So I was cleaning the car my brother left me, let's just say he never maintained the car that well aside from oil changes.

I swapped the oil, changed the air filter, and gave it a wash. The engine bay was filthy so I sprayed it down with a power washer (I was always under the impression this is fine).

Anyway the next day I drive the car and figure the engine went in limp mode. It won't rev past 2500 at first then it doesn't rev past 2000. I checked the MAF connector and it is dry and there's no corrosion. I pulled the negative terminal and replaced but the issue is still there

CEL has always been on and once traffic dies down I'm going to an autozone to pull codes.

The random thing is sometimes the engine goes out of limp mode (usually right when I start up) then as I drive it, the car goes back into limp mode.

I also recently put in some gum out into the car. The thing is I didn't add it on an empty tank (because the gas gauge is busted I can only estimate when it might go empty). I filled 10 gallons afterwards, so I'm not sure if this is an issue since I drove about 70 miles after adding the gas additive.

Any help is appreciated. I've always worked on Hondas but this is my first Nissan.

 

Best bet is checking those codes. They'll give a better indication of where to check.

But for shots in the dark.. MAF, O2 Sensors, and Throttle Body.

 

Please tell us what year your car is when you post. There are differences between the year models, so it is important in order to get the correct info.

You may want to download a FSM (Factory Service Manual) for your car. You can get one here -

http://boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/Maxima/

 

Sorry about that 2002 Maxima GLE Auto Trans

What's weird is the engine goes in an out of limp mode. Today when I drove it to work it wasn't revving past 2K then after work it drives normal.

I got a list of codes:

P0011
P0021
P0139
P0340
P0447
P1147
P1800

 

It's weird, it was running fine again. Then all of a sudden it's bad. Maybe it's a bad connection in wiring?

 

It will pop in and out because you have an intermittent problem. Could be a loose wire but when your car goes into limp mode it is because if it ran normal with the issues it has it COULD cause a catastrophic failure. Doesnt mean you have a major problem. A few of those codes I recognize as a o2 sensor code. When is the last time you replaced them? If you dont remember hit up rockauto.com and get some mid-grade ones asap

 

Though I don't own a 5th gen max, I do own a 2001 Sentra, and it started doing the limp mode thing, then all of a sudden would be fine, when in limp mode the auto tranny would stay in 2nd gear, even at a dead stop and not shift up or down, other times the tranny was PERFECT, also the lights would dim when the tranny was acting up...to make a long story short, the battery terminal had a speck on corrosion underneath it, cleaned it, put it back together, not expecting it to do anything, and yes it permanently fixed it...

 

That is just too weird...

 

These codes are listed in the index at the beginning of section EC, Engine Control in the FSM. Here's a quick synopsis.

P0340 - camshaft position sensor (PHASE) bank 1. This is causing the limp mode and the P0011 & P0021.

P0011 - Intake valve timing control performance, bank 1
P0021 - Intake valve timing control performance, bank 2

P0447 - EVAP canister vent control valve. This is mounted on the EVAP canister that is behind the left rear wheel. Usually the plunger inside this valve sticks and can be freed up with WD40.

P0139 - heated oxygen sensor 2, after three way catalyst, bank 1
P1147 - heated oxygen sensor 2, after three way catalyst, bank 1

P1800 - VIAS control solenoid valve.

 

Thanks so the o2 sensors should be a non issue?

As far as the issues with

P0340 - camshaft position sensor (PHASE) bank 1. This is causing the limp mode and the P0011 & P0021.

P0011 - Intake valve timing control performance, bank 1
P0021 - Intake valve timing control performance, bank 2

Are these items I can replace by buying parts online with a quick plug and play or will it require a mechanic to do some work?

 

you can do it yourself. Download the manual
http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/maxima/
and google there are many videos that will walk you through the steps on the maxima. might be a slightly different model/year but if same generation steps will mostly be the same.

 

Thanks, and since this is a new car to me. The service engine light is on but the CEL is not on (edit from my original post).

I took a look at the CAM sensor and there seems to be a lot of oil build up on the wiring harness, maybe I can take it apart to see if it's fouled up and hopefully it will not require me to replace it.

 

Replaced the battery since it was bad, issue is still there, but thanks for the suggestion!

 

Wow.. thats a lot of codes you've accumulated there. It might be a good idea for you to get one of those bluetooth OBD2 modules from ebay, they're only like $30, and can send real-time diagnostics info to your cell phone or laptop.

In the meantime, start googling those codes and searching for them here on maxima.org. It gets a bit complicated to narrow down the issue when you let so many error codes accumulate like that. It would be best to stay on top of them as soon as your check engine light comes on.

Has you check engine light been on for a while now? Or did all 7 of those codes just now appear simultaneously?

 

our cars don't have a dedicated CEL light. the SES light is the CEL

 

Okay makes sense on the SES light.

I basically got this car from my brother who never serviced it outside from doing oil changes. It is pretty beat up and has about 138K miles on it.

I'm really debating just bringing my car into a Nissan dealer and having them give me an answer to what I need to fix to get this engine out of limp mode, then I'll probably just trade the car in since I honestly do not need a 2nd car (my wife and I just share a car since I take the train into work).

 

You can replace the sensor yourself if you want. The O2 sensors and the other stuff will keep the SES light on, but the car will run pretty much normal. The camshaft position sensor (PHASE) might be a Nissan only part, I'm not sure. But if you want to order Nissan parts on-line, I like nissanpartszone.com. A lot of people like courtesyparts.com but nissanpartszone is cheaper.

 

Bought the Bank 1 sensor (And this is the one towards the rear correct by the throttle body?) off ebay and it seemed DOA (replaced and the engine won't turn, put old sensor on and it's back to limp mode). I'm going to order another one.

I decided to check Bank 2's sensor and it was filthy. Oil was in there and I cleaned it up but no change.

Could this possibly be due to recall campaign 03V455000?

I'll have to check Monday against my VIN.

 

my denali did this same thing after i pressure washed the engine. the truck was throwing throttle body codes. i ended up disconnecting all the throttle body related connections and spraying them all with wd40. not sure which connection it was, but spraying them seemed to have fixed it. it has been about 8 months since that happened

 

Okay so what if you have no code and it's going in and out of limb mode ? 2011 nissan