Hey guys. Got a problem with starting the maxima. This has been happening for a few weeks now. I took the car to autozone to have the battery and alternator tested, and they both tested fine. There was a lot of powdery residue on the terminal, which I brushed off, and the car was starting better ie I didn’t need to pump the accelerator while turning the key. Well, last week during the snowstorm, the maxima started having problems again. It would start with great difficulty, and at one point, I had to push the accelerator while cranking the engine. Once it starts it runs fine. No stalling or anything. Yesterday it started without any difficulty, so I don’t know if this is cold weather related, but it seems that if I start the car, shut it off right after a few seconds and try to start again, I get problems. Any clue on what’s happening??

 

You might need to clean the idle air control valve.....

Did you take the terminals off and clean the posts or just brush off the posts with the terminal still attached????

 

Could be the IAC valve, or maybe a cam or crank sensor going intermittently...not too sure.....but please know this..............

MAXIMAS ARE NOT CARBURETED!!!!!YOU DO NOT NEED TO AND SHOULD NOT DEPRESS THE ACCELERATOR WHILE TRYING TO START IT. Sorry, I wasnt trying to saound like an A-hole with that, I was just trying to get my point across.

Actually, pressing the gas pedal when you try to start sends the computer into flood safe mode.....therefore it definitely wont start.

 

if you flooded the motor (even on an FI car) you DO hold down the gas to clear it

 

I took the terminals off and cleaned the posts wih a wire brush. It got much better after that although not as good as it used to be.

I really didnt want to depress the accelerator, but it just kept cranking and looked like it needed that extra push. It did start after that, although I really would like to get this fixed.

 

how are your cap and rotor?

 

Havent checked them yet. I havent had a tune up done in all the time that I had the car (4+ years). With the snow gone, the car is beginning to start better.

ps Kinda stupid question, but how do I check the cap and rotor?

 

Look at were your wires are. The black thing that holds them is the cap. Unscrew it(rwo screws I think) and look at the six points and clean off the corosion and look for cracks in the plastic. The rotor should be free of corosion as well. Don't lose track of which wires go where or you will have quite a problem getting it to start in any weather.

 

when you unscrew the cap, leave the wires attached!
that way you can't screw up the firing order.

if your cap and rotor haven't been changed in 4+ years I'd replace them.
I made the mistake on 1 car of not replacing them in a timely manner and it cost me $500 for just the rotor (cap was still good)

 

My car died on the way to work in the parking lot. When i tried to crank it again it wouldnt turn over. I have new cap, rotor, plugs, wires, alternator, and battery. Last time i had this problem it was a loose wire by the cap that caused the problem, but its not the wire. anything else could cause it to die like that?

 

alarm? neutral safety switch? bad starter?
Does the engine crank?