ok since this is my first max, im not sure if the following is something i should worry about or not.

ever since i got my max ( a month ago), when i press on the gas, no matter how hard or soft, i feel this vibration under my foot. my older altima didnt do that. my CEL is on and i had dealer check it out today and they said that its my o2 sensor that has gone bad. i told em about the vibration issue and they said that they had no idea wtf i was talking about. when i press the gas, something vibrates very weakly, im not sure how to describe it exaclty. do you guys feel this too? or is it just me? could it be my O2 sensor thats causing this. is this something i should worry about? im planning to test drive another 4th gen myself and see if that 1 does the same too. but untill then, id like to hear from a few of yall.

btw, mine is a 98 se with 24k miles.

 

its probably hesitatin cauzed by the sensor or the ecu retarding your timing possible, what kind of gas do u put in? what octane?

 

1st owner of the car said that he always put 89 octane. i have switched to 91 octane since i got the car. i have used about 10 gallons of 76 gas with 91 octane and ever since then i decided to go with chevron and stay with it forever. so ive been using 91 for 600 miles now. i just filled up my tank with chevron 91 octane today for 2nd time. do u feel that vibration too?

 

nope but i think what ur feeling is more the hesitation caused by the ecu, most likely its not a vibration that ur feeling, get ur O2 sensor replaced and report back to us

 

i hope the o2 replace does the job.

 

btw, this is the 3rd o2 going to be replaced in 2 months

 

Hey DoGGy]btw,
I have a 99 Maxima SE and am having the same vibration in the pedal as you.
I have posted this problem for about a year and no one including dealers have been able to help. I am desparate to figure out what is causing the uneasy acceleration and vibration in the pedal. Here is the latest post for help I put out. Could you please tell me if you are experiencing the same problem as me. Also, I have had several diagnostic tests done and no codes lately. Can o2 sensors go bad without codes? About 6 months, I had one knock sensor replaced with a code that showed up. But about the o2 sensor - do they all show codes when bad?
P.S. - All 6 dealers told me that they dont know wtf Im talking about so don't feel bad. Please advise and let me know what happens. Thanks!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted:

Hey,

I thought maybe somebody can help me. I have a 99 maxima and am having problems with my acceleration. After several trips to the dealer and no help, I am ready to get rid of my maxima if only I can fix the problem.

PROBLEMS:

When I press the pedal, there is always a vibration in it rather than it being a smooth press. The pedal has a lot of elasticity to it. On the highway, it is very uncomfortable to drive. If I am coasting at 70mph and go to accelerate, the pedal has too much slack IN it and I constantly have to press the pedal till I get that umph feeling rather than it being present right away to the point to keep my speed and to accelerate faster. The pedal doesn't have umph behind it - It feels loose rather than there being a lot of power. The timing is off or something causing my car to shift and my pedal not to go along with the shift. Example: I press the gas and as the car is shifting, instead of the pedal being stiff and going through the proper movement - it feels like a rubber band and the pedal will fling forward! Also, the car won't fully follow through with the shift unless I apply a lot of pressure to the pedal. I have cleaned the throttle body, replaced the cable. Could this be a fuel pump/fuel regulator problem? I have had plenty of diagnostic tests done but no codes have shown up. It is an intermittent problem but is occurring regularly. The ride is crappy and i want to get it fixed. Did anyone experience anything like this? If so or you have any ideas, please advise! If you are confused, take it for a drive - and tell me what you think. Any philly , NJ , max owners - let me know if you have time to test drive it. Anyone else, your ideas are welcome. Thanks.

 

Does this problem affect ovrall performance or is it just an annoyance

 

yes i think we are both feeling the same problem in gas pedal. u described it very well and better than me. the gas pedal is NOT smooth. when u press it a little ( rmp wont jump above 2k, thats how soft i press) its very comfortable and smooth but as soon as u press it a little harder( no matter how fast ur going), something starts to vibrate( or at least thats how i feel about it) or whatever happens. the result is that u dont feel that smoothness in the gas pedal ! and i also hear some kind of noise. its not very very bad but something is definetly going on. my friend has a 98 gle with 62k miles. i told him about this and let him drive my car and he said that it felt just like his, but im sure he didnt know wtf i was talking about. this is the only 4th gen maxima i have droven. i will test drive my friends car too and see if that car does the same.

as far as o2 sensors and diagnostics go. my CEL came on cuz of a bad o2 ( yes bad o2 gives cel) and this time the dealer wanted to check out my entire ride ( took em 3 hours) and run alot of test to make sure everything is working properly and there is nothing else causing o2 sensors go bad. they said everything is working fine. our problem is that we cant describe this problem very well to anyone, our only choice is to test drive other max's and see if they do the same too, have u test drove any other 4th gen?

 

how can i tell brother? ive been feeling it since the 1st day i bought it. this is the only 4th gen i ever drove, i dont know if my car is performing as its best or not. it feels more like a hezitation caused my something, i press gas hard( at 10 mph) and the car is still sitting there and even tho it starts accelerating 0.5 sec after, i still feel the vibration! im not sure if this is a problem or im just being too picky, i wish some of u coulda come and drive my car !


have you ever had ur home water cut out for few hours and when u come back and turn the faucet, u see that mostly air comes out at first with a little bit of water and u see it shaking badly? thats the best way i can put it into. feels like something else besides gas is entering the cylinders, more like alot of air with it as well..

is this what u feel NisMax615 ?

 

YES,

My performance is affected and it is so annoying to the extreme I don't want my maxima anymore.

No dealer drives my car as much as I do so for them to say it drives fine is b.s. . When I bought the car, it drove fine. Now, taking all the events that happened, my knock sensor went bad first and the TB housing was all dirty and that was when I first noticed the vibration in the pedal. After I had the knock sensor replaced and TB cleaned, my power was back up but still a lag and vibration in the pedal. And its been a year now and still the same crappy feeling and drive. I have had Diagnostic tests done regularly and no codes.

To me it could be a variety of things:
Is my throttle llinkage messed up,
Are there bad o2 sensors
Fuel pump problems

I have learned that sometimes things go bad and no codes show up.
If so, it could be a lot of things. If Doggy]btw figures it out, I will mimick what he does - thats my only hope.

I am giving up so if you got any ideas, let me know.

 

dont count on me much cuz im a pure

whats ur mileage? only 24k on mine

 

Yes exactly - good comparison,

After posting for a year now and searching, I have refined my wording to describe how my car acts like a pain in my as* and drives which is uncomfortable and lousy. I want to get rid of it - Sorry to vent but see I have had the same problem for a long time.

My brother has a 99 maxima GLE and he has no problem like this. And I am glad to finally see someone with the same problem because no one knows the feeling I am experiencing.

So are u going to replace the o2 sensors? If so, let me know what happens after that to see if the vibration goes away or if any other ideas come up, let me know. Email me at ant0564@yahoo.com

P.S. - I have tried to solve the problem but still no success:
I have replaced the Throttle cable and adjusted it to difft tensions.
and that doesnt work. See, when I fill up on gas [ always 93 octane ], it seems my first start out acceleration from the staion - drives great - then after that - crappy. I dont know anymore - keep in touch and keep me posted as to what happens. Thanks!

 

I have 69,000 miles on my max and over the last 25,000 miles have had the vibration/lag in the pedal. Ive been real patient and have seem to forgot that smooth press feeling I used to remember a year ago.

I am so used to the crappy ride I have now; it is starting to feel normal which its not because it's been so long since I have had a smooth, comfortable ride. [over a year now]

I dont want to keep throwing $ into the car if the probs arent solved.

So either I find out the solution or you - which could save one of us the time and the money.

 

i am not sure if this will fix your problem
but here is the things that i do to make my car run smoother:
clean the grounding and battery connection.
replace spark plug, fuel and air filter, pcv valve.
clean TB.

 

If you guys are driving automatics, check to see if the car starts out in second gear. I'm a nissan tech and drive a lot of Max's, it seems common to me to see the car start in second and then downshift to first. If this makes any sense to you check it out. I dont know the fix for it because nobody ever complains about it. Good luck!

 

3 of my O2 sensors have been replaced one by one in the last 2 months. i got CEL's for each one, one by one and i replaced them. O2 sensors didnt fix my problem, the vibration is still there but im hoping that after i change the 4th o2 sensor ( when cel comes on), the problem will be fixed. and then i would have 4 brand new sensors. today i paid carefull attention to this vibration and i came up with these results.

if i keep the rmp under 2k, i dont feel any vibration. the gas pedal is very smooth.
but if i want sudden acceleration and press gas hard enough so that the rmp jumps up to 3 or so, then i feel the vibration. the vibration is NOT very bad but its just something i feel. basically if i want to increase my speed by alot ( such as when i floor the car to run a yellow light) i feel the vibration, but if i increase speed slowly, i dont feel it. and it does NOT matter how fast im going. NisMax615 pay attention and see if u notice this as well?