# 1999 Nissan Maxima Problems & Plans



## poitra_ (Feb 8, 2013)

Hey everyone. Well, I have a 1999 Maxima that was given to me by my friends parents. Anyways, as of recently I have been having a problem with the transmission. There are two situations that may help find the problem. Situation 1: I don't let the car get up to running temp (stupid, I know) and it doesn't like to shift until I let off the gas a little and then it shifts. It doesn't shift hard, just late or when I let off the gas. Situation 2: I let the car warm up and it runs fine if I press firmly on the gas and shifts fine until I get on the highway and then it goes up to about 2,800-3,100 RPMs before shifting or I let off the gas again. The car runs great, there aren't any clinking sounds or sounds of metal grinding or anything. It's just the transmission doesn't like to shift when it's supposed to. I've had people tell me it is a sensor and that I just need to flush it and change the filter ect. ect. I would just like to know if anyone knew the problem before I spend money on problems that don't exist. I probably will anyways, but I'd like to know what it is based on the info I gave.

As my plans for the car are to make it, more or less, 'fast'. I am going to invest in:


Turbo
New exhaust system
New cooling system
Brakes

I know this will be expensive and I actually work for a living and my parents aren't made of money, so I'm well aware of the cost of things. I'd just like to do all of this for experience. I'm not looking to be a master mechanic or anything, but I'd just like to learn to work on cars as a side project. 

Next I plan on rebuilding a transmission and taking apart an engine block and cleaning it. But that's all for a later date.

I'm trying to do all of this on a budget, so any input on cheap but reliable parts would be appreciated too.

Thanks everybody!


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

If I were you, I wouldn't attempt to flush the tranny. Flushing sometimes causes more problems; just drain the ATF and refill if you want to. Look at the ATF on the dip stick; if it has a burnt smell or is brown in color, that's an indication of problems with worn clutch packs. Make sure the ATF level is at the full mark; fully warm up the tranny and check the level while the engine is idling.


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