1999 Nissan Maxima review from North America

This comment is regarding the ignition coil problem on the 2000 Nissan Maxima. My mom's 2000 Maxima only has about 35,000 miles on it, but it's about 4 years old, so it's out of warranty. Recently the "Check Engine Soon" light came on. We took it to a Nissan dealership service department. They ran a diagnostic test ($80) and said it's giving multiple misfire readings. They recommended replacing all six ignition coils, and cleaning the throttle body and fuel injectors. Total cost about $1174.

I balked at that price, and called an independent repair shop. The mechanic was told me that he had seen this same problem on several Maximas he had worked on, and he actually printed out the Technical Service Bulletin for me (from something called "ALLDATA") so I could take it with me to the dealership! You can read the service bulletin (NTB01059) on the NHTSA (National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration) web site: www.nhtsa.dot.gov. Unfortunately, it doesn't give as much information as what is on the print out the mechanic gave me. The summary on the NHTSA web site is:

"INFORMATION REGARDING MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP ON WITH DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE AND OR SPARK KNOCK DUE TO IGNITION COIL.*JB"

(I have no idea who or what "*JB" is)

The bulletin was issued on September 6, 2001.

Here are some details from the print out the mechanic gave me:

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2000-2001 Maxima; MIL "ON" with DTC P1320 and/or spark knock (detonation) due to ignition coil (s).

Applied Vehicle:

2000-2001 Maxima (A33)

Applied VINs:

JN1CA31A31T112164 (w/side air bags)

JN1CA31A31T316031 (w/side air bags)

JN1CA31D911627134 (w/o side air bags)

JN1CA31D91T830089 (w/o side air bags)

Applied Engine #:

Engines built before: VQ30-463753.

If an applied vehicle exhibits one or both of the below symptoms:

MIL "ON" with DIP P1320 stored in the ECM Intermittent spark knock (detonation)

The cause may be one or more of the ignition coils.

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I encourage everyone who has this vehicle with this problem to report it to the NHTSA. You can call them at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (888-327-4236) or submit the report via their web site at www.nhtsa.dot.gov. I am hoping that if enough people report the problem, the NHTSA will require Nissan to issue a recall. More information about filing complaints can be found on this web page (I have no personal interest in this web page and I am not trying to advertise for it) : http://www.cartipsandmore.com/motor_defects_and_car_recalls.html.

If you have already paid to have the problem repaired, keep all your receipts and keep an eye out in case a recall is issued because you might be able to get reimbursed for the cost of the repair. See the information on this web page (Again, I have no personal interest in this web page and I am not trying to advertise for anyone):

http://www.citizen.org/autosafety/nhtsa/tread/reimburse/articles.cfm?ID=10215.

Other than this ignition coil problem, my mom likes the car very much and hasn't had any other problems with it.