My '99 Max's engine stutters when idling in forward and reverse, but is smooth when accelerating, basically it stutters and the RPM's go down a bit. This happens frequently at red lights and gets worse the longer I drive it. I recently changed the spark plugs (OEM NGK Laser platinum’s), and everything else seems ok. I fill it up with 93 octane all the time. Anyway, any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks for reading.

 

My 95 does the same thing on occasion, especially when it is warmer outside. I have been told it is a coil beginning to fail, so I am just waiting for it to get worse to allow me to to pinpoint the specific coil. Or down the road, I just may replace them all. From what I have read in various threads, 99's are known for coil problems.

 

Definitely coils.

 

i say coils, check the coils

 

99 + stutter = coils.

Replace them or be ready for the first failure.

 

i heard you can just clean them and they should be fine.

 

how do you clean them?

 

how do you check which pne it is?

 

Does the car idle fine in neutral?

 

yes, it idles perfectly normal in neutral.

 

man, maybe mine is the coils too. i just replaced the TPS and cleaned IACV/TB. and i thought the problem was gone, well it reappeared. although i had a problem with choking through the midrange as well which is gone now.
i was just about to buy a MAF. cause i checked the coils with a voltmeter and although it was a pretty generic stupid test i didnt see any ONE coil with a problem.

 

how many miles do your cars have? what the rough range(in mileage) for coil failure? my car has about 80k at the moment.

 

I think 99's are notorious for coilpack failure. I've got 127k on mine though

 

My 95 just started doing the same thing , but last time this happen it was an injector. And yes it is fine in neutral???

 

I Know what you mean, I get a slight vibration when idling, but it REALLY vibrates in Reverse, but it's fine in Neutral.

 

Hehe man my 1999 just started doing the same thing idleing ruff while in neutral (5 speed) but ran ok while under throttle this was going on for 2 days, then check engine light came on and i got code 0505 , which is stated as = No Failure Recorded/Detected, i reset engine light it quickly defaulted same code anyone have any exsperence with this? thnx for any enlightenment

 

umm no. if a coil is bad it needs to be replaced. if its just dirty (i dont know how it would get dirty) then i suppose you could clean it? but i dont think it would be "dirty"

i have 130K on my 99 and replaced coils at around 115-120K but (dont quote me on this) i dont think there is a specific time when a coil would fail. to my knowledge coils usually last the life of the vehicle...just with the 99's for some reason they are common failures. anyone wanna verify that and assure that its 100% true?

i also know that on 99's, fuel injectors are not common failure. so that also makes me think coil.

EDIT:
im sure that ITS COILS. because after reading all the posts, what you are describing is EXACTLY what i experienced before i replaced them. the car was fine in nuetral, at the stop light it would shutter worse, rpms would raise and drop, and the longer you drive the worse it seems. screams coils.

if you have a code telling you which cylinder is misfiring, try switching that coil with another, then clearing the code, and seeing if when the code comes back if its a diff cylinder thats misfiring. that will prove it.

 

i have 87k on mine and im doing fine...so is my car..

 

Ok, my 99 is stuttering in neutral as well when I'm stopped (5 speed). I JUST replaced the plugs (NGK G-Power), and the coils last year. I've cleaned the IAC, throttle body, and put in a new fuel filter (300Z ), plus I ran SEAFOAM through the tank and brake vaccum hose last winter. It's also not throwing any codes.

WTF is with the bad idling with all our 99's? I'm getting annoyed that for the last year, Nissan put frack sheit parts in our car - coils, knock sensor, axle seals, and this list goes on and on.

If it's coils AGAIN, I'm done with my Max. I've spent too much money keeping up crap parts on a car that should be better considering the premium we pay for our babies. In the many years I had my 95, I spent SQUAT on repairs. i've spent more on this 99 in the past year than I did on my 95 in the 8 years I had it.

@*@*&&@!