Forgive me for my ignorance but...

I've got a 2k1 auto with about 17k miles on it. I just started to notice that there's some performance loss at highway speeds 65mph+. I'll put it this way, I had trouble passing a girl in an 88 Sentra. Hitting the accelerator at about 70mph will jump the RPM's to about 3900, and it takes a L-O-N-G time for it to get to 5 or more. Definitely not the way it used to be. I haven't noticed any difference in performance at lower speeds, but then again, I don't really gun my car often. About the same day, I also noticed a funky rotten egg smell, which i assume is the catalytic converter. This only happened 1 or 2 times during an extended drive on a weekend vacation. The smell happened at speeds of 60mph+ during mild-moderate acceleration. If it is the Cat, would it affect performance?

Any help would be great. I want to prepare myself for what I may expect from Nissan.

Thanks guys... and girls!

 

does the "service engine soon" lit is on?
because if it is then it has something to do with the emmsions which relates to the catalic converter

 

No, the "service engine soon" light has not come on.

 

Yes, bad cats will reduce performance if they are clogged. I would have it checked out. As far as egg smell? Right cats but you should not be smelling them if all is well. Your high rpm loss of power makes me think clogged exhaust.

Mark

 

Thanks for the info! I didn't even think about the exhaust. I'll take a look to see if i can spot anything in there.

 

When you say the RPMs go up slowly, do you mean they stay at almost the same place or increase slowly for a while with not much progress or speed increase? This is a symptom of a slipping auto tranny, which 5th gens have a problem with...

 

That totally makes sense too. It is exactly the way you described it. I had noticed that a couple times when i hit the gas it took a couple seconds for the transmission to decide what it wanted to do. Thanks for the feedback, it's much appreciated.

 

Yep! If your car was built before 9-30-00 (I think) you should have the TCM or Solenoids or both replaced.

http://www.punkdork.net/max/tsb039a.pdf

That would cause the problem you have. Is your car reving and not going anywhere when this happends or just not reving and not going anywhere. If your car is reving while not accelerating get off the gas and don't push your car until it is fixed, your tranny is slipping. Excessive slipping is BAD for the tranny.

Mark

 

the tsb link is in the TSB Sticky thread at the top of the forum.

 

Some of early 2k max's have a coil problem. I had the problem with mine. Although I have a five speed my car was having the same problems. The rotten egg smell is coming from unburnt galosine in your exaust which could be the result of a defective coil. I'm not sure if the slipping trany problem would cause for the cat problem. The coil/misfiring problem could also cause your tranny to screw up like you said. This is due to the fact that the ECU expects a certain amount of power to come out of the engine...and when the engine misfires it doesn't get it.

BTW the coils are covered under California Emissions warranty.

Paul

 

Wow... thanks everyone! I truely appreciate your info and advise. This eases my mind knowing that I am more informed because of great people like you. I've checked the TSB's and contacted my local Nissan Dealer. We'll see what happens....

 

There is no better place to go than a board of 6000+ Maxima fanatics.

Mark