2000 Nissan Maxima SE 4D from North America - Comments

Hi All,

Is there another forum for Nissan Maxima 1999? Sorry I couldn’t find it so posting it here. Let me know if anybody knows that forum link.

I just bought 1999 Nissan Maxima 87k miles from a guy and with in 1 week its "service Engine soon" light came up. Then with in another week it started giving misfiring/knocking sound. I went to Nissan service center, Roseville, CA and was told there is misfiring on cylinder #6 and computer code is P0306. He recommended changing all the 6 coils at the tune of 1250$. And to replace just one he asked for 491$. Already I paid him 156$ just for diagnosis.

Yesterday I just opened car’s hood and was looking at engine and simply closed it. Now knocking is gone since then. Don't know it’s going to come back or not but it’s weird. Warning Light is still on.

Some people suggested to go to autozone and get it it checked for "free". Is it really free there? I will plan to have trip there for second opinion.

Few comments I read and was told that all we could replace these coils ourselves. I don't know if many people had tried that or not and how safe (In terms of not screwing anything else) it is.

Looks like guy who sold me got rid of its coil maintenance somehow and finally it came to me. Overall this is very annoying experience.

Just let me know any of the helpful comments.

~Vimal

reachvimalm@yahoo.com

I have read all the comments, and I too have the same issue and want to know how I can help to catalyze a recall by Nissan. Thanks.

Oh man... by the looks of my 2000 Maxima "service engine soon" light, it won't be good news. I'm having it checked again my self and I'm not very car-mechanic-savvy so I'm hoping I don't get ripped off. My local mechanic says they can diagnose for $97. My car is at 78k miles and is paid off so I hope the next 50k miles aren't like this.

I can't believe your going to let them charge that much to diagnose it. The highest price I have EVER paid is $60.

After reading tips here and around the web, I did go to AutoZone, and I can report happily that they did test the OBD for free. He wouldn't reset it just for asking, but I didn't offer any more since the results were O2 and Knock Sensor, and I wanted a capable mechanic to look at it also.

So far, the mechanic reset it (since I hadn't driven that extra car too much recently and light went on couple months ago after some dormant period), and asked me to drive it around for a day. If the light comes back on, then we can believe the results, he says, and do the work.

Hi! I have 137,000 miles on my 2000 nissan maxima. I just changed the original plugs (when the check engine light came on). I have always used top tier gas (93 octane) and have never had any coil problems. the owners manual tells you to use premium fuel only. I put in high tech bosch plugs (four prong type) and the car is getting better gas mileage/power. my car runs fast and surprises many sportier cars when its performance and handling. it is ugly green four door (total stealth from the police). see ya! ps: use paper air filters and change them often. I believe oil type, are not good for throttle body parts and sensors.

HI everyone.

I also had the same problem with the ignition coils, but with a little digging and research on the web. It was a snap with the 2000 Maxim GXE that I had. Basically the coils are the assemblies that fit over the spark plugs and can be easily replaced for a 3rd of what an automotive place will charge. I spent 365.00 on all six coils and replaced them myself. I'm now trying to find out about the barometric sensor since I'm getting the "check engine" light again and wondering if anybody knows if this is part of the MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensor on the 2000s. I got it scope awhile back, but I forgot what the code is. Hope this helps.

I have had my 2000 Maxima GLE for 3 years now. I love the car and it now has 140,000 miles on it, but no real problems until the last couple of months.

First, service engine light came on. I took it to the dealer and paid almost $500 to fix a problem with the fuel intake. After moving from VA to Indiana the light came on again. I took it to the local Nissan dealer here and he diagnosed the good ol' ignition coil problem. He's recommendig that I have all 6 coils and spark plugs replaced to the tune of $1100. No way!

Any advice on what options I have would be appreciated.

I am joining the club of bad ignition coils. My Nissan Maxima 2000 acted first at about 40,000 while under extended warranty with Nissan. The engine light went on. The dealer told me that I had a misfire at cylinder 1. They claimed they didn't know if it is the ignition or the injector. They swapped the coil between cylinder 1 and 3. At 71000 miles the engine light went off again. This time was cylinder 3 (same bad ignition coil that wasn't replaced before). Dealer told me there is a Nissan service bulletin on this issue and recomends replacement of all coils. They were charging me over $600 to do it. I told them that I will replace myself the coil. I did, but it for about $75 from an online Nissan dealer from Texas. I have written to Nissan USA CEO and complained about Nissan not honoring warranty since the problem showed up while in warranty. They called me and they acted very nice, but they did nothing about this problem. Now at 85000 engine light came off again. This time there is no specific cylinder. I will replace the other 2 ignition coils on the same side as the first one. I noticed every time when the engine light went off was when it was high humidity outside. The ignition coil that I bought last time is slight different in shape than the original one. I am sure there is a manufacturing defect that makes these coil to short circuit when the level of humidity is high. There is a petition online requesting Nissan to address this issue of faulty parts. I did sign up. I recommend everyone to do this. Maybe we will get a resolution. I am deeply disappointed with the Nissan Service. I love the car, but God forbid you have to deal with Nissan Service. They are very dishonest and I tried 5 Nissan dealers and all of them were dishonest.

I have been having the same problems with my 2000 Maxima GLE (100k) as everyone else (SES, TCS, slip, knocking, misfiring, and stalling). I recommend everyone sign the petition http://www.petitiononline.com/NIS_IGN/petition.html, and hopefully we can all save money, or if you already paid, get some money back. thanks for everyone else's comments. Now I can have hope for my car.

A month ago I bought a 2000 Maxima GLE with 113k miles on it. I have noticed that the engine stalls on cool mornings and on two occasions after a mid-day startup the engine would shutter for a couple of miles and then it would clear up and run like a champ. My local mechanic warned me not to buy this car and after reading the comments about the coils, I feel that I should have listened to my mechanic. So far, I have not had the check engine light come on or any other warning lights. The car is currently in the shop with a rear brake problems. I am not financially able to sink too much money in this car, but I guess I need to make a decision to either fix the car of get rid of it.

A month ago I bought a 2000 Maxima GLE with 113k miles on it. I have noticed that the engine stalls on cool mornings and on two occasions after a mid-day startup the engine would shutter for a couple of miles and then it would clear up and run like a champ. My local mechanic warned me not to buy this car and after reading the comments about the coils, I feel that I should have listened to my mechanic. So far, I have not had the check engine light come on or any other warning lights. The car is currently in the shop with a rear brake problems. I am not financially able to sink too much money in this car, but I guess I need to make a decision to either fix the car of get rid of it.

I, too, had the jerking/shaking problem at 45k in my 2000 Maxima that turned out to be the ignition coils. The local dealer wanted $1100 to replace the 2 defective one, my dad was able to purchase them from Autozone and have his small-town mechanic replace them, all for $250.

I am currently having another problem that the dealer's diagnosis claims is not related to the ignition coils. The car, which has a manual transmission, will stall when sitting at a red light, or when the clutch is held in/the transmission is in neutral while in motion. Living in a city, I am constantly riding the clutch and the stalling problem has led to several very dangerous situations. My dealer claims the problem is a fatal error in the ECM (Engine Control Module) that requires replacing it. That's a $1200 fix!! Any thoughts out there? Could this be the other 4 engine coils that need to be replaced, or has anyone else replaced their ECM? Unfortunately, I'm out of the emissions warranty at 90k, so I'm on my own for this.

And another voice heard from: My 2000 Maxima just had the remaining 5 ignition coils and 6 spark plugs replaced as the SE light and two other lights came on. As it's my wife's car, I had it fixed, but very expensive. Nissan should do something about this!! (Only 49,000 miles on mine... arghhh)

I own a 2000 Maxima GXE with 170,000 miles. I have ignition coil problems. Replaced 3 and 5 and today replacing #6.

Should I just to the rest or go one by one when I have the running rough and shaking problems?

To also comment on someone else's problems: yes my brakes have always had problems.

Other than the above car has run great for 170,000 miles.

Any advise?