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Has a hesitation while accelerating probably once a day.
It almost feels like a transmission issue, because power drops for a second, than kicks back in like its kicking back into gear...although it wouldnt surprise me if it was a sensor issue.
Happens both on the highway, and city driving.
Most commonly between 2nd and 3rd gears.
I've checked the ECU for stored codes hoping that I'd find something to narrow the search but came up with none. Was thinking possibly a MAF, or Knock Sensor. She did have one about 5months ago regarding the EGR, but the code was reset and never came back. I havent pulled it to clean it yet, because it looks like a major PITA.
Plugs are only about 15k old, and the fuel filter was done about 10k ago.
I've cleaned the MAF this evening in hopes it'll make a difference.
Any other suggestions?
Last edited by JoshBarber; 11-23-2007 at 08:23 AM.
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I know plugs only have 15K, but If you can't find any other cause you may try changing them. Only $15 for a set of quality copper plugs and about an hour of work. Sometimes you just have to eliminate all the possible causes one at a time to solve the problem. When in doubt try the easy cheap stuff first.
It's probably the plugs misfiring or an injector/fuel problem with many possible causes.
Copper plugs are only supposed to last like only 30K miles compared to platinum 60k or more, but as easy as plugs are to change in a Maxima, who cares. Some people prefer copper.
OK then it's not the plugs, trust me on the prices of copper plugs as opposed to platinum or other metals. As far as checking coils you would need an ohmmeter and know how to use it. FSM says Check resistance between pin 1&2 if not zero ohms (shorted) then coil is OK. I would compare readings between several coils they should all be fairly similar. Anyway if you have faulty coil you should throw a code saying which cylinder is misfiring. If that happens then you can swap coils and see if trouble moves to another cylinder. With no code this does not work.
As far as fuel injectors go FSM says listen to each one while the car is idling. Place a wood stick or other suitable device on the injector so you can hear it. You should hear a clicking noise. All injectors should sound about the same if not I would suspect that injector. These intermittent problems are difficult to repair. If you are having this problem despite changing plugs and fuel filter I guess coils and injectors are the next place to look. Maybe you have a clogged injector have you tried a good cleaner?
FSM also suggests checking ECU connections including grounds when having intermittent problems. If it was my car I would pull the connectors from the ECU and plug them back in just to make sure I have good contacts.
JoshBarber, you're experiencing EXACTLY what i just fixed. It feels like you car goes, looses power (stutters almost) then quicks in vtec, haha.
-NOOOO, it is not normal for the coil to be brown. I had a misfire in cylinder 5 and when i was replacing the coils... guess what... cylinder 5's coil back was brown.
-your cheapest option is to replace that particular coil pack and see what it does after that. I took the expensive route and replaced all of them, but do what you want.
-any other problems could be a bad injector or manifold needing re-done... $$$ tho. trust me, start with the coils.
JoshBarber, you're experiencing EXACTLY what i just fixed. It feels like you car goes, looses power (stutters almost) then quicks in vtec, haha.
-NOOOO, it is not normal for the coil to be brown. I had a misfire in cylinder 5 and when i was replacing the coils... guess what... cylinder 5's coil back was brown.
-your cheapest option is to replace that particular coil pack and see what it does after that. I took the expensive route and replaced all of them, but do what you want.
-any other problems could be a bad injector or manifold needing re-done... $$$ tho. trust me, start with the coils.
how did you know you had a misfire in cyllinder 5 without a code?
it threw that code before it actually threw the misfire code. the misfire code threw when it got REALLY bad, like the car would barely go down the street. nissan told me thats what it threw. sorry for that confusion.
I work at a shop and got the coil at price, which is 45 bucks i think. if you don't know anybody that can get parts for cheap, then itll be about 100 bucks a coil. like i said, if your not looking to spend much money, start with replacing the bad coil and go from there.
BTW - this hesitation she claims happens at 2k rpms, and will not happen if she turns the OVERDRIVE off....only happens with the overdrive on. Does this info point to anything in particular?
ehh, mine was finicky. it started about a year and a half ago and wasn't bad at all. It just recently started getting really bad and that's when I started paying more attention to it. Mine never did it depending on what was done, it just did it when ever it decided too.
I know that when i was at lights it would do the hesitation and jump RPMs, but if i put my car in neutral, it wouldn't do it.
If your problem is persistent and you are positive it will do it, get a coil and replace that brown one, then see what you have. I am almost 90% sure that is giving you a problem.
Do you have an local friends willing to lend you a coil for a few hours?
That's exactly what mine looked like. I wish i still had it, but I chucked it.
Just curious, which cylinder is that coming from?
I tried a different coil pack from the junkyard and same deal. No change.
The plugs are good so Im not sure why that one was burnt looking unless its been that way since before she bought it.
Yes they can have you cleaned you EGR tube lately?
It's usually more like a small jerk when they clog though,but you can feel it.
Should have a light on if it's the EGR though.
Yes they can have you cleaned you EGR tube lately?
It's usually more like a small jerk when they clog though,but you can feel it.
Should have a light on if it's the EGR though.
she had a code for it before, but it was about a year ago and never came back on after it was cleared. it looks like a misery to remove so I just ignored it
The tube itself isn't too hard to remove,cleaning it out is the biggest pain.
I agree! Took me some time to clear it. I replaced the injectors and the knock sensor at the same time, not sure which made the most difference, but runs much better.
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2008 Maxima SL 13000 miles.
1996 Maxima SE 200,000 + miles
Automatic (rebuilt 124K), new injectors and knock sensor 180K. Warpspeed Y pipe and magnaflow cat.
Bose HU from 06 Pathfinder. Tokiko blues at 201.9K.
Tow Vehicle: 2003 2500HD 6.6 Duramax Diesel baby!
hey guys dont mean you jack your thread or anything but i have a 96 maxima(134k) with something similar i thought it was due to my clutch because it felt like a slip
but when the car is in neutral and i step on the gas between idle and 2500 it feels like a bad miss. No lights are on in the car just changed the plugs to bosch platinum +2 plugs i dont really know to much about this car since i just got it but any help would be appreciated
my 96 auto did that to me couple times found out it was a faulty TPS sensor...
Ditto....TPS is bad or out of adjustment. Test yours with the procedure in the FSM and replace it if bad. Make sure to adjust the new one, or you'll have issues with the transmission shifting.