I have a 98 maxima 5 speed. It has about 42000 miles. About 4 months ago I put in a Stillen intake. After that, 2 months later my car started to die once in a while when I would slow down, and my rpm's would be low. A month later I sold my Stillen intake to my buddy and put my stock air box back on. After that my car began to die even more often. I took it to a dealer and they told me that they have no idea what is wrong with it. About 10 days ago I put in a Place Racing CAI. My car was running like new for about 3 days, no problem what so ever. Didn't die on me or anything like that. Although on the 4th day the problem began again. At first it would happen once a day, then may be 2 or 3 times. And yesterday I think it died 4 or 5 times. Please help me out, because I have know idea and not even a dealer knows what is wrong with my car.

Thank you, Andrei

 

I had similar probles, though I could feel a slight hesitation at times while accelerating, or cruising at a steady RP. It was almost like the car would just starve for fuel or air. I came to find out that my MAF sensor was bad, and it was sending poor readings to the computer, fouling up my a/f ratio, and robbing me of power, and causing me to stall out. I would simply check this, as well as your fuel filter. I, unfortunately do not know how to check this, as I do not have a tech manual. If you know someone else with a Max, the same year as yours, or with the same MAF sensor (check with Autozone or someone like that and see if they have a different part number for different years), get your friend to come over and buy some beer or cook some dinner and see if switching them out for a day relieves the problems. Just thought this might help a little. Good luck and let me know how things turn out.

Lee

 

I agree with NeverEnough. When you worked on the intakes you handled the Mass Air Flow Sensor and its associated harness and connector. The Spotlight Of Suspicion falls on that sensor.

 

Yeah, that's what I thought too. My buddy has a scaner so we hooked it up a month ago, and he told me the same thing. Although I wasn't sure because my other buddy told me that it's wasn't that MAF. Thank you for your help, and if you have any other info, please let me know.

Thank you, Andrei

 

I cannot stress this enough. If you ever have any problem on a new car with the OBD or OBD-II systems, it is imperative that you check all wires, not only for a secure connection, but also good ground, proper voltage and impedence. If even one wire is loose or frayed or there is any other problem, it can stop your car dead. I'm sure Daniel B. will agree that this should always be checked before spending any $ to replace and/or have your car checked by a service tech. I hope this did not come across as high-and-mighty; still just trying to help. Best of luck.

Lee

 

This is good advice. The engine/transmission unit is supported by flexible mounts. It is free to move about (within limits) during normal operation. This causes the wires which connect the engine to the car body to be flexed repeatedly. This motion may lead to problems with wires and connectors.

Diagnostic Trouble Codes help guide our repair attempts. However, a DTC which points to (for instance) an Oxygen Sensor is really pointing to the Oxygen Sensor and its associated connector and wiring. The Engine Control Module may sense an out-of-range signal but it has no way of knowing if the sensor is bad or the wiring which conveys that signal is bad.

Always check connections.