2000 Nissan Maxima SE from North America - Comments

My Nisson Maxima 2000 can't not start suddenly today without any warnings in the past. I checked the battery and find it's OK. The last time of my drive was four days ago.

This car drove only 45000 miles. One coil was replaced at about 40k when the engine run roughly and the check light was on. Everything looks fine until recently changing the oil. After the oil changed and tire was rotated, I feel the car run somewhat roughly in low speed. But not a apparent problem until this morning.

I'll appreciate for any suggestions to the problems that I have.

To all that are having Nissan Maxima drivability problems listed in these articles... A cold run and stalling problem... It could be a temp sensor... if the computer doesn't know it is cold it will not add additional fuel for cold run.. If the TPS is bad the problem will continue when the warm up process is completed... It is not the O2 sensors because the computer does not receive information from them until closed loop (warm up) usually around 180 deg... Rough run and stalling can also be caused by a vacuum leak... To much air can be disguised as not enough fuel.. (lien run)...Coils will not cause a loss of power without rough running... The problem with the coils in the Nissan is the start up transistor inside of them... Many times if you start your car and it runs rough, try turning it off and then on again or just drive it a minute. Many times the coil will start up... Auto Zone can pull trouble codes and clear them from the computer with there scanner FREE... The Maxima does not have a fuel filter, just a fuel sock (strainer) in the fuel tank.. Sometimes a power problem can be caused by the MAF (mass air flow) sensor. This sensor measures the amount of air going through the intake and sends the info. to the computer which uses it, as well as info from the O2's, TPS and others to determine fuel needed... A power problem and also be a partially plugged exhaust, such as the cat converter or muffler.. Restricting the exhaust (depending on the amount of restriction) will cause the vehicle to bog down when accelerated rapidly, but it will usually still gain power slowly... If your vehicle is dying when coming to a stop (not after you have already stopped) it can be caused by the speedometer sensor... If it is off the computer may think you are at 0 Mph (stopped) rather than 5 or 7 as in when you are slowing to a stop, therefore reducing the fuel to idle to soon and killing the engine... If your vehicle is shuddering when slowing to a stop and then stalling at the point of stopping or just before. It can be the lock up torque converter in the transmission... HOPE THIS HELPS SOME OF YOU..There are a lot of mechanics out there that will take expensive stabs at repairs that you pay for...

I have a 97 Mamixa stick with 130K miles on it. Has run beautifully for 9+ years until 6 weeks ago when it started stalling frequently. Thought is was bad gas, water in the gas. Switched stations. Did the Dry Gas and carb cleaner thing. Still stalling. Occurs when coming off the highway and coasting to a stop sign or stop light. On steady incline or decline, it feels sluggish like not enough oxygen or gas is getting into the system. I replaced the fuel filter ($10.00 at Pep Boys). My mechanic friend switched out the spark plugs (never replaced), Coils looked OK. Still stalls. Car died in extreme cold weather. Replaced battery an alternator. Still stalls. Took it to Cherry Hill Nissan. Idle Air control Valve looked fine. No computer codes at all. Identified by connector on the Mass Air Controller. They replaced and re-terminated the connector for $276.00 Next day is stalled 6 times on the way to work. It stalls after 30 minutes of drive time. Any other clues or websites suggestions? Cherry Hill Nissan advised me that no Tech Service Bulletins exist on this. Glad, but saddened, to see others are having the same problem as I am. Sterling in Cherry Hill.

I have a 2000 maxima, I just had new spark plugs,and #4 coil replaced. that fixed the miss,and the service engine soon light went off. the car is ruuning fine, but the ses light came back on this morning. any suggestions??

I have a 2000 Nissan maxima that I purchased on April 1,2005 it has not given me any problems until recently around November, December when my service engine soon light came on. I took it to the shop and they ran a test on it, it came up that it was my catalylic converter. The light went out afterward, but later down the line it came back on. It is in the shop as I type this letter and the codes are P0420 and P0430 which means its my catalylic converter. All the mechanic can tell me now is it is expensive. I am still waiting for an official answer. But other than that my Maxima has been good to me. My car is not driving any different, its just the service engine light and I was told that my car would not pass inspection!

Catalytic Converters are covered for 8 years or 80K miles under Federal regulations on a Maxima. If you have under 80K on your maxima then mention it to the dealer because they always "forget" to mention it.

I have a 99' Nissan Maxima SE (117,000 miles) and it has been running rough at idle or start usually when cold starting. I replaced the fuel filter and air filter. I have a service engine light on and after being scanned # P 1320,ignition signal primary circuit fault. I replaced all six spark plugs myself at over $60 and was thinking that would solve it. Well this morning I started the car and it ran rough again. I noticed when changing the plugs that one of the cylinder's # 1 had looked like it was the one that could have been the problem threads on plug were wet. I now have read this forum and realize that the ignition coils are more than likely the reason for this. I just called my local auto parts place and took a chance and ordered all six at $426, Nissan wanted $620 parts only. I will be replacing them tonight when my wife comes home. Five hundred dollars for a tune up is a lot of money, but I do love my Maxima and my wife. I hope this will solve the rough idle. I will let you know the outcome of this soon.

Hey let me know how your 99' Nissan Maxima SE (117,000 miles) drives after the coil install. Looks like I have the same problem on my 2000 Maxima SE (63,000 miles) - rough idle and misfire. Well, at least replacing the MAF sensor was an easy install at $87.00. I used OBD 2 Actron and the code read P1320. I will purchase both rear & front coil@$69.99ea. from local Auto zone store part# C1266. Very expensive, but well worth it! Just follow the manual and don't forget to remove the rocker cover with 4 hex screws 00+ rest should be easy. Only hard part is driving myself to the store with this bugger. LOL.

I had a '95 Maxima that had similar issues described above - it would occasionally stall and seemed to be loosing power. I ultimately cleaned the throttle body / mass flow sensor and it fixed the problem.

Yeah, same problems. Also cleaned the TB and changed the MAF.

I've never felt so much power from the Max and hasn't stalled since the TB cleaning.

I've always put premium (91 octane) gas in my 2000 Maxima (85,000 miles), but what with the price of gas, I tried filling up with mid-grade (89 octane). It may be just a coincidence, but the Check Engine Light came on soon after. Borrowed a code scanner from Autozone - it was Code P0420 (catalytic converter efficiency). I think this can also mean bad oxygen sensor (s). Cleared the code, but the Oxygen Sensor Monitor is showing Not Ready for several days now. Supposedly the ECM is looking for a particular drive pattern before it will reset the Monitor to Ready. Does anyone know what it's looking for? Could it be something to do with the mid-grade gas? It's a shame if I have to replace the oxygen sensors at several hundred dollars just because I tried to save a dime per gallon.

If you are getting a P0420, it could be a bad cat, which is very expensive. It might just be O2 sensors, which are not cheap, but not as mad as a cat.

Try clearing the codes (go to Autozone, they will let you use their device to do this), and see if it comes back. There is a TSB for 00 Maximas that says that there is a computer glitch sometimes. It is covered up to 80000 miles, so you aren't covered, but for peace of mind it might just be a computer problem.

Otherwise I think the cat is also covered until 80000 miles. Which mean you are out of luck. The most frustrating thing is you can get parts cheaper elsewhere, but it costs lots of money to determine what is wrong.

Original owner of 2000 Maxima GLE.

"Service Engine Soon light" came on around 31000 mile.

I have read the user manual and make sure fuel cap is properly secured.

Brought the car to the dealer where I bought and service the car. The service representative told it's $130 diagnostic fee just for diagnostic and charges to fix the actual problem costs extra. I decided to do my own research before spending any money for the unknown stuff/cost which is not clear even to the Nissan's service.

After reading the comment "5th Oct 2004, 06:21" and a few subsequent comments, I decided to try to disconnect the battery to try.

Before that I tried to re-secure the fuel cap, I noticed there's some sort of sound of mechanical movement when I opened the fuel cap.

After disconnecting the battery (negative first then positive) for 5 minutes and re-connect the battery again. The "Service Engine Soon" light disappeared.

Thanks for the comments people made in this forum. I'm pretty happy and wish the light does not come out again for other reasons. Wonder what Nissan's take would be on the issue if it is just the computer's own bug and how a customer can protect themselves from potentially being charged unfairly for this.

Every time I get the SES light I run a tank or two of 93 octane and that clears it up. Recently, however, my SES, battery and brake light have come on at the same time. Any suggestions???

I own a '99 Maxima SE with about 75K miles. My SES light came on and the Autozone diagnostic read emission control or engine misfire. I had an extended warranty and took it to a Nissan dealer. Their diagnosis was bad ignition coils - #1 was about 100 RPM, #2 was 0, 3-6 ranged from 50-90. The tech said that these should be about 150 RPMs. Given the ease of install (1 hr) and the parts cost ($80/part), I'm having them fix it - it'll cost be another $100-150 but I'm not getting dirty. And the 'standard' warranty didn't cover the parts - ouch! Are there any other areas that I should checkout/replace? Main issue is rough idling at stops. Thoughts?