# Problems with hesitation (2000 Maxima)



## TrickyDick420 (Dec 12, 2005)

I am experiencing considerable hesitation(or bogging) from 3400 - 3800 rpm. Only happens at half or more throttle. This happens like clockwork for every gear (I have a 5-speed,aka manual) and it does it again, but not as bad, right before it red-lines. Anyone have any ideas? I have aftermarket cold-air induction that has been with the car a lot longer than this problem has. Went ahead and changed filter and checked hoses but it didn't help. And now my car has started to die on me when I put it in nuetral while stopping at a light. Only dies occasionally but rpm's always drop to about 300 then come back up to bout 800. Could this be related to my timing? PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!!!


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## 2kMax (Dec 22, 2005)

*Re: Problems with hesitation & stalling (2000 Maxima)*



TrickyDick420 said:


> I am experiencing considerable hesitation(or bogging) from 3400 - 3800 rpm. Only happens at half or more throttle. This happens like clockwork for every gear (I have a 5-speed,aka manual) and it does it again, but not as bad, right before it red-lines. Anyone have any ideas? I have aftermarket cold-air induction that has been with the car a lot longer than this problem has. Went ahead and changed filter and checked hoses but it didn't help. And now my car has started to die on me when I put it in nuetral while stopping at a light. Only dies occasionally but rpm's always drop to about 300 then come back up to bout 800. Could this be related to my timing? PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!!!


HELP IS HERE - I hope: My 2000 SE with 100K miles had exactly almost the same problems -- hesitation, erratic RPMs and stalling at idle, esp. when in Neutral or Park. It also had intermittent loss of power, valve knock (pinging), and smelly (fuel-rich) exhaust. But I have just solved it by having the Mass Air Flow sensor replaced. 

I must give credit to the Service Dept. of Regal Nissan, a dealer in Huntsville, AL, which correctly identified and solved the problem as a faulty "MAF" sensor. After replacement, the engine once again runs without hesitation or pinging, and idles stably at 700 RPM when warm. (Mine is an automatic, with all original air intake, etc., so I doubt your aftermarket induction has anything to do with it -- although the ECU may work differently for M/T's.) At first, the mechanic suspected the Idle Air Control valve, and he tested the air vacuum, but apparently those were OK.

The MAF sensor was about $115 plus about $80 (1 hr?) labor to replace. The new MAF is a different design that requires the Engine Control Module (ECM) be reprogrammed ($70). The dealer also insisted they were required to replace the air filter ($11 + labor), although I normally do that myself.

Despite the $330 total expense, I'm relieved, because I had tried unsuccessfully for months to solve the problem myself. Maybe my prior experience will also be instructive or help others from wasting time and money: 

Soon after the car began stalling at long traffic lights, the first thing I did was to replace the PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) valve, a $6 plastic part. (The old one had apparently melted into the manifold cover, because I couldn't unscrew it without breaking it and leaving some of the plastic stem in the manifold. The manifold looks like metal but seems to be black engineering plastic. So I drilled out the PCV valve stem and hammered the new one in -- maybe a terrible solution, but it seems to be tightly sealed. I should get some kind of epoxy to cement it in...) At first, I thought the engine seemed to run a little better. But the intermittent hesitation and stalling continued.

Next, I replaced the air filter ($10) and spark plugs (about $30 for 6 Bosch platinums). Again, the engine ran better, but still had the symptoms. Then I had the intake air path inspected & cleaned ($45 at an independent garage). Didn't hurt, didn't help either. Next I had the fuel injection system cleaned ($50), but the problem still occurred. While each of these was probably necessary or a good idea, none solved the stalling or hesitation problem.
Then, about 2 months ago, the so-called SES ("Service Engine Soon") lamp and a specific ECM code indicated that one of the 3 oxygen (O2) sensors was bad. Aha, I thought -- maybe this is it. I had the right-rear O2 sensor replaced (for $220) with high hopes, but the same symptoms returned, and got worse until the MAF sensor was replaced. Hope this is the end of the story....


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## TrickyDick420 (Dec 12, 2005)

Thank you very much 2kMax! I will try your advise and see what happens. Your advise could potentially save me a lot of money. Being a broke college kid, every dollar counts! I will let you know if it works or not and also see how cheap I can get this done for. Sounds like you had to go through a lot of BS to finally get your Maxima running correctly, so thanks for letting me learn from your mistakes. 
PS- I am from Huntsville too!!! Right on!


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