Ok, so I've got a few problems, some which may or may not be realted to the other(s), that I'm hoping people might be able to help me on before I take it anywhere. So here they are:

1. When driving I hear what is best described as creaking from the the front right side when I hit bumps, even small ones sometimes. Any ideas?

2. When I have to brake hard I hear and feel a consistent pattern of defintely noticable knocking coming from the front, maybe even front right as well, but once i slow down and apply normal braking pressure everything is normal as in no knocking sound. Any ideas?

3. Car has trouble starting in that it will always turn over, but sometimes it has to crank for a couple of seconds before it does. Then if the engine is warm the idle is low and shaky that I can feel in the car. After driving around for a bit it seems to go away. The idle and shaking problem doesn't happen when the engine is cold.

4. Lastly, my CEL is on with the knock sensor code. I'm going to reset it and try using different gas to see if it comes back, but if it does then I will just replace the sensor. I know that there have been quite a few people with the knock sensor problem. Has replacing the sensor fixed people's issue(s), or have other things needed to be fixed as well when replacing the knock sensor?

Thanks for anyone and everyone's input on this post.

 

1. creaking could be wheel bearing, maybe axle, long shot ball joint.
2. knocking ... might be tighed to #1. Or Pad and/or Rotors could be the issue.
3. Starter greese is dry, replacing or regressing should solve the problem..
4. In the How to's there is a very detailed write up on how to check the KS, I'd suggest doing that, instead of puttin more gas that will burn far too fast, and saves time.

What grade of gas are you using?

 

for the problem when with the idle being rough when warmed up, adjust your IACV up a bit, howto in the stickies

The knocking while braking could mean worn pads or rotors, check for even, and normal wear.

And it says you drive a 2000 Maxima, which is a 5th gen, might check their forum ....

 

I do have a 2K max, but these probs. are related to my '95 SE. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

The KS won't set the CEL - you have at least one or more other codes. Check the codes again using the instructions in the stickies.

 

I read a lot that teh KS wont set off a CEL, but I've seen it happen on my brother Maxima. His cell was on and sure enough when I pulled the code 0304. Maybe he is the rare cause but it can somtimes light the CEL , but it can also not light it and stay stored in the ecu.

 

When I pulled the codes last time the only one on there was 0304, but thanks b/c it makes me want to check again, just in case.

 

Bump! Thanks for everyone's help so far!

 

I have a similar problem. At first the car shakes at stops and was worse with the ac on. the code eas cylinder 1 misfire so i took it to the dealers to find the cause. they said it was the #1 fuel injector. since the injectors were hard to reach i replaced all the rear injectors, but not the front. the car ran like a brand new car for about20 minutes and then the same shake returned. the next morning the car was hard to start and seemed to be flooding. when i got it started there was grey smoke that smelled like fuel from exust, put put put sound was coming from the mufler, and this has been the problem since. it has those conditions and the shake worsens when the ac is on. when driving you can smell lots of gas smell coming from the exaust. performance seems to worsen after the car reaches normal temp. the code from the ecm says multiple misfire. when it was only cylinder 1 misfire i drove the car but the shake was annoying, now i can't drive the car and it even misfires when the rpm's are low and i'm driving it. does anyone have a clue what's going on, i will appreciate any response, before i take it back to the stealers