Ok, so my Max is a 1995, and the check engine light is on. I went to autozone to have them pull the code for me, and they said they didnt have the software for it. I called around to many other places and none of them have it. they said nissan didnt change to obd2 till 1996. So, my question is, what other places may have it? I called Nissan and they definately have it, but they said it would be $97 just to hook it up and tell me why the check engine light is on. i'm trying to avoid wasting basically $100 for them to tell me its something minor that's easy to fix

 

pull the panel off the passenger side of the center consule and you'll find the obdII port, I believe its white, you should have no problem noticing which one it is. Go back to Autozone and tell them to plug their scan tool into that port and you'll have your codes. Maximas as well as many other cars had OBDII software in 95, and some even 94, it just wasnt mandated on vehicles until 96.

 

You could also check your codes by yourself.

 

^^^ much easier

 

95s are OBDII tell AZ they are full of ****....its behind the center console on passenger side....or u could pull ur own codes

 

Here's how to check codes and interpret them:

http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecu.html
http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecudecoder.html

 

Thanks a lot DBear....I didn't know you could do that. well i did it and here's what i came up with.....

-Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor
-Knock Sensor
-Intake Air Temperature Sensor
-Crankshaft Position Sensor (reference)

i really am not sure what these mean, but the car runs fine so i'm just gonna ignore it

 

Definitely change your knock sensor. You will get better power and mileage for a part thats ~$90 on ebay. I would recommend changing the ECTS if it is faulty and i dont know why your IATS would be throwing a code. I haven't heard them being prone to failure.

 

Just start with the knock sensor and work from there. Clear the code after each repair and see where you get.

 

Yeah, definitely replace the knock sensor ASAP.

 

Measure the KS before replacing it. On here everybody says 'change the KS' just because the code pops up. If I'd taken that advice I would have been out $90 and still had the code, because the KS was perfectly OK, it was a bad connection.
The ECTS is an easy and cheap fix, just replace it, but before you do, check it is not a wiring fault; mine was a wiring problem, just like the KS.
Where's the intake air sensor? Is that the bead thermistor in the MAF? Suspect it is.

 

IATS is not the thermistor in the MAF. Its another smaller sensor thats mounted on the side of the air filter box if you still have a stock intake system. Its pretty small (maybe 1in by 0.5in., shaped like a diamond with rounded corners, held in with 2 small screws), and its just a little thermistor with a rounded plastic guard over top of it. Extremely easy to change. Just make sure its not your wiring. The harness gets old and stiff, and I guess the wires break and/or lose contact.

 

i don't have the stock intake on it anymore, so what should i do?

 

If the knock sensor is indeed bad, it's a worthwhile fix. Mine really restored performance. But it can be a b*** to get to. There are a few threads about it here. The key for me was my son, whose hands are still small enough to get in there.