Bought a 2013 Rogue,new, drove it two years and traded it for a new 2015 Rogue. It has 58,000 on it in year six. No complaints, trouble free and good mileage on both. Only issue is that Nissan dealers are located in metros and we are 100 miles from any dealer. So far that has not been a problem. But if you are in a rural area that may be a problem with a 10 year old car with 170,000 miles.
Nissan Maxima Reliability
- Thread starter Bobber
- Start date
I have extensive experience with Nissan CVTs. My general experiences:
Versa and Sentra: Avoid like the plague. Complete garbage.
Altima: Seem to be ok. There's a ton of them on the road and as a percentage I don't see a whole lot of problems with them.
Maxima: Not a lot of experience with them as they don't make all that many. But I can't imagine it's significantly different than the one they use on the V6 Altimas. The previous conventional transmissions weren't great.
Murano: Surprisingly decent. They must build them beefier because of the extra weight. Maybe they do the same for the Maxima because of the relatively high horsepower.
Generally speaking, for whatever reason most transmission shops don't work on CVTs. Some of it is because they can be finicky. some of it is because they're a different beast. So they install reman ones. $3500-4000 generally.
If there's a weak link on older Nissans, it's the catalytic converters. They are not made for the long haul. But if one fails, it won't leave you stranded either.
Edit: Rogue: Better than the ones used in Sentra/Versa, but not as reliable as Altima, at least in the 08-11 year range.
Versa and Sentra: Avoid like the plague. Complete garbage.
Altima: Seem to be ok. There's a ton of them on the road and as a percentage I don't see a whole lot of problems with them.
Maxima: Not a lot of experience with them as they don't make all that many. But I can't imagine it's significantly different than the one they use on the V6 Altimas. The previous conventional transmissions weren't great.
Murano: Surprisingly decent. They must build them beefier because of the extra weight. Maybe they do the same for the Maxima because of the relatively high horsepower.
Generally speaking, for whatever reason most transmission shops don't work on CVTs. Some of it is because they can be finicky. some of it is because they're a different beast. So they install reman ones. $3500-4000 generally.
If there's a weak link on older Nissans, it's the catalytic converters. They are not made for the long haul. But if one fails, it won't leave you stranded either.
Edit: Rogue: Better than the ones used in Sentra/Versa, but not as reliable as Altima, at least in the 08-11 year range.
Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Lexus and Mazda are all very reliable cars. I drive a Mazda myself and I have abused this car through Uber etc and all I do is oil change, breaks and tires.
If there is anything the Japanese hate is mediocrity. They don’t want anyone to mess with their brands especially when it comes to their cars and durability. So if I were you, would buy that car and you won’t regret it. Good luck.
If there is anything the Japanese hate is mediocrity. They don’t want anyone to mess with their brands especially when it comes to their cars and durability. So if I were you, would buy that car and you won’t regret it. Good luck.
Have you considered taking a look at Consumer Reports to see what their unbiased opinion might be. A $5 magazine might cost a whole lot less than possible repair bills.
I recommend waiting 5 more years and another 50,000 miles just to be safe.
They seem to be as good as anything else. Well, anything else other than a Toyota Tundra.
I'd take that with a grain of salt. One, it is impossible to know long term reliability on a 2020 model year vehicle. Two, once you get outside the realm of reliability, it in large part devolves to opinions, which are subjective. Knowing CR, their biggest gripe is likely about something irrelevant such as the XD only being available as a 4WD model and are knocking it because of having to spend extra $$$ and give up fuel economy.
Actually I am a subscriber and while I do value their opinion, they are not perfect. Case in point they are not fans of Dodge Durangos yet the one I own has 207,000 miles on it, has been relatively repair free, and I love driving it.
Consumer Reports is actually why am posing the question here as I know they don't tend to rate Nissan well. I want to hear what real world long term drivers think.
It sounds like you got lucky with the Durango. If you love a Durango with 207k miles, you're probably going to think the Maxima is amazing.
I value the opinion of CF but you may get 3-4 people that have actually owned a Maxima, which most likely won't be the same year as what you're considering. It looks to me like the big thing is that CVT transmission, which almost always is the thing with Nissans. The other place I would check are maxima forums liek this one. 7th Generation Maxima (2009-2015) - Maxima Forums
I’ve got a newer 2018 Altima that I got used at a year old with like 12k on it. Up to 32k right now and no issues. Low mileage obviously so we’ll see how it progresses. I love the way they ride and think that the Altima’s/Maximas are the best looking “economy” brand sedan out there.
Good. The Hemi's have lifter problems, the GMs have variable cylinder management problems, and while the Ford 5.0s are bulletproof engines, their Ecoboost V6s are garbage with stretched timing chains and the obligatory occasional turbo issue. Toyotas aren't perfect, but if I was going to own a 10-15 year old model, the Tundra would be my first choice.
If you were buying a new full size pickup, which one's do you consider to be the best?
Yeah two other people I know with Durango's did have a lot of problems. I have been lucky. It was a work vehicle that I bought from my company and only have $4,500 into it so can move on pretty quickly if it starts bleeding me.
Do think will pass on the Nissan and go with something with a better reliability reputation..
CVT transmissions are not all the same. Some are excellent while others are a problem waiting to happen.
You haven't said how much the Maxima is being offered for. That really should dictate your decision. If he's offering it for anything lower than KBB private party value ($5k) you're getting a decent deal. (Trade in value is $3k)
