Ok guys I'm relying on and praying to get some answers here since Nissans not worth **** and tells me they don't see any issue and if anything it's my mods. Here's the deal. I have an 09. At 30k miles my tranny was replaced. Now I'm at 75k and having the following issues. FYI this periodically comes and goes but it has recently gotten worse and much more constant. Basically from a stop the car has really slow acceleration. Basically it starts to go then just bogs down. Then when I'm cruising when I hit the gas the car kind of hesitates meaning I feel myself kind of bucking in the seat like it starts to go then slows down then tries to go again and slows down. I kind of feel the car rocking back and forth. It's not super major but I know my car and it's got an issue. The best description incan give would be like taking a manual car and skipping from 2nd gear to fourth. The car would lose power and being sluggish as you pick up enough speed to get into the proper powerband. Then at times I will kind of feel it hit into gear. It's like the engine and trans are on 2 separate pages. Took it to Nissan and they said the trans is fine but my Aplha readings were low. They said because of my mods the cars running rich. The problem I have is that it's like these dealers just blame the mods when they can't figure anything else out. I have had these mods for years so if it were running rich I would think I would have had these issues all along. I'm ready to trade the car in and I'm praying someone amongst all of my fellow 7th gen owners know what this is. Also here are my mods. Block off plates, thermal spacers, CAI and custom exhaust. I was thinking it's either a dirty MAF or throttle body or maybe a Cat getting clogged. Anybody that can help I would appreciate it. I'm at a total loss.

 

Shot in the dark, but it could also just be a faulty O2 sensor...

 

That definitely blows. Sorry man. No idea what they even mean by alphas. Ever thought about removing those mods to test it out? At least the CAI and BOP. Would be pretty quick and easy to do those ones. I understand the frustration though, those mods have been on for tens of thousands of miles. Could just be a stumped group of techs that are looking for something to blame it on. So are they saying the car is running normal? Are they fighting your tranny warranty because of the mods?

 

Alphas are Nissan's way of saying Fuel Trim.

If you've got access to an OBDII bluetooth reader and the Torque app, you can give this a shot.

 

From your explanation, besides a tranny issues seems like it could be MAF or throttle body related.

Any CEL?

 

just a thought but maybe your throttle body is dirty and needs to be cleaned as well as you maf. drive by wire TBs are very sensitive you may wanna just check it and clean it out. Also try looking in a full service manual a lot of times you can get a lot of good info for trouble shooting issues. I have to agree about Nissan dealership repair shops over priced and seem not to care unless they have an all stock car to work on. Have you checked with any import or tuner shops usually they have way better knowledge than the dealers. good luck with your Maxima I hope you find the issue keep us updated please!!

 

not to be insulting, but no one on this post has given the correct answer yet. Everyone who has stated that your car is having issues because of the modifications is incorrect.
the reason I know this, is that I I have a 7th gen Nissan Maxima, however mine is a 2012 Nissan Maxima SV. So for about a year or two I was having an issue with my car where the service engine soon light would come on and stay on for periods of time and then turn off. When this light would come on, my car would stop allowing me to rev above 2500 rpm. I was able to shift through all the gears, but could not accelerate past that amount of RPMs. My car would also hesitate and bog down as you described with your vehicle.
So my first solution was to do a visual diagnostics check on all the airflow components make sure there were no cracks or leaks. After clearing out all my filters and checking all components, I candle conclusion it must be a mass air flow sensor issue.
From this point, I ordered a new mass air flow sensor and replaced the old one. Sadly this did not fix the problem, the light came back on oh, and I was still having the hesitation issues.
I just want to clarify, my car has no after-market modifications at this point. This would be the main reason why I believe that no one has had the correct answer yet. I'm having the exact same issues that you are, but my vehicle has no modifications.
So with all that being said, here is the only good news that I could provide. I found some articles online that stated that specifically the 7th generation Maxima and Altima had an issue with the ECM. It stated online that reprogramming the ECM would fix the issue. However, I have not worked out the $130 that my Nissan dealership is charging to do this yet.

I will keep updating this post as I learn any new information. Hopefully this makes you somewhat more comfortable with your situation LOL.

 

Nice post, but you're about 6 years too late.

Fault codes are attached to dash CEL/MIL lights. Get a Bafx dongle, download "Torque" then post your codes. You're in limp mode for a reason, and it has nothing to do with your ECU or whatever you read.

Let us know.

 

I have experienced these symptoms twice. Once for a Bad Alternator (starts like you describe and gets worse) and the other just after I dropped the cvt pan and let most of the NS-2 drain out over 2 days and did NOT put in enough NS-2 back in at first. The alternator/charging system/grounds sound more likely to me without actually seeing the car. Please let us know what you find!

 

The thread is from 2014, hopefully that maxima is still on the road in a good shape

 

Yep, but topical

 

So just an update for everyone who's still curious. I took my Maxima into Nissan today to reprogram the ECM. This completely fixed the p0101 error involving mass air flow issue that had popped up a year or 2 ago. Secondly, the hesitation issues that I have been experiencing recently with acceleration and hesitation were do to spark plugs needing replacement. I also went ahead and did a full flush out of the throttle body, which was definitely needed LOL.

Anyways, hopefully this will help someone out there. If you have the check engine light come on and it gives you the p0101 error, and you have a 7th gen Maxima, reprogram ECM before you do anything else.

 

After the new update, do you notice when cruising, engine stays at 1500rpm rather than 1220rpm (say at 40mph)?

 

How do I permanently disabled and by disable I mean break, by pass or however you want to word eliminating this bs safety crap mode. Screwing with my transmission because of a gas cap or something stupid all just to make a buck off us. Fkc Nissan

 

get a camry