I got my 2001 maxima about 3 months ago and it has been back to the dealership twice since then. The last time it had to be towed, becaus I could not start it. The problem seem to surface whenever the temperature is close to 32 or zero celcius. The dealer told me the computer could not find anything wrong, not even a misfiring. There were times I had to try a few times before I could start the engine, rough start, and slow turn over... once the engine is wamred up, never had trouble restart it. Does anyone has the same problem ? Or have any idea what is wrong with it ? Thanks in advance. Gordon

 

my friend who has a 00' GLE auto sort of has that problem. I don't know if its only when the engine is cold but it like won't start right when he turns the key and he has to like wait for it. You mentioned slow turnovers i know it sounds like a easy fix but is your battery up to par. I know i'm probably wrong but just a thought. I have a 00' SE 5-speed and i haven't had that problem yet. Maybe its a nissan auto problem

 

i have a 90 and i have the SAME problem..when it's cold outside i have trouble starting it and getting it to go...it just kinda putts around till it warms up... but i live in new orleans so cold to me is in the 60's i'd imagine that if it was in the 30's it wouldn't start at all... my mechanic (not dealer, i don't trust them) told me it was a problem with a little bity wire that's hard to reach. he replaced it and it now works fine... if you want to know more i canm find out what it was called and you can talk to your mechanic about it!

 

Mine doesn't turn over right away when the car has been sitting for a short time (like 5-10 mins or so). When the car has been sitting over night in the cold, it starts up right away and shoots up to 2k rpms. I have heard that turning the key to the IGNITION position and leave it there for a few seconds to prime the fuel pump, then start it up. I think that fuel isn't getting into the injectors right away. I have yet to try this method.

 

Greg:

I am told the same thing, and I have been turning the key to the Ignition position and just wait for a few seconds too. A friend even told me to use the 'amb' know to check the outside temperature to make sure that the "computer" knows what is the outside temperature in order to calculation how much fuel is need to start up properly. I am not sure he knew much about that car, but it did make sense in some ways. I never had any problems in the past few days and it has been around 28F all the time... which leads me to think that it works by turn the key, or use the 'amb' button. Do you think what my friend told me makes any sense ?

:-) new max fan

 

I thought the only time we can get a reading from the AMB button is when the car is actually started?

 

Nope... you can use the 'amb' button once you have your key turn to position '1' , I have tried that.

 

I doubt that hitting the amb button to show the outside temp will influence starting the car in the cold.

 

Hmmm, I have never heard of trying to use the AMB button....maybe I will try that.

 

I had this same problem when I bought my 00 GXE. I got the car in Feb. the next day its about 30 out and the car didn't want to start but started and then started shaking and hesitating almost dying. I took it to the dealer the same day, luckily they were two blocks away, and described my problem. Long story short, the ECU had to be reprogrammed and this solved the problem. Tell the dealer to check the ECU, this may fix your problem, it fixed mine.

 

Cool ! I will talk to them about that... thanks for the info, much apprciated.

 

I had this same problem right when it started getting cold & also after I installed my Air Intake mod. I had to crank the car couple times before it turned on.....1 time it didnt start at all but I let it sit an hour & it worked. I called the dealer & talked to the service manager & he asked what gas level I was using & told him 89 octane & said that nissan recommends 91 octane or higher only. So after a month & half after using 93 octane from mobil its been fine so far.......I'm going to also try disconnecting the battery for at least an hour to reset the ECU......