I apologize for posting this, after all of the threads I've read on the 2K ignition coil issues, but I need some advice. My 2K GXE has 94,000 miles on it, and I've had no issues other than a bad O2 sensor. Saturday night I fired up the car, and it started kind of funny and died. I restarted it, and it fired right up, and the SES light was on. I'm not having any noticeable driveability issues, but I took it to the dealership Monday morning. I was told that 3 of the coils are bad, and need to be replaced. I was quoted $800 for this repair. I've been scouring the internet all day, and have fortunately found this forum, and all of the great people here. I plan on ordering a set of coils from Dave B, and changing them myself.

My question to you that have been through this: I'm leaving for a 1500 mile trip tomorrow, and I'm wondering if I should drive my Maxima. I have the option of renting a car, but would rather not. I'm still not having any noticable problems other than the one bad start, and the SES light. Please help if you can. I sincerely appreciate it.

 

it depends on how bad the misfires are. if 3 of the coils are bad or on their way out, you could have major driveability issues. 3 cylinders trying to do the work of 6 is not going to work in your favor. i am not an overly cautious person but i would rent whatever car you want and have them ordered to replace when you get back. i would think its better to rent than drive 1500 and find that they give out and you either get stuck or have no power to get the car moving.

 

If you are having doubts, replace it to get rid of your doubts

 

Had the same issue. The only noticable difference was the RPM's would "flutter" real low sometimes like is was about to stall. If you dont rent, the worst will most likely happen, then you have to pay for towing and all that. Better safe than sorry....Welcome to the Org!!

 

i am pretty sure he was set on replacing them but wanted a good deal going through dave b so waiting on the shipment would take time especially with a 1500 mile trip tomorrow.

 

id say rent a car, wait for the coils and by the time you get back they will be there and you can replace it yourself. like the others have said if you get stuck someone on a TRIP! that kinda kills the trip and adds stress, not to mention the money you spent on towing could prob pay for a bit of the rental. id rent if i was you, especially with 3 coils bad. I have one bad and i dont wnat to drive too much...

 

$800 is crazy for 3 coils. i had 4 done for 400 even. you may want to replace all 6 and get it over with.

 

I wouldn't drive it; when my coils started going, the problem wasn't too severe...but it got much worse. Sometimes the car ran fine and you wouldn't know there was anything wrong; other times it stumbled and misfired so badly that I really shouldn't have driven it at all.

And, as has been written above, $800 is ridiculous for this repair. I paid $260 for all 6 coils, did the front 3 myself (easy) and a local mechanic charged me $30 to do the rear 3.

Just my .02

 

I had mine replaced a month ago.
Two of the coils (out of 6) had gone bad and the dealer strongly advised me to replace all 6 of them. ;-( Ended up spending $700.

The dealer insisted that the other 4 old coils wouldn't work well with 2 new colis and there was a possibility of other 4 coils going bad pretty soon.
Not sure whether that was true or not.

Comment ?

 

im not sure about the comment about old coils working with new ones but why risk not replacing all 6 since they have such a high failure rate. you can buy all 6 coils for around 300 shipped and install them easily in under an hour even if you have no prior mechanical skills. it was smart to replace all 6 to eliminate the chance of one failing but i would have repalced them myself.

 

Thanks for the fast replies. I ended up renting a Jeep Grand Cherokee for the week. It was only $166 for the entire rental period, so when I get back from both of my vacations, I'll replace the coils myself.

 

Just a heads up, I think there is a group deal for coils running til tomorrow in the group deal section.

 

i have been driving on bad coil(s) for about 3 weeks. I had the SES light cleared the first time it happened, it stayed off for two weeks. then it came back on. the car drives fine and still revs ok. My TCS off and slip light have only came on with the SES 3 times. I guess that means it only misfired 3 times so far. I would feel the car like stutter for a sec then they came on. other then those 3 times its been fine. i do have new coils sitting at my house. i just gotta pick up some new spark plugs and get them all changed.

it went two weeks between misfires...then about 4 days. so i guess its getting worse. glad i have the new coils ready to go.

 

Sloppy,

$300 for 6 ignition coils ? That's a deal.
Could you please let me know the details about getting such a deal ?
And also, I would like to do the next replacement on my own, if you have any pointer, then I please pass it on.
Appreciate your help.

Thanks.

Cheers,
Raj

PS: BTW, there is another thread which seems to indicate that Nissan might recall the coils on the 2k-2k3 maximas.

 

you can get the coils from a member named Twillin i think. he sends them out for 240 shipped

 

you can pm twillin if you want as he was running a deal on 6 coils. some people want to deal with a company standing behind them so i always recommend dave burnette @ 888-254-6060. last time i saw someone post, it was around 300 shipped so dont be surprised if its a little more. you can also check jerryromenissan.com if you prefer to order online. use MAXIMA as a promotional code for an additional 12% off.