Test driving an '02 Maxima SE and noticed on the RPM and temp gauges....

[Pillman9mm]

What's up everyone? I am new here, but a long time Maxima owner. I am considering trading in my 1996 Maxima due to some bad issues for a 2002 Maxima SE. I test drove it and the ride and power with the 3.5 are very nice. However, I noticed in driving the RPM's would either not read or they would read around 1. The temp. gauge remained on C the whole time also even with the heat on. Any idea what could be causing this? The car dealer thinks it's a fuse.

[Pillman9mm]

I should add, my 1996 Maxima SE has stalling issues that started after I replaced the Bose with a Clarion CD player about a year ago. It can take 45 min. to an hour to start sometimes, stalls out randomly at low speeds and completely loses power and drops at high speeds. It does not idle where it should and dies in P sometimes also. I've been told the alternator diodes are bad and sensors could be causing this. It's exhaust system needs replaced and the CV boots (which I did replace once already) are bad again. The body is not in real good shape either (dents, was keyed by a psycho, and minor rust becoming visible). This car also has 197 K on it. The '02 SE I drove today has 105 K, looks very nice, and the motor is very quick and responsive. This guy says he'll sell it to me for 7k with a trade in on my old one. Given the issues I noticed in my first post, do you think this is a good buy?

[MattB]

That may be the guages going bad. It's not a common problem but it's not unheard of. The tach on my '01 I30 did something similar to what you describe, it would be sluggish and read inaccurately until the car warmed up. Replacing the gauge fixed the issue. I would have it checked by a Nissan dealer before buying the car.

[Pillman9mm]

Cool, thank you man! Yeah It's kinda odd like that, the other gauges would work ok, but the tack only half works and the temp doesnt work at all? Roughly speaking if I have to replace them, how much am I looking at?