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  3. 98 maxima SE makes odd noise when starting...gas miliage has gone down A lot.

98 maxima SE makes odd noise when starting...gas miliage has gone down A lot.

Two problems of late with my maxima. First off id like to state that ive done all the maintainence for the car since i bought it at 62K miles. It now has 118K and ive never had a problem with it. I change the oil every 3000 miles, and last summer I had all the belts replaced, the radiator flushed, the transmission fluid changed etc etc.

- When i start the car it makes this really odd noise for about a second (the car always starts)... almost sounds like a belt but sometimes it will go a month or two without making the noise.

- In the last two months my gas miliage has gone dramatically down. Im not driving any differently or putting any different gas in. I used to get between 325-360 a tank (id avg 21-27mpg)....now im getting in the

200's... my lowest avg was at 15mpg. I have absolutely no idea what could be wrong.

If anyone knows anything i would seriously appreciate it.

Also. Ive moved out the midwest the past two years for school and ive heard of this process called "winterizing" of your vehicle...anyone know what that entails? Thanks! Jaimee

Reply to
jaimee.carpenter
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I have a 96 maxima GXE, and sometimes it makes a funny sound for a second or so after startup. From my days tinkering with an old VW beetle, I would speculate it was the starter solenoid sticking for a moment as the engine fired up or the solenoid is keeping the starter motor energized for a second after it releases from the ring-gear (hence the whirring sound). not sure if its the same sound your hearing, but on mine it still starts fine and causes no other problems.

is your check engine light on? that could explain a change in mileage (stop by an autoparts store, national chains will scan engine codes for free). if its not that it could be a bunch of other things (low air pressure in your tires, misalignment, amongst other things)

as far as "winterizing" your car, have the coolant flushed/replaced if you havent done it in a while (every 30k i think?), and switch to 5w-30 oil if it looks like it will get really cold (10w-30 is good to about 0 or -10 F i think) other than that just keep checking air pressure in your tires.

good luck m

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

Reply to
y2kbugg

Try changing your coolant temp sensor. It's usually located near the water pump, or follow the top radiator hose to where it connects to the engine block. The CTS will be somwhere around there. Easy cheap part to replace. You will probably need 2 or 3 tankfulls for the change to fully take effect.

CD

Reply to
codifus

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:1163711182.182284.79250 @k70g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Are you driving the car on trips that are long enough to get it warmed up?? Untill the engine warms up the car will run in "Open Loop" mode. If it gets warmed up, check the sensors; MAF, oxygen, Coolent temp, etc. Esp check the coolent temp sensor. If the ECM doesn't know that the engin is warm, it won't go out of open loop mode.

Hmmm, changed the air filter recently??

Reply to
Gordon

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