I've been having trouble with my max for a few months now. When the Ac is off, the car will idle very low, shake and sometimes stall out.
I cleaned out the throttle body, but it didn't help.

I took it to Firestone today and they hooked it up to their machine and said that its a random misfire and that one of the coil packs might be bad. Does that sound right?
He said that its very hard to identify which one, but that the mechanic was going to try. He said that sometimes you have to change all of them just to make sure that you get the right one. (that really sounded like BS).
He's supposed to call me back soon to let me know if they've identified the problem. Any ideas?

 

its a 99... it had recalls on them....

 

yeah, its a 99.
Recalls for coil packs?

 

yea that sounds right, i had to replace mine last year. is there any code? if you wanted, go to sears and buy a spark tester for $10 and test all the coils. just place it over the coilpack and if the spark tester doesnt flash it means there is no spark in that cylinder aka that coil (or plug) is bad.

EDIT: all 99's came with bad coilpacks. we got the shaft.

 

Just buy 6 coilpacks from a 95-98 and be done with it.

 

why? why spend money you dont need to?

 

Unplug each one. One by one with the car running. If the idle drops then that coilpack is good. If the idle stays the same then that coil you unplugged is bad.

Also there is no recall on 99 coilpacks to let you know.

 

good advice, but doesnt always work. when my coils went i did this and there was little to no change in all of them. spark tester is most effective way to test.

and yea no recall, i think what he ment by recall was that they were all bad.

 

It could also be a bad injector....

 

Just came back from there. He wants to do the following:

-Change all of the spark plugs (I have 112k miles)
-Clean the throttle body ( I did that a couple of months ago)
-Air filter & Fuel Filter (Again, I said no because I have an intake I cleaned less then a month ago and the fuel filter was changed by nissan less then a year ago.
-Replace the Idle Valve
-Do a fuel injection cleaning
-Replace the Coolant temperature sensor.
He says that if these don't fix the problem, then I should replace three coils, because they gave a diff reading when they were tested.
Grand total for everything, $1500.
I don't know if I want to invest all of this in a car that is probably only worth about $4500.

 

Hahahahahhaha your getting raped to hell.

Try more like $300-400 at a mechanic

 

yea no dont do that. if the injection cleaning is the one that costs $130 & uses that winn injector cleaner than it may make ure car run better but it wouldnt fix a misfire.

99's are notorious for coil pack failures! i suggest if you want to save money and not get raped get the spark tester and test yourself! and if a coilpack is bad go buy a new one and replace it! i replaced all mine in 45 mins! and that was last year before i had any real experience working on cars! its easy easy easy! also, if the plugs havnt been changed within 40-50,000 change em!

 

do NOT go back to that mechanic. $1500? good grief. replace the IACV? huh?

the ECU should tell you which one is bad. sometimes it starts with P1320 (random) and then after a while tells you the exact coil. go to autozone and have the codes read -- don't just take some guy's word for it.

oh - and be careful unplugging coils while the car is running -- that sprays raw fuel into the exhaust and can destroy your O2 sensors and your cat if you do too much of it -- more costly than just replacing all the coils.

 

$1,500!!!???? For that!!??? Wow, just wow..... holy crap is that place trying to bend you over. Pathetic. They want to replace all that stuff but IF that doesn't fix it then 3 new coils and labor on TOP of that?? What kind of sh!tty mechanic is that???

Here, buy a whole set of new coils

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Nissa...QQcmdZViewItem

Then methodically replace each one to see which one it is. Replace one, see if that fixes the problem, if not put the old one back in and repeat all around. Sure, it will take some time but save you $1,200 bucks. That, or just have it diagnosed and find out the exact ones needing replaced.

Plus, the ones you don't use can be resold here or back on ebay to get some of your money back.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

 

if youre lucky. i knowfor a fact all my coils werent bad when i replaced them and the dealer told me i needed 6 new ones. i wish i new about spark testers back then so i coulda saved some money..hint hint

 

That's a dealer for ya.

One month ago I ordered a new drain plug, 6 new plat plugs, new fuel filter, air filter and pcv valve from Courtesy Nissan for less than $100 bucks shipped. Installed them all and my car starts and runs MUCH better. I was hesitant to DIY but bit the bullet and everything turned out fine. Went and bought a few of the right tools as recommended here and it went pretty smooth. (aside from taking the tubbing off the fuel filter, what a pita) A misfire could just be a bad plug too depending on how old they are.

This guy getting quoted $1,500 bucks to do what they want to do (not even knowing what's really wrong) and not even guaranteeing it being fixed is worthy of public flogging imho.

20/20 would have a field day with aholes like them.

 

Do that yourself and use NGK coppers. cost you $12 for the plugs and 45min of simple labor.


Take it off completely and do this yourself. Not sure how you did it but dont use the "motorvate" method of simply spraying it and wiping it while still mounted on the car. ~ $5 for the TB cleaner


Clean it first with some Berrymans B12 Chemtool Spray. clean it inside and out. about 20 min of labor (easier than the TB) and about $4 for the cleaner.


Go buy a bottle of Redline SI-1 and run it through a full tank. As long as there is no physical failure, it will clean them well. ~ $9

[QUOTE=JUDE]
-Replace the Coolant temperature sensor.[QUOTE]

No need to change it unless you are sure for a fact that it is bad. If it is bad, it is a $20 part that takes 15 min or les to change yourself.


The fact that he plans on charging you all of that money and is guessing at a solution should tell you to run like hell. Do yourself a favor. Spend $50 on a Craftsman tool set and dot he work yourself (If you dont already have the tools). You will know it was done properly and will have saved yourself some major $$$$. after doing all of the work, reset the ECU and if the CEL comes on pull the codes or go to Autozone. Then come back adn save yourself some more money.