# 96 Maxima stalls in traffic/steering wheel & gas pedal lock up



## rhcpgirlaji (Oct 22, 2005)

My friend recently bought my 1996 Maxima. It was always a great car for me and had no major problems, but recently it has been doing some odd things. My friend has taken it to 2 shops (one of which was Nissan), and after having run a bunch of tests and kept the car for 5 days, no one could replicate the problem or find anything wrong with the car. I can't witness it for myself because my friend and I are in different cities.

The first time it happened, she said she felt two strange jerks, then slowed down at a stoplight and noticed all the interior lights were on (steadily, not flashing). She tried to go once the light turned green, but could not. The wheel and the gas pedal had both locked up. She restarted the car and got home.

Since that first incident, this has happened probably a dozen more times. Usually when it happens it's several times in a day, but then most other days are problem-free. Usually restarting the car works for a while, but one time she had to wait a couple of hours to get it to go anywhere. While it doesn't always run, she can always at least start it up.

*Key Facts:
-Always happens at slow speeds/RPMs (when the car is in reverse and after coming to a stop and trying to accelerate again)
-Car's interior lights come on
-Steering wheel locks up and won't move more than an inch or two in either direction
-The gas pedal also locks up. It simply cannot be pushed down (rather than acting like it's out of gas where it could be depressed but nothing would happen).
-No one else (mechanics, my mom, friends) can seem to make this happen, which makes it hard to diagnose & fix.

The car:
-1996 Nissan Maxima GLE
-Approximately 150,000 miles
-Automatic transmission*

Aside from this, the car is in good shape. Because it's an automatic, my friend hasn't really been paying attention to the RPMs it's at when this occurs, but I told her to look next time.

It's bad enough that it's stalling out in traffic, but the fact that she can't steer when this happens makes me even more worried. I offered to take it back and just let her find another car but she really wants this one, so we'd like to figure out what the problem is.

If anyone can offer any advice or a direction to go, it would be sincerely appreciated.
http://www.nissanforums.com/images/smilies/confused.gif

Thank you!


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## JSein456 (Jan 31, 2007)

Did you ever find out the cause of this? I had a 92 Maxima that did the exact same thing you're describing and it almost got me killed. I had no brakes going through a light that turned red right after I drove past. This is dangerous.

My family's also owned two more Nissans that ALSO stall like this or similarly and NO ONE has been able to diagnose it...

If this is a defect, shame on Nissan for not having a recall or repairing these cars, because with this going on I won't be surprised of a class-action lawsuit coming.


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## Jeff (Oct 17, 2002)

Sounds like an alternator problem.
Basically, the electronics aren't getting enough juice...thus shutting down the power steering and killing the engine.

That's my guess...definitely something electronic though.


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## vicster (Feb 4, 2007)

I OWN A 95 MAXIMA 5 SPEED AND I ENCOUNTERED A SIMILAR PROBLEM. I WAS DRIVING AT FREEWAY SPEEDS AND I LOST CONTROL OF THE GAS. THE CAR DIDNT STALL YET I LOST MOST OF THE BRAKES AND STREERING. I ENDED BEING THE THROTLE POSITION SENSOR. I REPLACED IT AND NOW IT RUNS FINE


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## johnny vodka (Mar 15, 2007)

I just started having thing problem too, but with a 96 altima. It's the same exact problem now actually too. It used to only happen when I wanted to start the car up, but now it's happening in traffic, which is making me angry.

The power steering dies and I lose the gas. When I stop, I can only restart the car If I put the car in neutral, since the shifter is locked in park and the ignition won't even click. 

I'm just an intern on a low budget, so I really am getting tired of pumping $500 in this car every few weeks in repairs.


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

I've heard of it being the throttle position sensor and the MAF. might try picking up used ones of each at a junkyard and see if that helps any.

the part where the gas pedal locks up is strange. the only thing I can guess there is that maybe the throttle body is freezing up from something...


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