Nissan Maxima Problems

There's not much you can do, it's a used car and an issue with a missing second key would not be covered by the statutory warranty on used cars. It's one of those things that need to be sorted out before you accept the car. Once you've done that you've lost your bargaining power, but I would approach the dealer and try to come to an arrangement with them. I would think it would be well worth him spending $600 to have a satisfied customer.

Independent Nissan service specialist Jerry Newman suggests you check the idle control valve and the air mass sensor, the latter doesn’t always show up as a fault on a diagnostic check.

Nissan specialist Jerry Newman tells us that 20w-50w is regarded as a little heavy for a modern multi-valve engine, and that 10w-40w or 15w-40w is preferable depending on the temperature of the area you live in. Either grade would be suitable for your area, but the 10w-40w would be better if you were driving regularly to the snow where it would be much colder.

I would have suggested that you clean the injectors, but as you have already done that I would go through the plugs, leads, coils etc. and make sure all is well with them, and make sure the idle is correct.

It really depends on how much power you think you need and what you need it for, but the Maxima is a very good car and its 3.5-litre V6 puts out 170 kW and 333 Nm, more than enough for most people. While the Falcon puts out more, 195 kW and 391 Nm, I question the need for that much power for the everyday driver. It's perhaps worth remembering that not so long ago the best performing V8 you could buy didn't put out as much as the Maxima. The only thing to remember is that the Maxima is front-wheel drive and the Falcon is rear-wheel drive, which can be better in some circumstances, although it's hard to pick a front-wheel drive car today, they are so good.

MOST modern engines use belts, but not all of them. Timing belts are used because they are cheaper than chains and also quieter. Nissan has used chains on passenger car engines since the 1980s and commercial engines since 2000.

THE Camry is a good choice. It's a reliable model and won't cost an arm and a leg to run. I would also consider the Nissan Maxima A32, which fits your budget, and don't forget the Mitsubishi Magna. You will get a later-model Magna for the same money.