kiker14

Hello All,

I'm having 3 pretty significant problems with my '03 SE (automatic transmission). I've done some searching and some talking with guys who have the same car but haven't come to any solid conclusions. If you have any info on these three things, please let me know. I'll go in what I think is least important to most important:

1) If the car has been sitting overnight in the cold (sub 30degree F weather) then when I start it, ONLY the spedometer works. The tach, temp, and fuel gauge do not work. Sometimes the Fuel gauge will go crazy jumping up and down. If the car warms up and I shut it down and start it up again, the issue almost always resolves itself.

2) I occasionally hear a "crunching" noise directly after starting the car. I have a friend who said he had this happen too and that nissan said he had to have the engine taken apart to have it fixed...? It does not always happen, but it's getting more and more common. I'm at 40K miles, and I believe the engine is covered under warranty up until 50K...

3) This is the scariest - Two times now when I press the gas pedal, NOTHING happens. The first time this happened while I was cruising along on the highway at about 75mph, and then all of a sudden I started slowing way down, as if I was out of gas (I was not out of gas - and I only use premium). This morning I was at a red light, and when it turned green, I pressed the pedal and again, no response. So then naturally I press harder, and eventually it will "fix" itself and all 255hp gets transfered straight to the wheels and I just peel out - on the highway it was just real jerky when it "fixed" itself. I am going to take the car into the dealership to have them hook it up to their machines - but has anybody else had this happen...?

Thanks,
~Andrew

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

Seems as if your car might have gone into fail safe mode on this one. Is there a MIL?

mist max2000

iTrader: (16)

hard to say with out actually 'hearing' the "crunch" but i would say possibly it is you starter- which it is not disengaging properly and the teeth are grinding,.. it can be regreased or a new one can be bought (if that is your problem) does it do it EVERY time? also.. try some tests,.. hold the key an extra second or two when u start it,.. or when u start it,.. kill it and start it again and see if it stil lmakes the noise or if the noise changes ,.. but im saying its ut starter..... sorry no idea on one,.. its not good though.. only in cold weather? never in warmer weather?

Bezzle01

You could also possibly be low on transmission fluid..... I had the same problems on a previous car that had a transmission leak, when the car is cold the fluid is contracted, when it heats up to full temp it expands so it works for the most part untill youre really low. Does the #3 problem only happen when its cold?

Maxima570

iTrader: (1)

on the #3 problem, it sounds like the engine doesn't even rev? If it does rev, then try the trans fluid thing, if not, could it be a bad accelerator wire or something, like the pedal input doesn't reach the engine every time, I don't really know that much about this stuff but I thought this seemed like a possible starting point

kiker14

correct, the engine does not rev - the first time it happened it was VERY cold outside (probably around 10 degrees) and this morning it was probably about 35 degrees. My guess is electrical. I'm actually picking up a motorcycle in a few days so I'll use that as my commuter vehicle as the maxima is at the stealership...

kiker14

No, it does not do it every time. It also does not sound like the starter does if you accidently "turn on" your car after it is already running... it's hard to describe, it almost sounds like a scrape, it is quick and not very loud and it does not do it EVERY time, I'd say 1/5 times I start the car I notice it. It hasn't been real warm at all recently so I am not sure if it's only temp related.

kiker14

pardon my ignorance - what is a "MIL"?

a_prince1

iTrader: (3)

First you need to have the car checked for any codes. That should direct you somewhere. To your answers it is pretty hard for any of us to tell you the problem without actually listening to the car itself. But we will all help.
For problem #1 . . . Cold gets the better of all cars but if your is persistant i'd check the electricals.
For problem #2 . . . who does your oil changes? I am thinking maybe the oil filter you use has an insufficient by-pass valve or the oil itself does not flow through the block in time hence you hear the noise it makes. Timing chains clatter on start-up.
For problem #3 . . . check the throttle body and the throttle cable. Does the gas pedal stick at all?

LA02MAX

iTrader: (3)

1.) You probably have a funky wiring issue here. I haven't heard of this happening and it really shouldn't be weather-dependent.

2.) http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/tsb/NTB03-060.pdf You've got the infamous VTC rattle. Mine has done it since around 40k as well and I went through hell to have the dealer replace it only to find out the day I got it back it still did the same thing...I would just leave it as there's really no problem other than it being annoying. The engine has to build up proper oil pressure quickly so it's entitled to make a little noise the first second or two of startup IMO.

3.) Could be seeing early symptoms of an MAF failure. I don't think it has anything to do with the throttle sticking, as it wouldn't just randomly close if this were the case.

kiker14

1) I agree - I bet it's some transistor somewhere or something.

2) My father did most of the oil changes - I don't have a garage or lift up here so Nissan has done the last 3 or 4

3) the gas pedal does not stick at all, I will take a look at the throttle body and the throttle cable tomorrow...

LA02MAX

iTrader: (3)

you don't have a throttle cable. It's controlled electronically.

upstatemax

iTrader: (15)

Holy crap, thank you...

Do the ECM reset, it might help with the 1st and 3rd...

#2... Motor mount, flex section, might even be linked to your electrical problem.

kiker14

is there a sticky or writeup on how to do the ECM reset? or is this something the dealer must do?

(sorry, I'm used to working on much "simpler" cars)

LA02MAX

iTrader: (3)

yes. check the stickies for the 02-03 ECU reset procedure and it'll give you everything including the IAVL and the Throttle position relearn, etc.

LA02MAX

iTrader: (3)

http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...&postcount=103

Have fun and make sure your timing is dead on.

kiker14

I will give these things a shot - although my check engine light has not been on - does this matter, meaning, should I have seen the check engine light if there is really a problem with my ECU?

upstatemax

iTrader: (15)

Yes you can have a CEL and you should go have the code pulled to see what your car is telling you...

kiker14

upstatemax, I think you may have misunderstood (my statement wasn't too clear though)... What I was saying is that my check engine light is NOT on, so I was wondering if that meant that my ECU actually IS working properly, or could it still be malfunctioning without triggering the check engine light?

upstatemax

iTrader: (15)

I read it fast, thought you said it was on...

Anyway, have codes pulled anyway... Some times the computer will store error codes without giving you a CEL.

Rydicule

for problems 1 & 3, if the ECU reset does not work, perhaps consider the alternator?

I was in the car when the alternator went on both my brother's 01 Maxima and my dad's 95 subaru. First, the guages would be eratic, failing and then popping up. Then the car would start shaking and jerking, and hesitating on take-off. Not sure if this is what you're experiencing or not...

kiker14

I've had an alternator go bad on me on another car - I don't think that's the issue here as my lights don't seem to dim, power steering continues to function flawlessly, etc etc etc - but it is possible.

I'm taking the car to the shop either late this week or early next week, I'll have them pull the codes and check into my issues

dawoo_nj

Killer14,
For #3, I would have to agree with LAO2MAX. Who said


3.) Could be seeing early symptoms of an MAF failure. I don't think it has anything to do with the throttle sticking, as it wouldn't just randomly close if this were the case.

I had a 2000 CLK that did the same thing. And, I had to get the MAF replaced. When you hit the gas, does it just takes a few seconds for the acceleration to kick in??

housecor

iTrader: (2)

#3 could also be an issue w/ the faulty crank position sensor which could cause random complete loss of power. There is a TSB on the issue here:

http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/tsb/NTB03-124.pdf

My '03 had this issue when I first test drove it and this TSB solved it. No issue since then.

kiker14

That is exactly what happens, as I am holding the gas pedal down, nothing happens at all for 2-3 seconds (which is a pretty long time when you are trying to go at a green light) and then it kicks in full strength

kiker14

thanks housecor,

I will be sure to mention this to the dealer when I take it in.

upstatemax

iTrader: (15)

TPS relearn usually solves this problem since it is an electrical throttle, not cable.

kiker14

but it is an intermittent problem - wouldn't a relearn be more of a binary thing where it would NEVER work in a certain position?

StL06MAX

#3 sounds exactly like what happen when the MAF went out on my old Maxima (02 SE), except mine never got out of fail-safe mode. Crammed down on the pedal to pass a semi and the thing crapped out on me. I had to drive 40 MPH the rest of the way. Back in November the 02 started doing the same things, not wanting to sink any more cash into the car, I traded it in on an 06 SE

kiker14

very interesting - would the MAF be covered under the powertrain warranty? Probably not would be my guess even though it is an engine-critical componant... I'll be sure to let everybody know what happens when I take the car to the dealership. I'm going to take it on Monday of next week (Hopefully the weather will stay nice next week so I can use the motorcycle as my commuter vehicle...)