My son has our 2002 Max (125000 miles) at college. He hit a large chuckhole driving back to school and the car quit running. It would not restart and the dashlights flashed on and off rapidly as he tried to restart from neutral. He also had to use the interlock override to get it back into park but the same thing on trying to restart. After about three or four tries the car finally restarted and drove without incident back to school (5 or 10 miles). Is there a fuel safety shutoff on the 2002 Maxima that could have been tripped when he hit the chuckhole? If so, does it automatically reset? Any other experiences like this or any other ideas as to what could have happened?

 

Honestly, it sounds like some kind of power cable came loose. The lights clicked seem indicative of a drained or poorly connected battey. The fact he hit a hole just makes it seem more likely. Also if he had to press the 'interlock' that means the car wasn't getting power, because you can just turn the key to ACC and move the gear shift to any position. I would check the terminals and clamps to make sure the car is getting solid power.