Hey folks, I'm cruising on over here from 3rd gen land..

So my mom's 2003 SE 3.5 A/T: Just today it developed a hesitation, stumbling, jerking problem during acceleration. The idle fluctuates up and down, and when in gear (reverse or drive) it moves fine under idle power, but once you step on the gas pedal, it repeatedly bogs and wont go faster than 10mph. The more you push down the pedal, the harder it jerks, as if you were flooring the pedal then letting off, flooring it, letting off, etc etc. It also behaves like this when in park or neutral and you press down the pedal (and hold it), it just revs up and down up and down, etc

I did some searching here and thought that it could be MAF? throttle pos sensor? or something else, not sure. Unplugged the MAF, and the idle problem became worse, so not sure if this could be it.. is this a common problem from any of you 5th genners?

 

Yes, it very well could be the MAF. And MAF issues are quit common in the 5th gens.

 

Soooo... i managed to break off a bolt inside the slides on the back of the caliper bracket. What's the best way to get this sucker out? I've never used a bolt extractor drill bit, are they safe to use for this type of thing?

 

You best and easiest way to go about it.... Just get a new guide and bolt. They are pretty cheap at any autozone....

 

I didn't even consider that because I had no clue what it was called. I was just gonna bring it to a NAPA or something and point at it, haha.

Any chance you have a link to one? I'm having trouble finding it by searching.

 

Here is a link to O'Reilly Auto Parts. I don't know if you have these stores in your area but you can get these at probably any parts store.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/se...mp;make=Nissan

 

Thanks, as always! I managed to find them at the local napa, they were a little different but I was able to use the rubber piece from the old one and they fit like a charm.

I did the other side today, and an oil change. Noticed during the oil change my radiator was leaking, though. Anyone have a recommendation for a good replacement? I see Koyo was a common choice, but those threads are from '06-'09.

 

Hello everyone...I am a new (to me) 2003 Maxima GLE owner as of this afternoon!!
It is a 1 owner with 88,000 miles. I drove her home today from the place of purchase, which was about 45 minutes away. I noticed that at deceleration (40 down to 0) and acceleration (0 to aout 40) I have a grinding sound from what seems the front of the car. I am figuring it just needs brakes. Or maybe in need of new calipers as well. No steering wheel shaking or anything.
However...I did notice that is seems the parking brake is bent to the drivers side a bit. Not exactly sure if this is the design or the way it should be, But found it odd. I will take a picture, and post of possible.
The parking brake seems to engage as soon as I pull on it, and the light goes on. When I put it all the way down, the light goes off.
Is this sound just a signal that I need new brakes? Or is this something a bit more serious? Just trying to learn about these beautiful cars.
Thanks SOOOOO much for the help.

 

^
Mine lights up even before I hear the engaging sound

congrats on the car

 

I'm surprised that you didn't find anything newer than 2009. It is discussed a lot.

Koyo has always been a quality product and will definitely outlast the Nissan radiator. You won't go wrong if you get one.

There is a "Group Deals/Sponsor Forum" in the classified section, link = https://maxima.org/forums/group-deal...t-pricing.html

The price is $106 for the radiator. There have been guys saying that a radiator on rockauto.com that sells for around $50 - $60 is a koyo radiator under a different name, but I don't remember what the name is. I don't know if that is true or not.

You should also consider replacing the 4 rubber grommets that hold the radiator in place. The 2 upper ones are part number 21506-51E00 and the 2 lower ones are part number 21507-51Y10. All 4 will probably run you around $25 at the dealer.

 

^
more like $100 in Canada

 

Thanks so much...I love it already.
Now to figure out this darn grinding sound.

 

wheel bearing?
suspension?

 

Huh....not really sure. I am searching for answers as we speak. Hopefully I can find something.
I have been trying to search with no success yet about the parking brake.
Any help with the orientation of it? Does it lean off to the drivers side a bit? I'll post a picture so everyone can see what I mean.
Thanks!

 

Here are some pictures of the parking brake.
I am going to post this question to a specific thread as well.
Thanks.

 

It sounds like the parking brake is not adjusted properly. The light should come on after one click is heard. The brakes should not engage until after maybe 10 clicks. At 10 clicks, you should need a force of 44 pounds to pull the lever.

See page 35 for parking brake adjusting:

http://boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/Maxima/2003/BR.pdf

If you want the complete service manual:

http://boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/Maxima/2003/

 

Thank you so much for the help.
I really appreciate it. I will take a look at it again tomorrow and report back.

 

What kind of lubricant is safe to use on air intake hoses?
specifically the one attached to the throttle body going to the air filter housing. Somehow the housing end is partially off and I can seem to get it back on. Figured I'd try lubing it up and see if that helps.

TIA

 

Hello all,
Though I've been registered for 9 months I do t think I've posted yet. Anyhow, my MaxMax has 190.9/500k on the clock and I need help diagnosing an engine problem. My "SERIVE ENGINE SOON" light has been on for about a mk th though original ay the far was running g fine. Sometimes seemingly randomly, it will run like ****, as if it's missing on 1 or 2 cylinders. Other times, it will run fine. Other times, it will run crappy from about 10-25% throttle, but if you put your foot into it, it will clear up, sometimes without downshifting which smells to me like a TPS.

Unfortunately, even after trying 3 different scanners, none will connect to my car through the port under the dash so I don't want to throw parts at the problem, I'd rather fix it right the 1st time. To my knowledge the coils have never been changed and I know from experience working at an independent VW / OOOO (4 tow hooks) shop, their 1.8T motors ate the shire Bosch coils for breakfast, lunch, and dinner till VW FINALLY wentry back to.the Hitachi coils that came with the cars when that engine was first introduced.

After I get the mill sorted out, I also have the following to repair:
Both front wheel bearings
Rotors on all 4 corners
LR caliper amd RF caliper if I can't get it to stop dragging
Rust inside the RR fender lip, and it's starting on the LR fender lip too.
Leather is dirty but in very good condition though seat vinyl is GARBAGE and very badly cracked.

Thanks for the help,
Dave
2001 GLE metallic green, bone stock, won't stay that way but still my daily driver
1985 Maxima station wagon aka The Meatwagon, 223k on the clock and all Maxima automatics were notoriously weak till 2000 when they got new solenoids in the valve body. Ring gear was about to fall off the differential so I drove her 260 miles home from college, we wrote her off for $3000 before they changed the tax laws to I clued mileage.
IMHO the current edition Maxima is fugly, looks like some sort of starving fish, perhaps a hammerhead shark?

 

ok so i am changing the clutch on my 2001 nissan maxima and decided to replace most of my seals, on the drivers hand side there is a seal that goes into the transmission where the axle goes in its fairly big and has some orange on it with metal and rubber, I dont know what its called or have a part number for it can anyone help me get this part cause that one i have is ruined, i got the 20th anniversary edition and i really needs this to finish my car and get it back on the road any help is greatly appreciated thanks

 

Generically, it is called an axle oil seal. That kind of seal is used in several places in the engine.

But specifically, Nissan calls the axle seal "SEAL - OIL, DIFFERENTIAL TRANSMISSION CASE. It is Nissan part number 38342-81X00. It costs about $9 at the dealer, $20 at Autozone. You will find that the dealer is usually the cheapest place for gaskets.

 

thanks got the part and now im installing everything

 

Replacing my rear struts with Monroe Quickstruts.
The problem is, one of them will not line up with the "bolt" at the bottom. Seems to be off by a 1/2 inch or so.
Do I try and turn it (like when aligning the top of the front driver's side top)?
Or is it a defect, and just get another one?

Thanks

 

For my car it was bad coils. I had a major misfire for a little while (causing my engine to chug very irregularly) and a minor (occasional) unnoticeable one for a long time. Took me forever to find out which coil was acting up.

 

Any way I can determine for sure what kind of transmission I have? I'm in an '01 SE and trying to replace my fluid because its basically brown. I was under the impression I was running a CVT transmission, if so do I purchase Nissan CVT transmission fluid? (999MP-NS200P)

 

The CVT transmission was not used in the 5th gen Maxima. You have the RE4F04B (or RE4F04W) 4 speed.

So you want to use the Nissan Matic “D” fluid.

 

Does a 2k2 stillen front lip bolt up to a 2k?

 

Mostly all the lips are interchangeable between 5th/5.5 gens, but will require some slight adjustment to fit 5.5 onto 5th and vice versa.

 

NEWBIE here so I apologize if this should be posted somewhere else and any feedback on posting/etc. is greatly appreciated.

So, I've got a 2012 SV (my 3rd Maxima btw) and recently got a P0101 code for the mass air sensor. I've cleaned the sensor and erased the codes via scanner multiple times, only for the cel to pop up after 2-3 weeks. This most recent time, I decided to disconnect the battery in order for the ecm to fully reset and start all engine parameters over. I've now driven about 200 miles and the cel has not come back on....fingers crossed!!

The car runs great, with no interruptions in acceleration or jumps in throttle. I did have a K&N air filter in the car several months ago but have since replaced it with a FRAM and will be putting an OEM filter directly from Nissan in tomorrow.

Any feedback on what I may some next steps could be IF the cel comes back on for whatever reason? I do have an extended warranty which covers the MAS, however I only want to go to the dealership as a last resort but will certainly do so if needed to keep the Max running at top performance.

I do sincerely appreciate any and all feedback!!

 

One last question on the above, any suggestions on the best air filter to use in OEM 7th gen? Was using K&N but have since installed a FRAM due to K&N's possibility of allowing oil and other matter into the MAS. From I've researched, sounds like the best solution is the actual OEM filter directly from Nissan since all engine components are OEM.

Any thoughts?

 

ok i was in my driveway when the airbag light started to blink and then i shut the car off and now it wont start it doesnt even turn over the steering wheel wouldnt turn before it locked and the brake pedal wont go down i am short on money and dont know what the problem could is any help is greatly appreciated thank you

 

This is your 3rd Maxima, and you don't know where to post questions about your 2012SV? Have you looked at the at main page of https://maxima.org/forums/ ?????

 

If the engine doesn't turn over, you may have a dead battery or a bad ignition switch.

Start by getting a voltmeter and see if the battery has 12 volts. If it has less than 12, it is discharged. You can try getting the car jumped if the battery is discharged. If the car starts, are the BRAKE and BATTERY lights in the dash on? This would indicate the alternator is not charging the battery.

Check these things and report back. Also let us know what year your car is, because all the years are not identical.

 

Hey I'm new here and I have a 2001 Nissan maxima I just replaced all ignition coils and the idle control valve I have a check engine soon light I was driving and I stoped at a light and my car died so now I have to hold on to the gas in order for the car to stay on I have no or very low idle and I'm not sure what it could be anyone have any advice?

 

It looks like your car does not want to idle. This points to the IACV; I know you just replaced it but there is a possibility that your ECU is also damaged and that the bad ECU damaged the new IACV. This is a well known problem and is documented on this thread: https://maxima.org/forums/5th-genera...d-seconds.html .

If this is the case, you have to replace/fix both your ECU and your IACV at the same time. Re. how/where to get your ECU fixed, see post #201 on the above thread.

 

Did you find out what code is causing the check engine light? The IAC valve is code P0505.

If the ECU was damaged by the old IAC valve, you have a 50-50 chance that a damaged ECU will damage the new IAC valve. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

I had my mechanic take a look at it and found the ivac had coolant inside which was causing my car to drown so it couldn't even start up so I replaced it and now the consult can't relearn the idle so my idle is gone Unless if I hold on to the gas pedal. do you know where I can get a cheap ecm the dealer is charging me 1,100 bucks for a reman ecm

 

It seems that the ECU was damaged. If you don't want to pay the dealer big bucks, then do what maxiiiboy said in his post 3 above this one... remove the ECU and send it out to get repaired. Most people do this because it is a lot less money.

 

After a reasonable amount of research we are considering getting our daughter a 2000-2001 Maxima or Infinity I30. With some of the known electrical problems toasting the ECU I have some concerns. With a purchase of a NDS or such type software will I be able to perform all reprogram/ relearn processes myself. If not would a local independant or other dealership like Dodge be able to. I ask because we live over 80 miles from the nearest Nissan Dealership. I just don't want to get stuck with a dead car from a silly computer problem after some sort of routine maint. and have to tow a car 80+ miles over many mountain passes. Also. Is there a way to tell if a owner has delated any SES codes right before we go to look a car to purchase.

 

We will soon be purchasing a car for my daughter and later on one for my wife. Because we live in Western North Carolina I thought a FWD car with a LSD would be helpful for them. After some research we have narrowed it down to a I30T or a 2001 Maxima SE Anniversary with a VLSD in them. How long will a VLSD last under normal driving? All the threads I’ve read seem to pertain to some sort of racing condition for longevity of a VLSD. In real world conditions how well does a VLSD work over a open diff on snow and ice in mountainous terrain in these cars? I don’t want to limit our choices or pass up a sweet deal on a car without VLSD if there isn‘t much difference between a VLSD or open diff. Please no buy this or that cause I don’t want to go past 2001 for various reasons.