I have about 2500 miles on my Maxima. Every once in a while, the car wont start on the first try. Has anyone else been having this problem. Also, i cant see why because it is not really cold where i live for the engine to stall.

 

I have about the same mileage and it's happened to me twice; first time on a sub-20 degree morning and then another time....don't recall the circumstances.

I'll mention it to the service writer when I take it in for the first oil change.

This happened to me numerous times on my '99 CLK 320. When the engine finally did start, it ran roughly for awhile. It turned out to be a bad 02 sensor.

 

ya the engine in my car would also run roughly for a while, especially when it was changing gears. It would kind of jerk. I'm gonna take it in later to get it checked out.

 

I had a problem like this with my maxima, it was a bad connector, for the fuel pump, at the fuse block.

Oh, and a o2 sensor won't cause a no start condition, cars start in open loop, so the sensor is ignored.

 

make sure you put the fuel cap on tightly and let it click several times....this will keep it from starting. it is some sort of safety thing.

 

That won't stop it from starting either. It will through a SES light because the EVAP system will fail it's self test. The car does not perform the EVAP system test at start up, it normally tests during low load cruising, such as a freeway driving.

 

well that is what the guys at the dealership told me when I bought it.....I was just going on what they said.

 

I had the same problem this morning on my 04 max SL. It took 4 tries cranking about 20 seconds each time to get it to start. The battery and starter were cranking normally. It was 4 degrees below zero tho, coldest day of the year so far. But I have never had a problem with my other vehicles like this.. I only use premium fuel.. Could it be water in the gas? I could smell the windings on the starter when it finally started.. I think I'll be taking it in to get it check out...

 

Its really hard to get water in your gas these days. About the only time I've seen it was one of my employee's had a habit of putting $5 worth of gas in his tank, running it down to nearly empty and putting another $5 in. The condensation from all the air in the tank eventually worked into the gas and on the coldest days his POS truck wouldn't start since the lines had froze.

 

I just got some info from the dealership. On cold mornings, Nissan recommends that you press down the gas a third of the way then start it. Will try it tomrrow moring,

 

My new maxima also won't start easliy when it's cold. The other night it was -2 degrees and it took me 5 minutes of cranking to get the blasted thing to start. And even when the temperature is in the 20's it takes several cranks of the key. By the way, the owners manuel suggestion to hold down the gas pedal is worthless. This should NOT be happening in a new car. My Maxima is now spending the night at the dealer. With a -9 low, they should be able to replicate the problem. We'll see.

 

I had same problem till I changed my battery to 700 CCA.
Now it's OK

 

Me, too! At about 1500 miles on a cold day, it wouldn't start 10 consecutive times. Ate lunch, then it started. One week later, it started after 3 attempts. Dealer said "Sorry, cannot duplicate." I called Nissan national number......they acted like I was the only one in the Universe with the problem. Last week it struggled to turn over, ran rough for a few seconds, then was fine. Tonight, it was outside for about 2 hours in the cold and wouldn't start.

I'm calling the dealer in the morning, and calling Nissan national customer service, too. This didn't happen on my '93 Max, or my '84 for that matter. I'm not happy that it's happening on my '04.

 

After nearly three weeks in my Dealer's Service Bay they have diagnosed the hard starting problem on my 2004 Maxima. It appears my Fuel Regulator Valve was leaking during freezing weather. That caused all of the fuel in the line to empty which, in turn, caused hard starts. And when I was pumping the gas to try and start the car, fuel was running out all over the engine. Nissan recommended replacing that part along with the fuel pump. So I know the engineers at the Nissan Tech line are WELL AWARE of the hard starting problems with Maximas. I'm still waiting on a fuel pump and will find out soon if this solves my starting problems. This is my third Maxima, and it may well be my last. I hope Nissan is reading this!

 

I spoke to the dealership today about the problem with my 04 Maxima not starting. They say it's a fuel pump, and one should be in tomorrow. Tech said when they tested it, it had 20 pounds of pressure and it should have 80-100. Thanks for the tip about the Fuel Regulator Valve, as I've just now e-mailed them asking about that too.

I really enjoy the car, and honestly didn't expect to have anything like this happen. My wife said it was a sad sight to see it towed away, "There's something that's just not right about that." [irony and all].

Too tired to type about the towing ordeal......75 miles. I thought Nissan would automatically cover it. Not necessarily so. And, I'd have to pay the towing company up front, then apply for reimbursement. So I used AAA Plus that lets you tow up to 100 miles included in the membership.

Would sure like to hear if more owners are having problems like this starting issue. In perspective, a friend of mine that bought an $80K Mercedes has had nothing BUT problems, and will never buy another one.