Nissan Maxima Fuel and Fuel System Questions

tomahto

Hi! I just bought my first maxima today. It's a 95 GXE automatic. unfortunately it didn't come with the owner's manual, I'll have to buy one online I guess. I just read something that said some models need premium grade gasoline, does anyone know if this is true for the one I drive? thanks!

ultragb

I have a 95 gle. Bought it in 96, have put 158k on it using regular gas. Do not use Arco gas. It will clog the fuel injectors. Chevron or Shell seems to be the best, because of the additives they use.

pg2

I have a 2000 maxima 6cyl auto. Sometimes when I go some place, park it for a while and then come out and start it up it misfires. When I get home and park it in the garage it has a smell of rotten eggs. The next day it runs perfect. Could it be a fuel injector not working correctly? I think I read in a mechanic magazine that the gasoline sometimes coats the fuel injectors. Has anyone heard this or knows what the problem might be?? thanks in advance for your answer. Paul G

ovey

I have a 91 maxima, low miles for the age (abour 110). One day it just started running very rough, like a cylinder wasn't firing. I don't know enough to diagnose it though. Mechanic said one piston wasn't firing due to clogged fuel injector. Naturally, it's like a million dollars to replace it (and the rest, might as well based on the age). I tried some fuel injector cleaner off the shelf, but it didn't work. The car isn't worth but $1200 so I don't want to spend much to get it running smoothly - any ideas? Thanks!

pg2

Hi Ovey...... I will be willing to bet your having trouble with one of the ignition coils !!!! To my susprise I discovered that there are six ignition coils... one for each spark plug. With 85.000 miles on my car I decided to replace all my spark plugs thinking at the same time I might be able to find out which cylinder was misfiring by looking at each plug. Only one was a little bit darker than the other five so I decided to replace the coil ot this cylinder. Presto ! Problem was solved. My car has been running great ever since. Hope this helps you. Replaceing the plugs and the coil is really easy if your just a little bit mechanically inclined. The coil only cost $69.99 at Auto Zone. I can only imagine how much it would have cost me at a Nissan dealer. Paul

billiecobbler

1992 nissan maxima want start when cold and it has to do with the fuel system

tbarnes42

96 Octane? (91 AKI)?

i wanted to know if it was ok to put regular gasoline (not premium) in my 2007 nissan maxima. i consulted the owner's manual and on page 9-3, they say that they recommend 91 AKI, which is equivalent to 96 octane. i have never seen octane higher than 93....so i dont know what they expect there.

the manual goes on to say that i can use "regular"....but their definition of regular is 87 AKI, which is octane 91 according to the manual.

every gas station i go to has "regular" defined as 87 octane....and you dont see any thing about AKI. furthermore.....i never see "91 octane" anyway...its all 87, 89, and 93.

What Gives!! can i use regular or not?? and where the %&*% do they expect me to find 96 octane??

i assume the drop in performance that the manual speaks about would be unnoticeable to teh average driver, am i correct?

Any guidance would help...thanks very much
Terry

bassmax

I just bought an 08 Maxima with same engine as your 07 and they say you can run regular fuel but car is more efficient if premium is used. My son has same engine and he runs reg. most of the time and a tank of premium every third fill up. The manual and a mechanic I trust told me not to use any fuel additives in the tank since it will effect the computer that regulates fuel system. Your engine may 'ping' some with reg. but it won't hurt it......good luck

tbarnes42

thanks for the info.....

so when you say "regular"...you are talking about "87 octane"....not this "87 aki...91 octane" stuff that they talk abotu in the manual...right?

bassmax

right...and I just made a short trip of 700 miles and I ran 87 octane first tank and the mid fuel, i think 89 in the second tank(just filled ) Got just at 27.5 mpg.....on regular. I will let you know if 89 gets any better milage.

alexstore

91 IS OFFERED AT SUNOCO ONLY. now rating of 96 is european equal to 91

alexstore

You will not see any difference until you get several tanks as it will be mixed. 87 and 89 are too close to see any difference. 87 and 93 you at most will see a 1-2 mpg difference. Then again it will depend on your driving and road conditions.

777xlx

I've noticed that on occasion the day after I fill the gas tank, turn the gas cap three times after filling up the Service Engine light will go on and stay on until I have it cleared by a tech. It seems that when I do a fill up it happens. Not when the tank is at 3/4-1/2-1/4. Anyone out there experience the same problem? Is there a possibility that I may need a new gas cap where air is getting through the seal causing this to happen? Or does anyone have a solution ? Other than that there's been no operating problems with the light staying on. Only a nuisance.
Thanks in advance to those who may be able to help me with this.

hknissan

I have a 2000 Maxima SE 4-speed automatic with 120K miles and when I am waiting at a traffic light or stuck in traffic, the car will stay "on" and then after about 20 seconds or so the idle speed kinda goes down from 750 rpm to near 500 rpm and then the car shuts off. This has been happening for the last couple of weeks on a regular basis. I turn the car back on without difficulty and press the gas hard to make sure it stays and then quickly put it into D. It doesn't happen on the highway when I am cruising at 60 mph.

I went to the local Midas and they thought that if the "check engine" light was on that would lead them to figuring out the problem. No such luck, the light is not on.

The mechanic thinks it may be a problem with the Throttle Position Sensor or some other acronyms; basically he thought there was some sort of intermittent communication error between the engine and the computer that is causing this. He didn't think it was the fuel injectors or the fuel pump.

If anyone has idea what might be causing this, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

vinnie

Step 1. Never take your car to Midas for diagnosis. In fact, never take your car to Midas.
Step 2. Take it to your local Nissan dealer and have them diagnose the problem.

lhy

So does it the type of gas you should use depend on the model year of the Maxima, or can all Maximas use regular gas?

Is it possible to find car manuals for a certain model year online?

I am possibly looking to buy a used 1998 Maxima SE or 1995 Maxima.

hknissan

I actually did take it to the dealer last year and they told me that the MAF required replacement. Well, I had it replaced for about $300ish and it has been fine since.

Well...then now yesterday, the engine was idling a little rough when I first started (I guess I didn't give it enough time to warm up) and now the "Service Engine Soon" lamp glows so now I have to get it checked out (again) with the OBD tool.

Thinking about going back to the dealer...will see. The car runs fine and doesn't cause any stalling/rough idling. Maybe it was a one time thing...but at some point I'll have find out what the code is for and clear it and hopefully it won't return.

goodyear69bdt

If you even still have the car it may be the idle flow controller up by air filter area. My '01 Maxima recently started doing the exact same thing & turned out to be just that. First time this car has been in the shop since I got it 10 years ago!

hknissan

Hey thanks for the advice but I sold the car last year for 4k

whitemax08

I have a 08 Maxima 3.5. I live in the upper midwest with cold weather the norm. I was idling through a 2 hour display of holiday lights, which weren't that great. I lowered the window and smelled coolant. Next day I was at the drive-up bank and waited about 10 minutes and smelled it again. I don't seem to be loosing coolant since the level is staying at the same point. Has anyone else had this or a similar problem?

peaky

My 1996 Nissan Maxima will not start unless the fuel pump fuse (15A) is removed. Once removed the car will start and the fuse is put back in. The Nissan dealership said it was the oxygen sensors and the starter. The parts replaced include the fuel pump and fuel pump relay sensor, MAF and MAP sensor, fuel injector, crankshaft sensors. Any ideal if the dealer could be correct?