Lower rpms, car feels like a delayed light switch with the gas pedal.
-Let go of pedal, car jerks then slows down.
-Off pedal, press it lightly (during certain RPMs), car jerks then goes.

-Have ES Motor Mounts (possible to attribute since they are stiff?)
-AM600 MAF w/ ECM Reflash
-Grounding Kit
-Possible TB issue?

Has happened for a LONG time, but never really mentioned it or seeked reasoning till now. Anyone else have similar feel? I know we have drive-by-wire setups, but I don't think the car should feel like this.

 

maybe you're expecting too much from the maxima?

 

i dono bout you but i think its normal. stiffer mounts is prob the issue if anything. plus drive by wire.. i believe my stiff engine mounts is causing my core support to come apart.. time to weld it back together

 

I know this post probably won't help you in finding your issue, but my stock 01' 5spd SE did the same thing, but it was @ 140k miles and I was told by a few ppl that I needed new engine mounts. The car also jerked horribly in the high rev range if i were to let off the pedal or step on it.

 

Quite possibly.

I should probably check the subframe and side mounts as well. In traffic, it jerks like a b**** though.

 

do some routine maintenance, you said its been a while, check the spark plugs, fuel filter (forgotten alot), air filter, fluids, maybe run a fuel additive in a couple tanks for the injectors, trans fluid, distributer rotor, when i bought my first car, i had a 111,000 of poorly mainted engine, at the time i didn't know crap so my dad did all of that crap for me and i noticed a HUGE difference from before, i would have to push the gas down a quarter to half inch before she'd respond and after that maintenance it was instantaneous, so do all that stuff to your car and it you should notice a good difference

as far as the jerk and then goes thing, sounds similar to a misfire, my POS ford van does that about a bajillion times a day but i dont give a crap about that junk, but if it is misfiring, usually it will throw a code and in my van it actually flashes the CEL when its misfiring really bad

 

Zero i noticed that when i bought my max. If im on city streets it feels if im in the gas and then let of it jerks , not bad, but a little and then getting on. I noticed it more often on the hiway. i honestly think it has to do with the DBW. it almost feels like a manual if your say at 3-4 grand and let off the gas quick the the engine acts like a jack brake kinda. I think it is just the electronic throttle.

 

Yup. DBW basically over/under compensating the throttle. Gotta love technology! I have had this exact same sensation in both of my Altima's including a friend's SE-R.

 

I would definitely check the radiator support for damage as those are prone to breakage especially if you live in an area where they use salt on roads.

 

mine isnt so bad but I do have it at highway speeds. It almost feels like being in a car that has a clutch when I press/depress the gas, but its only apparent at high speeds.

 

thats exactly what mine does. i think its "normal" for max's

 

The most important - check your distributor rotor (as mentioned above)
Seriously, your car has a manual tranny, it means, a direct mechanical connection to the wheels. Any MT car does it at some degree. If it's really excessive, the culprit mostly lies in mounts.

 

Mine does the same thing. I was advised that I needed mounts. I will do the ES inserts soon.

 

Yeah I got a 2k2 6sp with 74k and it does this all the time. At first I thought it was my poor driving skills but after 6 months you'd think I'd get the hang of it. I never had it looked at because it doesn't bother me enough....yet. The misfire idea seems possible. I changed my plugs a while ago and the #5 coil had so much oil that I couldn't get it out. The stealership put the coil in the #2 spot and said it was fine but now its more accessible just in case. They never mentioned a misfire....but they wouldn't....74k in new england...motor mounts possible but i don't know enough about cars to tell these things on my own...the car feels cheap when it jerks tho

 

check your core support welded mines up today. feels wayyy better now that its fixed

 

^^^whats a core support?

OP: my 6 speed has done this ever since i got it at 49k... INCREDIBLY annoying.. especially at low speeds in 1st and 2nd gear.. i would LOVE to be able to let my foot off the gas without pushing in the clutch first.. but if i don't, the car will jerk like mad back and forth several times.. i hate it, but i was told it was normal.. if there's something we can do to correct this i'd be VERY interested.. somebody mentioned motor mounts?

 

oh yeah i totally forgot about that, my buddy had a little nissan stanza and his mounts went to CRAP, i mean BADDDD.

anyways after a while his car ran like complete dog crap and basically did the engine jerky thing but WAYYYYYYYYY worse, so yeah get those mounts fixed!!

 

oh and it could just be this cause he is right and ALL manual cars will do that...

 

short for radiator core support, it is a big metal squarish piece that is (in civics anyways, i assume all cars) spot welded into the front of the car right in the middle, and that is where the radiator, condensing unit, steel bumper, bumper cover, headlights etc are bolted onto.

and depeding on what rpms you are at, the car will do that cause its a manual tranny

and i learned something, i didn't know that 5th gen maximas had electronic throttle, i thought they were cable throttle -

 

5th gen had cable. 5.5th gen had electronic.

 

had this since day one! --drive-by-wire, you see!--

Had the ECU reprogram done with less than 5k for the "STUMBLE" issue...which helped alot -- but never cured the jerkiness of the on/off throttle scenario.

Afraid you're going to have to just live with it....it IS "normal".

gr

 

are there any newer manual transmissions that dont have this issue?

 

WOW! (i'm glad i looked at the .org today) I am having this problem as we speak, but mine just started about a month ago and my car is an automatic. I would let off the throttle slightly and i would get a jerky feel/motion then it would smooth out and slow down.... then i would get back on the throttle and get the same jerky motion and smooth out and speed up. when it first started happening was only in the morning so i figured it has something to do with the cold weather, but now, a month later, its starting to happen more often and at all times during the day and temps....

I hope somebody has the solution, i would rather not "just live with it" ....i think i'm going to check into the motor mounts first....

 

well we are talking about manual transmissions though, manual tranny cars at certain rpms will do that jerky-ness when you just let off the gas in gear without pushing the clutch in (even my buddys 07 Si does it and he has electr. throttle)

YOU have an AUTOMATIC, so in your case it could be any number of things, it could be spark plugs getting crappy, or distributor rotor getting crappy, perhaps filthy injectors, some kinda sensor issue, engine mis-firing (BAD) or something else, etc.. etc....

since you say it has gotten worse it sounds to me like its honestly a maintenance related part that has finally gotten bad enough to start effecting the performance of your engine, i'd probably start with checking ignition, plugs, wires, distributor rotor, etc...

i know on my last civic i had a really irritating o2 sensor that would sometimes throw a code, sometimes wouldn't and i literally watched it one time (usually threw a CEL all the time) turn of and the car sputtered and all of a sudden felt like i gained about 20 hp and it ran smooth as butter til the light came back on again.

so listen i'm still new to maximas but i'm learning alot pretty quickly, could someone clarify to me what the deal is with the 5th gens and the 5.5 gens??

 

Is this only in first gear like when your drving through a parking lot?

If so shift to second and it will stop doing it.

 

Just found that there is a TSB on it, go get your computer reset.

http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/tsb...=2000&tsb=none

 

Dont think so......no distributors on our cars.

 

Think its similar for an '02??

 

un-true.. it still jerks in 2nd gear when you let off and get on the throttle

 

Thread bump... Check the lower radiator core support. The engine mount attaches to the rear of it and I've found several threads regarding this issue. I inspected mine looking through the lower air intake through my bumper with a flashlight and sure enough, it's rusted bad, causing it to flex.

 

Damn I was wondering who else would make a thread like this... the core support was replaced brand new in 07. No rust on it to this day. The passenger side engine mount is junk, but the NWP brace is helping until I can just swap it out.

 

Is your support factory or aftermarket, and what was the installed price?

 

Changing mounts will do nothing but make it worse. I stiffened up the mounts on my 97 to try to cure the jerking . Now you can feel it even more.

This is no maintenance issue. Its play developing inside the engine/tranny somewhere.

 

.... .. .

 

Sound clip???

 

Its the DBW as stated above, my altima does it but it isnt bad, if I baby the pedal when im on/off the throttle it doesn't do it, but when it does do it, it is always when im getting off the gas. Cruise control does it constantly when you are going downhill

 

my car does the same thing,when you let off the gas it feels like your brake checking someone

 

i am having some issues with my 2000 nissan maxima,
1) power steering leak frequently, just ordered new
2) codes p 0420, 0430, 0403, 0505, 0731, 0732, 0733, 1440
3) car shuts off when coming to stop or slowing down, but no loss of power, starts right back up
4)car jerks when switching gears, sort of hesitant to changes and than a hard switch(i noticed if i rev hard enough this can be minimized and gears shift smooth)
5) car uses alot of gas, more than usual
6) is it worth fixing?
ps- cleaned maf and throttle body, no change.....
sorry im new here and i really need help with my maxima 2000..please email me at chika87matt@ if u have replies to answer as i dont know how to search replies to my reply posts on here yet any help would be greatly appreciated