So every now and then when I get in my car put the key in and turn it nothing would happen. I would have to just tap the shifter into park more and it would start right up. I couldn't figure out what was causing that but didn't worry about it to much since it just started up fine if I tapped it. Now however it's seeming to get worse. If it does it now I have to push it into park a lot harder for it to start, but when it's starting it seems to be struggling to start. I replaced the ignition switch since I heard that could be causing it but obviously that didn't help. I've been having the issue for like 4 years now. In the beginning I had no idea why it wouldn't start so I called aaa to get towed but then when he was about to put my car on the lift and I jiggled the shifter it started lol. But it happened so rarely and once I learned that just tapping the shifter got it to start I didn't worry about it, but now I see it needs to be fixed. Any ideas?

 

I have the same thing that happens in my car, but there's never any problem starting it up. I've always wondered what was up with that.

I had the ignition changed once and maybe that's it.

 

The first time it actually did it and I had no idea what was causing it I got a new starter lol. Since then I replaced the ignition switch to try and address the problem but didn't work. It's like it doesn't go all the way into park for some reason or the car doesn't recognize that it's in park. So could that be something with the transmission then?

 

fsm says it an inhibitor switch only allows the car to start in park or neutral if its mis adjusted or going bad youl will have to jigle the shifter to get it to start

 

B-rad, It sounds like you have a bad inhibitor switch, also know as a neutral safety switch. It keeps the car from starting while in gear. Here is the OE part no. 3191880X02. You should be able to get one from your local parts house. Takes about an hour to change.

 

Oh wow, I recognized hearing about the neutral safety switch so decided to search my posts and found an old thread where I thought it was that but thought it wasn't for some reason lol. I'll order it now and hope it does the trick. Thanks guys.

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...ty-switch.html

And it's only a $65 part from this site that i've used before which is nice

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...&siteid=214459

Would a bad nss cause it to struggle to start too or would that be something else?

 

That would be something else. Hard start issues are a little harder to pin down than no start.

 

Okay thanks. Guess it's just coincidental that it starts hard the same time that I need to wiggle the shifter for the car to start. It's funny though, because of this issue that i've been having for 3+ years I replaced several parts in the hopes of fixing it (but would have had to have been done eventually anyway). Got a "new" starter aka rebuilt one from pep boys that came with a life-time warranty, got it 3 years ago and never had an issue even though it was from pep boys , new battery (not sure why tbh..), ignition switch.


I did have a wiring problem that was causing me to stall out in reverse when I originally got the car but got that fixed which caused a starting problem (also wiring) which was also fixed. Doubt they're related at all but felt like sharing the other problem that took forever to figure out lol.

 

I have had this problem as well on my '95 GXE. Also, my car was difficult to go into 1st gear as well. It would take some force to put it in 1st so I took off the splash shield and looked where the cable connected. There is a rubber bushing at the end of the cable that was worn out which was not lining up properly to shift the gears. I reseated the rubber properly and retightened the screw and I don't have that problem again shifting in park. I would try that but also, that rubber cannot be purchased separately as I asked the dealer already and they say you must purchase the whole cable for nearly $100. Hope this helps.

 

Im having trouble following. Can u be a lil more specific with the fix? And what were the symptoms? thanks

 

Car will not turn over at all after being parked. In order to start, had to shift tranny stick all the way up in park to start. That was my symptoms.

Can you shift all the way down to 1st gear without resistance?

 

I got a 5spd MT.

i was jus asking cuz the fix sounded ingenuous and low cost. Jus wanted u to share how to do it with the org for the members who might have the similar issues.

 

Oh I see. Yeah I had this problem with the auto tranny. The way to fix that problem is to see if you also have resistance shifting all the way down to 1st gear.

If that's the case, remove tranny splash shield and examine the end of the shifter cable. There a rubber bushing that wears out if "not lubricated" according to dealer.

Examine the bushing and have it reseated and retightened the bolt that holds it to the tranny. I would post a pic but my car is in the shop getting lower radiator changed and front end painted over.

Check shifting through the gears and you should start without problems depending on the condition of that rubber bushing. If it is completely bad, you will need to reorder the whole cable from the dealer.

 

Sounds good man thanks