The switch for CC works fine and will turn green and say ‘on’ when switched on, but it will not actually work (will decrease speed as soon as you let off gas, just as if it were not on). We replaced the whole gauge panel with one that had CC in working condition (exact same model) and this did not solve the problem. Any suggestions would be helpful because I have to travel 45 minutes to work on the interstate, and we also take frequent long distance trips.
I’m not intimately familiar with that part of the Maxima but if you follow where your throttle cable is mounted, you’ll see two of them. One goes towards the driving position, thought the firewall. The other goes to an assembly that actually takes care of the throttle while the CC is on. That unit is controlled by a vacuum line. See if that vacuum line is on securely on both its ends.
A common problem is the switches on the brake and clutch pedals can be misadjusted and keep the CC unit from working.
The first thing to check for is a burnt out brake light. If any of the brake lights don’t work the cruise control won’t work. If the brake lights are fine, then take the car for a drive. Take the toe of your left foot and place it under the brake pedal and pull up on the brake pedal. Now try engaging the cruise control. If the CC works there’s a problem with the brake pedal switch.
Tester