It cuts off about 5-10 secs on cold mornings but once its warmed up its fine. Also on mild/warm/hot days its totally fine. It always fire right back up.
Anyone have these symptoms or have any ideas what it could be. Im not get any check engine lighs or anything. Also on cold mornings I hear a little pinging type sound as if there is a loose small marble or something under the hood somewhere....Any insight will be appreciated..

 

i get it when its cold.

 

if it were an older maxima i would say it was your choke, newer cars do not have this but whatever the equivilant is, it could be that

 

Im sorry.. I guess i should have posted the type of car.
Its 2000 Max SE, Automatic..

Any other ideas gang?

 

Hmmmmm... I'm going to have to go with MAF or coils. I had this happen to me, the car would sputter on startup when the engine was cold. I'd change the MAF first, though. It happened after I disconnected the battery to install my amp (among other crap that suddenly broke)

 

I wouldn't go replacing your MAF right away, or your coils. it sounds more like a sensor or the IACV isn't adjusted right.

 

I'm having same problem w/same car (2000SE auto). If car sits more than 24HRS esp. if cold outside, when started it will cough, sputter, backfire and die. The only way to keep it running is to constantly work the gas pedal. After car is warmed up, runs fine. Plugs, coils, MAF have all been replaced within the last year. Noise you are hearing may be backfiring or spark knock. Ideas, anyone?

 

Does it cut off immediately after it starts? Or does it sputter for a while then die? Can you keep it running if you pump the gas?

 

SES light? Maybe it threw a code but didn't light up. Might want to have the codes read anyway.

 

No SES light on mine, as weather has gotten colder, it is now doing it pretty much every morning. Exhaust is rank so am getting unburned fuel thru system.

 

Mine is/was doing that, after awhile I had a really bad idle problem and it lost power.
I went to a local shop, had them read my codes and it was my coil. My #6 went out on me so i'm going on 5 cylinders. So it is pushing alot of gas on the 02 sensors making it run crazy. I say it will end up costing me $180 for a new coil, wires and plugs.
It may not be your problem, but you could look into it.
If you're not getting a SES light, you probably will soon.

 

mine would do that... bad or good coils... it would shut off immediately and then would run fine after the one time or a few more starts.. manual tran so it was not hard to keep it going.

As it turns out, it was my IACV going bad... cold weather does not affect it like it used to since i had the replaced under warranty.... but i also replaced my maf so it will be one of those two things.

If your IACV is bad it might start to shut off during idle like mine did when i pushed the clutch in.... even at 70 mph on the highway! But that was a year after the starting issue started, my maf went around the same time as my iacv got really bad.

Replace them both and the coils (unless you already replaced them of course) you will have no more stalling issues...

Good luck

 

I have a 2000 GLE (or GXE, whichever one was the cheapest) and in cold mornings the RPMs are low and if its not warmed up before being driven it stalls and dies, but I can run the car idle till its warms up without having to manually give it gas or rev it. The ignition coils (are these the same as sparkplugs?) were replaced in january with platinum supposedly (will have to check it my self to be sure one of these days) before i bought this car....but a few weeks ago in an attempt to replicate a particular sound comming from the hood I started the engine and shut it off multiple times in a short period (not knowing that can probably screw upthe starter and or the spark plugs) so maybe these are worn out now and causing the cold morning issues.... but nevertheless, i also have cold start issues like u guys.

 

Same problem here with me, car runs great until the winter time when the temp drops, 2000 SE Auto. Ive replaced the Maf, ignition coils, and plugs; didnt help the issue it still came back. Im gonna replace the IACV this week and hope that solves the problem. We'll see.

 

Did anyone have any problems starting the car this morning? I live in New York and temperatures are around 10-15 degrees.... car started fine, then after 5 seconds later the RPM started to drop and finally died on me. This happened twice till I decided to give it manual gas and rev the engine manually for about 10 minutes till the car warmed up... after that it drove fine.

Does anyone here give gas to their car manually on cold mornings to keep it from stalling during the warm up phase?

 

Same problem since the weather dropped in ny,I cleaned the throttle body and changed the pcv valve.It runs fine after it stalls while idleing in the driveway.After I restart it about three tines it runs perfect.I don't know what next?

 

There was another thread about this a short while ago. Another theory was a vaccuum leak. Correct me if I'm wrong, this is from memory:

Because it is so cold, seals actually shrink, for example the intake manifold seals. This causes a vaccuum leak. Once the car is warmed up the seal expands again so the vacuum is back up to 100%.

 

Has anybody checked their intake air temp sensor and/or the coolant temperature sensor? From the symptoms described, it sounds like the ECM isn't adjusting the injector open duration and engine is running too lean when cold.

 

Exactly the same problem here. 2000 SE Auto. The last time this happened, with exactly the same issues, it was the MAS. That was three years ago and 60,000. Im willing to bet its the same prob again.

 

Mine would start and then die unless I hold the gas pedal and them sometimes it ran fine..i'm driving my truck right now but I still need to fix it...any thoughts?

 

Mine will pop out the intake and smoke out the exhaust when this happens to me. Maybe it will help narrow it down?

 

I have a 2000 GXE that had the same problem as you guys where my car always felt like it wanted to cut out on me, and would make pinging kind of sound when hitting accelerator. I too had no check engine light on to make it easy to tell whats going on, and when I brought it to dealership (even under gold-warranty) they tried to turn me away and not fix problem because supposively check engine light has to be on. Thats bull sh_t heres what the problem was on mine and later found out it was a known problem with all Maxima's my year.

First of all, I guess the airbox on this car is a faulty design because even when changing the filter when you're supposed to, there is still dirt and crap that gets past and clogs up your Mass Air Flow sensor. This causes the car to act like it wants to cut out, especially when hitting the accelerator. It also causes the car to run too lean, which is why you get the metal tapping sound on the top front of the engine closest to the fire-wall.

In order to have the problem fixed, you must buy the correct sensor (see dealership they check your VIN # to see which one you need) and replace the housing and air filter as well. Then, you must have dealership completely reprogram your ECU in order to work properly. I've heard people that say they instead bought one from Autozone or some parts store and did not need ECU replacement WHICH IS WRONG!

Once replaced, your car will drive better than you could ever dream. No more idle problems, acceleration problems, and no more "pingy" sound.

 

Good first post, welcome to the org. Good information, however, my MAF is brand new, as well as my air filter, throttle body recently cleaned, new PCV valve, and I did an ECU reprogram about a month ago.

...My car still hesitates and dies upon the very first startup. 2nd start up it will idle fine.

So I don't think it's the MAF.

 

A complete guess, but a check of the coolant temp sensor and/or intake air sensor. What ever sensor controls the engine warm-up operation of the injectors.

 

I wonder if the sea foam through the brake booster hose would help. It wasn't under 20 degrees today and the car(2000 automatic) ran perfectly, but I know the next cold day I'm gonna have to feather the gas until it warms up.

 

Why do you think that would help?

 

I'm trying anything cheap before I start replacing parts. I'm sure its the IACV but that could be a $250 mistake if I'm wrong. Probably replace it today(somebody said you can't clean them). Let you know how its going.

 

I am the person you are referring to. First lets look at whats common on most of these cars with this problem. 99% of them are 2000's. That is the year Nissan moved from the metal intake manifold to the plastic.

My car was stalling during cold start and after warm up it was fine. I changed every damn sensor plus IACV, TB, and PVC, etc... Nothing fixed the problem. I found the answer on an Altima site because guess what? 2000 Altimas have the same cold start problem!!!

The manifold gaskets are failing - probably after the first yr of the plastic manifold - Nissan fixed the prob.

Anyways - the manifold gaskets are starting to leak. The reason it only affects you in the cold at start up is because thats when you need a very rich mixture but air is coming in from the leak so you dont get it . As the car warms the gasket expands.

My mechanic is very good and when I told him this he did not believe me but said there was a simple test. Hold 2 or 3 lit cigarettes next to the gaskets during a very cold start and see if the smoke sucks in. If so BINGO problem found!!!

I must have thrown $600 in parts at the prob before I found the real problem. I cant say that this is everybody's solution but I bet its some peoples problem! Try the cigarette test and see what happens.

BTW - I never got the pinging sound

 

wow I never knew that I have a 2000 and was the one who posted comment way above but thought it was mass air flow sensor I had that problem and was getting pinging sound I believe due to lean mixture.

 

How much were the gaskets? How was the labor? I'm in East Brunswick

 

Small world! I'm 10 minutes from you. I'm on RT 18 in EB every day. I had the job done at GT Automotive which is just past the Lowes movie theater on Rt1-over the bridge - then 1/4 mile off first exit. I forget exactly what I paid but call 985-1687 and ask for Bill. Tell him the problem and say Preston told you to call. He'll probably laugh because he knows I found the solution online and now u are calling from online w/ the same problem.

I've been going there for over 10 yrs. They are good and only work on Japanese cars.

Let me tell u a story.

I have two Legends that GT has worked on for years - the older one has 270K and runs great. All that he does on the Legends is the normal wear & tear stuff. When I first took the Max in - Bill shook his head. He told me that I should have stayed away from Nissan. He said that there are many more Hondas and Toyotas on the road than Nissan but 1/2 of all his business is in fixing Nissans - because they have twice as many problems. Hey - So What!

 

I've seen the place multiple times. I'm going to price out the parts and see if I can do it myself, I like learning and doing myself...and lining my pockets
I've actually been able to alleviate the problem for now. Over the past few days my cold starts have been harder and harder....

Turns out my battery was on its way out!

I didn't even think about it because it's an Optima. This morning it just wouldn't turn over. Jump start didn't help, strangely enough. Had AAA come out with their tester and it was the batt. Replaced it under warranty ($0 out of pocket, didn't even pay core) and I'm back in business.

I'm definitely going to look into the manifold gaskets.

 

i have the same damn problem everyone is getting. i have a 2000 gxe- 53k. where are the manifold gaskets located?

 

Replaced the intake manifold gasket (collector gasket) and it fixed the cold start stalling problem on my 2000 Nissan Maxima. The old gasket was tan in color and broke into pieces during removal. The new black gasket cost $6 after tax from the dealer and seems to be redesigned. It took me approximately 6 hours to replace, but if I had to do it again it would probably only take 3. I hope this helps someone!

 

you have a basic write-up or some helpful hints? I am thinking I am gonna have to do this.

 

In for some explanation/diagram/anything. Give me something to do one weekend.

 

This is all from memory, so I am sure some steps might not be complete or accurate. You can also reference EM-24 in the repair manual for diagrams and torque specs.

1. Loosen the air box – remove screws and slide input connector back
2. Remove the flex hose going from the air box to the throttle body
3. Remove 2 EGR guide tube bolts
4. Remove intake manifold collector supports and intake manifold collector – 3 on passenger and 2 in center
5. Remove all the bolts holding on the intake down
6. Remove a bunch of hoses and other little things
7. This should give you enough room to prop up the intake and get the old gasket out. This takes a little patience, mine broke into tiny pieces
8. I cleaned the crud off the intake manifold with a flat razor blade
9. Install new gasket – seat firmly
10. Reinstall everything in the reverse order – the collector support bolts are fun to get back on!
11. Note – you do not need to disconnect the throttle body from the intake collector to do this job, but if you do you will need new gaskets for it.

Good luck.