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Comments
Nissan Maxima 6 cyl work intermittently. The analog gages are either frozen or work fine.
Everyday in the morning all meters work fine.
Sometimes odometer is showing different character, which is not understandable, and sometimes it is completely blank.
When I am driving and the meter is working fine all of a sudden it shows me weird characters and the gauges are frozen. These characters from display will clear after a long time like overnight and then all the meters work perfectly.
When I turned off the car and the display is okay then it takes 2-3 sec to turn off the display. When I start the car next time it will show me either the correct display or nothing on the display.
The odometer display will show the weird characters or clear depending upon the time of fault. It will show the weird characters if the fault came during driving. It will show the clean screen if the fault came during starting.
Engine service light is on and code shows the speed sensor failure.
I recently installed the new battery. This problem was started before I replaced the battery and it is continuing. The mileage is 65,200. Service Engine light is on and code shows the speed sensor failure. All other things work fine.
Your help is much appreciated.
It's starting to look like it might be the car's CPU now but not 100% sure. Can any one help ? This is costing me an arm and a leg.
Its becoming increasingly difficult as it seems the whole ignition mechanism is failing. I dont know how to fix it without replacing the mechanism, but ya might check this peice if you have this problem and have not already ruled it out.
Of course, I've had wear-and-tear items replaced over the years, such as tires (will purchase a third set soon), brakes, and also some belts were replaced due to cracking about a year ago. Actually, I had some warping issues with the brakes the first 50K miles. The brakes were machined a few times, and eventually at 50K miles all disks and pads were replaced by the dealer with the original parts. Since then – more than 50K miles - I haven't had any brake problems and the pads still show plenty of use left.
All scheduled maintenance was done at the dealer following the 'regular' schedule. This for the most part was regular oil changes (I use Mobil 1 only) and tire rotations, and every 30K miles they'd change the transmission fluid, the coolant, the air filter, the cabin air micro filter and possibly a few other things - this is from memory and I may be missing an item or two. Actually, they changed the brake fluid at some point.
So I am very happy with the car and it still drives like when it was new.
Now here's the question: At the 105K mile service the manual calls for spark plug replacement. I've been hearing people complaining about coil failures, and since these two are related would it make sense to replace those too? Kind of like the advice to replace the water pump when replacing the timing belt (for cars that use timing belts). The reasoning being that the two items are related and the labor is about the same whether you do one or both items. Or I can leave the coils alone, but then again I'd probably have to replace them at some point anyway. Or do you think they may last another 100K miles and 5 years? Or shall I not replace the coils and not even replace the spark plugs as the car is still running very smooth?
Any advice will be appreciated!
I took the car to the dealer and they confirmed the problem. I received little willingness to have them replaced under warranty by the dealership. After a day of calling everyone I could get a Nissan the dealer agreed to replace the rear caliper and pads. They offered not explanation as to how this happened and did not list the repair as a warranty issue. They noted "customer satisfaction" as the reason for the repair. Now here I am at 46k miles and just replaced the rear pads again. There is obviously a problem but no one seems to know the answer......
After wasting a few hundreds $ on my local mechanic, I decided to try my local dealer instead. The decision is a right move and the problem was fixed with a ECU re-program. The entire repair is free and covered under a 7-year warranty. My car even got a free car wash :>
So if you have a SES check engine light problem, try the dealer first since it may be covered with warranty.
Your situation sounds exactly like the issue I was having and I am sorry to say it didn't have a happy monetary ending. I too have a 02 Maxima with 78,000 miles on it. About three weeks ago the Service Engine Soon Light came on; however, the car was running fine. The light went off once during this time frame and then came back on (car continued to run fine). Finally I took it into the dealership yesterday and they diagnosed it as the 02 sensor (for emissions). The car has 4 of them and I had to have 2 of them replaced. Total bill was $625 (ouch!). So I am willing to bet that your situation involves the 02 sensor. The dealer didn't seem to think that I would harm the vehicle if I waited to replace the sensor; however, since I will need to smog the vehicle soon, I went ahead and got them replaced. This is the only repair I have had done to the vehicle other than normal routine maintenance. It has been very reliable. Good luck with your vehicle.
I've got a 2001 SE, and I double-cranked the car (turned the key while the car was still starting) and I heard a bit of a pop.
After saying a couple of prayers, I started again, and it ran beautifully.
However, the brake and battery light were on for about 5 mins, and turned off themselves.
So pretty regularly when I start the car, I have the same problem. All of my electrical components work slowly (wipers, windows, etc). However, a few mins into driving, the brake and battery light turn off and everything works perfectly.
I took it to the dealer to get checked out, and it passed all of their "electrical tests"
What do I do? Wait until the alternator dies completely? that *is* what those two lights represent, correct?
Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks guys and gals
Please help.
Thanks
SV
-New drivebelts
-Change Coolant
-Change Cabin Air filter
-Check Brake pads and rotors
-Change brake fluid
For winter tires, we use Bridgestone Blizzaks.
HTH.
Dave
My 2000 just had the same problem. It was the 02 sensor that was bad, It's not getting the correct mix of gas and air, that's what is causing the knocking. I brought mine to the dealer only because they need to re-set the computer and have the correct systems to do that. It cost about $ 450.00. and the noise went away. Good Luck!With the mileage that you have on the vehicle I would have them clean the" Neutral Start Switch " . This switch is connected to the gear selector and only allows starting the car in neutral or park. This only pertains to an auto.trans equipped vehicle. However, if the switch is shot , it will need to be replaced.
My $0.02. Good luck !!!!
Highroller
perhaps adding the following check might be good:
1. Timing belt (if you have a chain no need to check)
2. Air filter (engine)
3. tire inspection / rotation
4. break oil
5. anti-freeze
regards
ash
perhaps a check of the dynamo would be good.
the dynamo may not the charging the battery with enough ohms, hence the battery will over loose charge over time and will required more key clicks to start the engine.
Take a volt meter stick the ends on the connection of the dynamo and measure the charge it produces, if not upto recommended output, then that might be one of the issues.
regards
ash
I'm not exactly sure what causes the O2 sensors to fail but I know it can't be from your fuel. I know that premium fuel is recommended and now on my 4th maxima of every generation (except of recent) I've always put premium fuel in my cars, no exceptions and O2 sensors have gone in my vehicle too. All this to say I think it's more of a defect that anything. As my mechanic tells me, (a senior mechanic for nissan) it's very common. One possible solution that I've seen done in the past was having the sensor removed and dipped in brake cleaner fluid. I've been told that its more of a corrosion issue and in some cases can be solved through this technique.
These fourms would be alot more helpfull if people like you would refrain from posts with poor information.
As far as your question about the grade of gas being a factor, I only have to say that I've always used premium/ultimate in my car, not only because the book recommends it, but because I believe the octane level should be higher to burn cleaner. I had a Toyota Corolla and I used a cheaper grade of gasoline just once and my car was shaking so bad and didn't have any pick-up, I thought the engine was blown. Prior to that, I never had a problem with the Corolla.
Recently, I've replaced 3 sensors, one front and two rear along with the air filter. I thought this might make a difference, but it didn't. My service writer thinks it may be electrical, but he can't pinpoint anything unless they get a code or my car acts up while they have it in the shop. This is frustrating because the problem is intermittent.
My question is this: can something else be the problem without showing up on the computer? My friends are telling me that they think it's the ignition switch. Since I have a Nissan service contract, I can't have a backyard mechanic work on my car as it might void my warranty. Car experts, any suggestions?