6th Gen Turning Radius

[naiku]

I have read a lot of reviews that say the turning radius on the 6th gen Maxima is huge. Is it really as bad as a lot of reviews say it is? how much do you notice it in everyday driving? I am looking to buy a 2004-2005 model, and keep reading about the huge turning radius.

Any other things I should look out for when looking at 2004-2005 models?

Thanks.

[Sentientbydesign]

Here's my 2 cents.

The turning radius on the 4th gens (95-99) is 16 feet. Which means it takes 32 feet to do a u-turn.

On the 6th gens I see numbers between 36 and 40 (user measured) which means it takes and additional 4-8 feet to turn around.

That could equat to some annoying parking lot situations.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I've never had trouble parking the 6th gen (a 2004 in this case) anywhere. It's definitely not something that you notice in everyday driving. It might be an annoyance if you try to make a U-turn on a narrow road. I can't say I've ever been in a situation where I found myself wishing the car had a tighter turning radius.

It's definitely a wider turning radius than my 3rd gen, but it isn't something that poses problems in my experience.

[naiku]

Cool, thanks for the replies. It looks like the turning circle is about the same as my truck. So not great, but at the same time I have never had a problem with the truck, so don't anticipate any in the Maxima.

Thanks.

[jsmithsole]

I would say the turning radius can be a bit annoying, wouldn't sway me from buying the car though. And if you are buying an 04 check the build date, look for one built after Feb 6th 2004. This is when Nissan adjusted things on the Maxima assembly line. For instance, '04 SLs assembled between January 2003 (yes, the line began then, although cars were not sent to dealers until March 2003) and February 6th 2004 were equipped with the older 4 speed automatic transmission, while '04 SLs assembled after February 6th 2004 all came with the same 5 speed tiptronic auto transmission as the SEs. (I got the 4spd....boo hoo)

Look up the TSB's as well to see if they've been adrfessed on the car you'll be purchasing. Some people had un fixable "shimmy" I never did on mine and it was built in May of 03. I also had a recall on my skyview roof because they were shattering...

[naiku]

I would say the turning radius can be a bit annoying, wouldn't sway me from buying the car though. And if you are buying an 04 check the build date, look for one built after Feb 6th 2004. This is when Nissan adjusted things on the Maxima assembly line. For instance, '04 SLs assembled between January 2003 (yes, the line began then, although cars were not sent to dealers until March 2003) and February 6th 2004 were equipped with the older 4 speed automatic transmission, while '04 SLs assembled after February 6th 2004 all came with the same 5 speed tiptronic auto transmission as the SEs. (I got the 4spd....boo hoo)

Look up the TSB's as well to see if they've been adrfessed on the car you'll be purchasing. Some people had un fixable "shimmy" I never did on mine and it was built in May of 03. I also had a recall on my skyview roof because they were shattering...

Ah crap, looks like I got an early build then, I picked up an 04 SL at the weekend, black with black leather. Its got the 4 speed transmission

Loving the car so far though, just need to give it a really good clean! Does anyone know if its possible to get build sheets from Nissan?