I just sent the following e-mail to Christian Wardlaw, Editor-in-Chief of Edmunds.com:

"Chris --

I met with my Zone Rep, Mr. Steve Thomas, this morning. Steve confirmed my findings in writing, to wit:

1. My engine will not maintain 2500 rpm in neutral.

2. My vehicle will not maintain a constant speed in 1st gear at 1800 rpm.

3. My engine increases rpms between shifts after accelerating aggressively to 2500 rpm and then shifting normally.

In all fairness, I should point out that Steve discovered an anomaly in the functioning of the Throttle Position Sensor. However, he doubted that correcting the anomaly would alleviate all of the problems. He felt that an ECM re-programming would be required to accomplish that.

Steve still has my vehicle and will run tests on it throughout the day. I'll let you know if anything else transpires as a result of his continuing investigations.

I've included a copy of Steve's findings for your reference."

A copy of this e-mail also went to Brent Romans. As you may be aware, a 2001 Maxima AE 5-speed is on its way to Edmunds for purposes of investigating the fuel-cut condition. I believe that Brent will be responsible for conducting the tests.

[Edited by y2kse on 12-01-2000 at 12:03 PM]

 

Ok Guys - same as you y2k max se 5speed. I just figureed I couldn't drive anymore. I'm glad to know it's not only me. I'll be registering a complaint with Nissan. Shifting is difficult and low speed is a neck snapping joke.

 

I've been using second gear for the high traffic take-offs.
As long as I don't need to take-off really fast and in think traffic, I use second gear. The car has lots of touque and
it helps lessen the neck snapping.

 

I just received the following response from Chris Wardlaw:

"Unfortunately, our 2001 loaner got pulled at the last minute, as it suffered some damage during the Motor Press Guild track day last week. We've rescheduled, and it will be coming in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for all the information."

This was my response:

"Thanks for the heads up, Chris.

I just got off the phone with my Zone Rep, Steve Thomas. He informed me that my TPS was out of adjustment. He readjusted it to factory specs and said he was able to ease some of the problems I was experiencing. But the symptoms still remain.

Steve acknowledged that the symptoms are related to a logic issue that will require re-programming the ECM to correct. He said he would issue an appeal to Nissan Japan on my behalf. He also said that Nissan North America is aware of Edmunds interest in this matter and he indicated his willingness to discuss his findings with you or or a member of your staff."

 

that they dropped the tranny on it.

(Ooops "bet" that is..)

[Edited by TimW on 12-01-2000 at 10:03 PM]

 

I sent Steve the following e-mail regarding my initial impressions of the TPS adjustment he performed while diagnosing the fuel-cut problem on my vehicle:

"I drove my car for awhile this afternoon. I didn't notice any specific improvements with respect to the conditions I initially brought to your attention. But there was one other issue I did not mention when we got together . . . a tendency for the engine to hiccup under half throttle immediately following a normal shift at around 2500 to 2800 rpm. Up to now I thought the condition resulted from driver error. But the hiccup has practically disappeared following the TPS adjustment. My vehicle accelerates much more smoothly now. As far as I'm concerned, correcting that condition alone was worth the price of admission."

 

I have a fluke sitting here. I dont think my TPS is right. (I dont know why I think that, call it a 'disturbance in the force', 'tingling spidey senses', or maybe my engine bay has bad Feng Shui or something) actually, it bogs under light throttle sometimes.

 

You guys mention that a reprogrammed ECM might ease/fix the problem... Just out of curiousity, how much effort would it be on Nissan's Part to program new ECM's, and offer them only to those that express an interest in them (perhaps as a replacement, maybe even with a nominal fee?)

To me, it sounds like they may be losing a lot of repeat business here...