My 2002 Maxima (84K miles) has no (current) codes present. It did have a Cyl3-misfire and Cam "A" sensor issue which is fixed now. The previous owner had the wrong plugs in it (Way shorter plugs that was gunked up, causing the mis-fire)

It runs smooth at idle now but have no acceleration pass 3k rpm. Oh, by the way, it is in need of a timing chain (rattles at startup for a second). I even replaced the MAF (from a salvage yard), but I get the same response when pressing the gas... Any suggestion?? Thanks

 

The MAF from the yard might be bad. The short chain rattle is very common, I would not worry about it. Just keep an eye on the oil levels since those engines like to burn oil.

Here's a good link for factory service manuals that offer detail troubleshooting steps. 2003 Nissan Maxima Factory Service Manual (my4dsc.com)

 

Thanks.. I'll clean MAF first, then get a new one if that doesn't fix it.

 

Have the ignition coils been looked over? I had an issue with my 03 where power was non-existent past 2.5-3K due to ignition coils going bad. MAF could be the issue as well as a dirty throttle body in your case. GL finding the root cause

 

when I had poor acceleration above 3,000 RPM I ended up having to wire in new connectors for the ignition coils.

 

Update: Turned out to be clogged/dirty catalytic converter. I held the accelerator down with a stick (2k RPM) and pounded the converter with a rubber mallet. It blew a cloud of dust out and the car runs much, much better.

 

wow, I never heard of unclogging a cat before. I live in central Florida and every car I ever owned had the cat gutted or removed. I'm so glad we don't have inspections out here...