2000 Nissan Maxima Squeal when car is stopped in gear.

CONFLICTION

MEMBER
2000 NISSAN MAXIMA
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
218,000 MILES

I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima, the car has 218000 miles.
The miles sound hig but I am the second owner and know the orginal owner, the car was driven mostly highway between Ny and Virginia Beach. The car drives and shifts beautifully. When you are stopped or come to a stop in gear there is a squeal. The noise goes away when you accelerate or put the car in park or neutral.
I have spent a decent amount of money on transmission shops trying to what is going on. They all tell me the transmission is bad as soon as they hear it but after driving the car they are stumped, they can't believe how well the car drives and shifts. The trans fluid is in very bad condition and may of never been changed.
Any idea of where to go with this would be great.

1 Reply

MATHIASO

MECHANIC
1,209 POSTS

Hello confliction

I would suspect the torque converter

If the transmission is making noise in gear, but the noise goes away when it is shifted into neutral, the problem may be worn needle bearings in the torque converter. Needle bearings are used inside the torque converter to separate the stator from the impeller, the stator from the turbine, and the turbine from the converter housing.

Flushing out the old ATF and replacing it with new fluid can prolong the life of a transmission, provided the fluid is changed fairly regularly, say every 30,000 to 50,000 miles. But if the transmission on a high mileage vehicle (say over 100,000 miles) has never been flushed, it's probably best to NOT flush the fluid. Here's why: The detergents in new ATF may loosen up accumulated crud inside the transmission, which could cause some problems within a few thousand miles or so after the flush. So if your fluid has never been changed and your vehicle has a lot of miles on it, it is probably best to just leave the fluid alone and top off the fluid level as needed if it is low.

Hope this information help