The Nissan Maxima seemingly always delivered on its promises as a premium ride with sporty characteristics, from the Datsun 810 Maxima of 1981 and its weird "turn off lights" spoken message, to the four-door sports car its has become. Removing and replacing the radio in your 1998 Maxima isn't a terribly difficult procedure, but do have a careful hand when handling interior plastics, as they may be brittle.
Pry around the gear shifter bezel -- the plastic panel that surrounds the gear shifter -- to release its retaining clips, then remove the shifter bezel. Use a trim tool or a flat-head screwdriver with the blade wrapped in masking tape. Pry the "Shift Mode" switch -- on automatic transmissions only -- from the bezel that surrounds the radio and climate controls. Lift the "Shift Mode" switch just enough to access its wiring harness, then unplug the harness and remove the switch. Remove the two screws at the base of the radio bezel with a Phillips screwdriver. Pry around the edge of the radio bezel to release the retaining clips, then pull it out far enough to access the cigarette lighter wiring harness. Unplug the cigarette lighter harness and remove the bezel.
Remove the screws securing the radio to the center console chassis, using a Phillips screwdriver, then slide the radio out far enough to access its wiring.
Unplug the wiring harnesses and the antenna wire, and remove the radio from its chassis.
Plug the wiring harnesses and the antenna wire into the rear of the radio, then slide the radio into the chassis. Align the radio brackets with the screw holes in the chassis, then snug the radio-retaining screws.
Reconnect the cigarette lighter wiring harness to its receptacle in the radio bezel, then align the bezel's retaining clips with the slots in the center console. Press the bezel onto the console until all of the retaining clips snap into place. Plug the "Shift Mode" switch wiring harness back into the switch, then press the switch into its cutout in the radio bezel. Snug the two screws into the base of the radio bezel.
Align the gear shifter bezel-retaining clips with their slots in around the gear shifter, then press the bezel into place.
