i have a 1998maxima that performs very well. but in the last month, it had starting trouble around 3 times. Each time, it probably is like the first time in the morning and the engine starts but dies in a few seconds. all the lights on the dashboard (incl. service engine soon) light up.

Any ideas/suggestions why this is happening?

Around 2 months back i switched from Premium gas to regular (87) gas because you know why.

thanks

ray

 

Ermm, first off you should NOT be using 87... if nissan went to the trouble of printing in the owners manual that you should use 91+, why doubt them? There is good reason for this: mainly your motor is a relatively high compression motor. Higher octane gas is good at helping prevent detonation... detonation is NOT a good thing. The few dollars you save at the pump won't add up to much when you have to replace you motor. And yes, detonation can blow up your motor...

As for not starting.. do it actually turn over? or does it not turn over but almost? maximas, atleast 4th gens seem to have starting issues... nothing major but it does have that. The sounds like a fuel starvation issue. If I were you, I would turn the key to on, leave it there for 10 seconds so the fuel pump can prime up, then start the car. Seems like the 4th gen fuel pump arn't up to the tasks of pumping gas efficiently...

 

Do you put sand in your motor? I didn't think so, then why put 87 in your fuel tank? At the bare minimum run 89 if you must save $$ in this gas nightmare. I use 93 or 94 and find significantly better MPG with higher octane fuel. But I hear you, I paid $1.89 on the way home from work last week. I'm getting about 350 miles to a tank.

 

problem too. It doesn't happen too often though. It happens once in awhile. In fact, this past weekend, I had taht problem...and I am not sure if it is the chnage in weather--it is getting very cold here in NY...so, it is once again, nissan quality
I hope that the maxima's starter and fuel pump isn't the same as the nissan quest b/c most of the quest's parts are shared with the mercury villager. boy, this would mean the maxima has shared parts with the villiager? (I am hoping not!!)

 

keep the octane in th 90's if you want to get say an extra 20,000 miles easy out of that engine. There are numerous examples of bad starters on the 4gen max. Just one of those things..

 

Some maximas have had starter problems. Sometimes that happens to me too. Mainly the engine not turning over, but it has never stalled.

Anyways, regarding 87 gas, it shouldn't kill the engine. The owners manual says that 87 may be used if 91 isn't available. The engine has knock sensors which let the engine adjust to lower octane fuel without hurting the engine. So I dunno if I agree with the people who wrote above that you MUST use 92 octane in your car. I've used both, and get identical gas mileage. I use super now for 'peace of mind' but I don't really notice any difference with regular. BTW, I understand why you switched to the cheap stuff. Here in Norcal, super is $2.30/gallon!

 

$2.30 !! Holy crap..

 

which works out to about $2.40/gallon u.s.

 

My 95 GLE was just recently doing the same thing (starting briefly then dying). Don't know about yours, but mine was difficult to start after each episode, too (usually had to wait briefly and try again). The dealer (it was still under warranty) said the starter wasn't turning the engine fast enough and replaced it. No problems since. FYI on the gas, I switched to 89 octane for 1 (ONE!) tank when the car was brand new and mileage dropped 10%. Nothing but 93 since. Anytime I've lapsed in the past few years and put something cheaper in, it doesn't seem to like it.

 

I doubt it's the starter. Have the fuel pressure tested and make sure it's not below factory specs.

other possibilities would be the crank angle sensor or coil packs. a long shot would be a vacuum leak at the intake manifold gasket.