27th May 2006, 14:14
Original owner of 2000 Maxima GLE.
"Service Engine Soon light" came on around 31000 mile.
I have read the user manual and make sure fuel cap is properly secured.
Brought the car to the dealer where I bought and service the car. The service representative told it's $130 diagnostic fee just for diagnostic and charges to fix the actual problem costs extra. I decided to do my own research before spending any money for the unknown stuff/cost which is not clear even to the Nissan's service.
After reading the comment "5th Oct 2004, 06:21" and a few subsequent comments, I decided to try to disconnect the battery to try.
Before that I tried to re-secure the fuel cap, I noticed there's some sort of sound of mechanical movement when I opened the fuel cap.
After disconnecting the battery (negative first then positive) for 5 minutes and re-connect the battery again. The "Service Engine Soon" light disappeared.
Thanks for the comments people made in this forum. I'm pretty happy and wish the light does not come out again for other reasons. Wonder what Nissan's take would be on the issue if it is just the computer's own bug and how a customer can protect themselves from potentially being charged unfairly for this.
30th May 2006, 18:50
Every time I get the SES light I run a tank or two of 93 octane and that clears it up. Recently, however, my SES, battery and brake light have come on at the same time. Any suggestions???
10th Jun 2006, 14:29
I own a '99 Maxima SE with about 75K miles. My SES light came on and the Autozone diagnostic read emission control or engine misfire. I had an extended warranty and took it to a Nissan dealer. Their diagnosis was bad ignition coils - #1 was about 100 RPM, #2 was 0, 3-6 ranged from 50-90. The tech said that these should be about 150 RPMs. Given the ease of install (1 hr) and the parts cost ($80/part), I'm having them fix it - it'll cost be another $100-150 but I'm not getting dirty. And the 'standard' warranty didn't cover the parts - ouch! Are there any other areas that I should checkout/replace? Main issue is rough idling at stops. Thoughts?
24th Jun 2006, 05:11
My Nissan Maxima had a problem with the 'service light on' and the code stating there was a problem with the O2 sensor. Take it to the dealership and have them re-flash the computer. There is an error in the programming, not with the emissions package.
5th Jul 2006, 08:02
I have 1999 Maxima. My car engine is suddenly running rough. First, it only happens everytime I stop at D gear. The RPM gauge randomly jumps up and down. Now the engine shakes while driving too. In the past, I had a misfire problem with bad ignition coil and MAF. The problems were detected the Service Engine Soon light on. So, I could read the trouble codes and had those replacements. After driving almost 50k miles without problem, this time it has not triggered the Service Engine Soon light. I have no idea. If anyone has the same problem, I would appreciate your advice.
17th Jul 2006, 11:30
I have a 2000 Maxima SE with ~96k miles. The engine started running rough and the SES light came on simultaneously. To troubleshoot I took it to Auto-Zone for a Diagnostics test.
P codes 1320 and 0302 were present. 1320 means Ignition Signal or Misfire...0302 means #2 cylinder misfire. After talking with a Nissan Tech he said that they will change out all the coils when this happens (expensive...6 coils at ~$70 a piece not counting labor). I decided to test the Coils myself before taking the car in. Using a standard Ohm meter all of the Coils tested properly and showed no malfunctions (which makes me question the technique of changing all the coils).
I ended up replacing the spark plugs. The engine was running rough again and rather than a P0302 code for the #2 cylinder, I'm now getting a P0306 for the #6 cylinder... this could be a bad spark plug so I'm replacing it this afternoon to see if the problem will be fixed.
Just be aware that the coils may not be the problem, it could be as easy as changing the spark plugs when you get the P1320 and P030X codes. An Ohm meter is $20 at Auto-Zone and you can save yourself a lot of cash rather than changing out the coils. Be sure to buy the Nissan Maxima Haynes manual it will also help in troubleshooting the problem yourself.
21st Sep 2006, 14:24
I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima SE. I have had all the same problems that everyone else has! I was beginning to think it was just me. I don't know if I an relieved or scared at what is next. Anyway, my car kept stalling when I had it in parked and then cut off completely at 65 MPH on the highway! The mechanics said they could not figure it out because no codes were coming up. They ran diagnostics, test drove it trying to make it fail (179 miles!) and it never did... until I got the car back and it died again when I put it in park. The mechanic I went to finally decided to check the throttle body. It was full of carbons. They cleaned it and charged me $300.00. My next car is not going to be Nissan. I am very disappointed with all the problems I have had. P.S. Look out for the air conditioner! Mine went twice. Thanks.. and good luck!
13th Oct 2006, 07:59
2001 Maxima.
Had the same problem with my car.
Running rough (without the same power as before). CEL will come on and the codes were for the O2 sensors.
Replaced the MAF sensor and re-flashed the computer. Problem solved.
It's actually a common problem. Check maxima.org.
17th Oct 2006, 14:26
I also have a 2000 Maxima SE that had started to sputter in the am a month ago. Of course the check engine light came on and I took it in where the mechanic replaced three 02 sensors for over $200 each with labor. The car is still sputtering and now is starting to loose power even after it is warmed up. Took it back and am being told that it is most likely a problem with the Transmission??? I can’t even remotely see how an issue with a transmission would affect a car in this manner. Almost stalls while cold - does not have power when trying to quickly accelerate. Sometimes runs great. Has anyone ever heard of a trans causing these issues?
The car has run like a champ until 85K and I have no regrets with Nissan.
4th May 2006, 18:32
If you are getting a P0420, it could be a bad cat, which is very expensive. It might just be O2 sensors, which are not cheap, but not as mad as a cat.
Try clearing the codes (go to Autozone, they will let you use their device to do this), and see if it comes back. There is a TSB for 00 Maximas that says that there is a computer glitch sometimes. It is covered up to 80000 miles, so you aren't covered, but for peace of mind it might just be a computer problem.
Otherwise I think the cat is also covered until 80000 miles. Which mean you are out of luck. The most frustrating thing is you can get parts cheaper elsewhere, but it costs lots of money to determine what is wrong.