Skipst99

Good morning everyone,
I am new here. Name is Skip from Lakeland, FL. My wife drives a 2002 maxima GLE and does not really think about maintenance. If something goes wrong she doesn't tell anyone. She tells me she take it to the dealer if something isn't right. So, I never check it.
Well, she went into the hospital for an operation and while she was away I thought I would check her car out. This is what I found, the AC blower doesn't work, the brake pads are just about gone and the car was hard to start.
I drove it around a bit and left in the driveway overnight. The next day I was going to take it down and put gas in it when I noticed the throttle didn't respond. The car will start and idle, but no gas peddle response. When placing it in gear I heard a thump as if a universal in a drive shaft was ready to go out. Well as you know there is no drive shaft so I thought it may be in the transmission. The car moves when in gear, but only the idle keeps it moving. Not being a Nissan maxima guy I started looking for the throttle cable. Well you know the answer to that search. However, I did find that a vacuum hose was broke off the small black plastic can that is attached to the front side of intake manifold. The male hose nipple was broke off at the base of the can. Also there is a oil leak somewhere under the front end. I hope it's a oil drain plug and not a seal.


I can't afford to use a Nissan dealership to repair all that is wrong so I am going to try and fix it myself.


First I need to get the throttle fixed and make sure the tranny is OK then replace the brake pads followed by the AC blower motor. Then look at the oil leak. I also need to replace the struts and shocks, but that will wait.


I hope I can find the repair info here on this site because I can see I will need it.


138,000 miles

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

Is the check engine light (SES) light on? Can you borrow an OBD code reader and check for codes. You might have a MAF problem, but it could also be a throttle problem.

Plug the vacuum line that came off the intake manifold VIAS tank and see if that helps. The a/c blower may be a burned out blower motor resistor or the fan motor itself.

Let us know what you are going to work on first and we can give you more specific advice.

SubwayVQ

Yeah, I would try cleaning the MAF to begin with and see if anything improves. You will need a torx bit to remove the two screws. I do not know the size off hand. But if you don't have the correct bit, you can pull off the entire air box and clean it through there, it just won't be as thorough as a clean.

Skipst99

Thanks for the help. I removed the electrical connector from the throttle body and cleaned it. I reinstalled it and wow I had throttle. Well as soon as it heated up, I noticed I had only a small amount of throttle. About 20 RPM more than idle. Each time I pushed the peddle the RPMs would go up a little, but only about 20 +/- RPM from Idle. Having said that, I notice when I did have a good peddle the clunk noise I was receiving when shifting into reverse was gone. So, it seems that what ever is wrong with the throttle affects the transmission shifting in some way.
Tomorrow I am going to pull the MAFS and clean it with MAFS spray cleaner. I have the torx bit.
Just a thought, what is the possibility the motor that drives the plate in the throttle body to open and close is at fault? Can that motor be removed and cleaned or do I need to buy a new throttle body assembly?


Thanks a lot for you help
Skip

Skipst99

One other thing. The check engine light is on and I repaired the VIAS nipple with JB Weld and replaced all three Vacuum lines. That little plastic tank cost $44.00 plus tax. at Nissan. JB Weld cost $5.27 at Home Depot. Anyway, I may be able to use AutoZone's ODB code reader. They loan tools out.

flames101sully

iTrader: (1)

I had almost no throttle when pressing the pedal fully down and it turned out to be the throttle relay. I would check that

SubwayVQ

The check engine light takes awhile to turn off on its own. Get it cleared and you will be good.

Skipst99

Okay, Things have gotten worse, Now the engine starts and shuts down right after it starts. Tried it several times. I haven't removed the MAFS yet to clean it because it's been raining all morning. I don't even know if that will help. I removed the Throttle relay yesterday and swapped it with the back up tail light relay because they had the same part number. The back up tail lights worked so figured the relay was ok.

Tarzan

If it idles, but RPMs barely rise when you push the gas pedal, your throttle pedal position sensor is faulty. I had this issue. I just opened the sensor body and re-soldered all 4 joints between the socket and the PCB. If you are not comfortable doing that, you are looking at replacing your TPPS. But before you do, pull the OBD codes to make sure you are getting TPPS code. It can be a few reasons, of which TPPS failure is the most likely one.

Skipst99

Where is throttle peddle sensor located and what does it look like?? Is it the electronic black box that is mounted on the side of Throttle body itself? Or is it located near the pedal?

Tarzan

Nissan Part No.: 180025Y705

Roymg

This is from a 2003 Max manual. Might be a shot in the dark. Hope this may help.

LQ91SE

Check the voltage coming out of your alternator. When I lost all throttle response, my alternator was putting out 18+ volts. The car would start and idle fine and had no SES light. Changed the alternator and normal throttle operation returned.

Lontar1

iTrader: (5)

Replace the MAF.... Problem solved..... Common issue with Maxs

Skipst99

Just thought I would stop by and let ya'll know what's going on with my wife's 2002 Maxima GLE., I had to replace the throttle body, AC blower resister and cabin filter, brake pads, Oil Cooler "O" ring, and the starter motor. I still lack replacing the struts and shocks. I hope everything else is okay. I saved a bundle by doing the work myself. Oh, one other thing, I still need to reset the check engine light. The auto parts store use to do that for no charge. They have stopped doing it because some people were getting the light reset and then selling the vehicle claiming it has no problems.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

We appreciate you letting us know that you have worked things out.

Since you work on your car yourself, I would suggest that you buy yourself an OBD II code reader. Inexpensive ones are around $20 (ebay, amazon) and would save you a lot of time. The check engine light will go out by itself after several days of driving, having the OBD raeder woul allow you to reset it right away.

FlaMark

Nice to see you here Dennis (i know you purchased another type vehicle). I always learned from your comments.