[joeandcarol2]

I test drove the Altima 3.5 SE for the second time today. First, there is a lot to like about this car. The steering is great (much better than the slow ratio, light effort, no road feel Maxima I tested yesterday). Handling is also great and of course a wonderful engine. But one thing did put me off quite a bit. There is a LOT of wind noise on the highway and significant road noise as well. It was really annoying and would drive me nuts on a long trip. When my wife and I got back into her 92 Celica GT and drove down the same highway it seems wisper quiet.
I think Nissan has a wonderful platform here but they need to correct a few flaws. Maybe its worth waiting a bit to see if they address this issue. Also, I have noticed that the build quality on the Maxima (which i dont like nearly as much)is much better then the american made Altima. Every altima I have sat in or driven had some kind of defect. Today one of the cars had a steering wheel that would not telescope. Last night one had a back door that rubbed on the side post of the car!!! In another test the alignment was way off. The wheel had to be pointed left for the car to track straight. Geeez. Gotta respect the Japanese worker..

 

[prontospyder]

well, the 2003 Maxima will be produced in the US also.

only thing I noticed about the Altima was the carpet at the bottom. But that is ok with me....won't be looking under there while I'm driving anyway.

 

[Xtrema]

I test 2 different 3.5SE and all I can say is the nosie difference in huge!

My 1st blond 3.5Se has a lot of noise and just can't find where it's coming from.

My 2nd black 3.5Se has significantly less noise and feel fine for me. It's still more noise than Accord or Camry but it's still fine. My tag along test driver who drives days in and out in his Volvo (also quiet cars) also say he can live with the noise. And the handling make him drool too. Now he wants to trade in his 2 years old S70.

I still think there are some bugs to be fixed on the assembly line. Production for next year may be better.

 

[Afty]

Perhaps it's worthwhile to wait a month or two before purchasing an Altima to make sure production bugs are worked out. It sounds like the Altimas people are looking at now are significantly better than the very first ones off the line.

 

[luv2race]

Their must be a difference from car to car. My 3.5 is very quiet inside, much quieter than my 97 maxima in fact. Maybe the door seals aren't tight on some of them, I sure like mine though.

 

[snowcrabs72]

3.5 SE

Mines is pretty quiet - until maybe when I hit a bump

 

[velasqj]

Noise? Compared to what?

Just picked up my merlot 3.5 auto and have had a ball. Although I plan on taking her to the mountians in a couple of weeks for some real action, i haven't noticed much in the way of road noise. Because I really consider this car a sports sedan rather than a luxury model, this is rather subjective.

 

[joeandcarol2]

wind noise 2

Well I am very interested in the purchase of a 3.5 SE myself. So I am encouraged by the examples of more quiet altimas. I myself will wait 6 months for prices to drop a bit and for Nissan to work out build quality issues.

 

[Capitalist]

Perhaps it's worthwhile to wait a month or two before purchasing an Altima to make sure production bugs are worked out. It sounds like the Altimas people are looking at now are significantly better than the very first ones off the line.

I agree 100%. It's not unusual for the first shipment of a completely new model to have small production defects. It'll probably take a couple of months for quality control to catch up.

 

[bbk3e]

wind noise from sunroof

This is my first Nissan, so I can't compare it with others, but
my 3.5SE auto IS noisier than my '94 Saab 900SE.

The wind noise seems to be coming from the sunroof even
though it's closed. I notice it even more when I have the
sunroof closed but pull back the plastic interior cover.

Usually if it bothers me (it usually doesn't), I do what lots of
"mechanically challenged" people do - I turn up the radio!
But since it's a Bose 8-speaker/in-dash 6 cd changer...

 

[akima]

Maybe I am unlucky, but every car I have owned has had some kind of noise problem and it always takes a while to mentaly screen or scream it out. It had a Ford Taurus once and had a slight door misalignment. I took it back to the dealer they fixed the alignment problem, but gave me wind noise in return. Evertime they touch the car it got worse or other problems arrived. My next car was a Honda Accord, a car I hated, had a dash rattle that went back to dealer 3 or 4 times and could not fix. My last car was a Volvo Cross Country that had a squeeky rear seat again the dealer could not fix. Almost every car with a sun roof has mad some noise as well.
Has any one ever got a noise fixed from a dealer???
My Altima is fairly noise free. The sun roof has creeked from time to time, but nothing regular. I find that when a person gets a new car, our hearing becomes super focused, and if there is a problem or noise it will not be there when you take it to be fixed, or the mechanic will not be able to hear anything. I had this happen once where he could not hear the noise. It turned the the mechanic had a hearing problem and could not hear sounds in certain ranges. A test drive with the manger proved the noise existed.
Here in Chicago with the drastic heat/cold changes 100degrees to -20 that chages a lot too.

 

[stefx]

wind noise

I agree with bbk

Check the sunroof. Open it and close it. Try again by tilting and closing it. Slide the inside cover off. It cut the noise a lot during my test drive.

 

[Boy Nizmo]

I agee with Luv2Race...my 3.5 SE is quiet inside. Perhaps the month of when the Altima was built makes a difference?

 

[02alty driver]

my altima was actually built in august and the only "defect" it had or has is the boot, it started coming off at the seem but nissan dealer has the part ordered and will replace it with no charge at all so no complaints here, I believe august was the first month for production...

 

[lsc]

My Altima is also very quiet. All my friends are impressed w/ the quietness and the smoothness of the car.

You're right about the sunroof and the headliner. It is noisier w/ the headliner pulled back. I noticed that right away. All cars that I've seen are the same way. '99 Maxima SE, '00 Acura TL w/ sunroofs...same thing.

I guess that's what the headliner is there for.

 

[kvou812]

I bought my SE on 9/8, with a build date of 8/01, and mine is very quiet with no problems. The wind noise from the sunroof is typical....I had the same noise in my 99 VW Jetta VR6....I put one of those deflectors on it, and it allows you to open the sunroof on the highway without the wind blowing you away, but it seemed to make the thing noisier when shut.

Kevin

 

[rossi1200s]

My alt came with a wind deflector on the sun roof, I took it off and things are bit louder.

I'm willing to sell it cheap if anyone wants it.

 

[SuperRav]

noise??

i bought my 2002 altima in sept. and have put 3300 miles on it since then..yeah there are a few flaws..but for the money i'm not complaining, that 3.5 sounds like a monster..and i love it!!

and someone said the price might drop in a few months?? i'm highly doubting that. Nissan is already scrambling to make money. i think she's a steal from the begining.

 

[mad4me]

what da???

hey capitalist, tell me you were just playing around with PS right? what the hell is that orange thing OMG got to have it!

 

[e-squared]

Why do you think they put volume up button on the radio?
Wind noise.

Along with feeling the road I like to hear the outside weather.