On the way to work on Friday, I was at a red light and took off with some authority (not enough to spin the tires), as I go to shift to 2nd gear, my check engine light comes on, and no power. No matter how far I pushed the gas pedal to the floor, no power (can't get above 1500 RPM). The car limped to my work at about 12mph. I shut it off, and restarted it (still had CEL on) and the car revs freely, and allows me to drive it to the dealer. They call me and tell me that my throttle body is bad, and cannot be rebuilt, need a new one. Thank god it is covered by the powertrain warranty. Yet another weekend without my car because no matter how important or trivial the part is, it is never in stock. Two weekends ago (and $538 later) it was my alternater that **** the bed (not covered and not in stock, was told that my aftermarket stereo system killed it, even though I've had AT LEAST two thousand more watts in every other system I've had in ANY OTHER car with no problem.) I've never had to replace a throttle body in any car I've ever owned. What is up with 2002 se's (only have 33K on car)? I've never had so many issues with a car this new, and I'm starting to really get pissed. I can't get rid of it because in the past three months I've done new rotors, pads, struts, springs, tires, sts, xm radio, floor mats, and god only knows what I'm forgetting to say. I love this car, but it is getting a little aggravating (at least $3000 in parts in 3 months). Between 2 maf's, all the tsb parts, alternator, and now the TB, What else is next? I'm waiting for an 02 sensor, and another MAF to go. Anyone else have a TB problem?

 

The dealer would rather replace parts that actually diagnose the problem.

 

Bad throttle body??? I've not heard of that diagnosis before.

Sounds more like the MAF again. Did you ask which code it threw?

 

I doubt it is the throttle body itself. That's nothing more than a hollow tube with a flap inside that open/closes to let air into your engine. Maybe they meant the solenoid or some electronics that controls it, since restarting the car brought the revs back. There was also the TSB about the throttle position sensor (?) going into limp mode if you exceeded the bump stop. It's probably in the stickies somewhere if you didn't already know about it. Sorry to hear about all your troubles. I don't think you can generalize to all Maximas of this generation though. Mine has been totally trouble free, so maybe you just got a lemon. If your repairs continue to accrue beyond the depreciation, you might want to seriously consider dumping it.

 

They fed you a line on the Alternator bit. I want to f@cking burn down some dealers. Then tell them it is because of the "fancy" paint they use to attract buyers.

 

BigEL, they actually replaced the parts. I checked to see if I needed Vaseline or not. When my alternater went, the battery and brake light came on. They actually replaced the TB through my powertrain warranty. They didn't even bust my b*lls abut my K&N panel or my modified FC midpipe (I got stuck at work so I didn't have all day to switch everything back to stock.) The mechanic was a younger kid, and he was super cool. Actually had the best dealer experience ever with nissan. They were so cool about my mods that I was just happy that they didn't pull some warranty bull. When I wrote that, I was mega pissed because I was going to be carless for the best weekend of the year weatherwise. I've been struggling weekend by weekend to get my car in shape for summer cruising, it just kills me that I finally have my car closer to being where I want it to be, and now things are starting to go wrong. Between the time spent at the mechanic, and the time spent with it being modded, I haven't had time to enjoy it. Just so you know, its driving real nice. The throttle response is silly, and I've been accidentally chirping second gear with my A/c on full blast which is a good sign. By next week, the computer should have made more adjustments. I'm still a Maxima lover!

 

my car did the same thing on/off for about 3 months.....3 visits to the dealer and $700 later its all good...
the codes that i got were
1126
1124(i think it was 1124)

 

Yogi, it feels good to have my car run like it should. It seems like the rpm's go up faster when accelerating, and go down faster when my A/C is on. What a pisser huh? Oddly enough, my car was acting in a similar manner before my alternater blew, but after they replaced the alternater it took about a week and a half to get weird again. I hope I can enjoy my car for a little bit. And hopefully your car runs right. Good Luck.

 

Yogi, it feels good to have my car run like it should. It seems like the rpm's go up faster when accelerating, and go down faster when my A/C is on. What a pisser huh? Oddly enough, my car was acting in a similar manner before my alternater blew, but after they replaced the alternater it took about a week and a half to get weird again. I hope I can enjoy my car for a little bit. And hopefully your car runs right. Good Luck. Forgot to ask the code when I was there. I was just so happy that they didn't give me grief. I actually asked the mechanic if he would change my timing, and he said that he wouldn't do it because in his opinion it wasn't worth it to mess with the timing. Too bad.

 

mine went out with about 32000 miles so it was replaced under warranty.
Nothing really wrong other than the CEL came on.

 

The 2002 Maxima eats MAFs. I am on my third, and from what I have seen on here and from the staff at the dealer...it is very common. So much so that the parts guy said they do about 10 a month and have trouble keeping them stocked. So you are very safe in generalizing with regards to the MAFs crap they use.

 

Sounds like MAF. I blew my maf 1 time when I had an intake on. Since the stock intake is back on I have never had a problem. I am not saying there is a direct corrilation, but everytime I have had a MAF blow on my cars it has had an intake on it. Needless to say I have learned my lesson and have never had a problem since.

 

$538 is too much for an alternator and I'm surprised it wasn't covered under warranty. You should think about getting 00/01 MAF or you'll end up replacing the 02 MAF on a regular basis.

 

I just replaced my MAF yesterday with a 01 unit. The Max is alive again.

Pedro