CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2007 Nissan Maxima has a significant trend of timing chain problems, which can ruin the engine.
Nissan used an "interference" design where the valves pop out into the path of the cylinder heads. Normally the timing chain keeps the valves opening at all the right times, but when Nissan's timing chain breaks or "jumps time", the cylinder heads smash into open valves & cause thousands of dollars of engine damage in one very quick & surprisingly unimpressive "PPPRRRRING!" sound.
Nissan Maximas from 2004-2006 have a widespread transmission defect, but judging from our complaint data, Nissan managed to fix the transmission problem for the 2007 model. The engine timing chain problems are a serious concern though.
5.0
fairly significant
Typical Repair Cost:
$200
Average Mileage:
78,000 miles
Total Complaints:
2 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
evac system, change hose, recharge system (2 reports)
Charged system with Freon w/dye and at night with a black light I could see the top AC hose was leaking at the crimped fitting. Ordered a new top hose, o-ring kit and an A/C vacuum pump. After replacing the hose and all the o-rings, which took about 40 mins, I vacuumed the system. After the recharging the system with Freon it's been going great. I spent about $400 total for parts, Freon, and the tools I needed for the job.
Bought my first Maxima due to thinking they were well made vehicles. Has 70,000 miles on it. Found out now there are several problems with this model. Just had the AC quit blowing cold air. After taking it to several people to look at I got different answers from a leak, to a bad compressor, to a system control problem. Finally found out that the low pressure hose has a leak. Will cost around $100 to have the system depressurized, over $100 for the hose (not even from Nissan who wants much more), $100 for the labor and then another $100 to recharge and add more refrigerant. That is over $400 just for a leak in a hose. My main complaint is that this is a common problem with this hose and Nissan will not accept responsibility. Every bad hose to leaking at the same spot. The EPA makes it against the law with big fines for us to release any of this refrigerant into the air but they wont make Nissan do anything about this problem who knowingly is letting it into the air with each new case. The parts guy I called at Nissan was aware of this hose problem too. After research, I now also will have to worry about the timing chain tensioner going bad which is another common problem because it was made of cheap plastic type material. And that fix is even much more costly. I'm selling and moving on asap.
- J B.,
Springfield, MO, US
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Charged system with Freon w/dye and at night with a black light I could see the top AC hose was leaking at the crimped fitting. Ordered a new top hose, o-ring kit and an A/C vacuum pump. After replacing the hose and all the o-rings, which took about 40 mins, I vacuumed the system. After the recharging the system with Freon it's been going great. I spent about $400 total for parts, Freon, and the tools I needed for the job.
- Michael B., Dracut, MA, US