Does your car "buck" a little or a lot when in a lower gear at rpms under 3000 and on the throttle at under 15%? I seem to get this "bucking" like feel with the car under these circumstances, and it wants me to believe that it's a synchro issue, then again this is the first car that I've had with the drive-by-wire throttle. I'm not sure what this might be related to, but leads me to conclude that this can't be normal. Any experiences or fixes would greatly be appreciated.

btw, this is not the same type of "bucking" when the car is about to die because you are in too high of a gear and moving at a very slow speed on the throttle. I'm not a stick shift noob, that is different from this experience I'm having.

 

My 5-spd bucks without fail every time the engine is COLD in 1-3 gears. I usually baby it until it's warm anyway so it isn't too big of a deal.

On second MAF and replaced only one coil. I've heard this is a common problem.

BTW, flooring it sometimes makes it worse.

 

Really? It seems as if the more I'm into the throttle + 20% it seems to disappear, and increased engine speed starts to become smoother over the 3000rpm mark. That's not really tagging the floor or anything, just a gradual increase in throttle.

 

I believe the problem your describing is normal with the max. In first gear it bucks alot cause the gearing is so short.......That's just the way the car is and you'll have to learn how to engage/disengage the clutch smoother to avoid the bucking.

 

That's not the problem I'm having. The gear will engage just fine for me and for example I'll be driving in 1st or second and release throttle and it will buck like mad before I disengage the clutch. I wonder if the fuel cut TSB is involved.

 

mine bucks when Im going about 40, both when I let off the gas, and when I hit the gas again. I have auto too though.

 

I have a 2000 auto... and mine does this also when the engine is cold and i first start to drive it. Only does it in first gear though... and also only does it right when I start to drive. If I stop at a stop sign or something... it doesn't do it anymore.

 

As well, this isn't when I'm switching gears. I'm already in gear, just cruising. I'm not even really accelerating, I'm just holding the throttle at a constant pace about 10-15%. There is a slight buck as if not enough fuel, or if tranny related, possibly synchro issues. I'm a 6-speed btw, so I don't know the effects from automatic drivers.

 

Mine does something at low rpms once in while, but to me, its more of a shudder, so I'm not sure if that's the same as what you're describing.

 

I think the bucking or hesitation from ATs are caused by different things than the MTs.

 

mine does the same exact thing...i always thought it was because the gearing is so short....if i want to release the gas in a low gear, i HAVE to depress the clutch or else my car will buck back and forth....and when it's cold, my car will sort of buck just like you said in gears 1-3....

 

I guess that would probably describe it best. I wonder what could be the root cause of this.

 

Yeah I have to do that as well. That might be something in regards to the drive-by-wire. The "shudder" will also make my rpm's wavey, (needle). Does yours do the same?

 

I didn't quit understand you, but my car does the same and so did the 6 speed i test drove before buying this one. I am pretty sure its normal. Let off the gas and the car will buck like crazy. It's annoying but I believe they all do that..........

 

I think he's describing the shudder when you are accelerating lightly, and not when you let off the throttle.

But I know what you're saying and mine does that when I let off the gas suddenly (in low gears) too, and I'm pretty sure that's how it is on most MT cars.

 

yeah, it does...but like i said, it only does that whenever it's cold...once it's warmed up it's perfectly smooth...

 

my car likes the movie uncle buck. does that count?

 

i guess this is where auto comes in handy

but in all seriousness, just before my ABS sensor was about to die, this is what i felt. the car was bucking/rocking/stuttering and then at higher speeds it went away. it happened so consistently sometimes that it stopped freaking me out, i knew what it was. but it caused my warning lights to come on and everything, not sure if thats what you guys are having...but since you all have 6 speeds and can all describe the same basic thing, i guess its common with the 6 speed?

 

You so craaazy......derannnged.

-Martin Lawrence

 

No worries. There's so many nidbit things that are in the same realm it's hard to know exactly what someone's talking about sometimes.

 

2000 auto and when my car is cold, its like it doesn't want to go, I wouldn't call it bucking, but it does it for between 3-5 seconds and then its fine.

 

Blu and I took a test drive after work and we think that my issue might have something to with the suspension. I'm going to have to take the wheel off and see now. It does shudder, but when we paid real close attention to it, it was like it's more of a wobble from side to side. This is a new situation that just arose a few weeks ago. The other abnormal low gear/rpm/speed bucking traits are normal or at least have been around for a while.

I'll update my findings. Thanks for the inputs, and keep them coming if you have anymore.

 

Who wants to help me do an autotragic conversion.

 

When my car is cold, if i let off the gas sharply, its like i get hit with a baseball bat lol

Once it warms up to decent operating temperature, none of that lol

I think this is normal on all MT cars, the direct connection between the engine and drivetrain [unlike the torque converter on AT] will cause the car to buck if engine speed drops [especially when in low gear]

I'm not 100% sure why this is more evident when the engine is still cold though... maybe the engine doesnt "gradually" slow down

 

lol. ill sell you all my auto stuff

 

I know what you guys mean exactly, 01 5 speed- i posted about maybe my MAF being bad again but this sounds pretty much right on the money of what my car does. Its real bad when its cold but accelerating slowly its like i have hydraulics sometimes. You know what, mine also does it crusing in 5th, i get the exact same shudder you guys are talking about, but in 5th gear il get a shudder too like the engine skips once, its weird


Then again, i have had the MAF done (at the dealer under warranty) but have NOT had coils done yet and am on 80,000 miles on original plugs

 

That's interesting to say the least. I'm going to snoop around the engine bay some and see what I can come up with. You've pretty much hit my symptoms on the money. I still believe I have some sort of suspension issues, but I'll check that as well.

 

Im interested too, it seems when im in stop and go traffic, (auto) and am cuzing with the traffic foot on gas and foot off gas it seems to jerk a little when i put my foot on the gas and take it off.

 

With manual tranny, you can "avoid" bucking. Never heard of automagic maximas bucking tho... interesting.

 

You can definately rule out scnchro issues. That causes a grinding when shifting gears not a bucking.

This sounds like the normal behavior of a Maxima. You have to be careful with it at low speeds. It feels like the car flexes and the suspension compresses in a way that causes the bucking when they rebound. You just have to know how to control the throttle to avoid it. The Max is very sensative to throttle imput at low RPM. Much more so than a 4 cillender or weaker 6 which has no low end power.

The reason some people only experience it when the car is cold is because the car is in "high idle" until it reaches temperature. This causes throttle responce to be different than when the car is warmed up. Once it warms up it behaves like they're used to and it's fine.

 

I believe this is a fuel delivery issue and there is a TSB for it. Well...at least there is for 01 5-speed. Im not sure about 6-speeds. The dealer will reprogram the ECU if you are under 80000 for free of you bring in a copy of the TSB.

 

That's a good description of it... I don't know if this makes sense, but IMO the throttle is sensitive but with some lag still because of the DBW. ie. a little tap can bring about a significant "buck", but it is slightly delayed.

 

Whats the TSB on it? would it count for 01 auto?

 

You can find out for yourself here:

http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/tsb/

 

just like jd said...only does it when its cold after that its smooth sailing...i mean driving

 

NO Manual only

 

For all you 5 speeders...

http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/tsb/NTB01-018a.pdf

 

its normal for a 5 speed car cuz i drive a 93 es300 5 speed and it bucks in first gear when i let go of gas

 

Yea, mine does this too. It's kind of annoying and for a while I even thought I might have a broken motor or tranny mount. I checked them all and their fine, but this is exactly what the "bucking" feels like to me. A good way for me to describe it is like the engine feels like it's attached to the frame by rubber bands. That's obviously an exaggeration but it feels like that to me. Like you when I come to a stoplight I just push in the clutch. Stop and go traffic is murder though. If the traffic is moving just slow enough for 1st and not fast enough for 2nd I feel like I'm riding a horse.

It's not near as bad as the total POS car I was driving before I got this Max. My father-in-law let me use his spare beater '92 Toyota Corolla while I was on my 4 month long 6-speed Maxima quest. Talk about bucking! That poor Crapolla bucked so bad I thought the engine would drop out. When the engine was cold it was pure comedy, the front wheels would almost come off the ground.