1996 Nissan Maxima Engine cooling Problems

“My 1996 Nissan Maxima caught on fire by itself in the midnight, and it was almost completely destroyed by the fire. I received the vehicle from my friend as a gift, which was in a very good condition. And I also paid the buckner's auto service center at knoxville, tn for checking the car in detail and getting it repaired. But 8 days after, the car was on fire. During the 8 days, the car was parked in the parking lot in front of my apartment, and nobody ever touched the car. It's cloudy or rainy in all these days. …”

“Water pump leaks radiator coolant. This has LED to engine-overheating and may cause severe engine failure (a safety issue). On checking with dealer, the estimated repair and replacement of water pump may cost around $750. This is an unusually high cost for water pump replacement. With the car being a 96 model having only a mileage of about 50 k, this kind of water pump failure is probably unseen on most other car models. Therefore, it is suggested to the manufacturer to investigate into possible design defects of the water pump.”

“The vehicle caught on fire while parked in the driveway. The fire started from the main engine compartment per the fire department. Please provide more information.”

“It is my understanding the Nissan used plastic sprockets in the timing chain and they are failing. It is also my understanding that Nissan is aware of the problem and has since changed the production from using plastic. The plastic sprockets break which can then cause major engine failure. To have the timing chain problem repairs will cost me in excess of $2k because the manufacturer choose to experiemtn with using plastic in the engine.”

“Check engine light stayed on even after routine maintenance was done. The cruise control stopped working after the 1st year I bought it. In the 5 years I have owned the car, the starter has been replaced twice, the differential was replaced, tie rod ends were replaced, struts were replaced, a new muffler/tail pipe was replaced, and this year, 2 oil leaks developed, 1 inside the engine. The mechanic said this was a defect of Nissan, not anything that I did or didn't do. It cost over $700 to fix the leaks. The leaks blew out the sensors, and the car didn't pass the emissions. …”