2000 Nissan Maxima SE from North America - Comments

I have a 2000 maxima a had to programmed the key because the car won't start with the key the seller send with it. also now that the key is programmed the security light is off, but now the car won't say nothing would not even crank... thanks in advance if you can help.

I have a 2000 Maxima GLE with 113K miles and the SES light has been on since a few days after my last PA State Inspection in Nov 2006. All was well last year and I did the whole battery disconnect thing in order to turn off the light and get the car to pass last year's inspection. No problems were found with the car during that inspection. Car drove well since then with the SES light on. Well, this year, I figured I would take it to a Nissan dealer to properly diagnose the reason for the SES light, and at worst, replace an O2 sensor. Yeah right! I just got back from the dealership service dept. and the Cat converter and front exhaust pipe need replacement at a cost of $1,991.00. Yeah, almost $2000! I hope this is the end of my spending spree, but unfortunately after reading all of these posts, I may be in for an expensive ride unless I trade it in for a Honda or Toyota; BOTH of which I have owned in the past with NONE of these problems. Nissan!

I have a 2000 Nissan GXE; 5-speed. For the past 6 weeks, the car is very slow to accelerate when I am trying to get up to speed. The car does not ride rough nor does it try to stall when I accelerate or slow down. I do notice that the RPMs rise and fall between 3,000 and 4,000 when the needle would hold steady at 3,250-3,500 when I was driving at highway speeds. Does anyone know what would be causing this type of problem? Thanks in advance for your help - lg.

I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima GLE. The Service Engine light comes on once every 10K miles or so. I changed the Catalytic Converter ($1800 total bill) last October 2006. It was OK for 12 months. The Service Engine light has reappeared. The dealer reset the light last week. It was OK for a week. But the problem has come back. This Model is a money pit.

I just bought a 99 Maxima and filled it with 89 octane... immediately the car began to run rough (sputtering) and the SES light came on. I tried tightening the gas cap this morning before I started it up. When I did, it started to flash for a minute so I was hopeful that it would go off. It went right back to steady. SIGH... Any ideas what is wrong? Thanks to your board I am taking it to Autozone for a diagnostic -- hoping to get some good news.

Just got word from the mechanic on my 99 Max... stopped by Autozone and got diagnosed with a misfire on Cylinder #3. Autozone recommended a tune-up. Took it to Midas and they replaced the spark plugs to the tune of $220! Now they are talking about cylinder #2 misfiring... not sure yet of that price...WHOA!

My 2000 maxima also is slow on acceleration and the rpms go up, but the engine doesn't seem to pick up. my service engine soon light is on. any ideas?

Thanks to this site I finally have the problem fixed. I purchased my 2000 Maxima SE new on July 31st, 1999 with 5 miles on the odometer. It’s been a long time since I can remember how fun this car use to be to drive. Like many, I’ve been plagued with problems, all starting right after the 100k warranty ran out. I’ve replaced the starter two times in 2 years, air compressor, power steering compress, NOC sensors, O2 sensors (not sure if their the same), ignition column replacement, and many many dollars more. I use to take my car to the dealership for all routine maintenance i.e. 3k, 15k, 30k services. Their prices were comparable to the outside so I figured what the heck. I had two major incidents with the dealership which prompted me to take my car elsewhere. The last straw was telling me I need to have my belts changed even though the same dealership just changed those belts during the prior service.

I’ve finally come to the realization that most modern mechanics are really no more than computer clerks. They have no real diagnostic skills and at your expense will play the try and replace method depending on what random codes come out of the computer.

Unlike a dealership, I take my car to the local mechanic. There’s no charge for diagnostics and if he doesn’t fix the job, he’ll give it another shot at no charge. This last I was having the same stalling problem a lot of other post are having. Instead of charging me an arm and a leg to fix the problem, he tried cleaning the throttle bottle and all the other cheaper stuff first. The last cleaning fixed the problem for a few days, but then it was stalling again. After reading the post on this website, I finally figured out that the problem was going away whenever the temperature rose so I decided to have him replace the Mass Air Flow sensor.

I went to the dealership to purchase the part and to my surprise the part was only $150 bucks. The mechanic instructed me to stock up on those parts because they normally run $500 dollars. He stated that because of the recent problems with the part, the price has been reduced. I guess that’s Nissan’s way of recalling a known problem.

Well now that the MFA has been replace, the Max as I call it with 165k miles on it is running almost as strong as the day I bought it. It has plenty of power, even from a cold start. Wheels are spinning again although I keep that to a minimum due to the cost of the rubber.

Well my days of buying a new car just to have one are over. Hopefully I can keep this one for another 150k miles. Now I just have to fix the 6 way see that’s stuck in the up position and replace my non working Bose radio. I guess it was time for XM anyway. The 94 Accord I gave to my nephew to get the Max is still on the road hitting almost 300k miles and little maintenance. The wife’s 94 Camry is pushing 270k miles and just need a good cleaning. When the time comes, as many have said, Nissan is out, and Toyota / Honda is in.

Good luck to all.

My husband's 2000 Maxima, with 60K miles has been having a terrible time with stalling, sputtering, etc. Three times to a very reliable mechanic... if they can't duplicate it, they can't fix it. Finally, the SES light came on; they found out it was a crankshaft sensor. There are two, one was worn down or broken. They checked with Nissan who said solder it or replace. They soldered, 200 dollars, and now it seems to be fine, after more than a year of problems.

Thanks for all the comments, they have given me direction with my cold start/stalling problem.

Unfortunately, I just replaced the Mass Air Flow Sensor AND starter and looking at $700 bill. After reading all the comments about the MAF, Nissan should have issued some sort of recall for this part. Too many people are having the exact same problem. What type of car manufacturer can't make a decent car that starts in cold weather???

Hope this is the end of problems with the 2000 Max. When it's time for a new whip I'll be looking at Honda/Toyota.

Having problems with your Maxima stalling at idle or while in park? It's a simple fix... I had the mass air flow and throttle body cleaned, and the problem ceased immediately. I strongly recommend trying this fix (which cost me less than $180 including labor) before you try replacing ignition coils or catalytic converter, both of which can be very expensive.

I also recommend purchasing an OBDII code reader. You can get a good one for about $75 (I have an Actron CP9135), and it will tell you what your problem is when that annoying "Service Engine Soon" light comes on. It also gives you the ability to reset it. My SES light came on about a month ago and it said I had a fault rear O2 sensor (which I had replaced about a year ago). I cleared the message, and the SES hasn't appeared since.

Nissan Maxima 2000, runs good when I start, when it passes 40 miles if I hit the gas it looses strength for a little and you can feel like it is shocking, mechanic says that the injection fuel system is clogged, he added a liquid to the gas tank and told me to run it for the same to clean injector and fuel line, and said that otherwise if this fails I will have to expend $300 to put the fuel line and injectors on acid.. what do you people know and what else can I do?

I just bought a 2000 nissan maxima SE

I wish I had read this before I bought it. I bought it with the engine light on because the dealer said its nothing.

My mechanic has a code reader and it said it was the catilytic converter, so I replaced it. and the problem did not go away. so I am going to take all your advice and get the mass air flow thing and hope that will fix my cars power loss after 3500-4000rpm then I'm going to sell it. If I can't sell it I'm going to crash it into the dealers building j/k!

Is the O2 sensors nessesary? id rather have a getto beatten up car then this piece of crap! I guess I will research more before buying my next car

funny thing is... I bought this car to make a profit, now I will be lucky to get most of my money back.

After totaling my 1998 nissan maxima, I purchased a used 2000 nissan maxima se. since my previous maxima gave no problems even after 295,000 miles, I was excited to upgrade to a newer version. after 2 days of driving, the ses light came on and continues to stay on. this has been since sept 2007. I read the manual for trouble shooting what could possible be the cause of this. shortly after, the car started losing power, hesitating, and stalling upon hard acceleration. I took the care to a local nissan dealership for a $110 engine diagnostic and was told that I need a $3000 transmission. after my extended warranty company refused to pay that amount they recommended that I find a shop specializing in transmission repair for a second opinion. after paying $45 additional, I was told that it wasn't my transmission at all, but instead a sensor or fuel system problem. after reading the comments posted I think I may have found that the problem lies with the mass air flow sensor. if this don't fix the problem, toyota or honda here I come.

Hello to all who have posted comments about your Nissan Maxima. I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima. I bought it with 35K miles on it. I now have over 100K. I also had the same issue with no acceleration power when my car hit 3RPM to 4RPM. I also had the Check Engine Light come on and stay on. I got a diagnostic reading from AutoZone (free) and a local mechanic ($60). Both said it was the O2 Sencor (Bank One) and the Ignition Coils. Well after reading this post, I decided to change the Mass Air Flow Sensor ($80-Nissan Part). This price for the MAF is my mechanic's price. Well that fixed the acceleration problem. I have FULL POWER when I hit the gas pedal, especially on the highway. However the Check Engine Light is still on and I feel the engine bucking. I think it might be the ignition coils, but will wait to see if the problem stays after I drive another 100 miles. I will keep you posted.