5th Generation Maxima (2000-2003) Learn more about the 5th Generation Maxima, including the VQ30DE-K and VQ35DE engines.

Car shuts off while driving? tps??

Old 03-30-2009, 10:35 AM
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Car shuts off while driving? tps??

2001 maxima 5 speed, shuts off randomly while driving? whether it be highway 70+ or simply getting off a light. Not maf related im sure. Tried cleaning the Tb but still same thing. It's getting worse each time i drive it. Could this be the Throttle position sensor?

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Old 03-30-2009, 11:18 AM
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When it shuts off does it turn back on right away? if so it could be your battery. If it shuts off and you have to actually turn the key then im not sure what it could be
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Old 03-30-2009, 11:30 AM
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No, it shuts off and i manually haveto let off the cutch again or start it back up.
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Old 03-30-2009, 02:31 PM
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Bump, anyone??
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Old 03-30-2009, 04:11 PM
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do you have a CEL? To me it seems Power or sensor related. I would think something is loose and that would explain why it's getting worse. As time goes by whatever is getting looser. Check all your grounds on the car and clean off the studs on the battery. If it still seems to be an issue I would start checking sensors and making sure they are tight. I just recently had an issue with a loose Crank position sensor my car would loose all hp randomly and misfire like crazy. I tightend the sensor and now it runs like a champ.
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Old 03-30-2009, 05:08 PM
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It's fully random. I had a 91 prelude that did the exact same thing, randomly shut off and it was the tps. I'm assuming it's the same thing here but im not too sure, just wanted to grab some input. Anyone?
Btw i've checked all the sensors. Nothing i can notice. everything is good and grounds are also. Not maf related cause its reving fine and drives fine. Just randomly shuts off which could (god forbid) cause the car to wanna sleep when i need it to giddy up and go...
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Old 03-30-2009, 05:33 PM
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It sounds like it could be the knock sensor, but I could be wrong.
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Old 03-30-2009, 05:57 PM
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Tighten your battery cables..
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Old 03-30-2009, 07:29 PM
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check for any loose sensors and.try cleaning your tb again.. if not then try changing your tps.. hopefully that should do it by your description..
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Old 03-30-2009, 07:32 PM
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how is throttle response when the car is running?
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Old 03-30-2009, 07:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Revs2Hard
It sounds like it could be the knock sensor, but I could be wrong.
Car doesn't knock or misfire though.
Drives perfectly fine.
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Old 03-30-2009, 07:34 PM
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Originally Posted by anomaly117
how is throttle response when the car is running?
It's perfect. Nothing out of the ordinary. It pulls exactly like it did wot before the sudden stops.
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Old 03-30-2009, 07:34 PM
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Originally Posted by klemenz
Tighten your battery cables..
Ill give that a try. I think i skipped over that. But wouldnt the car start back up if its a faulty or loose cable? plus no trouble startin up..

Last edited by e-subliminal-2; 03-30-2009 at 07:38 PM.
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Old 03-30-2009, 07:58 PM
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maybe you just cant drive.. jk but i have a problem similiar to yours right now.. not sure what it is exactly?
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Old 03-30-2009, 09:16 PM
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might be a sensor like someone posted above.. maybe camshaft position sensor? thats what was wrong with mine but i felt a huge loss of power..
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Old 03-30-2009, 09:27 PM
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Originally Posted by tookrzy4u192
might be a sensor like someone posted above.. maybe camshaft position sensor? thats what was wrong with mine but i felt a huge loss of power..
My thoughts as well. Camshaft and the crankshaft position sensors is what I would suspect. Big problem on the 5.5 gens, included a recall. Not sure if it is a common problem on 5th gens though.
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Old 03-30-2009, 09:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Scottwax
My thoughts as well. Camshaft and the crankshaft position sensors is what I would suspect. Big problem on the 5.5 gens, included a recall. Not sure if it is a common problem on 5th gens though.
You beat me to it. My buddy had the same thing happen to his 2002. Turned out to be the sensors and it WAS covered under the recall. You can check, but I'm pretty sure it was only the 5.5's.
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Old 03-31-2009, 04:54 AM
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Wouldnt u notice a huge change in power loss though?
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Old 03-31-2009, 07:00 AM
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Originally Posted by e-subliminal-2
Wouldnt u notice a huge change in power loss though?
Not if it is an intermittent signal loss problem. Everything is fine and then you just stall out, that is why there was a recall on the 5.5 gens, cars would just stall out at freeway speeds.
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Old 03-31-2009, 10:20 AM
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I would think if it were a sensor, that a CEL light would come on?

U sure its not your alternator??
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Old 04-01-2009, 03:10 PM
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HELP !!!

yes... i'm a newbie here...but have read through ALOT of various threads to help diagnise my probs. that said...things have changed in the last 12 hours, lol>>> any and all help is welcome !!!

will layout the events in description as they have unfolded over last couple of days ...

2001 maxima se 144k miles... other than normal wear and tear replacements/maintenance over the years, nothing major to speak in regards to break-downs ...

2 days ago ... car operating fine, mid-aftrnoon-warm weather car died/stalled when idling at a stoplight, had to double pedal the brake and gas to keep running. 30 min. later problem gone.

1 day ago ... same thing again, but this time in the morning, cool weather ... BUT, this time it actually did while driving UP a highway on ramp at approx. 15 mph(i had to let off gas to merge into traffic) ... car died when i let off. problem went away... re-emerged later in same day, idling at light. went away again.

today ... car wouldnt start this morning, acted like battery dead, yet, lights/radio, and all auxilliary functions worked. would slowly turn over, after 3-4 attempts, dead...nothing. 7 minutes later it started and warmed right up, no probs. after a 20 mile drive, started stalling again at low idle, had to double pedal it home again.

here is where it gets really weird ... as soon as i got home and turned vehicle off, i decided to take it to autozone and get their free diag test. again ... car wouldnt start, every indication its battery oriented. 3 hours later it fired right up (still had to double pedal to keep it running, though)
drove to autozone... showed the IACV was out (as i expected somewhat after reading this thread)... had him check out battery, its fine, but a little loose on the positive side terminal. tightened it up, car started fine. went and got some gas, car started fine.... came home, turned it off, tried to restart..and NOTHING. cleaned the posts and terminals, even tried jump starting ... still NOTHING.

guy at garage said it sounds like the terminals on the positive side could be corroded down into the "multi-terminal" portion (3 cables into one, with a fuse).... also said i shoud take off the IACV and spray down with B12 chemtool since its already showing up as "bad", said it couldnt hurt, and in his experience has fixed the prob sometime.

the IACV stuff makes sense to me... but whats the deal with the "electrical" starting issues...and why did it start happening directly/indirectly with the idle issue??

sorry this was so long...just wanted to make sure you had all info.

btw...i have relative that has worked at GM for 30 years, said absolutely no reason for me to be using higher octane gas...he has used the lower with no probs. so...my gullable money saving a** decided to start running the regular lowest grade gas (after using premium since i bought this car new in 2001) about 3 weeks ago... could this be a prob too??? mechanic said if no pinging then no prob...but also said "there is a reason the manufacturer tells you to run premium in this car!!"
i switched back to premium today...albiet the car wont start....

PLEASE HELP !!!!!!

thanks !!!!
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Old 04-01-2009, 07:57 PM
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Mind not stealing this thread? post 15-20 (w;/e it is) and start your own.
thanks.
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Old 04-01-2009, 07:57 PM
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Cel is on, and im almost sure its not the alternator. It holds charge fine.
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Old 04-01-2009, 08:35 PM
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Originally Posted by e-subliminal-2
Cel is on, and im almost sure its not the alternator. It holds charge fine.
Alternator problem shows up as both brake light and battery light lit up.
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Old 04-02-2009, 02:15 PM
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I had a very similar problem before with my old fourth gen. You should check you MAF sensor.
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Old 04-02-2009, 07:05 PM
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Originally Posted by e-subliminal-2
Cel is on, and im almost sure its not the alternator. It holds charge fine.
have you seen which code its running?
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