Snarl Sagan

2001 Nissan Maxima GLE. My car began having problems idling. The diagnostics ran by my mechanic led him to suggest replacing the MAF. Doing this turned off the check engine light, and did improve acceleration performance, however, the car still fails or struggles to keep idle when cool. If I take it to about 2000rpms(in park or neutral) for 20-30 seconds and slowly release my foot off the accelerator it may maintain idle. The RPM meter fluctuates when this happens. After being driven or kept in idle everything is fine and the car will crank up with no problems. Once it cools down the problems return. If I attempt attempt to drive it cool, it will stop once it drops below 2000.

So I guess my questions are two fold: 1. Any suggestions? Research i've done so far leads me to believe replacing the IACV is the next step, but I don't have another $300-$400 to throw in a game of trial & Error. 2. Do I risk doing any damage to the vehicle(engine, ECM) driving it as is for a week or two?

Thanks for any assistance.

foodmanry

iTrader: (15)

There is a test you can do on your IACV to see if it is working properly or not per the FSM.

You can also look to disconnect your left motor mount harness (on the right side if you face the engine bay, near the intake) near the IACV valve to prevent possible short that will cause you other problems.

Look to test the IACV and pull it apart to see if the gasket is bad on the inside. You can replace the gasket for about $10.

The fact that your car is fine when it warms up tells me it isn't an issue related to your ECU which is good. Pulling the motor mount harness should help prevent this. You can also bypass the coolant line on the IACV as preventative as well.

Tons of information out there on all of this. Free FSM manual in the link below which you will need to test your IACV.

http://boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/Maxima/2000/

Snarl Sagan

Awesome, thanks. I'll give all this a try . Much appreciated!