Hey everyone,

I have a 2k AT maxima with about 155k miles, which I have had since 06 when it had around 115k. Living in MN, I have had plenty experience starting and driving the maxima in cold temps, and one issue that has plagued me since I bought the car is it will idle roughly and stall when its cold, more so if the car has not been driven recently (i.e. not for a couple days) and most often in temps 20 degrees f and below (the colder it is, the worse it runs. I really have to baby the throttle to keep it running if its below 10 degrees)

The car runs fine after it has a chance to warm up and will not necessarily stall at stops/running low rpms or in reverse, but it will often idle roughly for the first few minutes (up to maybe 15-20 minutes into the drive on a bad day)

I would like to solve this issue once and for all, but I'm not sure what to look at. Replaced the MAF upon buying the car which made a world of difference, but did not affect this issue, even on a brand new MAF.

Is there anything that stick out here as a potential cause, especially noting the occurrence in cold temps?

Thanks,
Matt

 

Idle air control (IAC) valve. Look around, do a search, there is a cleaning procedure somewhere I believe. It may need to be replaced, but you can try cleaning it first.

If you decide to check out the IAC valve and remove it to clean I suggest you replace the gasket. It will likely have a good amount of wear and this is one gasket you don't want failing. If it fails it will leak coolant and short out your ECU. Again, do a search and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

 

http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/cle...rol-valve.html

 

Is there an intake air temp sensor on these cars? I had a buddies car that ran terrible when it was cold out, especially when the car was in open loop. It turned out the intake air temp sensor was broke telling the ECU that it was 80 degrees out all the time. Replaced that and it was good to go.

Also I had a car that did that and turned out to be a small vacuum leak.