1992 Nissan Maxima GXE A/T Model

[bdes64]

I bought this car with no owners manual in it. What exactly does the A/T switch do? I know this is basic but I am curious.It is three position switch. I believe Power off or comfort. Is this correct?Thanks

[PBfrEAk]

I bought this car with no owners manual in it. What exactly does the A/T switch do? I know this is basic but I am curious.It is three position switch. I believe Power off or comfort. Is this correct?Thanks

Hey yeah your right...P is Power, middle is off or normal, and C is comfort.

All it does is adjust your shift points so say, if you have it set on power, it will shift at oh say 3500 rpms (not accurate at all) and normal would be 3000 rpms (again...not really) and comfort would shift at 2500 rpms.

Good question though...it took me a year to figure it out...lol (mainly because I didn't notice I had it the first 6 months)

[MinisterofDOOM]

Yeah, that's correct.

Power lets the car hit redline before shifting. Comfort tries to keep shifts at about 4krpm.

WOT (wide-open throttle) overrides these settings and will allow the engine to hit redline before shifting regardless of A/T mode switch position.

[canucklehead]

my '94 has this feature. transmission was rebuit before 100K (miles). so I just leave mine in the normal position. when I tried it, i didn't notice a lot of difference.

[BLAXIMA_78]

I bought this car with no owners manual in it. What exactly does the A/T switch do? I know this is basic but I am curious.It is three position switch. I believe Power off or comfort. Is this correct?Thanks

Hey yeah your right...P is Power, middle is off or normal, and C is comfort.

All it does is adjust your shift points so say, if you have it set on power, it will shift at oh say 3500 rpms (not accurate at all) and normal would be 3000 rpms (again...not really) and comfort would shift at 2500 rpms.

Good question though...it took me a year to figure it out...lol (mainly because I didn't notice I had it the first 6 months)

how do you check if the a/t switch is engaged or working? my car stays in third gear. i put it into first and no feeling of shifting happens. same for 2nd gear. and at take off while the car is in Drive, i have absolutely no guts. fluid level is fine, but i can see dirt in the fluid. i asked a transmission shop and they say it would not do me any good to get a flush done, they want me to buy a new one. but when reading this post i am hopin somehow the a/t switch is to blame and i can save the cluthces and gears...

[loystock]

When was the last transmission service? You said the fluid is dirty so if it is dark and smell burnt, it's on the way out.

Flush is not recommended on transmission with no service history as the flush chemical will release gunk which built up over the years and just make the transmission worse/fail. Instead of flush, you can do multiple drain and refill. In addition a pan drop is recommended so you can clean the pan, magnets and check/replace filter. But since the condition of the transmission itself is questionable, it would be better to do diagnostic first before doing the transmission service.

In your other post, aside from stuck in 3rd gear, you also mentioned about buzzing noise in the transmission bellhousing area. If the transmission is stuck in 3rd gear, it is in FAIL-SAFE mode and this requires diagnostic. The buzzing noise is most likely related to your transmission problem. There are several solenoids and sensors connected to the transmission and proper diagnostic can identify the culprit.

The link below is for the 94 Maxima FSM (Factory Service Manual) but it should also work with the 92 Max. There are two variations of the automatic transmission - RE4F02A (VG engine) or RE4F04V (VE engine) so you have to use the appropriate diagnostic procedure - starting on page AT-30 for 02A or AT-101 for 04V.

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/maxima/1994/at.pdf

[shiloh51933]

how do you check if the a/t switch is engaged or working? my car stays in third gear. i put it into first and no feeling of shifting happens. same for 2nd gear. and at take off while the car is in Drive, i have absolutely no guts. fluid level is fine, but i can see dirt in the fluid. i asked a transmission shop and they say it would not do me any good to get a flush done, they want me to buy a new one. but when reading this post i am hopin somehow the a/t switch is to blame and i can save the cluthces and gears...[/quote]

B4 even thinkin' bout replacing transmission I would do some drain/fills and then drain/fill with a bottle of Lucas transmission treatment. Lucas transmission treatment really works great if you use it in time, previuos owner probably never drained/filled fluid. Most auto owners forget about transmission fluid, these trannies are very durable. Give it a shot and let us know what happens, good wrenching.

[BLAXIMA_78]

When was the last transmission service? You said the fluid is dirty so if it is dark and smell burnt, it's on the way out.

Flush is not recommended on transmission with no service history as the flush chemical will release gunk which built up over the years and just make the transmission worse/fail. Instead of flush, you can do multiple drain and refill. In addition a pan drop is recommended so you can clean the pan, magnets and check/replace filter. But since the condition of the transmission itself is questionable, it would be better to do diagnostic first before doing the transmission service.

In your other post, aside from stuck in 3rd gear, you also mentioned about buzzing noise in the transmission bellhousing area. If the transmission is stuck in 3rd gear, it is in FAIL-SAFE mode and this requires diagnostic. The buzzing noise is most likely related to your transmission problem. There are several solenoids and sensors connected to the transmission and proper diagnostic can identify the culprit.

The link below is for the 94 Maxima FSM (Factory Service Manual) but it should also work with the 92 Max. There are two variations of the automatic transmission - RE4F02A (VG engine) or RE4F04V (VE engine) so you have to use the appropriate diagnostic procedure - starting on page AT-30 for 02A or AT-101 for 04V.

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/maxima/1994/at.pdf

Well, i have some good news and some even better news. after some electrical diagnosing we found a short to power under the relay box next to the front of the engine. my battery was getting drained and it was making my electrical components VERY unhappy. so we had to install a 50AMP fuse in between a smaller gauge wire on the bat terminal to the larger gauge power wire. as soon as we did that my transmission started to shift. so my smart self went right out and purchased a transmission filter hoping to take the pan off and clean it, drain the fluid, be happy. but i found out the pan is upside down inverted on the transaxle and the only way to change the filter is during a REBUILD! so this local transmission shop quoted me 140 to do a slow flush. they would just run gallons of clean fluid through the transmission until it ran clean. so the transmission issue is at least a feasible repair. I wanted to give you a recap of what i've been through since Loystock spent some time to give me a good response.

[BLAXIMA_78]

how do you check if the a/t switch is engaged or working? my car stays in third gear. i put it into first and no feeling of shifting happens. same for 2nd gear. and at take off while the car is in Drive, i have absolutely no guts. fluid level is fine, but i can see dirt in the fluid. i asked a transmission shop and they say it would not do me any good to get a flush done, they want me to buy a new one. but when reading this post i am hopin somehow the a/t switch is to blame and i can save the cluthces and gears...

B4 even thinkin' bout replacing transmission I would do some drain/fills and then drain/fill with a bottle of Lucas transmission treatment. Lucas transmission treatment really works great if you use it in time, previuos owner probably never drained/filled fluid. Most auto owners forget about transmission fluid, these trannies are very durable. Give it a shot and let us know what happens, good wrenching.[/quote]


yeah, i think i should use Lucas too, i heard about that stuff. thanx for the heads up.