95 Maxima Stalls

I have a 95 Maxima GLE that started idling rough - idle would drop to 200 RPMs and bounce up to 700 RPMs back and forth and on acceleration from start would give and go and kind of kick into acceleration. The car began to stall out at stops after braking, and then recently the car would stutter and hesitate.

While pressing the gas down it's response was slow and very sluggish and then would kick in and then hesitate and give and go(surge). I took it into firestone and had a diagnostic run, they told me I needed a rear O2 sensor, and an EGR valve, and there also looked to be a vacuum leak at the intake. I found that Pep Boys would do it for less but did not have the O2 sensor in stock. I bought the O2 sensor from the local Nissan dealer and had Pep Boys install it and the EGR valve. They also flushed the fuel system and replaced the fuel filter. Nothing has been done for the alleged vacuum leak so far. Some $600 later I still have the problem. My wife and kids were with me in the car as it stalled in front of on-coming traffic while I slowed to turn into our apartment complex.

This intermittance usually only happens after I have driven the car for about 20 minutes or more. It seems to only happen after the car gets warmed up. I can't get it to produce the same problems for a mechanic.

I looked at some similar problems in the archives of this site and back on

03/08/2005 ?BongoJoegolfer? had the exact type of problem with his ?96 Maxima although I did not see any resolution he may have found. Can anyone help?
Reply to
MadNeighbors
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What do you think Nirav.

EGR, probably not an issue.

O2 sensor probably not either.

Lets us/me know what you are thinking, I have a pretty good idea but I'm curious to see what you come up with

Reply to
NissTech

Was the CEL lit before you took it in for diagnosis to Firestone?

Regardless, I don't have confident diagnosis for the root cause this time. I would *guess* that it is likely to be one of the following three items (in order of likelihood):

  1. Bad TPS
  2. Bad MAF
  3. Failing coils

Cheers, Nirav

96 Max GLE, 118k
Reply to
njmodi

The CEL was lit before the diagnosis. One of the battery cable ends were also corroded and was replaced. The battery terminal had came loose a couple of times prior to the diagnosis.

Firestone also mentioned a vacuum leak on the intake, would this be a cause as well? Thank you for any help/guidance you can offer.

Reply to
MadNeighbors

What codes were pulled from the ECU (when the CEL was lit) ? Is it still lit?

I don't think the vacuum leak will cause the type of driveability issues you are describing (needless to say though, you should fix it).

Reply to
njmodi

All I got from firestone was the recommendations and was told they had no record or printout of the ECU codes that were pulled. My family and I recently moved here to Medford, NJ from Daytona Bch, FL and I'm not familiar yet with the local service shops (which are trustworthy). Also, the CEL is still lit but I'm unfamiliar with how (if any) way to retrieve the codes myself.

Reply to
MadNeighbors

You have two options :

  1. Go to yo ur local autozone - they will pull the codes for free. Be sure to note down exactly which codes are retrieved - there may be more than one. Each code will 4 digits long, e.g. 0302.

  1. Look here for instructions on how to retrieve the codes yourself:

How to get the code:

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What the code means (not a complete list):
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Regards, Nirav

96 Max GLE, 118k
Reply to
njmodi

Nirav, Thank you for the ECU guidance, I retrieved two codes, got an 0707 (rear heated O2 sensor) and an 0302 (EGR system Hi/Low Flow. Both have been replaced and the car continues to do the same. The car has 130,000 miles on it also,..is this problem common on 95 GLE Maximas?

Is there something else that wouldn't show up on the ECU that would cause the same problems?

This is the only car I presently own and if I keep losing time at work to get this car fixed I'll probably get fired from my job. Can you help?

Reply to
MadNeighbors

Where do I start...

  1. Are you sure the correct O2 sensor was replaced? (There are 3 O2 sensors on your car). 0707 points to the sensor behind the catalytic converter.

  1. The EGR hi/low flow code can be caused by many different components (including the EGR valve). Unless the shop did some troubleshooting to determine that it was the valve, you have likely wasted your money replacing that part. My car popped the 0302 (EGR hi/lo flow code) and it wasn't the valve or solenoid - it was the EGR guide tube and plenum port were severely clogged. This might have been the case for you too (in fact, those two items might still be clogged - unless you know that the mechanic cleaned thse out).

  2. Finally, once the problems that tripped the ECU have been fixed, the ECU needs to be reset. Follow the procedure on the page I linked in my previous post to reset the ECU. This will clear the CEL. If the light reposts, pull the codes again and see what you get.

As already mentioned, neither of those two problems are likely to be causing your driveability issues.

Hopefully Nisstech will be back in here to give his diagnosis - which will more than likely be spot on.

Regards, Nirav

96 Max GLE, 118k
Reply to
njmodi

Nirav, I'm certain the post Cat (rear) O2 sensor was replaced and the EGR valve was replaced,.. I'm not certain the EGR guide or plenum was cleaned. Chances are they were not cleaned and only the EGR valve was replaced, they made no mention of unclogging anything.

Your help has been most appreciated and has helped me to narrow down the culprits, I suspect it may indeed be a clogged condition.Is there anyway I can do this myself? again, thank you and NissTech for such knowledgeable advice.

Reply to
MadNeighbors

the erg valve is easier to get at if you remove the throttle body

you should be able to get the "shop" manual at your local library this will have the specifics of the job... as I remembered from doing mine a while back the erg valve was held on with 2 bolts (12mm ??) any how I removed the tube feeding the erg valve & cleaned it along with the erg assy & the port in the side of the engine. at 130,000 miles you are do for a cleaning on the port & the tube. It is however not unheard of for a "new" part to be bad, and this would explain the code re appearing on your dashboard idiot light.

Reply to
john

A vacuum leak will definitely cause driveability problems, including poor idle.

I'm surprised nobody here is focusing in on that.

Reply to
Steve Manifold

Just got my 95 Max out of the Nissan dealer's shop.

The EGR passages were clogged,

-cost for repair---$475.75

One Air Filter,

-cost for replacement---$14.00

knowing how to do the repairs yourself,

-PRICELESS

Also the Nissan Service Tech said the Air Flow Meter failed and needed replacing, he read no conductivity through it and figured the clogged EGR system initially caused its failure.

-cost for repair---$606.00

cant afford that repair right now, any suggestions on replacing the part myself?, does anyone know if the job would be too intense for the average do-it-yourselfer?

The Nissan technician seemed to have suggested the labor was fairly simple and relatively quick but the part was the bulk of the expense.

Reply to
MadNeighbors

So it was the MAF after all... if you look at my original reply to your post, MAF was my #2 choice - behind the TPS. You could have easily checked the TPS with a multimeter and then gotten on to diagnosing the MAF.

In any case, the MAF is indeed an expensive part - ~400-500 dollars if I remember correctly.

The part is easy to replace - it is part of the air intake system (the plastic cylindrical object with a square shape on top with a harness connection).

Cheers, Nirav

96 Max GLE, 118k njmodi2 at yahoo dot com
Reply to
njmodi

You nailed it Nirav.

Good Job !

Reply to
NissTech

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MAF replace it your self it's straight forward

Reply to
john

Wow, I can't believe that guy claims that the same maf works for 4th AND 5th gen Maximas, J30 and Q45!!!

Reply to
Steve Manifold

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