Car sputtering at idel in Drive..not in neutral though???
10-09-2008, 06:03 PM
#1
Car sputtering at idel in Drive..not in neutral though???
hey guys, just a few days ago my car shut off in while at a stop light in Drive. i thought nothing of it and the next day i cleaned the iacv and maf, but last few days the car runs fine while in neutral, but when i shift to drive, and hold the brake for a few seconds, i get a little miss and jerk. So ive ruled out it being engine related. Im going to look into it further tomarrow. but i just thought maybe someone else has had a simular issue. Like i said the car runs fine in neutral. but when i put it in gear and let it run for a sec it sputs, and miss, but it still drives and shifts fine. so its kinda has me thinking. Thanks for any info. or tips _devon
10-09-2008, 06:35 PM
#3
ur description is kinda weird, what u described isn't sputtering, its misfiring. whats ur idle before u put in drive? if u idle in drive does it sputter? im assuming u have auto tranny right? what are ur idle speeds in park and drive? kinda sounds misfire or ur idle is too low to keep ur car running. need more info to help
10-09-2008, 06:41 PM
#5
searching for that sticky now, and no no codes just the one for the iacv, but ive cleaned it for few times and its been doing well, i think it might be coil or plug related.
Last edited by Reality sucks; 10-09-2008 at 06:54 PM.
10-09-2008, 06:50 PM
#6
ur description is kinda weird, what u described isn't sputtering, its misfiring. whats ur idle before u put in drive? if u idle in drive does it sputter? im assuming u have auto tranny right? what are ur idle speeds in park and drive? kinda sounds misfire or ur idle is too low to keep ur car running. need more info to help
10-09-2008, 06:52 PM
#7
brakes feel fine, in neutral and drive, the car revs fine too, untill you put it in drive, and it drive fine, just at idel like at a stop light, it will sput and recover
10-09-2008, 06:53 PM
#8
Here's a link to the post on how to check them. B_Eaze made some good points too. When you feel the sputtering, does the idle dip at all (say, below 500)?
http://forums.maxima.org/2422562-post2.html
On a side note, if you adjusted the TB with the screw, you should also re-calibrate the TPS as it will be off as a result of that adjustment. If you don't already have the link for it, this is the howto. Really easy to do with a multimeter:
http://www.vqpower.com/v2/articles.php?article_id=95
http://forums.maxima.org/2422562-post2.html
On a side note, if you adjusted the TB with the screw, you should also re-calibrate the TPS as it will be off as a result of that adjustment. If you don't already have the link for it, this is the howto. Really easy to do with a multimeter:
http://www.vqpower.com/v2/articles.php?article_id=95
10-09-2008, 07:09 PM
#9
that is a symptom of a broken diaphram in the brake booster.when you apply the brake, you create a huge air leak(vacuum leak) which will cause the car to run like shiot while pressing on the brake peddle.when you are going ,car runs fine.
10-09-2008, 07:10 PM
#10
[QUOTE=CRiME;6648602]Here's a link to the post on how to check them. B_Eaze made some good points too. When you feel the sputtering, does the idle dip at all (say, below 500)?
http://forums.maxima.org/2422562-post2.html
On a side note, if you adjusted the TB with the screw, you should also re-calibrate the TPS as it will be off as a result of that adjustment. If you don't already have the link for it, this is the howto. Really easy to do with a multimeter:
http://www.vqpower.com/v2/articles.php?article_id=95[/QUOTE
the mis happens so fast its hard to say, almost instant then back to normal. And i made the adjustment after this started happening, but ill try it aswell.
http://forums.maxima.org/2422562-post2.html
On a side note, if you adjusted the TB with the screw, you should also re-calibrate the TPS as it will be off as a result of that adjustment. If you don't already have the link for it, this is the howto. Really easy to do with a multimeter:
http://www.vqpower.com/v2/articles.php?article_id=95[/QUOTE
the mis happens so fast its hard to say, almost instant then back to normal. And i made the adjustment after this started happening, but ill try it aswell.
10-10-2008, 01:10 PM
#11
ok guys, today the car idles fine in neutral but when i shift to drive it shuts off...not everytime though. but it just simply cuts off. do we have some kind of powertrain module, or has anyone else seen this..
10-10-2008, 02:30 PM
#15
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well, it happened to me. I had the same issue as you did in the beginning. The car would seem to want to shut off while i was driving and it was weird. So i told my mechanic and he said it was my tranny. I didn't believe him. This was what was wrong. Park fine, Neutral fine, but was i put it in drive, the car would shut off. I would need to let it warm up before i can drive the car. It was wierd. So i changed out maf's, cleaned everything, changed out the TPS, and everything i can think off. After changing everything, it was my trans. MY reverse went a few months later. but man, my mechanic was good. I just told him that my car would shut off when it was cold and drive fine while it was warm. 30 min diagnostics and he was dead on.
10-10-2008, 02:59 PM
#16
it doesnt matter if its cold or not, and it doesnt do it all the time, just every now and then, lets say im at a drive through and i put the can in park as i wait, when i shift back to drive to pull forward it shuts right off. i start it back and its fine for the rest of the day . happened twice today. it has never shut off while driving, just as im stopped and in drive position. and i didnt take the iacv completely apart, just cleaned the front face. the car idles fine though. im hoping it isnt a tranny issues, the trans shifts fine, reverse is fine, od works fine, so im somewhat stumped.
10-10-2008, 03:47 PM
#17
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it doesnt matter if its cold or not, and it doesnt do it all the time, just every now and then, lets say im at a drive through and i put the can in park as i wait, when i shift back to drive to pull forward it shuts right off. i start it back and its fine for the rest of the day . happened twice today. it has never shut off while driving, just as im stopped and in drive position. and i didnt take the iacv completely apart, just cleaned the front face. the car idles fine though. im hoping it isnt a tranny issues, the trans shifts fine, reverse is fine, od works fine, so im somewhat stumped.
10-10-2008, 06:58 PM
#18
I am by no means an auto tranny guy so maybe someone can chime in on this...
I remember back in the day(haha) there used to be TC lock-out selonoid that would go bad and cause the car to stall when put in drive. the quick fix was to unplug them. Im pretty sure that is all controlled by ic chip now but maybe one of the 4th gen trans gurus can offer some insight if this could apply here.
I remember back in the day(haha) there used to be TC lock-out selonoid that would go bad and cause the car to stall when put in drive. the quick fix was to unplug them. Im pretty sure that is all controlled by ic chip now but maybe one of the 4th gen trans gurus can offer some insight if this could apply here.
10-10-2008, 08:02 PM
#19
funny thing is now that u mention that, when i unplugged the tps and i heard a buzz or something coming from tranny area for a second or two then it stopped, i kept plugging it in and out, and it would only make the noise when i unplugged the tps... not sure if it is what your talking about. Well tonight i changed the plugs, tips were white... kinda shocking but. put the new ones in and found that one of my coils was simply broken off from its plug boot, i had to reinstall it however to see if it would run and it did. will be getting a new one tomarrow. The coils ohm out at 1.5 consistant across the board so not sure if its coming or going. I regrounded the maf, and after restart i got codes iacv and p0505, i cleared them and drove for about 15 minutes, stopped and let car idle in gear and no sputt now, kinda wierd, the only code that came back was the iacv code. not sure why just yet. i noticed after i cleaned it the other day it idle higher then normal, so i made some adjustments, idls at 750 ish now.
Im still not convinced it the tc, the trans may be worn and it rolls sometimes on steep hills, but i just dont thinks its it, and untill the tranny locks im not pulling it out on a random guess.
Im still not convinced it the tc, the trans may be worn and it rolls sometimes on steep hills, but i just dont thinks its it, and untill the tranny locks im not pulling it out on a random guess.
Last edited by Reality sucks; 10-10-2008 at 08:04 PM.
10-10-2008, 08:25 PM
#20
please please dont pull your tranny on account of some forum diagnosis.sure there is a lot of knowledge here but thats a pretty expensive proposition to be taken over an internet diagnosis. take it to a couple of different shops if it comes to that and see what they say.
chances are its probably going to have to get worse(consistant) to be checked posistive.
chances are its probably going to have to get worse(consistant) to be checked posistive.
10-11-2008, 08:27 AM
#21
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please please dont pull your tranny on account of some forum diagnosis.sure there is a lot of knowledge here but thats a pretty expensive proposition to be taken over an internet diagnosis. take it to a couple of different shops if it comes to that and see what they say.
chances are its probably going to have to get worse(consistant) to be checked posistive.
chances are its probably going to have to get worse(consistant) to be checked posistive.
10-14-2008, 04:35 AM
#23
coils all checked out fine, and plug gap is at .44. This morning i started the car, and i heard this wierd noise, very fait noise though. the dash lights and interior lights were dimming slightly when it would happen, and then go back to normal, im wondering if this is related to my issue, I had the alt checked the other day just because, and at first it tested no charge, i unhooked the batt and it ran fine. the next test tested good, the next two alt test , it tested no charge, im wondering if its to do with that. Possible voltage reg maybe, ill look more into after work today.
10-14-2008, 04:46 AM
#24
coils all checked out fine, and plug gap is at .44. This morning i started the car, and i heard this wierd noise, very fait noise though. the dash lights and interior lights were dimming slightly when it would happen, and then go back to normal, im wondering if this is related to my issue, I had the alt checked the other day just because, and at first it tested no charge, i unhooked the batt and it ran fine. the next test tested good, the next two alt test , it tested no charge, im wondering if its to do with that. Possible voltage reg maybe, ill look more into after work today.
Man , un hooking our battery is a very dangerous(to your car) way to check your alt.
with that being said....they could be related. First thing is to fix what you know is wrong. If an alt works only sometimes, its bad. but I would make sure of my testing methodes.you know , make sure that the leads have good contact and stuff like that.
10-19-2008, 11:08 AM
#25
update: been hearing this wierd noise last few days, when it would happen my dash lights would dim, i traced the noise back to the alt, looking at it while the car is running i can see a arc everytime it happens. im going to replaced tomarrow and go fromt here.
07-31-2020, 12:55 AM
#26
Newbie - Just Registered
Join Date: Jul 2020
Posts: 1
hey guys, just a few days ago my car shut off in while at a stop light in Drive. i thought nothing of it and the next day i cleaned the iacv and maf, but last few days the car runs fine while in neutral, but when i shift to drive, and hold the brake for a few seconds, i get a little miss and jerk. So ive ruled out it being engine related. Im going to look into it further tomarrow. but i just thought maybe someone else has had a simular issue. Like i said the car runs fine in neutral. but when i put it in gear and let it run for a sec it sputs, and miss, but it still drives and shifts fine. so its kinda has me thinking. Thanks for any info. or tips _devon
07-31-2020, 03:37 PM
#27
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 2,979
08-16-2020, 12:06 AM
#29
What I ended up finding with this, back them was that the thermostat Housing was leaking....... Into the alternator. 1 drop at a time. Causing and electrical spike in the cars charging system under load... This was somewhat tricky to Identify at first as the housing would only leak when the car was cold. Once it warmed up and things sealed a bit it would stop leaking, not to mention the housing was dripping on the bottom, so somewhat difficult to plainly see. I ended up doing a coolant system pressure test to find this very faint leak finally. Installed a new alt and thermostat, and all has been right for the last few years..
09-09-2020, 02:55 AM
#30
Some update on this years later...LOL
What I ended up finding with this, back them was that the thermostat Housing was leaking....... Into the alternator. 1 drop at a time. Causing and electrical spike in the cars charging system under load... This was somewhat tricky to Identify at first as the housing would only leak when the car was cold. Once it warmed up and things sealed a bit it would stop leaking, not to mention the housing was dripping on the bottom, so somewhat difficult to plainly see. I ended up doing a coolant system pressure test to find this very faint leak finally. Installed a new alt and thermostat, and all has been right for the last few years..
What I ended up finding with this, back them was that the thermostat Housing was leaking....... Into the alternator. 1 drop at a time. Causing and electrical spike in the cars charging system under load... This was somewhat tricky to Identify at first as the housing would only leak when the car was cold. Once it warmed up and things sealed a bit it would stop leaking, not to mention the housing was dripping on the bottom, so somewhat difficult to plainly see. I ended up doing a coolant system pressure test to find this very faint leak finally. Installed a new alt and thermostat, and all has been right for the last few years..
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