All Gen 5 Owners Should Read This
08-19-2004, 05:35 PM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 36
All Gen 5 Owners Should Read This
After considerable investigation it has become clear to me that there is a systemic problem with the Gen 5 ignition coils. I have just returned from the Nissan dealer where my Maxima has again been diagnosed with this same problem for the second time in 18 months. Even the service manager admits that they see a significant amount of problems with the Gen 5 cars.
Unfortunately Nissan has failed to issue a recall on the coils so we, the owners are left holding the bag for their poor design & manufacturing. The cost? $225 for 1 module or $710 for all six. The warranty period for a repair is 12 months or 12,000 miles and then it is back in our hands to cover.
I ask all Gen 5 owners to go to the following site and fill out a petition to recall the Gen 5's for this problem. The only way that Nissan will respond is if they hear from us in mass.
http://www.petitiononline.com/NIS_IGN/petition.html
If you have experience a problem directly you should go to the National Highway Traffic Safet Commision website and lodge a complaint.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
Unfortunately Nissan has failed to issue a recall on the coils so we, the owners are left holding the bag for their poor design & manufacturing. The cost? $225 for 1 module or $710 for all six. The warranty period for a repair is 12 months or 12,000 miles and then it is back in our hands to cover.
I ask all Gen 5 owners to go to the following site and fill out a petition to recall the Gen 5's for this problem. The only way that Nissan will respond is if they hear from us in mass.
http://www.petitiononline.com/NIS_IGN/petition.html
If you have experience a problem directly you should go to the National Highway Traffic Safet Commision website and lodge a complaint.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
08-19-2004, 05:47 PM
#2
good idea....though this has been tried with other maxima issues such as chipping paint (also systemic) and defective MAFs....and never got anywhere. But I applaud the effort...can't hurt to try.
08-19-2004, 05:50 PM
#4
not spark plugs....coils. They are 2 different things. Stick with OEM plugs unless you are boosting. Non-OEM spec plugs (hotter or colder) can cause SES and other problems if you are not getting them for a specific reason.
08-19-2004, 10:28 PM
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
Originally Posted by irish44j
good idea....though this has been tried with other maxima issues such as chipping paint (also systemic) and defective MAFs....and never got anywhere. But I applaud the effort...can't hurt to try.
and don't forget the 15 horsepower!
-vq
08-19-2004, 10:29 PM
#8
It's chrome alright...
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 4,009
Originally Posted by jeff4725
...there is a systemic problem with the Gen 5 ignition coils.
Good luck with your fight, but an online petition is just to make the petitioner feel like he's doing something, nissan doesn't care. What they do care about is talk. Call them, and then call them again, then call them again...keep asking to talk to a superior at the end of every conversation. Ask for names and phone numbers, and keep trying. But an online petition? If I was an executive I know I'd ignore it as nuisance.
08-20-2004, 03:09 AM
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,539
i agree with 2k2, online isnt really going to help at all. its like spam... we get it but we just delete it. If you find out a persons name who we can report the problem to, im sure no one would have an argument with talking to that person to report it.
08-20-2004, 06:18 AM
#10
Originally Posted by jeff4725
After considerable investigation it has become clear to me that there is a systemic problem with the Gen 5 ignition coils. I have just returned from the Nissan dealer where my Maxima has again been diagnosed with this same problem for the second time in 18 months. Even the service manager admits that they see a significant amount of problems with the Gen 5 cars.
Unfortunately Nissan has failed to issue a recall on the coils so we, the owners are left holding the bag for their poor design & manufacturing. The cost? $225 for 1 module or $710 for all six. The warranty period for a repair is 12 months or 12,000 miles and then it is back in our hands to cover.
I ask all Gen 5 owners to go to the following site and fill out a petition to recall the Gen 5's for this problem. The only way that Nissan will respond is if they hear from us in mass.
http://www.petitiononline.com/NIS_IGN/petition.html
If you have experience a problem directly you should go to the National Highway Traffic Safet Commision website and lodge a complaint.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
Unfortunately Nissan has failed to issue a recall on the coils so we, the owners are left holding the bag for their poor design & manufacturing. The cost? $225 for 1 module or $710 for all six. The warranty period for a repair is 12 months or 12,000 miles and then it is back in our hands to cover.
I ask all Gen 5 owners to go to the following site and fill out a petition to recall the Gen 5's for this problem. The only way that Nissan will respond is if they hear from us in mass.
http://www.petitiononline.com/NIS_IGN/petition.html
If you have experience a problem directly you should go to the National Highway Traffic Safet Commision website and lodge a complaint.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
This does affect the 3.5 Altima too.........Correct???
08-20-2004, 11:10 AM
#12
coils are not that expensive...
maybe 250-300 in parts. labor should be cheap too..
nissan supposedly sells ones that have been upgraded and shouldn't have problems anymore..
I new upgraded all coils, 300 bucks.. car has been fine for a long time.
maybe 250-300 in parts. labor should be cheap too..
nissan supposedly sells ones that have been upgraded and shouldn't have problems anymore..
I new upgraded all coils, 300 bucks.. car has been fine for a long time.
08-20-2004, 11:19 AM
#13
i changed all mine for about $310 for parts/labor. 6 months after i bought the car. I spent 1500 extra since i bought this car used 1 year ago. I could have used that $300 to spend doing an actual mod but i'm always repairing this junk.
08-20-2004, 07:17 PM
#14
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 20
i had bad coils on my 99 infiniti i 30 (4th gen maxima really) the MAF (mass air flow) also went on it twice. i'd ***** but the car went 200k+ before it was taken off the road by a wreck. i now have a 00' max (5th gen max) 53K on it and the coils and MAF went at the same time. you know when the coils are bad when it throws a misfire code. both cars had the 3.0 and would have cost 550 at the dealer. it's a simple do it yourself though.
08-20-2004, 07:29 PM
#17
I have close to 100K miles on my 01 and just changed my coils not too long ago durring a tune up I had done on my car. I had repleaced 5 MAFs and the current one has been working fine for like a year now. I don't think Nissan made junk till like nowadays... where nothing they make is really all that exciting. 350Z is just ghey. If you want performance, you aint going to get it from a current Nissan for sure. My Maxima was the last brand new car I bought for a long time. My Previous VG powered 3rd gen lasted 340K miles and I only did the timing belt on it 2 times :P Still rolln around somewhere probably.
Mike Jez
01 Max GXE 5spd all bolt ons.
86 Audi Coupe Quattro Turbo
93 G20 Turbo
www.cardomain.com/ID/BlackBIRDVQ
Mike Jez
01 Max GXE 5spd all bolt ons.
86 Audi Coupe Quattro Turbo
93 G20 Turbo
www.cardomain.com/ID/BlackBIRDVQ
08-24-2004, 08:09 AM
#19
Newbie - Just Registered
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 2
i have a 2000 SE with 85000km (in canada)... after seeing the SES light I took it to the dealer and they said it's likely one of the coils, but nissan canada says to replace all six regardless... all under warranty.
He did confirm that a new supplier was being used for the coils and they have not had return problems with the newer coils.
He did confirm that a new supplier was being used for the coils and they have not had return problems with the newer coils.
08-24-2004, 10:15 AM
#21
I don't even think mine were going bad, but I swapped 'em all out last winter... the coils were ~$305 from DAVEB. Never had a problem with the ignition system.
Anyone consider that there could be a wiring harness issue at fault here? (especially with those who have repeated coil failures...)
Anyone consider that there could be a wiring harness issue at fault here? (especially with those who have repeated coil failures...)
08-24-2004, 10:47 AM
#23
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,594
Originally Posted by RiN'sMAX
It Costs $1200 When You Buy The Car. Well Worth It
Anyway, from DaveB new 6 coils can be had for about $310. I paid $310 for my 00 max's 6 coils last year. Labor is 20 minutes if you're fast, and no more than an hour if you're slow. Don't get it done at Nissan; it's about the easiest thing you can do and is the easiest thing besides filling up with gasoline and changing the air filter.
08-24-2004, 10:49 AM
#24
Really!!!!!!!!!
Originally Posted by RiN'sMAX
It Costs $1200 When You Buy The Car. Well Worth It
Let me tell you something my car Certifed Nissan 2000 Maxima GLE with only 28k miles when I bought it and guess what ???? 34k miles the coils failed
08-24-2004, 06:13 PM
#30
Donating Maxima.org Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 701
Hey all,
I changed my coils yesturday and it took me a good month to save up and do it.
Basically a coil works as an amplifier. Since maximas do not have a distrubutor, the ECU sends our signals to the coils. The coils amplify the signal to the spark plug. Gives better responce on timing etc.
Now the coils consist of little parts that can go bad. They have 2 magnets running down and around them is a thin wire in loops. This wire wears out and creates gaps after time. Since the coils can not be opened to be fixed, they have to be replaced.
The new coils have a rubber seal and are built better that nissan almost swears they wont go bad.
I got a great deal from a guy that works in nissan. He got me 6 coils and 4 O2 sensors for 412 shipped.
Anyways, parts.com has a great deal on them too.
Its 47 dollars per coil. Much much much cheaper than at the dealer.
Ohh yeah, I signed that petition in march when I first got that problem, it wont go anywhere. i waited 6 months.
I changed my coils yesturday and it took me a good month to save up and do it.
Basically a coil works as an amplifier. Since maximas do not have a distrubutor, the ECU sends our signals to the coils. The coils amplify the signal to the spark plug. Gives better responce on timing etc.
Now the coils consist of little parts that can go bad. They have 2 magnets running down and around them is a thin wire in loops. This wire wears out and creates gaps after time. Since the coils can not be opened to be fixed, they have to be replaced.
The new coils have a rubber seal and are built better that nissan almost swears they wont go bad.
I got a great deal from a guy that works in nissan. He got me 6 coils and 4 O2 sensors for 412 shipped.
Anyways, parts.com has a great deal on them too.
Its 47 dollars per coil. Much much much cheaper than at the dealer.
Ohh yeah, I signed that petition in march when I first got that problem, it wont go anywhere. i waited 6 months.
08-24-2004, 06:52 PM
#32
Donating Maxima.org Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 169
I don't think it will work if you get all those signatures. Nissan has put a bulletin a bulletin out on the coils and warranty pays for them if your car is still covered. I just had them replaced in my max last month and my security plus warranty covered them(I just paid 50$). its cool cuz I got paid to work on my own vehicle.
08-24-2004, 07:02 PM
#33
Coils could be considered "amplifiers" in a gross sense... all vehicles have coils, it's just that distributor-based vehicles only have 1 coil (where the distributor acts to switch that coil between all the different spark plugs), whereas we have individual coils for each spark plug which are activated by the ECU.
Having separate coils gives finer timing and control over the ignition, and should facilitate better high-RPM performance since each coil can charge while waiting for its turn to fire, rather than having to charge in the small timeframe between the last cylinder's firing and the next cylinder's firing. I'm not sure if our ECU takes advantage of that, but I can't imagine they didn't.
A coil is essentially a voltage step for alternating current. If there were AC going through the wires, you'd see a continual flow of power from 12VAC at some current to a much higher voltage at a much lower current.
Since cars don't run off AC, this effect is approximated by the fact that switching DC current on/off produces short transients that act as AC. So the ECU operates the coil by applying power through it, then at the moment of ignition, it abruptly shuts it off. The back-voltage (which I assume serves to stop the electron flow to carry out the no-voltage condition) is a short AC waveform which is amplified to 10000+ volts by the coil (through the secondary circuit), and this is enough to jump the spark plug's gap and produce a spark. The more current flow, the more intense the back-voltage, therefore a coil needs a short amount of time to "charge" on each cycle so that it produces adequate spark. The lower-voltage side of the back voltage (primary circuit, which connects to the car's +12VDC battery) is grounded through a capacitor (Ignition System Condenser) which prevents the (~300V?) backvoltage from going through your electrical system and frying sh*t.
Having separate coils gives finer timing and control over the ignition, and should facilitate better high-RPM performance since each coil can charge while waiting for its turn to fire, rather than having to charge in the small timeframe between the last cylinder's firing and the next cylinder's firing. I'm not sure if our ECU takes advantage of that, but I can't imagine they didn't.
A coil is essentially a voltage step for alternating current. If there were AC going through the wires, you'd see a continual flow of power from 12VAC at some current to a much higher voltage at a much lower current.
Since cars don't run off AC, this effect is approximated by the fact that switching DC current on/off produces short transients that act as AC. So the ECU operates the coil by applying power through it, then at the moment of ignition, it abruptly shuts it off. The back-voltage (which I assume serves to stop the electron flow to carry out the no-voltage condition) is a short AC waveform which is amplified to 10000+ volts by the coil (through the secondary circuit), and this is enough to jump the spark plug's gap and produce a spark. The more current flow, the more intense the back-voltage, therefore a coil needs a short amount of time to "charge" on each cycle so that it produces adequate spark. The lower-voltage side of the back voltage (primary circuit, which connects to the car's +12VDC battery) is grounded through a capacitor (Ignition System Condenser) which prevents the (~300V?) backvoltage from going through your electrical system and frying sh*t.
08-24-2004, 07:14 PM
#34
Donating Maxima.org Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 701
Originally Posted by spirilis
Coils could be considered "amplifiers" in a gross sense... all vehicles have coils, it's just that distributor-based vehicles only have 1 coil (where the distributor acts to switch that coil between all the different spark plugs), whereas we have individual coils for each spark plug which are activated by the ECU.
Having separate coils gives finer timing and control over the ignition, and should facilitate better high-RPM performance since each coil can charge while waiting for its turn to fire, rather than having to charge in the small timeframe between the last cylinder's firing and the next cylinder's firing. I'm not sure if our ECU takes advantage of that, but I can't imagine they didn't.
A coil is essentially a voltage step for alternating current. If there were AC going through the wires, you'd see a continual flow of power from 12VAC at some current to a much higher voltage at a much lower current.
Since cars don't run off AC, this effect is approximated by the fact that switching DC current on/off produces short transients that act as AC. So the ECU operates the coil by applying power through it, then at the moment of ignition, it abruptly shuts it off. The back-voltage (which I assume serves to stop the electron flow to carry out the no-voltage condition) is a short AC waveform which is amplified to 10000+ volts by the coil (through the secondary circuit), and this is enough to jump the spark plug's gap and produce a spark. The more current flow, the more intense the back-voltage, therefore a coil needs a short amount of time to "charge" on each cycle so that it produces adequate spark. The lower-voltage side of the back voltage (primary circuit, which connects to the car's +12VDC battery) is grounded through a capacitor (Ignition System Condenser) which prevents the (~300V?) backvoltage from going through your electrical system and frying sh*t.
Having separate coils gives finer timing and control over the ignition, and should facilitate better high-RPM performance since each coil can charge while waiting for its turn to fire, rather than having to charge in the small timeframe between the last cylinder's firing and the next cylinder's firing. I'm not sure if our ECU takes advantage of that, but I can't imagine they didn't.
A coil is essentially a voltage step for alternating current. If there were AC going through the wires, you'd see a continual flow of power from 12VAC at some current to a much higher voltage at a much lower current.
Since cars don't run off AC, this effect is approximated by the fact that switching DC current on/off produces short transients that act as AC. So the ECU operates the coil by applying power through it, then at the moment of ignition, it abruptly shuts it off. The back-voltage (which I assume serves to stop the electron flow to carry out the no-voltage condition) is a short AC waveform which is amplified to 10000+ volts by the coil (through the secondary circuit), and this is enough to jump the spark plug's gap and produce a spark. The more current flow, the more intense the back-voltage, therefore a coil needs a short amount of time to "charge" on each cycle so that it produces adequate spark. The lower-voltage side of the back voltage (primary circuit, which connects to the car's +12VDC battery) is grounded through a capacitor (Ignition System Condenser) which prevents the (~300V?) backvoltage from going through your electrical system and frying sh*t.
My mechanic explained it to me
08-24-2004, 07:28 PM
#36
I seriously doubt we're the only ones with issues, hell Nissan engines have had coil issues since the CA18DE (80's) at least.
But it kills me, 'cause why the hell do so many distributor-based cars go on with NO coil issues throughout the life of the car whatsoever? What's so special about coil-on-plug systems that makes them so unreliable?
But it kills me, 'cause why the hell do so many distributor-based cars go on with NO coil issues throughout the life of the car whatsoever? What's so special about coil-on-plug systems that makes them so unreliable?
09-12-2004, 09:22 PM
#39
Coils go bad on all Honda distributors ( Integra, Civic, Accords). Legends have coil problems. Nissan aint the only company that has bad ignition coils out there. Since my clutch master cylinder just went out at 100K miles, should I call Nissan and complain too ? Go buy an Acura or something and stop whinning bout our cars. I work for Acura and would never own one, I have a loooong list of problems with the TL- Maximas competitor if you really wanna call it that.
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