Not sure what to search for since it's hard to describe, but here goes....Saturday I was driving my '99 Maxima w/156K miles on it, I was pulling away from a stoplight at normal, slow and steady speed, the car started to hesitate and seemed like the engine vibrated as if it was going to stall....This only happened for about 3 or 4 seconds or so, the Check Engine light flashed for a second, then shut itself off and the car was running fine the rest of the day, maybe 15-20 miles after the initial problem.

Drove about 15 miles on Sunday, no problems or recreation of the symptoms. Drove again today, another 15 or 20 miles, again at a stoplight, engine vibrated/hesitated again, noticed the RPM's drop to about 200 or so, then went back to normal 500-600 idle RPM's...again, this hesitation/vibration problem only lasted 2 or 3 seconds. No engine light this time though. Just went out and drove another 8 or so miles and no issues.

The car is running fine otherwise, getting decent mpg's and I always use 93 octane gas. Any ideas?

 

Forgot to add, no weird noises or smells, car starts and runs fine otherwise. Car is completely stock. Thanks!!

 

When's the last time you replaced the fuel filter? Look for obvious stuff like that which would affect the engine to that degree.

 

Please dont title your thread so ridiculously vague.
search
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...eleration.html
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...s-but-now.html
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...w-symptom.html

 

I'm the 3rd. owner, not sure when the fuel filter was replaced, but will replace it. Thanks for the tips everyone and sorry about the thread title, noob mistake

 

Ground your MAF.

Did it stall at night?

 

Is It a 3rd gen,If so check for the MAF or the EFI wires and If have not yet done the fuel filter do it now. Check the air filter while your at It.

 

sounds like MAF. i jsut had to replace mine. It wasnt a maxima but sounds like the same exact symptoms.

 

Your car is most likely misfiring...the 99's are notorious for having coilpacks fail. Check the stickies on how to test each one individually, and replace accordingly.

 

Thanks again guys...sorry, more noob omissions....I already replaced all 6 coil packs, spark plugs and knock sensor less than 6 months ago. Also the air filter was replaced about 2 months ago..... I will get the fuel filter replaced and clean the MAF and see what happens.

 

The car that is having problems Is a 3rd gen right?

 

dude he stated 99 in 1st post

 

Replaced the fuel filter...the gas coming thru it was black and dirty....took the car for a quick 1 or 2 mile spin and it seems to be running much better. I'm going to clean the MAF too just in case over the weekend. I'll post again if the problem returns. Thanks for all your help, this board rocks!

 

flashing CEL is most def a failing coilpack

u said u replaced them 6 months ago, but where did you get them from?

 

+1 for a coil pack failing.

I've experienced a similar problem with my sister's max which is a 99. The car itself does not act up when you are driving, but when ever it idles or at a stoplight, the engine shacks and the cel flashes.

When ever the cel flashes, there is something wrong with your engine, most likely an electrical problem.

 

The CEL only flashed for a second and never came back on again. Car is running fine now, you guys still think it could be a bad coil? I got 3 of them from Autozone and the other 3 from the dealership.

 

You guys are good!! Car started running like crap again and the CEL flashed for a few seconds. Went to Autozone to read the code, Cylinder 6 misfire! The light is on solid now. Will do a search to find which one exactly is cylinder 6 and will buy another coil. I'll let y'all know if it is an Autozone or Nissan OEM coil.

Thanks again fellas!

 

Pulled the coil and plug this morning. Plug still looks good. Coil is an Autozone/Duralast product. Replaced it with a Hanshin labeled Nissan OEM coil I had laying around from last time. Only drove 8 miles to work, but the car is running better. We'll see what happens when I drive it to lunch in a few minutes.