23rd Jan 2008, 08:15

Thanks for all the comments, they have given me direction with my cold start/stalling problem.

Unfortunately, I just replaced the Mass Air Flow Sensor AND starter and looking at $700 bill. After reading all the comments about the MAF, Nissan should have issued some sort of recall for this part. Too many people are having the exact same problem. What type of car manufacturer can't make a decent car that starts in cold weather???

Hope this is the end of problems with the 2000 Max. When it's time for a new whip I'll be looking at Honda/Toyota.

23rd Jan 2008, 19:46

Having problems with your Maxima stalling at idle or while in park? It's a simple fix... I had the mass air flow and throttle body cleaned, and the problem ceased immediately. I strongly recommend trying this fix (which cost me less than $180 including labor) before you try replacing ignition coils or catalytic converter, both of which can be very expensive.

I also recommend purchasing an OBDII code reader. You can get a good one for about $75 (I have an Actron CP9135), and it will tell you what your problem is when that annoying "Service Engine Soon" light comes on. It also gives you the ability to reset it. My SES light came on about a month ago and it said I had a fault rear O2 sensor (which I had replaced about a year ago). I cleared the message, and the SES hasn't appeared since.

30th Jan 2008, 11:12

Nissan Maxima 2000, runs good when I start, when it passes 40 miles if I hit the gas it looses strength for a little and you can feel like it is shocking, mechanic says that the injection fuel system is clogged, he added a liquid to the gas tank and told me to run it for the same to clean injector and fuel line, and said that otherwise if this fails I will have to expend $300 to put the fuel line and injectors on acid.. what do you people know and what else can I do?

24th Feb 2008, 05:20

Hello to all who have posted comments about your Nissan Maxima. I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima. I bought it with 35K miles on it. I now have over 100K. I also had the same issue with no acceleration power when my car hit 3RPM to 4RPM. I also had the Check Engine Light come on and stay on. I got a diagnostic reading from AutoZone (free) and a local mechanic ($60). Both said it was the O2 Sencor (Bank One) and the Ignition Coils. Well after reading this post, I decided to change the Mass Air Flow Sensor ($80-Nissan Part). This price for the MAF is my mechanic's price. Well that fixed the acceleration problem. I have FULL POWER when I hit the gas pedal, especially on the highway. However the Check Engine Light is still on and I feel the engine bucking. I think it might be the ignition coils, but will wait to see if the problem stays after I drive another 100 miles. I will keep you posted.

5th Mar 2008, 22:36

As an original owner, I've been very happy with my 2000 Maxima SE, except for the really annoying SES light. I had the coils replaced a while ago, and at various times the light had come on and off. When my mechanic checked the diagnostic code ($75) it said "Catalytic Converter", but I have not experienced any problems. The light stayed off for a little while, but now it's been on for several months. I'm taking it in for a 143k (aka 15k) service tomorrow, but will tell them not to bother checking it. From what I've been reading, it seems like there's just a faulty sensor.

If it stays together for another couple of years, my son might end up getting it as his first car (it might be close to 200k by then!).

12th Apr 2008, 23:31

To all Nissan Maxima owners before you do any costly repairs replace the MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR because it will make your car have all the following syptoms, hard starting, loss power, rough idle and stalling when cold, false codes even make your car seem like the transmission is bad. Trust me and save yourself a lot of trouble and money because Autozone has it for $169 and it takes about 20 minutes to install.

1st May 2008, 17:31

I own a 2000 Max and it has been a very good car. I currently have 97K and I have had all of the coils replaced so far (60K).Nissan has had problems with that one. Recently the car would run rough until it warmed up and then it would smooth out. However, the past few days it would cut off suddenly and not restart until it cooled down. I had a diagnosis test run and got a CAM position sensor ($83) fault message along with the mass air flow sensor ($113). I just had them replaced and the car is purring like a cat and I'm on the road again. :o)

1st May 2008, 18:03

I too replaced my mass air flow sensor and the car is running much better. I normally try to do repairs myself but I am under the gun for inspection so I handed $450 over. However, my ses light came on again and it's throwing a 0400 code, EGR System. Dealer said it needs to be cleaned. Didn't have that code before I brought it to NISSan. Basically a particle could set that off. They want $360 for that. Rediculous. I have replaced one coil and it's easy.

10th May 2008, 21:39

I have a 2k Maxima with almost all of the above problems.

I changed a mass airflow sensor; that helped the acceleration problem immensely, and as for the "miss", I have replaced 4 of the six coils (most auto parts stores will read your SES codes and let you know what they say for free, which is how I knew which coils to change).

As for the O2 sensors and cat converters, that get flagged, most of the time they are bogus due to the way the engine runs if a coil is misfiring or the mass airflow sensor is bad. The diagnostic will almost always tell on a bad coil, however, if the engine has no power or runs like crap when cold with no chugging or missing, the SES is on and diag. says O2 sensor, tranny, or cat. converter, I would go for the mass airflow sensor.

Hope this helps.

10th Jun 2008, 11:49

I own a 2000 and a 2001 Nissan Maxima. Engine was running very rough and check engine soon light was flashing, indicating a severe problem. The cause was bad ignition coils. I temporarily moved three good coils from the 2001 car to the rough running 2000 car. Problem went away. So I bought three ignition coils for the front three cylinders. Car has been running fine for 10K miles so far.

Nissan dealership stated each coil cost $115. I said what??? Internet states they are roughly $85. He punched a few buttons on his computer and said OK, $87 each. That's crazy. Always ask for a lower price.

To replace the front ingition coils, remove four allen screws from plastic cover (silver with red stripe). Remove one bolt per ignition coil using a socket wrench. Squeeze and detach locking wire harness connected to ignition coil. Pull on ignition coil to remove (sits on top of spark plug).

Install new ignition coils by performing above steps in reverse. Takes about 15 minutes for front side (cylinders 2,4,6). Back side should take about 20 minutes (cylinders 1,3,5).

The rear three ignition coils are SLIGHTLY harder to remove because of restricted space to work in. However, don't let this frighten you. It really is easy. It is better to spend six times $85, than to spend $1100 at a dealership.

One final note: dealerships have to pay their employees an hourly rate (they have families too). The labor charge is used to pay the mechanic, plus overhead, plus profit. That is why they charge $90 per hour or more. They charge a standard time for each job, even if it really takes less time to do the work. Bottom line is, learn how to fix the simpler problems and avoid repair shops.

Oh, by the way, my check engine light turned on at 83K. At 125K the light went off after replacing ignition coils and is still off. So I'm not too worried about this nasty light as long as the car runs smoothly.