dpgriff

Had the car since the end of summer (95k miles). My sister bought it from a family friend before I owned it. SES on since we've had it. Occasionally noticed stuttering on acceleration but has been getting worse lately. Took it to a dealer and they replaced a coil pack. SES light went off but problem continued.

-Still stutters on acceleration. Starts vibration noticeably or will barely accelerate when revving higher.
-Definitely worse going up hills. Also seems worse once engine is warmed up.
-Recently noticed occasional jerk when stopped with the brake while in drive.
-SES is no longer on but will occasionally blink for a minute under hard acceleration.
-No issues starting the car

I really don't want to spend more money on this car if the issue doesn't get fixed. I was thinking about taking it to a dealer because I thought they may have more experience with this particular issue. Does this make sense or should I just take it to any mechanic?

Could it be something other than coil packs? Should I tell the mechanic to replace the spark plugs or is that something they would check anyway? I don't know how old they are but they are cheap and easy to replace.

CS_AR

Welcome to Maxima.org. Are you the Do-It-Yourself type? If you have some basic tools in sizes like 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, and 14mm there are many things you can do your self and save some big $$$. Your car's problem sounds minor..

Where are you located? We may have members in your area who can help diagnose the issue.

A 4th gen Maxima with under 100,000 miles is just a baby in my opinion. I have one with 275,000 miles and going strong. We have members with over 400,000 miles.

General Maintenance Items

Spark Plugs -->

Plug Information Thread - Use only NGK spark plugs in our cars. NGK has some great plugs that start at approximately $2 each..
https://maxima.org/forums/4th-genera...ark-plugs.html

http://vqpower.com/v3/content/changing-spark-plugs


Fuel Filter --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es6Evmsflps

Cleaning MAF, TB, IACV, EGR -- > https://maxima.org/forums/4th-genera...g-dummies.html

BTW - I have two 99 models.

I would keep the car away from the dealer.. I can point you to a thread on here where a dealer declared my engine with under 75,000 miles to be bad and wanted to charge $8,400 for a new engine. In the end my problems turned out to be two leaky injectors and a bad EGR valve, and cooked/clogged cats that were basically destroyed by the leaking injectors.

I learned the expensive way that a dealer may not have anyone on staff with real troubleshooting 4th gen experience.

djengr

Just to ad to the other poster, Your SES blinking may mean you are getting fuel into the exhaust/CATs. Ours did the same turned out to be multiple coils failing under load, with normal accel you could not feel it, but sit at idle for a while it would miss momentarily. If this is a stick, put in 3rd or 4th gear and lug the engine. Find someone with code reader or get one off ebay ($30 or so) You may have a code pending and the SES light won't be on.

BTW, I have owned three gen 4s

good luck

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

99's are known for bad coils. You have another one failing. A flashing check engine light means the ECU has detected a misfire. Now the fun part of figuring out which cylinder it is.
You can check for a stored or pending error code, if you're lucky, the ECU has determined the failing cylinder. If there are no codes, pull the coils, remove the stalk from the coil body and inspect the area where the spring makes contact with the coil. If you see corrosion, clean it up and note the coil. If the problem continues, the coil with the corrosion would be the first one to replace.

theWalkinator

Possible causes:

1. MAF, clean MAF with CRC MAF cleaner, give it a good spray, let it dry for 30 minutes before putting back.
2. Vacuum leaks, check all vacuum hoses, when car is running, spray some brake cleaner around throttle body, vacuum hoses, if you hear the engine sound changes, then that is where the leak is, could be hose, could be gaskets.
3. ERG tube clogged, search this forum for DIY.
4. Sticky throttle body, buy a can of carb cleaner, clean the throttle body.
5. Misfires, when car is running, pull out a coil, if no change of engine sound, then that cylinder is not firing, could be coil, plug or injector. Swap with another coil to see if it makes a difference. If engine sounds changes, then that coil is still good/no misfire.
6. Bad O2 sensors
7. etc.

Anyhow, pull the pending code first.

dpgriff

Thanks for the info everyone. I am more confident now that I can troubleshoot it myself. I don't mind getting my hands dirty just don't have much experience. I'll order a code reader and see if it can tell me anything. Roughly how much are coil packs for this vehicle? I found some for $60, does the seem reasonable? And if this vehicle is prone to these issues should I replace them all at once? As far as spark plugs go are the v-power worth the extra price over the standard? It says they have lower voltage requirement which might work better with shady coils.

CS_AR

I've been using a $49 code reader I picked up from Harbor Freight for years. It shows and resets codes just fine for the price. A code reader doesn't need to cost an arm or a leg to do the basics. If you would like more information on diagnostic tools we can provide more information. It all depends on how much you want to spend.

As it turns out, the NGK V-Power plugs are lowest cost NGK at roughly $2 each. They last about 25,000 miles. Yes V-Power plugs are noted for working good with older coils. I had a slight stumbling issue with my I30 once that I remedied by changing plugs to the V-Power and cleaning the MAF. I would search the forum for information on MAF cleaning. Be careful not to drop the MAF or run the car while it is still wet from cleaning. MAFs are kind of fragile.

As far as coil packs, I've always picked up a few extras OEMs at a Junk Yard to keep on hand for when I need one. Some people indicate the Mitsubishi coils are better than Hanshin. I would be careful about purchasing a "no name" coil pack. Some non OEM coil packs have been known to bring as much grief as the original failing packs.

I'm sure other members will chime in with some good coil pack recommendations.

theWalkinator

Also, if you feel car is jerking, check throttle position sensor, again search DIY here or google it. But, always start from upstream, MAF is the first thing to check.

CS_AR

I think if I had to buy a new coil tomorrow, I would go to www.rockauto.com and get the Hitachi coils that are listed as the OE part.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/more...430&cc=1356780

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/more...130&cc=1356780

JEB Davis

Did you check out this post yet? You can do it without buying a code reader.

https://maxima.org/forums/4th-genera...ere-first.html