2000 Nissan Maxima SE from North America - Comments

I have a 2001 Maxima GLE. I did have the problem of "Service Engine Soon". It was occurred twice while my car does not have issues such as engine stalled, unstable RPM, bad odor at the muffler, etc. And I was able to solve it with the following steps with minimun cost. I always drive with premium fuel. And I did switch to low grade gasoline due to the high cost. After switching for 1 month or 2, the SES lighted on. I believe it that the SES must associated to the gasoline grade. So I switched back to top grade. Now here are the steps:

1. Once SES is on, uses top grade fuel;

2. Lock the gas cap correctly and tight each time. If not, the gas tank will lost pressure, this would issue sensor error.

3. Drive it for a few weeks or more mileages. Push gas pedal with brute force for cleaning.

4. Drive up to the tank is empty. When the light of gas low is on, you still can drive for more than 20 km. So during this course of low gas, I drive to a few places. Turn off and turn on the engine for a few times (>5x).

5. Now it's again the time to fill up the tank with top grade fuel. After the topping, start the engine, and the SES didn't came on. And the problem is now fixed.

So it is fixed, why did it come on for the 2nd time? I guess that my gas cap was loose again. However, I did a emission test today, the test result was PASS. So the health of the car is in good condition. The SES was on due to some loose part, otherwise the emission test report will state incorrect spec of HC, CO, NO.

Before spending too much $$$, you can find cheap alternatives to diagnose your problem: lock/replace gas cap, emission test instead of the error code reader.

Hope this help. Good luck.

2000 Maxima GXE (5-speed) - Original Owner - 103,000 miles -always use premium.

I have never had the injectors cleaned (never needed it).

I had the #4 coil changed at 50,000 miles.

I had the whole coil set and plugs changed at 87,000 miles. (about $800). Ran okay, just okay.

I informed the service guy at Nissan that it just didn't feel right. It felt like a 9 second car to 60mph instead of a sub-7 second car to 60mph. He didn't agree.

I had a tech take the car out, and he agreed with me.

He recommended the Mass Airflow sensor to be changed, EVEN THOUGH THE IDIOT LIGHT didn't COME ON FOR IT (do you hear that Nissan???), and the car was like new again. Much cheaper than the coils @ $90 apiece.

The idiot light finally came on two months before inspection. I listened to the comments.

I changed the gas cap ($7.86) and unhooked the negative side of the battery for 30 minutes. Idiot light went out!

Never needed the catalytic converter to be looked at.

Thanks you to all and to the tech at Nissan, (not the service desk guy!). The car feels new again.

Hi all. I had the same problems for a long time on a 2000 Maxima.

I replaced spark plugs three times with little or no improvement.

Last week I bought all six coils on ebay at $215.00, replaced them and the spark plugs and cleaned the MAF sensor. The SES light went off and the car is powerful now.

I plan to buy a new MAF this week.

Before putting too much money on your car, I would suggest changing the MAF sensor probably at $150.00 at NAPA.

Thanks for all the info but i'm still a little stuck. I have a 2k maxima with 176000 miles. On cold days at start up it runs like crap. After it warms up it runs great. No SES light ever. Can someone give me some input. It would be greatly appreciated. -theguru831@gmail.com.

Hi I own a 2000 maxima se with 83k on it at 80k the engine light came on replaced 1 coil light reset and it came back on in 2 weeks I then changed the mass air flow censor reset the light and it's been 6 months light still out and the car has a lot more power so I say try replacing the mass air flow censor

good luck

gordo.

OK so I'm right in step w/you all on all the issues w/the Nissan Maxima. I have 2001 and boy I'm convinced that this car has lost it's mind.

So I've replaced the alternator, entire fuel system, transmission, wheelbairings, maf sensor and spark plugs in addition to your regular car maintenance repairs and replacements. And would you believe my Check Engine Light is still on. So the latest engine code is reading the the Cat Converter needs to be replaced. Oh and I've had all this stuff done within the last 6-7 months.

And that's not even what's getting me. What's got me steamed is there's this very loud groaning noise happening when I drive. It starts when I hit about 25mph and I mean it's just roaring. So I've had new wheelbearings put in (as stated above), wheel alignment and balance and now I'm being told that I need to go up a tire size because it being caused by nobby tires on the car. The problem I have w/this is 1) my tires are good and not in need of replacement and 2) I've had the same size tires ever since I got the car and I haven't had any problems before. So why is it that now all of the sudden the car doesn't like my tire size.

And I have to do something about the stupid light because I have to get it smogged in order to get my registration and it's not gonna pass as long as that light is on. So I don't know what to do about that just yet because I'm just not convinced that I really need a new Cat Converter but I just got the MAF Sensor replaced in August. So I dunno any suggestions are welcome.

I have a 2000 Maxima SE with a 5-speed. I'm in the process of trying to get the car smogged, but it didn't pass due to a couple of O2 sensors being bad. Had them replaced, but still can't retest due to the computer not completely resetting. I have driven the car for 2000 miles after replacing the O2 sensors, but the Catalytic convertor sensor still reads 'Not Ready' on the computer. All of the other sensors read O.K. on the computer. Any ideas or thoughts. Please email me at wloo64@yahoo.com.

I just purchased a 2000 Maxima GLE, 69,000 miles, three days ago. The car was state inspected on Jan. 5th and the light came on 3 miles from the dealership the same day. This site has opened my eyes and closed my wallet, I wish I had seen this earlier. I will contact them with all this information in hand and demand a solution since I am in their 72-hr "satisfaction guaranteed" period...we'll see how that works out, but they are not getting a dime from me in service department charges.

I just brought my 2000 Nissan Maxima into the car dealer (Nissan) due to a problem with starting in cold weather. When it is cold outside it will not idle without stalling unless I am pushing on the accelerator until the car is warmed up. After it is warm the engine runs OK. Nissan diagnosed my problem to to the air fuel mixture - they said this is not related to NTB00-008b, which addresses the same problem with a solution to reprogram the cars computer ($90 repair). The problem is due to the intake plenum gasket (upper manifold gasket) is leaking and air is getting in and messing with the fuel/air ratio. After it warms up, the plastic gasket expands and seals the air leak - that's why it only happens when cold. I did not have any diagnostic errors when they hooked up to computer. They are charging me $450 (should only be $250-$350).

Hi, great advice! I just bought a 94 Maxima SE. Have MAF and KNOCK sensor failure codes. Got a MAF from junkyard, fixed problem for 1 day. Started back up the next day and same problem. When replacing MAF on a ve30de engine, do you need to have the ECM recalibrated as I've read for newer engine models? And would the knock sensor be coming on because of the rough running due to the MAF?

One last thing - does that cleaning the MAF sensor really work? Going to try it! Thanks to all for your comments. Keep it simple everyone!

Nope, cleaning the MAF didn't work. I will continue. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks to all!

Replaced the MAF sensor today. The car runs perfect, all codes gone! Thanks for all the input.

I had my 2000 Maxima for over a year now, and it's been pretty good to me so far.

I changed my MAF sensor, spark plugs, 2 ignition coils, and the starter so far, and it's been running great.

I also drained my tranny fluid and put synthetic tranny fluid (much better for car and life of tranny) + synthetic engine oil (Royal Purple Oil + Filter) $50 dollars at pep boys for 5 quarts and filter.

I recommend that if you've had the car a long time or just got it, you change your coils, MAF sensor and plugs, cause these things cause the most problems with these cars, and they are very easy to do, I did it all myself.

If you need help, go to Maxima.org website and sign up. It's free and you will find a lot of answers there to your questions.

Also, most important, don't get ripped off by dealer labor prices. They wanted over 500 dollars to change ignition coils, which is crazy for a 30 minute job.

If you have engine codes, some local autozones will check them for "FREE". You heard that, FREE, not 100 dollars like a dealer will charge you.

I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima. I had a problem with the car stalling after being warmed up. I read on here about cleaning throttle body. Worked great thanks, any input in the future I will be sure to share the knowledge. I bought the throttle cleaner at AutoZone for a few dollars.

I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima with 125,000 miles on it. Over the past few days, when I go to start the car, there is a very loud vibrating sound coming from the engine. Also, when driving, and I go to accelerate it will also vibrate the entire car and engine. Is this something mechanical? Any help would be appreciated.