Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Nissan is calling them to investigate.
Thanks,
Robert
Thanks,
Robert
Thanks in advance of your suggestions! JM
thanks for the feedback.
They found ignition coils to be defective and replaced all of them. The problem disappeared right after.
Apparently the ignition coils are directly on top of each spark plug and are somewhat fragile (read can be broken or damaged with rough handling).
Any possibility that the coils are going (are) bad?
Anything can be damaged by rough handling, including spark plugs. If you crack the spark plug insulator during installation, you will get a bad miss.
REMOVAL & INSTALLATION
Remove the decorative facia on the valve cover, if equipped.
Unplug the coil harness connector.
Unbolt the coil retaining fastener(s). Some models have only one bolt, while others have two fasteners.
Carefully pull the coil assembly out of the engine.
To install:
Place the coil into the spark plug recess. Make certain the tip of the coil is seated on the spark plug, and not beside it.
Fasten the coil with the retaining bolt(s).
Plug the harness connector onto the coil.
Replace the decorative facia, if equipped.
If you are removing more than one coil at a time, be sure to label each coil, harness connector and cylinder.
TESTING
Using an ohmmeter, adjust it to the low range, and attach the probes to terminal 1 and terminal 2.
Measure the resistance; it should read around 0.8 ohms.
I just had the TPS replaced a month ago. Perhaps the mechanic didn't properly install the sensor...
thanks for the ideas; I'll be back with some results next week...
I've had my 2001 Max for 3 years now (60k miles) and love it. I have not had any problems with it other than a couple of times the car wouldn't start after I had the radio on with the car off for around 30 minutes. I have my lights set to be on all of the time while driving so they were on also. The battery was so dead that I didn't even get a click, but it started right away with a jump. Very strange.
Also, for those complaining about the ride, I got a set of Michelin Pilots, which were very expensive (~$210/each at BJs), but incredible handling and no road noise. These may be worth getting if you don't mind spending the extra bucks.
These values are not applicable for 95 and later coils. For the secondary circuit the resistance should be infinite for these coils. The primary side circuit is rather complicated as there are three terminals. Haynes manual #72021 for 93-99 Maxima specifies how to test the primary side.
I would ask those Nissan parts changers for a copy of the shop manual and ask specifically where it says that these coils cannot be tested.
There are at least 10 pages of very detailed testing in the Engine Control System (EC) section (pages 585-595)of the manual. I'm sure the dealer (if they wanted to run all the tests), could find out exactly what's wrong with your Maxima and fix only the bad coils.
It appears to me that the technicians maybe just jumping to the conclusion that just replacing all the coils will:
a:Fix the problem (most likely).
b:Keep you from coming back to complain about the same issue.
c:Get them out of doing all that hard work without knowing how much money they'll make on the repair order.
d:Be the most efficent way to solve the problem in the long run.
You might want to consider another dealer (if that's an option) or buy the Service Manual yourself (if your so inclined) or know someone who is capable of doing the electrical testing that is required.
You can download the entire manual in PDF format from http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/nissan/default1.asp
for a fee of $19.99. You will need a high speed internet connection to do this efficiently as there's a lot of data (about 48MB).
(The EC section itself is 9.5 MB.)
You can also buy the coils yourself from an on line Nissan parts house and install them yourself. You could probably do all six yourself for the price the dealer would charge you to do 3 or 4 of them.
I did some research on maxima.org and found out how to get the fault codes myself. I kept getting the general ignition code for awhile. At least the dealer told the truth. Finally, the car ran worse and it gave me a code for the exact cylinder. I bought one coil for $70 and replaced it myself. The problem was fixed.
Comments (for 95-99 Maxima's):
Coils seem to be a common problem.
Testing coils with an ohm meter didn't work for me since it was an intermittent problem. I even used an oscilloscope and everything looked fine.
Changing coils yourself is easy on the front row, slightly harder (but not difficult) on the back row since some brackets need removing.
There are 2 different types of coils - the front row has a different connector orientation than the back row.
The dealer wanted $400 in labor to change the coils, but only around $200 to change spark plugs. Considering you have to remove the coils to get to the plugs, this was a rip off.
how do i do such thing?
Dinu
After I did some researches, here are the sites you may find some info how to read ECM code. If the flash code does not tell you which ignition coil is bad, then wait for the next Service Engine Soon light is ON. It will appear eventually.
http://home.earthlink.net/~maxfaq/
http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecu.html
Replacing coils are not too difficult if you have hex screw driver and deep socket wrench set. Yet, for Maxima 95-00, you will have this ignition coil problem due to the defect by vendor. Nissan has admitted this problem but did not offer a recall. However, the new replacing coil has been re-desgined for better life
The second problem is deterioration of the coil spark plug boot. The coils on the Maxima are combination coils and spark plug boots. The boot is very long and fits into a deep plug well. The plug boot is subjected to very intense heat and will deteriorate in time. Also, if there is an oil leak from the valve cover(s), the plug wells can fill with oil, and this will surely deteriorate the boots very quickly.
It appears that the coils and boots are assembled into a single unit and that the boot cannot be replaced separately. If this is true (and I have to verify this), it is unfortunate because replacing the boots say every 60K miles would make the coils last much longer and the boots would be relatively inexpensive. For DOHC engines using a single coil and plug wires, replacing the plug wires every 60K is a good idea. In fact, Mazda recommends this for their DOHC engine cars.
In summary, even if the coil electrical checks show a healthy coil, there could be a boot problem which will result in poor performance of that coil and cause engine to miss. Maybe this is why technicians claim that they cannot pinpoint the defective coil. Replacing them all would not be a big deal if they were not so expensive, coupled with ridiculously high installation fees. Now that I have done it once (for purpose of replacing the spark plugs, not installing new ones), I believe I could replace all six coils on my 98 Maxima in 15 or 20 minutes. It is not much more difficult than replacing a spark plug wire set.
Thanks
Javier Guerra
Dinu
I'm the proud owner of a '99 Maxima which now has over 150,000 km on it. It has been a great car, the best one I've ever owned. However, shortly before the 100,000 km mark, it began to develop an intermittent problem.
On occasion, the engine stutters or "skips a beat" at low RPM levels, say 700 to 1100 RPM's. If the car is put in Park, the stuttering disappears. The problem has worsened over time. I've taken it to a few dealers who haven't been able to solve the problem. One dealer changed a couple of ignition coils 12 months back but this just solved the problem for a few days.
Does anyone have an idea what the problem could be? Most of the message group e-mails point to the ignition coils while another site listed the breaking of electrical wires in an engine harness as the potential problem.
Looking for direction.
Start w/ the wires.
Dinu
I had my 99 Maxima GXE coils go bad at around 40000 miles. I had very similar symptoms as you (mo_can) described. I took it to a local shop who thought it was a problem with the coils but were not 100% sure. Instead of wasting more time and money in diagnosis at that shop I took it to the Nissan dealer who said the coils had to be replaced. I called Nissan Consumer affairs (800-647-7261 )and requested them to pay for the coils as my bumper-to-bumper warranty had expired just a few months prior to that. They agreed to reimburse me the service fees for replacement. But I had to pay for the coils. The dealer makes a tidy profit when you buy the coil from them. But the car has been running very smoothly since.
This seems to be a very common problem with the 1999/2000 Nissans. The problem seems to occur at different times for different people based on the following factors, in my opinion ( I may be wrong ):
1. How cold it gets in your area in winter.
2. Do you warm up the engine before driving, especially in winter? While you may not need to warm your car in summer, in winter somehow Nissan vehicles seem to do poorly over time when compared to Honda or Toyota and this affects the life of the coils. May be they have fixed the coil problem now.
When you ask Nissan America be real polite with them. That seems to work better than if you demand reimbursement from them. Technically they are not required to pay for this beyond 36K miles and they will tell you that. But don't let them get off easily. be persistent and polite. The amount of reimbursement varies from person to person based on how close you are to 36K miles, whether you go to the Nissan dealer for all scheduled maintenance and whether you have been loyal to Nissan with your previous car purchases ( They look at all those factors, believe me! ).
If Nissan refuses to reimburse you then you can purchase these coils at a lower price elsewhere and get it replaced by a local shop who may not charge you too much money for labor. My Nissan dealer recommended that I replace all coils instead of just the coil or 2 that went bad. I did not know whether he was saying this to make more money off me or whether that was indeed the right thing to do.
Good luck to you both. New coils do make a big difference.
Is your check engine light on? Mine was and I took the vehicle in for service. After the dealer told me they wouldn't cover the cost of replacing the coils, I complained. They basically said, "tough luck," but gave me the number of Nissan customer service. They picked up the entire bill, but only after asking me how much I serviced my vehicle. They seemed to like the fact that I get all the regular maintenance done at the dealership. Interestingly, when I picked up the vehicle, "Customer Retention Credit" was listed on the service invoice.
looking for an aftermarket low silicate antifreeze
dealers want $15 + a gallon
Any ideas on how/where to look? The dealer here wanted to replace the SRS for $1700, but they have not been reliable in the past, and actually dishonest.
thanks in advance