, no thank you. I had a mechanic friend hook his service computer up while I drove and like many other consumers, my maxima has a right (passenger) rear speed sensor that is bad, this causes the brakes to not function properly, all the while there are no service lights on the dash, you can pull the ABS fuse and but then that knocks out 1/2 of the cluster, including speedometer, gas gauge, parts of the obc, this is a huge problem suffered by many consumers and needs to be addressed immediately.

Filed Dec 2, 2009 · Engine, Transmission · 63,000 miles · SC

My 2004 nissan maxima with 64000 miles, has started shifting hard in 1st, and 2nd gears, with these transmissions your not suppose to feel the gears changing at all. Also there is a ticking coming from the timing belt which I am told is normal....doesn't sound normal to me!

Filed Nov 24, 2009 · Transmission · NY

I have had my 2004 nissan maxima for almost 2 years now. For over one year I have been having problems with my transmission jerking and kicking when going from 1st to 2nd gear and from 2nd to 1st gear. I took the car to a nissan dealership approximately 6 months ago and they could not find anything wrong with the transmission so they suggested that the transmission be flushed and the fluid be replaced. After this was done the car rode fine for about 2 days and returned to its normal thrashing and jerking. Knocking so hard at times that it causes me to have headaches and my head to hit the head rest. Ironically the transmission only does this only when the car has warmed up. I have scheduled an appointment with the same nissan dealer I went to previously which is scheduled for this friday regarding this same issue. The number of people who own this make and model who share the same issues is astronomical and it would be absolutely impossible for nissan and their mechanics to not be aware of it. It seems as though there is no one admitting there is an issue with these transmissions or accepting responsibility for this issue. To say the least, driving this car is scary and unsafe. Driving in stop and go traffic could be disastrous with a car in this condition along with slowing down to turn a corner or any situation when you may need to accelerate or stop quickly. Someone please address this issue and hold nissan responsible. This is a huge ethical issue that raises many safety concerns and has been brushed under the rug for years!