My wife owns a 1995 Maxima GXE (automatic transmission), which we purchased new eight years ago. It has about 84,000 miles on it; most of which were trouble-free. The biggest 'investments' with the car have been replacing the tires twice and the starter motor once. We also had the platinum plugs and fanbelts replaced at about 60,000 miles - which was not cheap. I replaced the in-line fuel filter just after 50,000 miles, too.

From time to time during the past six months, the "Check Engine" light came on and stayed on for a few days; but eventually reset itself. It last did this about two weeks ago, but now this light only stays on for a second or two after startup and then shuts off. Also, the car requires a little blip on the gas pedal to start it when it is cold. After it is warmed up, it runs flawlessly. There does not seem to be any substandard performace (car still hauls ***) and the fuel mileage is consistently decent. It does not burn any oil whatsoever and there is not any "rotten egg" smell from the exhaust. My gut feeling is that we may have a bad Oxygen (O2) sensor.

The dealership says there are three of them on this engine (two in the front, and one at the rear). Is this true? If so, how much do they cost to replace? Is it difficult to do? I can change my own oil and do some simple mechanical things, but not much more than that. The local Auto Zone store says they stock them and the list price is around $80.00 (Yikes!), but that they offer "free" use of an electronic diagnostic tool that can determine engine fault codes. The stealership wants $70.00 to "hook it up" to their giant diagnostic wizard, but it seems as thought that will cause a giant sucking sound that will be coming from my wallet.

I am seeking advice on this matter from the fine folks here at the Maxima.org Brain Trust. All replies are appreciated.

Muchas Gracias!!


1995 Maxima GXE (auto trans)
Pebble Beige Metallic
84,000 miles/wife is original owner

 

When the light comes on again, Go here.

Your cold start issue may be directly related to the light.

Your o2 sensors have nothing to do with your starting issue.

1) Clean your throttle body - www.motorvate.ca
2) Check the cold fast idle circuit.
3) Check the Engine Coolant Temp Sensor.

A haynes shop manual is your friend.

 

You can try www.buyoxygensensors.com they got really low prices and they even sell a universal oxygen sensor for every car, you just need to use your original connector, the one that came with your OEM O2 Sensor, not big deal, just cut cables on old 02 sensor and transfer the connector to the brand new, that's it !