16th Sep 2007, 20:21

I read the comments on the SES light and advice to ignore the light, do not repair and "keep on trucking". However, those folks must live in states that do not require the SES light to be UNLIT to pass inspection. My state rejects cars with SES light that are lit. You are obligated to do whatever to get it fixed within 30 days. No sticker=no driving car. I have to work and the constant taking the car in and out of the shop to make the 30 day deadline was impacting my job. Needless to say, I no longer drive a Nissan.

17th Sep 2007, 11:09

Yup, I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima SE at its got problems! I bought it brand new, has about 150Kms. The first major thing to go was the ignition coils at about 110Kms. that is what caused the misfiring 'bucking'. All six have been replaced. Most recently its go other issues, stalling, lagging and throttle problems and warning lights I have to contend with.

It sure seems everyone has come to realize this model has some pretty bad defects, that are costly to repair. I am pretty peeved myself as I thought it would be a very reliable car, but at 150K, it doesn't run all that well.

I will try to find cost effective ways to keep it running reasonably well (and avoid Dealership!) and hopefully get another 50K out it. This board has been helpful so thanks for all your input everyone.

9th Oct 2007, 05:09

Have a 2001 Maxima at 140,000 miles ses light came on. The car would stall immediately after cold start (less than about 40 degrees F) unless you used the throttle to regulate idle speed for approximately 10 seconds. Fix turned out to be replacing the idle air control valve.

11th Oct 2007, 13:36

I have a 2000 Maxima GLE with 113K miles and the SES light has been on since a few days after my last PA State Inspection in Nov 2006. All was well last year and I did the whole battery disconnect thing in order to turn off the light and get the car to pass last year's inspection. No problems were found with the car during that inspection. Car drove well since then with the SES light on. Well, this year, I figured I would take it to a Nissan dealer to properly diagnose the reason for the SES light, and at worst, replace an O2 sensor. Yeah right! I just got back from the dealership service dept. and the Cat converter and front exhaust pipe need replacement at a cost of $1,991.00. Yeah, almost $2000! I hope this is the end of my spending spree, but unfortunately after reading all of these posts, I may be in for an expensive ride unless I trade it in for a Honda or Toyota; BOTH of which I have owned in the past with NONE of these problems. Nissan!

31st Oct 2007, 07:56

I have a 2000 Nissan GXE; 5-speed. For the past 6 weeks, the car is very slow to accelerate when I am trying to get up to speed. The car does not ride rough nor does it try to stall when I accelerate or slow down. I do notice that the RPMs rise and fall between 3,000 and 4,000 when the needle would hold steady at 3,250-3,500 when I was driving at highway speeds. Does anyone know what would be causing this type of problem? Thanks in advance for your help - lg.

8th Nov 2007, 16:18

I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima GLE. The Service Engine light comes on once every 10K miles or so. I changed the Catalytic Converter ($1800 total bill) last October 2006. It was OK for 12 months. The Service Engine light has reappeared. The dealer reset the light last week. It was OK for a week. But the problem has come back. This Model is a money pit.

15th Nov 2007, 10:31

I just bought a 99 Maxima and filled it with 89 octane... immediately the car began to run rough (sputtering) and the SES light came on. I tried tightening the gas cap this morning before I started it up. When I did, it started to flash for a minute so I was hopeful that it would go off. It went right back to steady. SIGH... Any ideas what is wrong? Thanks to your board I am taking it to Autozone for a diagnostic -- hoping to get some good news.

15th Nov 2007, 14:33

Just got word from the mechanic on my 99 Max... stopped by Autozone and got diagnosed with a misfire on Cylinder #3. Autozone recommended a tune-up. Took it to Midas and they replaced the spark plugs to the tune of $220! Now they are talking about cylinder #2 misfiring... not sure yet of that price...WHOA!

11th Dec 2007, 13:24

Thanks to this site I finally have the problem fixed. I purchased my 2000 Maxima SE new on July 31st, 1999 with 5 miles on the odometer. It’s been a long time since I can remember how fun this car use to be to drive. Like many, I’ve been plagued with problems, all starting right after the 100k warranty ran out. I’ve replaced the starter two times in 2 years, air compressor, power steering compress, NOC sensors, O2 sensors (not sure if their the same), ignition column replacement, and many many dollars more. I use to take my car to the dealership for all routine maintenance i.e. 3k, 15k, 30k services. Their prices were comparable to the outside so I figured what the heck. I had two major incidents with the dealership which prompted me to take my car elsewhere. The last straw was telling me I need to have my belts changed even though the same dealership just changed those belts during the prior service.

I’ve finally come to the realization that most modern mechanics are really no more than computer clerks. They have no real diagnostic skills and at your expense will play the try and replace method depending on what random codes come out of the computer.

Unlike a dealership, I take my car to the local mechanic. There’s no charge for diagnostics and if he doesn’t fix the job, he’ll give it another shot at no charge. This last I was having the same stalling problem a lot of other post are having. Instead of charging me an arm and a leg to fix the problem, he tried cleaning the throttle bottle and all the other cheaper stuff first. The last cleaning fixed the problem for a few days, but then it was stalling again. After reading the post on this website, I finally figured out that the problem was going away whenever the temperature rose so I decided to have him replace the Mass Air Flow sensor.

I went to the dealership to purchase the part and to my surprise the part was only $150 bucks. The mechanic instructed me to stock up on those parts because they normally run $500 dollars. He stated that because of the recent problems with the part, the price has been reduced. I guess that’s Nissan’s way of recalling a known problem.

Well now that the MFA has been replace, the Max as I call it with 165k miles on it is running almost as strong as the day I bought it. It has plenty of power, even from a cold start. Wheels are spinning again although I keep that to a minimum due to the cost of the rubber.

Well my days of buying a new car just to have one are over. Hopefully I can keep this one for another 150k miles. Now I just have to fix the 6 way see that’s stuck in the up position and replace my non working Bose radio. I guess it was time for XM anyway. The 94 Accord I gave to my nephew to get the Max is still on the road hitting almost 300k miles and little maintenance. The wife’s 94 Camry is pushing 270k miles and just need a good cleaning. When the time comes, as many have said, Nissan is out, and Toyota / Honda is in.

Good luck to all.