hello,

have a 96 maxima gxe with around 60,000 miles on it. Cars been well maintained and no major issues to date. Started having an issue that ive only exhibited twice and when going down the highway, when the car would reach 50-55mph, the car would start jolting/jerking back and forth. This would happen for more than a few seconds and eventually the car would settle down.

I have no idea what could be causing this. Anyone have any ideas as to what could be causing this?

 

We need a better description. Is it like a side to side action? Or is it more like a bucking?

 

scan for codes, get back to us

 

Are your RPM's abnormally high? Could even be your transmission, maybe getting stuck in third then jerking into 4th

 

Sorry for being vague. It is definitely bucking (jerking forward and backward). The check engine light is not on so would there still be any codes to read?

The rpms seem stable and are not jumping or around.

I also thought about the tranny. I know around 40mph it hesitates so either i have to go faster or slower. Is there another shift point around 50-55mph that you know about?

 

Are you auto or manual?

 

I would at least drain some fluid and check for metal shavings. Really you should do a pan drop and check the magnets and the filter. You can send the shavings off and figure out exactly where it came from as well

 

Clean yo maf!

 

Went to a mechanic and they said it is the knock sensor causing the jerking and the MAF as well and both would need to be changed. Is charging $1,000

Is this out of line?

 

its out of line but he probably doesnt know any better and is just going by the book.

if you can do your own work i would try replacing the KS yourself for around 20 bucks. the maf i would try cleaning which will cost you around 10 bucks.

 

It's unlikely the KS is causing the jolt. The mechanic probably just pulled codes and found that one. But it's an easy fix, especially if you have small hands.

As for the MAF, try cleaning but that may not work. The jolting suggests that one of the interior contacts is bad. When my MAF went out, the jolt would feel like I just ran into something. There are three contacts inside the MAF, and you can re-solder them. I did that whit mine and it works fine. There's a thread here somewhere about doing it, but it's pretty easy. The only tricky part is getting the top off, until you realize that it's just RTV'd in place, and you need to cut through that to get the "lid" off.