I tried to search, but couldn't find anything exactly similar to my problem. I do have a SES light on, and will check the codes tomorrow.. have to wait for my buddy to give me back my scanner.

Have 2002 Maxima w/ Manual Tranny about 200k on the clock.

Basically the car will accelerate, but stops and bogs something terrible after the gas pedal is pressed more than about 1/4 of the way down.. no matter what gear I am in. The motor is definitively retarding when pedal pressed farther than 1/4 way down, and the car slows due to the engine retarding itself. Going up hill is almost impossible...

I thought maybe MAF but in neutral at a stop, I can rev all the way to 6k+ which if I recall correctly, I shouldn't be able to do that if MAF is bad.

I am thinking the camshaft sensors may need to be replaced. I'll post again with the codes tomorrow, but wanted to see if anyone had an idea on this

Any help is greatly appreciated

 

Welcome to my world. I've been trying to sort out this issue for well over a month now.

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...kets-help.html

I would recommend reading through that before replacing things. I'm currently working on changing out my bank 2 pre-cat as bank 2 is the bank that I've determined to be the source of my trouble. Definitely get that scanner back, and I really hope you have another code besides just P0300 (you should expect to see that code).

-Nathan

 

Hey thanks for your reply Nathan - I did checkout your thread, but watched the video and not quite the same.

With mine you don't hear the motor rev that high/loud at all. And it will not keep going with the accelerator pressed more than 1/4 of the way. It gives up, bogging so bad you feel the car decelerating.

Getting up to speed takes forever, as you just can't push the gas pedal. You push it more than a 1/4 of the way, and forget it the car bogs down like its not getting any power whatsoever.

 

That is what my car was doing prior to me diving in and replacing things. It just wouldn't accelerate even a little bit, unless I was really light on the throttle. Also, my car will sound louder in that video because I do not have the intake assembled. It's open from the mass air flow sensor, so it sounds louder.

The things that made the biggest difference were:

Mass Air Flow Sensor
New Plugs
VIAS Block Off Plate (NWP Engineering)
Throttle Assembly
Primary o2 sensors

They helped quite a bit, and I can now drive the car at nearly half throttle at least (Max speed of about 75 mph on flat ground), but my problem is not completely solved. I didn't create that thread right away, and I replaced quite a few things before posting that video, but I can tell you that, based on what you're describing, it sounds like you and I are in the exact same boat.

Subscribed to this thread. Hopefully, one of us can get it figured out, and maybe that will help us both get it done. I'll let you know how the pre-cat replacement affects mine.

-Nathan

 

Ah, okay. Glad to hear I am not alone then.. hope we both get this fixed. Look forward to hearing about your pre-cat replacement. If I find anything out, i'll be sure to pass it your way

 

Today replaced both Throttle position sensors, pulled the intake manifold- replaced all spark plugs. the right side on the rear spark plug tubes had about 4 inches of oil in it, so I replaced the valve cover and gasket in the back.

still didn't solve the problem, but I think it's running a little better.

I checked codes before working on the car and they were

p0300
p0011
p0021

After the work a bunch of codes came on due to I think oil dripping down under the spark plug.. drove it a little, reset the codes, and now only 2 pending codes.

p0300
p0011

I'm about out of ideas with this thing and it's limp mode. Any clues as to what else I should check/replace without spending a million dollars lol

 

That P0011 code is for the Intake Valve Timing Control Solenoid. The code is not bank specific, so you will have to test both of them, but you should definitely test both of them next. Refer to page 167 of the EC section of the FSM for P0011 and how to properly test those solenoids.

This will be quite interesting. I don't have a P0011 code, but I have suspected those solenoids, but haven't come around to testing them, as it slipped my mind to this point.

I still haven't had a chance to pull that pre-cat yet. Spending time with my daughter while I'm home and taking care of my list of chores the Mrs. had for me when I got back home. Lol.

Check out those solenoids, and let me know what you find. Also, do you have a scanner that can monitor real-time run data (PID'S)? If so, watch your timing advance (should be ~15* at idle) and your fuel trim. My bank 2 fuel trim is way out of whack which tells me that it's the bank in question. Just a thought.

-Nathan

 

Yes the code P0011 is bank specific, check EC-168 in the FSM. Bank 1. Check the sensors, remove inspect and clean then check under the valve cover on bank 1 for any build up.

The diag flowchart starts on EC-172. Let us know the results.

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/maxima

 

Ah, you're right. I stand corrected. P0021 would be bank 2, while P0011 is bank 1. Just looked back through and saw that.

-Nathan

 

Thanks for all the great tips guys. I did check the solenoid in the front (bank2) the other day and it was very clean to my surprise so I didn't even bother checking the back. I did however check the back today, and it was full of gunk buildup, which I cleaned the best I could and put it back together. Unfortunately no change.

There is a loud tapping sound coming from the timing cover, which I found out last night seems to be the typical chain adjuster and guide.. so I guess I'll need to change all that. Thing the car could actually be out of time due to that? Would that put the car in limp mode?

I left the battery disconnected overnight, and this morning once I hooked it up and pulled out of the driveway it took off like brand new. About a 1/4 mile later however, back into limp mode and sad/angry faces. lol

I will go through the steps now, and do as much as I can tomorrow. I picked up a multimeter today, along with a new ignition coil as the one in cylinder 5 is a little loose and whacky.

The codes don't seem to come back on right away either. I drove it a bunch and no codes came on for a good bit of driving around. Then the p0011 and p0021 came back as pending codes, but none stored and no SES light.

I'm actually really starting to think about this, as there is definitely a bad exhaust leak coming from that area in bank1(rear). The front I don't think is leaking... but the back could easily be clogged.

I do have a scanner that hooks up to my laptop, which records all the real-time data. I looked through it today, and my timing is about 15 when at idle. It goes way up during acceleration though.. 40-50 range.. is that normal?

I uploaded my recorded live data to youtube, if you care to check it out.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Y4c_DdBZg

Thanks for the info. Will be checking all this and going through the steps


If anyone was curious about what the thing sounds like idling, heres that video. I found out last night the rattling was the timing chain tension and guide. You can also hear the exhaust leak in the rear bank.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwQXpcb1N9g

 

MAYH3M - Do you happen to have an oil light on as well?

 

Oil lights sometimes comes on for a second during starting but does not stay on.

 

I wanted to ask because I had that same rattle, and I too thought it had to do with the timing chain. Turned out to be a bad oil pump. With mine that rattle began suddenly with a fairly loud pop from what sounded like the timing chain area.

 

what you describe in the OP are EXACTLY the symptoms i experienced when I had bad coilpacks. to the letter.