Well I just found out today my car dies while driving... the first problem I notice is the high idle. It seems like the intake is sucking in so much air and the idle is hitting almost 2k (1.75k to be exact) on park.... it doesn't happen all the time but when i start driving it goes fine but as soon as i hit a stop sign or red light... the idle drops all the way down and the car just shuts off with all the lights on including the AIRBAG light that i noticed the most... i'm not sure what's wrong with it but I need to fix my car by tomorrow mornin' so i can go back to school... if anyone has an idea of what to do without takin' it to the shop it would be GREAT! Thanks!!!

 

this doesn't help, but my car did the same thing after i reset the ecu... it started stalling after accelerating hard or just revving it in neutral. did it for about 2 days, now it seems to be doing fine.

any more info about your car?

hope you find the answer

 

Just stalls... on my way back it seems to be ok... i'm gonna reset the ECU again and see what happen...

actually it's not really reseting the ECU... just gonna unplug the battery and see if it helps... seems my intake is the problem cuz it's suckin' in so much air and makin' a louder noise then usual... otherwise i don't know what other info about what could happen.. gonna try to mess with it right now...

 

this is actually a recall... consult your stealership

 

sensor recall- have your local dealership perform it

 

sensor recall?
applys 2000?

 

yup senor recall. applies to 5th gens... particularly the '00 and '01's i think..

 

hmmm what does the sensor actually do and what are the symptoms of a bad sensor.

My dad and I just changed the 6 spark plugs but the car still doesn't work. It starts but the idle will drop at certain times and the car is just dying on us constantly.

I probably won't be able to fix anything this week but I can let my dad know about the sensor recall as long as you guys on here can show me what the sensor is and where it is even at...

I thought for some reason it could be from my intake since it seems like it is sucking in more air than usual.. but it could be just the fact that the RPM is really high at idle. So if you guys can let me know about the sensor and the name it would greatly help.

Also do you think reseting the ECU would help at all by any chance. Thanks all!

 

So here's an update:

I changed all 6 spark plugs... the engine still dies... then i decided to mess around with the idle speed using the black screw on the IACV... because I realized my idle was soo high... and turning the screw caused the RPM to drop a lot and the car seems to be driving ok. Each FIRST time i start the car (giving it a minute or more), it continues to crank but dies as soon as the RPM goes up and back down to 0... the 2nd start the car is back to normal... obviously this is not normal.. and will the sensor again fix the problem? Thanks!

 

Zero..i had the same problem with my max. it just seem to stall out while i was driving and the idle was very high. I came to conclude that it was the MAF sensor. Call Dave B he'll hook you up with one for about 100 bucks.
ps-how high can you rev ur engine while driving? if its stoped at 4k then its DEF ur maf..

 

Here's the link for the recall:

http://www.nissanhelp.com/Recalls/Maxima/2002.htm

it says that it applies to the 2002 but it sure sounds like your car is suffering from the same symptoms even though yours is a 2000

 

OutMaxxed - not too sure if it is the MAF because I just replaced it like 1000 miles ago... but I'll definately mess around with it to see if everything will get better...

ressling - thanks for the information, hopefully the dealer will replace it for free under the recall even though it IS for 2002+...

 

I had the same exact problem and was nearly killed because of it. I was getting off from my exit and as i was making a loop, the car died, steering locked up and the dash lights all went on. I was goin fast as hell; dunno how i steered it away from the barrier.

Long story short, it was the IACV. The code it threw was P0505. I had 2 mechanics take a look at it. And the conclusion was the same.

Also, I tested the MAF, so if your problem is similar to mine, chances are thats not it.

 

I have a feeling it is also the IACV... my dad and I was adjusting the screw to change our idle so it was lower and it did help but the FIRST start is still dying on me. It will jump up to 1.5k RPM and back down to 0... and the 2nd time i would have to hold the gas a bit so the RPM would stay around 1 until the "AIRBAG" light disapears then I let go and it works fine... the "AIRBAG" light might just be a coincidence... but it lets me idle fine everytime i hold the gas until the "AIRBAG" light is gone...

for the IACV... do I have to get a new one or is there a way to clean it... i remember other threads of other members cleaning it... and does the sensor (sensor that was suppose to be recalled) have to do anything with the IACV? Thanks again!

 

UPDATE: So after several weeks of not having my car and busy with school and work, I finally decided to take the car to the shop to fix. It is one of my dad’s friends so I knew he was going to do an honest job and good price on it. The technician fixed my car and said it was leaks in the vacuum lines and he cleaned the vacuum. It only cost me 40$ to have them cleaned the vacuum and replaced the vacuum lines. Now where the vacuum actually located and what is is the purpose of it. I haven’t got the chance to drive my car yet but hopefully it is dandy! Thanks to all that chimed in the thread.