islanddean

I'll try to explain this as best as I can. A few days back the car ran great then all of a sudden the engine felt like it was missing. While at road speeds the car runs great and I'm not able to feel the missing/jerking. I can only feel the missing while at a stop light and the engine is under a load. If I put the car in park the missing goes away. I'm hoping someone has some insight as to what my problem may be.

I did change the spark plugs a few years back so I dont think that is the issue. Thanks in advance for any help.

Maxima 97 SE

Where is your idle at in drive and park.

JoshG

how many miles u got on your maxima?

tosheto

iTrader: (5)

What kind of plugs did you put in? I am thinking it might be a coil going out. I have had similar issue with a couple of my Maximas.

islanddean

I can remember what type of plugs I put in but I do remember them costing $7 a piece. The strange things is the car does not miss at all while running in park. It only happens when in gear and while sitting at stop sign/light. Once I take my foot off the brake and the engine begins to pick up speed almost instantly the missing seems to go away.

maximap

Hi,
I had EXACTLY the same problem with my 1997 Maxima. I solved it by replacing Number 1 ignition coil with a new coil from Courtesy Nissan. It cost a third of what Nissan here in Australia wanted for it. $86 as opposed to $256!! Later on I shall change the remaining five coils.
Cheers Paul.

tosheto

iTrader: (5)

If you kept you receipt for the plugs, make sure they are NGK. I still think that if you got NGK then you probably have a coil going out.

gworroll

How many miles since the plugs were replaced? Calendar time is much less important than mileage in terms of how badly worn they'll be. A few years can be quite a lot of miles- with my current commute, I'm looking at over 15k miles per year, and that isn't counting the occasional 300 mile trip for training or *any* non-work related driving.

If this started very soon after fueling, you might try adding dri-gas. I've had your issue arise right after fueling, and it went away after I did that. Then it happened again, resolved the same way, and now I don't go to that gas station anymore.

98maxaholic

Are you running Nissan (hanshin/mitsubishi) coils?

ive known 4 people who were to cheap to buy the oem ones and had a consistent ign. code!
then they went to the junk yard and bought used oem coils for 12 bucks a piece and never a problem since..and one of the people im refering to didnt have a code, just a intermittent miss...
the cheap junk ebay coils will be ok to have in the trunk for emergencies, but even then i prefer to have oem ones in the trink also!

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

If you don't remember what plugs you bought and installed then maybe you need to take a quick look!!!! They're probably sorry A$$ Bosch Plugs!!! Change your plugs if they're Bosch!!!! Japanese cars love NGK or Denso!

DBear

As has been said a few times already, make sure your plugs are NGK. I had an occasional idle drop too. The Autolite plugs looked good, but I replaced them with NGKs and it went away.

deezo

iTrader: (3)

I've been having this issue over the past several months although my last trip to and from NYC, I didn't have the issue at all. It only happens when the engine is hot and idling in heavy traffic.

I thought it was my coils and plugs but it wasn't. This also started around the time where my idle seems to run at abougt 1300 rpm after driving at highway speeds over an extended time. Once I turn the car off and on again, the engine idles normally again.

Not sure what the issue is.

JNCoRacer

iTrader: (6)

Same thing with my 99 i30t. It stops if I put it in neutral or park.

CS_AR

This issue is steadily creeping up on my 99 I30. However, I brought the problem on myself by installing a questionable salvage yard MAF from my workshop a few weeks ago. I think I have one good MAF still in reserve. I actually found a MAF code with Nissan Data Scan 1 when I was testing it the other day.

deezo

iTrader: (3)

I wonder if my MAF is wearing out but I'm not getting any codes to say that it is going bad. All i know is that it's one of my sensors, not the plugs or coils. I did get the code for the bank 1 )2 sensor so I replaced that and the car has been running better. Not sure if that was causing it.

Chad_m

Okay. Listen here. If what you are describing as a misfire is indeed a misfire then there are 3 and ONLY 3 possible cause. (Which branch off into more possible causes) Air, fuel, or spark.

Spark: If you had a problem with a coil, you would undoubtedly have a check engine light. But if you insist on checking, find the manual and you can check all of your coils with a multimeter. Bad spark plugs or lower quality ones typically result in worse performance, not a misfire. Misgapped spark plugs, could however result in a misfire. I would just pull some of those out and see how bad they look. If they aren't black or dark grey, leave them alone.

Fuel: This one is a little more difficult. You can take the small part off of a stethoscope and listen on top of all of the injectors and you should hear a clicking. If you don't, the injector is bad. If one sounds different than the others, it might be bad. You can also check these with a multimeter. Keep in mind, sometimes they will sound normal, test in spec, and STILL be bad.

Air: Again, take your stethoscope and listen around intake hoses and gaskets and listen for an air leak. Also take some carb cleaner and spray it around intake gaskets and hoses. If you spray it somewhere and the idle accelerates, then you may have an air leak. WARNING: have an extinguisher or hose pipe close. It might (unlikely) catch on fire.

If you have a misfire, it can not be anything else. AIR, FUEL, OR SPARK. Everyone here seems to blame everything on the MAF. That CAN NOT, WILL NOT, EVER cause a misfire. If someone claims it cured their misfire, then they were mistaken on their original problem. If your MAF is bad, you will know it. I would certainly suggest cleaning it. You would probably see an increase in mpg regardless, but it won't fix your problem. If you want verification of this, unplug the MAF all together. If the problem goes away, then replace the MAF and call me a liar. If it doesn't, do not replace that part. Will it cause a rough or incorrect idle? Sure. But it will not cause a misfire.

Take it from a guy who just ripped most of his engine apart and replaced like everything trying to find the cause of an intermittent misfire.

CS_AR

One thing I have noticed on the I30, is the ECU will collect a couple of trouble codes without lighting up the Check Engine Light. It might help the OP if he could get codes checked to see if any P030x misfire codes are present that point to a particular cylinder or reveal another code that may be contributing to the problem.

I know some auto parts stores will not check codes unless the CEL shows up on the dash. Also, I've seen cars where a seller disconnected the Check Engine Light on the dash to hide trouble codes from a potential buyer. Maybe the OP can convince someone with a scan tool to check for codes (or purchase a low cost tool) to get a reading on the problem. Also, there is a manual method for getting codes from the display side of the ECU.

BlackAckMax

I have the same problem, thing is its sporadic...what i do notice is during different start ups i get different idling, ie. 550rpm one day and 700rpm another. it tends to hesitate/jerk on 550rpm days??? but NO CEL ever. On 700rpm days it feels brand new and smooth

deezo

iTrader: (3)

Who said it was a misfire? What is happening is what SEEMS to be a misfire but it's not. Misfires will show codes and I'm not getting them. Also misfires happen during acceleration and what we're describing is not a misfire at all.

This issue is not as cut and dry as you're trying to make it, The symptoms have already been explained. I believe it's a sensor that's causing the issue but the problem is find trying to find which one. All I can tell folks is that I got the P0402 code so I replaced that 02 sensor and the issue has stopped for the moment. It's NOT the plugs, coil or IACV. You can put new plugs and coils in and the issue will still happen and it happens only when idling.

Edward Pabon

Use NGK 60,000 mile platinum spark plugs and change your coil packs. When my Maxima was in drive and I was at a stop it would misfire or have a small hesitation. It then would go away as soon as I accelerated. Don't waste your time diagnosing the problem. I changed the spark plugs and coil packs. My Maxima has 220,000 miles fixed it immediately. Best motor ever made. Maintain it and it will last forever.

Clean99maddmax

Guarantee it’s a clogged EGR VALVE. I also had a misfire in 5. Fixed that and it was still doing it. See if it’s throwing a code- P0400. You can clean the EGR valve, it’ll more then likely be clogged with a $h!t ton of carbon. Good luck