Maxie40

I had my Maxima in for service for what I thought was a coolant leak, mechanic did a pressure test and said everything was fine no leak. I checked under the car next couple of days no problem. I did notice the car had more of a rough idle when I got it from the mechanic. Maxima was driving fine until last week while running at around 2500 rpm the engine felt like it skipped a beat. Did it a few times but the engine never failed. Today coming from work while driving local route, the engine sputtered then cut off on me at a stop light. Started it up and it was still sputtering but gave it some gas and it was fine. When I got off my exit which is on an up incline, engine cut off on me again. Started up and I was able to get it home. I thought there was water in the gas line so I put gas antifreeze in the tank and it ran fine. Took it out for a run and when I pulled into the driveway it died on me on low RPM. Trying to figure this out as I have no time to fix my Maxima and want to make sure the mechanic didn't screw something up. This has been my only car for 20 years and it has never left me hanging..

flynlr

iTrader: (2)

so no check engine light?.

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

don't wan't to start guessing here, scan for codes and check gas lines and maybe maf is going bad.

CS_AR

I would check for loose or broken vacuum lines. There are vacuum lines in the heater hose area. If one of the lines is broken it could it could be opening and closing as you drive thus causing an intermittent problem.

Maxie40

Thanks for the tips. I was thinking possibly the vacuum hose as soon as I got the car back I noticed the change in tone from the engine. If a mechanic does a pressure test could he possibly mess around my vacuum hoses? Another strange thing at times after I got the car back, when I put the heater on, sometimes I would get heat and sometimes I'd just get cool air. MAF could be an issue as the only owner for 20 years I can see things go here and there. Take real good care of the car and it has taken care of me.

JoshG

can potentially be ur mass air flow sensor, If your car dies out on you, there has to be no air passing through freely for the engine to keep going.

and please if u got a check engine light on, run codes.. helps and saves a butt load of time.

also how many miles u have since u owned it for 20years?

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

Your mention of 2500 rpm is quite telling, because when an MAF completely fails, the car will only rev to 2500 rpm, and you would also have a check engine light. Perhaps yours is on its way out, or maybe the mechanic didn't plug it back in properly. Try unplugging, cleaning the connector, then plug back in.

Maxie40

I have about 215,000 miles on the Maxima which in talking to other Maxima owners the car still has another 50K to 60K to go, if taken care of properly. No check engine light at all. I am taking it to the mechanic today and will have to lose half a day's pay to make sure they fix the problem which I know happened when I got the car back. After 20 years you get to know every noise and feeling of the car.

CS_AR

Hopefully someone didn't remove the MAF and drop it on the floor. I handle MAFs with extreme care.

ac max 92

iTrader: (13)

As far as your heating issue goes it sounds like you may have an air lock in the cooling system or it needs to be topped up. Try bleeding the air out of the system.

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

Regular maintenance and your motor can easily surpass 400K miles. Salt is the enemy of the body, particularly the rusting radiator support. If you can keep salt at bay, the body will keep up with the engine.

Maxie40

Thanks for the information. Was with the mechanic today and there were no codes that came up. Turned out to be the intake gasket manifold was leaking. I also remembered some tell tale signs. I saw white smoke coming out my exhaust but had no smell. This happens when I have vapor in the exhaust but for a couple of days it seemed to be a lot. Probably explains the extra level of noise coming from within the engine compartment. I checked the MAF and the contacts were good, but I had no codes. Just have to realize to keep up with every little noise and shudder and don't let it go on too long. The Maxima's body is free of rust thank goodness with the exception of the exhaust system which may have another 2-3 years before I have to replace it.

Maxie40

Well changed the intake gasket manifold, took it for a run yesterday and everything seemed fine. Today the car shut down on me again when I was at a stop light. I could hear what seemed to be a little air coming from the engine but was not certain. I pulled the plug from the MAF blew the contacts with compressed air and pulled it into the garage. Will try tomorrow to see if that helped. No codes came up with the MAF and the car ran pretty good yesterday. If anyone could shed light on this it would be appreciated.

markc32

Somebody already gave u the answer...

Bad maf and it doesn't throw an mil.

Should also replace UR thermostat as a maintenance item not a repair If u haven't in a long Time. It'll save u damage to cooling components.

Maxie40

Thanks to the folks here at the forum. Turned out my MAF is going bad. Doesn't throw any codes because one minute it's fine and take her on the road and it starts to go. Hopefully with a new OEM MAF the problem should be over. I guess 20 years with one car you get to see a little of everything.

JoshG

OEM should last u a long time.. especially its new, it'll last you forever. you will never have to touch that thing in a good amount of years.

knew it would be mass air flow sensor, common thing to happen in these cars if they shut down on you. #1 thing to replace first before anything else.

Maxie40

Thanks guys, looking forward to the next 60K miles