Just bought it yesterday for $800 off Craigslist. It has 183,000 miles. The engine runs smooth, but it was about 2.5 quarts low on oil when I went to see it & had kind of a sloppy start condition when the engine was warm where you had to give it a little gas to make it idle after starting it. The SES light was on also. The codes were: P0011. A misfire code on the 5th cylinder. An O2 sensor fault. And an emissions fault. I had the CPS replaced today which seems to have helped some with the sloppiness after starting, but before I even left the shop the code P0011 popped back up and it developed a hard start, it takes roughly 4-5 seconds of turning the key for it to crank up now. The shop is telling me it could be timing related, but I haven't seen many online reports of timing chains failing on these engines. What could this be??? Any help would be appreciated.

 

You will find much more information on the maxima
Forum for your year.

Timing chains are NOT a common problem. In fact, they are Never a problem.

 

If it was that low on oil the bucket lifters are probably smashed causing it to tick. I just repaired one with the exact same damage.

 

The lifters at e mechanical, not hydraulic.

 

check your crankshaft position sensor (cps) remove connector, clean off any oil, then shoot with either electrical contact cleaner or brake cleaner.