Hi All,

After having to spend quite a bit of money on my Maxima to get it back on the road, it's also time to look at replacing the spark plugs (fortunately, no symptoms of anything yet). Finding the plugs is easy enough, but the shop recommended also replacing the rear coil packs, since they're hard to get to.

Searching the forums around these, it looks like going non-oem can be a risky proposition. Some people have had no issues, while others have had CELs immediately until replacing the unit with an OEM one.

Prices on the net seem to be about $85 and up a piece for new OEMs, and about $25 a piece for the least expensive. About the only compromise is to buy used OEM units. They can be found in salvage yards, but wouldn't the mileage put on them affect their longevity?

So, I'm either going to get a set pulled from a salvage yard, or I'm looking at a full set of 6 at this site:

http://www.am-autoparts.com/Nissan/M...29/475993.html
New coil packs can also be found on ebay for about the same price, and Amazon as well.
Looking at the feedback of the vendors, there doesn't seem to be any issues.

Can anyone who's replaced there's share their experience, good or bad with replacing the coil packs?

 

Coil packs on the 6th Gen. Maxima are very durable. Of course they can go bad, but rarely do in my experience.

Change out your plugs and put the original coils back in place.

 

And what makes you think that a set of used coils with no known history would be better than your used coils with NO issues?

 

That's a good point. The shop's recommending changing the rear ones because of the car's mileage (115K) and since the plugs are being replaced, he's suggesting a proactive replacement, saving the 2nd labor charge if they go bad.

I actually asked him about salvaging a set vs new and he said "If you want used ones, you already have a set of 6!"

Ordinarily, I wouldn't salvage these, except that there are several cases of people buying aftermarket coils and getting an immediate code from the ECU. The resolution was to get a salvaged OEM coil. Fortunately, many salvage yards (claim to) know the mileage of the car they pull parts from. I found several yards with full sets. The lowest mileage was about 25K.

I just find it hard to spend $85+ each, about $250+/bank or $500+/set for 6 new OEM coils when these much less expensive options are available. Salvaged set of 6 or new aftermarket for less than $150 delivered. I'd like to spend that difference on something like phenolic spacers...

 

Any idea of what a "typical" or "expected" lifespan is on these?

 

This coil pack design has just been out for ten model years, so there are not many 200K+ mileage vehicles out there.
But in my experience, and I'm sure others that are NOT selling new coils will agree, they just don't give much problem. I think you can expect at least that much.

To be honest, you are really over-thinking this whole thing. Run your coils until they need attention. It's not like a bad one will strand you out in nowhere land anyway.

And you have a 50/50 chance it will be one of the front ones too! I like the odds here.

 

That place wanted to make some bucks that s all . I m about shure about it .

 

Not in this case. This shop lets me buy my own parts. He was suggesting that I find some on my own, and bring them to him to install, since he was going to be doing all the labor to get to them, and I could take advantage of that.

 

New OEM Coils > Used OEM Junkyard > New/Used Aftermarket.

 

I have had to replace one coil pack. It was in the front. Very easy to do obviously. That one went bad at about 85k miles. The others are still good. The replacement is not that bad. The one I put in was from autozone. The best one they had. Paid the same price as a new one from the dealer. The one I got came with a limited Lifetime warranty. that means if it breaks it is free. Don't fix something that ain't broke. If it is working, let it work. You will know for sure when one goes bad. Your car will run like crap. You will get a SES light and a code "Misfire bank 1 or 2".

 

You re a lucky guy then , it s not that case at other places !

 

Yes, very lucky. I've saved quite a bit of money over the years, and got no grief over aftermarket performance parts.

 

When I take mine to the dealer, they put whatever I bring them on with no hassle as long as it is safe. I am lucky to have one of the only Nissan Dealers authorized in the country to do aftermarket upgrades to a vehicle and warranty the work and parts. The parts you bring in will not get warrantied unless they are Nissan or Nismo parts, however the work is warrantied. This dealer works on every type of car pretty much. Hourly rate is not so bad either. I just had my rack and pinion and both CV shafts installed and a front end alignment done for $420 fluid included. Took about 3 and half hours. Definitely worth it. I did not want to do that rack and pinion myself, too messy. Bought all my parts from Autozone as well. Overall cost was about $920 for parts and labor. Nissan wanted $1100 for just the rack and pinion part not installed.

 

Which coils did you end up buying? Have you had any further issues since you had them installed?

 

He hasn't logged on in 3 months. I'm assuming he might not have a Maxima any longer.

 

I change my spark plugs from Platinum to NKG Iridiums and I'm sure there is a HP gain with these! Iridium plugs are also a lot more expensive then the stock plugs. I wouldn't change the coilpacks unless there was a problem with them. Don't fix what aint broke! You'll end up with more problems in the end.

 

Hmm, mine weren't. They were actually cheaper. Right in between Cu and Pt.

Mine were 6.81 per plug.

 

I forgot to follow up. I salvaged a set of OEMs from a 25K mile car. Much less expensive than new OEM, of course. Since my originals were still within spec, I asked him to pick the best 6, closest to spec and give me back the rest. I've had no issue with them since installing. For the sub $150 price, I was OK with putting them in now proactively.

Unfortunately, after the phenolic spacers, the rest of my savings went to other issues with the car...

 

With the money I've had to put into the car over the last year, and coming up, I'll be a Maxima owner for a while...

If a nice windfall comes along, we'll see if that changes