Maxima "mystery"

pjd822 · Feb 3rd, 2007, 09:25 AM

Hi, My 2001 Maxima has been at the dealership for two weeks and they can't diagnose the problem. Prior to bringing the car to the dealership, I had a problem with the car on 4 different occasions over the course of about a month. The car would start but wouldn't continue running under load. As soon as any pressure was exerted on the accelerator pedal, the engine would die. After letting the car sit for a while, it would run fine for a couple of days at a minimum and a couple of weeks at a maximum. My local repair shop couldn't diagnose the problem so the last time the car failed to run, I bit the bullet and had it towed to a Nissan dealer. As fate would have it, it has been running fine since it has been in the dealer's possession. However, the "service engine soon" light is on and the ECM is throwing codes for the mass air flow sensor, absolute pressure sensor, and throttle position sensor. Has anyone out there experienced a similar nightmare? Right now the only solution the dealership seems to have is to leave the car there until it won't run again. Not much of an option. Thanks, Paul

acidjake75 · Feb 3rd, 2007, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjd822

Hi, My 2001 Maxima has been at the dealership for two weeks and they can't diagnose the problem. Prior to bringing the car to the dealership, I had a problem with the car on 4 different occasions over the course of about a month. The car would start but wouldn't continue running under load. As soon as any pressure was exerted on the accelerator pedal, the engine would die. After letting the car sit for a while, it would run fine for a couple of days at a minimum and a couple of weeks at a maximum. My local repair shop couldn't diagnose the problem so the last time the car failed to run, I bit the bullet and had it towed to a Nissan dealer. As fate would have it, it has been running fine since it has been in the dealer's possession. However, the "service engine soon" light is on and the ECM is throwing codes for the mass air flow sensor, maximum absolute pressure sensor, and throttle position sensor. Has anyone out there experienced a similar nightmare? Right now the only solution the dealership seems to have is to leave the car there until it won't run again. Not much of an option. Thanks, Paul

I would swap out the MAF first and do it yourself..since you have the 01, shouldnt be no more than 80-100 bucks depending where you get it (part #22680-2Y001). Has the stealership quoted you a price..? if not ask how much it would cost to do the MAF swap...it certainly would make you feel alot better and certainly would be ALOT cheaper. check other sites as well ( like maxima.org) there is a gangload of info in there and certainly plenty of writeups.. just search for the codes and that way you can get a better understanding of what to look for regarding those "other" issues..I hope this helps..

pjd822 · Feb 3rd, 2007, 12:11 PM

Thanks for the reply. I had replaced the MAF before taking the car to the dealership. It ran fine for two weeks. After that, the problem reappeared and there was a MAF code. I exchanged the MAF for another new one assuming that the replacement was bad. Result?The car ran fine for one day. The dealer has bench tested the MAF and assures me that it isn't the problem despite the recurring MAF code. Paul