Please help! I have a 2000 Maxima that will crank, but will only start after some praying and luck. I just put a new starter in the car (as I think this problem wore out the old one) and I then put a new crank position sensor (the one by the oil pan, as apparently there are two on the car) thinking this would solve the problem. When I put the new crank sensor on, the car wouldn't fire at all. It never threw a code until I put a second new crank position sensor on and it threw a code for the front crank position sensor (which was new) and again wouldn't fire. So, I put the old one back on and it starts (again with a lot of cranking, praying and luck). I did get a random mass air flow code, but I was unsure of the validity on this due to I had it unplugged for one cranking when I put the new starter in to check before putting it all back together. It does seem to help if I pump the gas and time it right on getting it to fire, but I have no clue if that is just circumstance or not. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

This forum has plenty of info on this subject - just search for keywords "cranks" AND "no start". Here is one thread dealing with this problem
http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...-starting.html

Assuming you have spark (worthwile checking) do you suspect any fuel delivery (fuel filter, pressure regulator, etc.) problems? I would also re-check any pending codes, and MAF codes in particular. Also, check your battery/starter/ground connections - this tends to be a fairly common problem.

Get yourself the FSM (Factory Service Manual) for your car. You can download it from this site:
http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Maxima/

 

Thanks, I'll try that and shoot an update. It seems like a lot of this generation had this problem.