So I'm very new to this forum but I have a problem. During the colder months my maxima starts up fine but when you put it in gear (Drive) the RPM drop significantly and sometimes it completely shuts off. If you get it moving it jerks when going from a complete stop, as if it where stuck in a high gear and shifting down. Please help, this is my only mode of transportation for a while and I don't want to spend big bucks on this either.

 

This does not sound good. Take it to a transmission shop and get them to look at it and be prepared for major bad news. Then take it to a second shop and see if they agree.

 

Not really a stumble, a cough or two could be caused by a bad iacv. The shut of the engine when put in gear could be vacuum hose unplugged.

 

Dropping RPM at idle and stubling on throttle doesn't necessarily mean your having tranny troubles. Is the CEL on or have you scanned it for codes? Your issue could be any number of things but as previously stated vacume lines would be a good place to start.

 

This happened to me once in my '99 SE auto cali spec. I hopped in to go to school one morning and it started but as soon as I put it in R it died. I had to put it in neutral, hold the rpms up a little, and drop it in R. Once I got it on the road and warmed up it worked fine. Ever since then it acted as if though I had a failing torque convertor. Later one day I started hearing strong loud knocking sounds when the steering was full lock and on a hill. A few months later I heard a loud crack pop explosion and fluid was leaking under the car. When I took the transmission off I saw a hole in the case and a differential pin had sheared and poped through the case busting a hole. I don't know what caused all of this. I bought a used transmission and installed it. Good luck.