I will try to be as descriptive as possible.

I have a 00 i30 with 137k miles and for months now I have noticed a significant power loss in the low end, midrange, and high end.

When I hit the gas pedal less than half throtle the car takes off and goes through the gears normally. Anything above half throtle seems to be where the problem lies. When you hit 75% or WOT the engine sems to surge but there is no powerful accelleration that is consistent with the VQ. The engine seems to be lost as to what to do and it wont go past about 4500 rpm. I've goten it past 5k in neutral but it wont go past that. Even when I manually select the gears, it seems to reach 4500 and just refuses to go any further.

I have eliminated the following:

The transmission is not the culprit and neither is the TCM because I have replaced both to no avail. I have also eliminated the MAF because the engine comfortably revs past 2800 rpm and I even unplugged it at one time just to make sure and it wouldnt go past 2800. I thought it might be the VIAS but the power loss is across the rpm spectrum and I even opened it up and tried the jb weld solution and, nothing.

So for all you who have had years of experience with the 5th gen, has anyone come across this very odd problem or is this a freakish pproblem.

Thanks for the help.

 

Post your maintenance history so we can see if a tune up is needed.

 

could be maf..

 

i had a similiar problem with my 2000 max. I unplugged the battery and after about 200 miles it started running normal again....

 

When a MAF is going out or is out in most nissan motors the rev limiter hits at 4500 RPM this is more than likely a MAF problem. Experienced it first hand cause i pulled a bone head and forgot to plug the MAF back in when i redid my CAI

 

Maintenance wise, I've kept the car in good shape and everything is up to date. I didnt think it took this long before the MAF went out. The problem has persisted for a about 6 months and I did not get serious about it until I almost got in trouble trying to beat uncoming traffic and the engine wouldnt pick up much. Is there a clear way to test the maf with a voltmeter before I go out and buy another one.

 

try cleaning the maf before you go and buy a new one. theres a thread on here with detailed instructions on how to do so. It saved me a lot of money.

 

 

The 2000 MAF is not that expensive. Are you still on the original MAF at 137K miles?? If so, I would replace it

 

^^^^^^ Fixed my problem... mine was doing the same thing. I even replaced a perfectly good clutch, "thinking" it was slipping because the feel was loss of power from motor to wheels. Changed MAF myself part was 110.00 and acted like a brand new car. The pull and power that came back was unbelievable. I guess since I drive it daily the slight power loss doesn't register to you until you get it back. It was unbelievable the difference.

 

I also have 2000 I30t @ 135k miles and I was suffering from serious power loss. I listened to the guys here and called DaveB. I got a the part number that ends in 2y000 and I installed it myself. This is the correct part number so don't get confused there are a few other part numbers out there, I confirmed through DaveB. It was about $100 with shipping and it included the MAF sensor and the MAF housing/pipe. I cleaned the TB and snorkel duct, airbox, & air filter while the stock airbox was off. When I put the new MAF in, I must of noticed a 20-50 hp increase from before since it pulled like sh*t. The part says to do a ECM reprogram and I got mine done for $100. I don't think the reprogram is essential but it makes sense to sync the model MAF to the ECM for efficiency. More specifically, the infi mechanic told me in the long run, not doing a reprogram will cause problems for the catalytic convertor. Not sure if know anything regarding the reprocussions of not doing a relearn, so I dropped the $$$ and got it done.

Good Luck

 

BUMP

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I'm encountering a similar problem. My '00 SE 5 spd hesitates when I have the pedal to the floor until it hits about 28-2900 RPM in any gear. It revs normally without load, and Saturday we put a new MAF in (I had cleaned the current MAF and reset the ECM a few weeks ago, with no change). New MAF made no change, though I don't think the ECM was reset by the shop that did it.

Also, have replaced all 6 plugs with Iridiums and have grey dot coils. I replaced one of the precats (P0430 code - honeycomb was pushed back into the coverter housing about 3 inches), and took it in for a reprogram -- which they said was unnecessary for that replacement. But they did pull a P0325 code, which is the KS. Could a bad KS be robbing me of low end power to the point where the car doesn't respond at all to input on the accelerator? If so, what else should I do while I have the intake manifold off to get to the KS?

Does anyone have any thoughts about this?

 

Ummmm...........MAF??????

 

I have cleaned the MAF, and installed a new MAF. No dice.

 

whats the KS code? but that cat converter would have been my guess....

 

The Knock Sensor code is P0325. It's a ghost code, so it doesn't trigger the SES or show up on a typical scan tool. My understanding is that when P0325 is thrown, the ECM retards timing and runs richer.

What's odd is that the car responds like it's lean, but it's now got a P0140 code, which I understand is a high voltage code from one of the rear O2s.

Here's what I've done so far to address it:

All coils are grey dot coils, and no codes for misfires. I did replace all 6 plugs with NGK iridiums to make sure I had good spark. Old plugs were pretty worn.

I've replaced 1 of the precats, and the old part's honeycomb looked like it had been forced back into the housing about 3-4 inches. It was obviously time for a new one.

I've cleaned the MAF, and when I suspected that the MAF was ultimately the issue, I took it to a shop and they put a new one in. No change.

I've run sea foam through to help clean injectors. I have a replacement KS, but haven't had the time to take the intake manifold off and replace it yet. I can't see how the KS would cause such a dramatic loss of power and such hesitation. When I have it apart, I plan to clean the TB as well.

MAF would point to the loss in power. I've basically ruled that out.
I thought fuel filter and fuel pump, but it's not dying on me, and obviously gets enough fuel to take off once it hits 2800 RPMs.
I thought clogged cats, but power loss is on the low end, not the high end. Clogged cats generally present worse at higher RPMs.
Oh, and the problem gets worse as the car gets hotter (on a cold morning, it doesn't present for a while). This initially led me to consider the precats/cat as well as MAF.

Thoughts?

 

bump!

 

Well, I'm basically having the same problem as the OP. I know this is an older thread but it is probably relevant to several people today, still, as it is to me. Anyway, my problem is intermittent. Some days it will work great, and stay that way for a week or two. Yesterday, though, I started the car and drove off, and my accel was crap. I'm beginning to worry just as the OP did because I live in a city and getting on the highway with short onramps is somewhat dangerous if you don't have power when you expect it. Here is a quick rundown of my symptoms:

01 i30 179k miles
about 30k miles ago replaced IACV, ECM
Car will accel but slowly, and will seem to hit a limit at 4500rpm as noted by other posters in the thread
Car will limit to about 4500rpm even in neutral/park, but it is not a "clean" limit. Engine will hover between 4k and 4500rpm as if it were confused...

I'm going to clean the MAF today and replace if necessary. I purchased the car with 100k miles and the previous owner took very good care of the vehicle, but I am assuming he did not change the MAF.

Does anyone have the full part number for the MAF for this car? I saw above where someone referenced the last set of numbers, but not the full part number...

 

i have an extra MAF if anyone needs it. used - good condition.
this sounds like a MAF or TPS

 

Check the main cat!! I had the same problem on mine, i unbolted the exhaust from the cat and went for a drive and got my power back

 

Well turns out it was the MAF. They tried to sell me the 02-03 MAF with the thermistor built in for $530, which I didn't need. Got the sensor and body for $103 and replaced only the sensor. Drives like a new car! Next up are checking the precats to make sure everything is OK there...