96 lack of power. please help
11-11-2006, 12:40 AM
#1
Supporting Maxima.org Member
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Maspeth, NY
Posts: 10
96 lack of power. please help
Ive looked at the stickies and searched but couldnt really find any specific answers so any help would be great. I have a stock 96 auto with 148,000 miles and the car has been really lacking a lot of power and the gas mileage has become worse and worse. i used to get over 300 miles per tank and now average less than 250. The car is fine under normal acceleration, but any more then that, and the car is really lacking in power. The car just doesnt move the way it did maybe even 5000 miles ago. Ive done all the routine stuff to the car like changing all the filters, ngk spark plugs, pcv valve, engine mounts, oil and tranny fluid, changing air intake manifold gaskets, and have even cleaned the trottle body and put in auto rx to no avail. I also scanned for codes but nothing came up. The car barely wants to go to 4k rpms when it used to go to 5 or 6 no problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated because the car just isnt fun to drive anymore and i would probably get burned by cars that would normally get destroyed by a max. Thanks
11-11-2006, 02:26 AM
#3
when all else fails.................change the knock sensor. usually the culprit. i am trying to get a group buy going but i cant start a threat in the buy/sell forums. hopefully someone will have one soon or i will have to order a few from pinnacle.
11-11-2006, 04:49 AM
#4
Member who somehow became The President of The SE-L Club
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Join Date: Jun 2001
Posts: 16,033
Knock sensor or O2's will cause poor performance.
They might be working (no error codes) but the information they are sending back to the ECU reallys isn't correct. Bad O2 readings will definately cause poor MPG.
They might be working (no error codes) but the information they are sending back to the ECU reallys isn't correct. Bad O2 readings will definately cause poor MPG.
11-11-2006, 06:30 AM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 535
Originally Posted by njmaxseltd
Knock sensor or O2's will cause poor performance.
They might be working (no error codes) but the information they are sending back to the ECU reallys isn't correct. Bad O2 readings will definately cause poor MPG.
They might be working (no error codes) but the information they are sending back to the ECU reallys isn't correct. Bad O2 readings will definately cause poor MPG.
knock sensor
11-11-2006, 10:21 AM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 108
Originally Posted by 2da mizzax
when all else fails.................change the knock sensor. usually the culprit. i am trying to get a group buy going but i cant start a threat in the buy/sell forums. hopefully someone will have one soon or i will have to order a few from pinnacle.
11-11-2006, 12:09 PM
#7
Originally Posted by 2da mizzax
when all else fails.................change the knock sensor. usually the culprit. i am trying to get a group buy going but i cant start a threat in the buy/sell forums. hopefully someone will have one soon or i will have to order a few from pinnacle.
11-11-2006, 03:26 PM
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: New Haven, CT
Posts: 481
Originally Posted by Nyczhutpao
Ive looked at the stickies and searched but couldnt really find any specific answers so any help would be great. I have a stock 96 auto with 148,000 miles and the car has been really lacking a lot of power and the gas mileage has become worse and worse. i used to get over 300 miles per tank and now average less than 250. The car is fine under normal acceleration, but any more then that, and the car is really lacking in power. The car just doesnt move the way it did maybe even 5000 miles ago. Ive done all the routine stuff to the car like changing all the filters, ngk spark plugs, pcv valve, engine mounts, oil and tranny fluid, changing air intake manifold gaskets, and have even cleaned the trottle body and put in auto rx to no avail. I also scanned for codes but nothing came up. The car barely wants to go to 4k rpms when it used to go to 5 or 6 no problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated because the car just isnt fun to drive anymore and i would probably get burned by cars that would normally get destroyed by a max. Thanks
Regarding you gas mileage: 250miles per tank -> how many % city and % highway ? What gas you buy ? Where you usually drive ? Manhatten ?
I have a similar gas mileage problem. I have a 97 GLE with 190k miles. I get 200 miles per tank (12.5 mpg) driving in Brooklyn, short trips - stop and go, a lot of traffic lights.
I bought my Maxima 6 months ago, and just like you I replaced a lot of things including Knock sensor and all Oxygen sensors and Coolant temp sensor.
After all replacemnts and maintenance I had almost no improvement in gas mileage. I don't drive fast and my auto tranny usually shifts at 2500-3000 rpm.
Originally Posted by Nyczhutpao
The car barely wants to go to 4k rpms when it used to go to 5 or 6 no problem
May be the horrible gas mileage is due to prolonged idling in traffic, stop and go driving where you have to accelerate fast and stop every 2 minutes.
11-13-2006, 07:27 AM
#10
Newbie - Just Registered
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 9
Ignition boots. Do you notice a miss under accelleration? Unfortunately I can't find the boots alone. You are required to buy the entire coil pack. I have done the knock sensor and it had some effect, but nowhere near the ignition boot problem. The temp sensor is another possible culprit and may not throw codes. My car was running terrible with a bad temp sensor.
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