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Hi, I have a 2001 Nissan Maxima, Automatic Transmission, 97500 Miles. I’m having a few issues with it and one of my issues is my transmission. Whenever I drive my car with overdrive off which is a feature in my car the transmission doesn’t want to shift. What I mean by that is whenever I start to drive I’ll reach 3000 rpm, then it will just go straight to 7000 rpm and the car stays in the same gear and wont shift. With overdrive on this doesn’t happen and I have already gotten my transmission fluid changed and I made sure it was the correct fluid. Now some of my other issues that I’m having, I think I know what the issues is but I just wanted to know what you guys think. Every time I go over a bump there is a squeaky noise coming from the front right tire and it only happens on bumps and when I push the car up and down on that side. So I think it needs a new strut. Another sound I’m having which is starting to annoy is this low grinding noise coming from the same tire and it only happens while driving straight. I think whats causing the grinding sound is the brakes but I’m not really sure. If anybody has any feedback on my transmission issue and the noises I’d appreciate it. Thank you! 🙂
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Here are some video’s that should help you in your diagnosis –
Finding suspension noises –
Grinding noise (it may be a bearing issue. I would just remove the wheel and inspect the pads and rotor to rule out any brake component issues) –
The transmission issue is a odd one. Ill have to look into that one at work and see what i can find.
Does the overdrive light flash? Any CEL codes?
There are no CEL codes and the overdrive light is not flashing. Thanks for the videos, I’ll be looking at them and if you find anything about the transmission please let me know. One more thing I think I should mention is this actually isn’t the first time this happened, It is actually the second but it looks like this time its not going to go away.
Out of curiousity, why do you drive with overdrive turned off? The only time you would really need to turn it off would be driving through mountains or towing.
I don’t drive with overdrive off. I just accidentally turned it off two days ago and I noticed the transmission acting up. I was just curious of why it happened.
Fair enough. I guess my answer would be to just leave the O/D on, obviously, especially if the issue doesn’t occur when it’s on. There may be a bug in the electronic controls, or even a TSB that you could look into. Here’s a free site that provides TSB’s and electrical diagrams just for general purposes.
Th transmission still isn’t the best with overdrive on. Its not as bad with it off, at least its drivable but before whenever I would floor the gas pedal the car would go flying. Now it takes a little bit longer to gain speed. I don’t know why this is happening but I was wondering if it was possible to replace the transmission with a standard? I know they sell this same car with a standard so I was thinking maybe I could buy one and put it on my car but I’m wondering if I’ll have to do anything to the engine. I’ve honestly had enough of automatic transmissions so please respond if its possible to swap an automatic transmission with a standard.
Well, anything is possible. Swapping a manual trans in would require obviously the trans, plus any different mounts, a set of pedals, and probably the ECM out of a non-automatic trans car, because the ECM or another computer controls when your car shifts. You would need to swap the flex plate to a flywheel on the backside of the crank as well. You would be better served to just buy a car that’s already a stick if you want to drive one. The swap would be relatively easier on an older car, as in a ’80s or older vehicle. It would be a pretty big project on your car bud. If the transmission is acting up and there are no codes after you have done a fluid change and verified the fluid is at the correct level, then the clutch packs are probably beginning to fail in the trans itself.
Thanks on the info and I think I am going to swap the trans with a standard. It’ll be costly but its been a while since I did a project on my car so I think it’ll be fun and worth it in the end. Thanks. 🙂
Based on your description I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the transmission. When you turn the OD off you go from a 4 speed trans to a 3 speed trans. The reason it wasn’t shifting is because it was in 3rd gear and you instructed it NOT to go farther by pressing the OD off button. You say it seems sluggish otherwise, this could have nothing to do with the transmission, it could be an engine performance issue.
If you really want to swap the auto for a manual go for it. I don’t advise it though as I think it would be easier to just get a car with a manual. Keep in mind you’ll also have to change the computer and at least part of the engine harness to do this. Not to mention the mechanicals you’re going to need to switch over. Is it really worth it on an old Nissan? Seriously think about it first because by the time you’re done you might as well have bought another car with all the money and effort you’re going to put into it.
What i meant by it wont shift was it wont even shift out of 1st gear. I remember before when I just started to drive I would be an idiot and drive with O/D off and it shift through the 3 gears, now it doesn’t and I don’t think its an engine performance issue. If you drove my car I think you would know why It just doesn’t act like its a performance issue. Acts more like a transmission issue. Your right about how difficult and expensive it is going to be to swap transmissions. My friend has a 98 Nissan Maxima and hes going to swap transmissions with a standard too and he wanted me to help. I told him that it probably wouldn’t be worth it in the end but he never listens. So I’m going to help him out and see how it goes and if everything turns out fine for him then I’ll do it to my car. Thanks for the info though.
So basically when overdrive is off, the car will not shift out of first gear ?
What happens if your going 60 mph and you turn overdrive off ?
To me it sounds like it could be an electronic issue, do you have any codes stored or flashing lights on the dash that might indicate a transmission problem?
[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=31600]To me it sounds like it could be an electronic issue, do you have any codes stored or flashing lights on the dash that might indicate a transmission problem?[/quote]
My CEL light is not on but I thought I should just search for any codes and I did get a code which I believe was P0720 Output Speed Sensor Circuit. I actually remember getting this same code a while ago when I was having issues with my cat but the code eventually went away, but now its back but the CEL light hasn’t turned on yet. One thing I noticed on the dash is when I start the car the O/D off light would stay on but went away after I started driving. Now the light doesn’t turn off until I’ve driven for more than 10 feet which was not like that before. When I had this code the last time I remember searching it up and it was the VSS Sensor. I know the VSS tells the car how fast the car is going and I’m thinking that since the VSS is most likely bad it probably isn’t telling the car to shift, but I’m not sure. Does anybody else know if the sensor could cause the car to prevent shifting?
So vehicles will read from the VSS for shifting.
Those sensors can usually be checked with a ohm meter.
Also do not forget to check the integrity of the VSS circuit wiring.
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