A vehicular action rarely seen these days.

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
12/18/2018 at 16:24 • Filed to: Not impressed

Yesterday I saw a woman get out of her Nissan Maxima. It wasn’t a new one, but it wasn’t particularly old either. Some googling to find a similar one turned up this, which is a 2014 model. I don’t know what the year range for this bodystyle is, and I don’t particularly care either.

Anyways, what surprised me was when she lowered her window and used the outside handle to open her door. I used to see that all the time when I was a kid. I even remember doing it to get out of my uncle’s late 80's Mercury Sable (this was in the early 90's), but I can’t remember the last time I saw anybody do that.

DISCUSSION (20)

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > shop-teacher
12/18/2018 at 16:31

i dont normally see the driver do it... but ive seen plenty kids let themselves out of the car that way

child lock only blocks the inside handle.... and kids are escape artists

shop-teacher > farscythe - makin da cawfee!
12/18/2018 at 16:31

DEVIOUS!

Nick Has an Exocet > shop-teacher
12/18/2018 at 16:46

What most people don’t realize is that Nissan’s current quality is about the same as mid-90s GM. The 1st gen Murano was the height of Nissan quality. Ever since, it’s been a downhill slide of bad materials, poor builds, explosive CVTs, and “0% down” garbage loans to people who can’t afford maintenance .

Ash78, voting early and often > shop-teacher
12/18/2018 at 16:47

This might just be my shoddy VW experience talking, but sometimes my exterior handle just doesn’t work, so I lower the window (from the outside — holding the key in the door for a couple seconds) and open the door from inside. The left rear door stopped working completely a couple years ago, so I have to release it from inside as well. And lock it manually.

Sometimes I really hope people see me do stuff like that and go “Yep, that’s a VW all right.”

Now I’m topping off my coolant every couple days due to a basically irreparable heater core leak. Nothing like the hood up in a parking lot to scream “classy!” Funny thing was that was not unusual in the 80s. Cars today are so much more reliable.

/random aside

shop-teacher > Ash78, voting early and often
12/18/2018 at 16:53

Yeah, just say no to VWs for me.

Your final point is really the same point I was trying to make. Cars are just so much better these days, that you don’t see stuff like this anymore.

shop-teacher > Nick Has an Exocet
12/18/2018 at 16:54

They're working on turning j to Mitsubishi, as I see it ... Somewhat ironically.

Chuckles > shop-teacher
12/18/2018 at 16:56

This is what I had to do any time I had to open the driver’s door on my 96 Saturn SL2. It wasn’t the car’s fault. The interior handle worked fine right up until someone* shot it with a hollow point .45

*not me, and I wasn't there

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Nick Has an Exocet
12/18/2018 at 17:05

What most people don’t realize is that Nissan’s current quality is about the same as mid-90s GM.

Given how many 90s GMs our family has taken over 300k with minimal issue, I wouldn’t tout that as a bad thing. A 90s GM will run poorly longer than most cars will run.

Ash78, voting early and often > shop-teacher
12/18/2018 at 17:07

Yeah, I remember being a kid and seeing someone with the hood up everywhere we went. Only after about 10 minutes you might ask them if they needed a jump or a ride.

Today the second you walk to the front of your car, people are like “Is everything ok?! Can I call someone for you?!” like you’re a charity case.

shop-teacher > Chuckles
12/18/2018 at 17:13

D'oh!

shop-teacher > Ash78, voting early and often
12/18/2018 at 17:14

Yeah, pretty much!

Chuckles > shop-teacher
12/18/2018 at 17:20

Yeah, I don't recommend letting your car become a crime scene. Not ideal.

Monkey B > shop-teacher
12/18/2018 at 17:26

That era Maxima was probably the worst car Nissan ever made. Ugly, uglier interior along with fee ling really cheap as it was all plastic. Kinda like Chrysler interiors of the era....a sea of one color of the same grained plastic.

Now, you can say there are worse Nissan offerings than this, but the Maxima was a good car that offered compelling reasons to consider. This Maxima erased it from being relevant. Altima’s were better cars in that era.

As for the newest one, I don’t see there being a next gen Maxima.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Ash78, voting early and often
12/18/2018 at 17:31

Mine has been mostly OK so far (just past 197k). My main two issues are my driver’s side lock motor no longer works so I have to use the key and the driver’s side window needs adjustment. It binds about on the way up and rolls back down because it thinks your head is stuck or something. I have to give it a gentle nudge for it to roll up.

I also have to unclog my sunroof drains but that is my deferred maintenance, not the car’s fault.

shop-teacher > Chuckles
12/18/2018 at 17:45

Duly noted!

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Monkey B
12/18/2018 at 19:02

You sure this wasn’t the worst one?

Kinja'd!!!

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > shop-teacher
12/18/2018 at 19:37

I had to do it for a week till I had time to apply some grease to the little locking hinge

feather-throttle-not-hair > shop-teacher
12/18/2018 at 19:55

Well, if my armpit was mounted at ear level, i’m sure this would be comfortable for me to try.

Back in the 90's cars had normal beltlines, now everything is like driving in a bunker.

Kiltedpadre > shop-teacher
12/18/2018 at 20:55

At my last job anyone riding in my work truck had to do that if they didn’t feel like sliding across the seat to get out.

Also, if I didn’t want to slide across from the passenger side to get in I had to leave the driver’s side window down so I could reach in and use the interior handle.

Nick Has an Exocet > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
12/18/2018 at 23:06

That’s probably true of these Nissans outside of the gearboxes. Nothing with a CVT will survive. Eventually the cost of a gearbox kills it.