Hearing a hissing noise when i turn on the ac in my 2004 nissan maxima

Hi Lisa,is this noise louder when accelerating and turning the steering wheel? I would guess you have a worn out constant velocity joint.

possible compressor reed valves defective. would have to actually hear the noise though to be for sure

sounds like it could be the A/C compressor belt or the compressor itself. stand out side the car and have someone turn the a/c on while you have the hood open and locking down at the belts and se if the noise is coming from there when the a/c is truned on.

it is very common that when the brakes are repaired the dust shield gets bent, Jack the car up and support it remove the wheel and spin the rotor and listen for the grinding noise. this will take a few rotations. Also since some times it is a revolution related noise, you may want ot inspect around the dust shield and visually confirm that it is not contacting the rotor.

The main ground wire brakes where it connects to the transmission. look under the battery carridge

I have a 2002 maxima with 75k mile and heard a rattling which died down after it warmed up.

It was a bad timing chain pulley. Don't wait too long before fixing that!

you need a new blower motor

I have personally seen a lot of wheel bearings go bad on these vehicles. If you hear the noise get more pronounced when turning left, the right front (passenger side) bearing is most likely the culprit- if turning right, it would be the left front (driver side) bearing.

Hope this is helpful!!


Nissan Scope Technician- 10+ years experience in Nissan dealership

If your not already, try using a genuine Nissan oil filter next time you get your oil changed. Most aftermarket filters allow the oil to drain back so when you start up cold the filter is in essence dry and not primed most likely causing the noise your experiencing. This would be the first thing I would reccommend checking.

I have the same issue with my 2004 maxima.The service techs said it was the timing chain tensioners .Since they are hydaulic and they powered by the oil in the car .It is recommended to purge the the engine every time the noise starts to come back. I brought some an it really freaking work because I started to run it into a tree and go buy a toyota