2000 Nissan Maxima, ~138k miles. Quits on me if it sits idle on the first startup in the morning (after a cold, cold night). Keeps quitting on me whenever I have to come to a complete stop when the engine is still cold. Car shakes like I'm in a paint mixer or something at stop lights when the engine is still cold. When it's warmed up there are no problems. If I drive in the morning and wait til the evening to drive again, or if I don't crank up the car til the afternoon for the first time, there is no problem. Took it to the Nissan dealership and they couldn't get any codes to popup nor could they figure out what was wrong. They did the carb cleaner test on the intake manifold and deduced that my problem might be fixed if I paid $1200 to have the intake manifold replaced. I don't want to pay 1200 for a possible fix. I don't really wanna try replacing just the intake manifold gasket either. 1) I don't have the tools to keep the engine lifted and 2) I'm not sure if that would solve my issue. I've also been suggested to try sefoaming the car as well as spray cleaning the MAF. All of which I do not have the tools to do atm (but can if there is any credibility in these fixes).

Any suggestions? Should I just wait it out for warmer weather and hope it goes away?

1/12/2010 11:49:20 PM

idle air circuit, maybe?

my old blazer was cold natured and i'd just rev it up to warm it up until it would idle when it was really cold like it's been lately.

1/13/2010 9:07:26 AM

Run some good injector cleaner and clean the MAF.

Could also be:
fuel pump
fuel rail
spark plugs

1/13/2010 9:11:17 AM

The Nissan Diag is crap. I'll just throw that out there.

Nissan in G'boro tried to sell my brother a new wiring harness ($3k) when he needed a new throttle body sensor.


I would guess something with the Idle air system, but could also be fuel relates as already stated.

1/13/2010 1:02:44 PM

those Maximas are notorious for ignition coil problems

1/13/2010 1:06:02 PM

Nissan, there's your problem.

1/13/2010 1:13:19 PM

Ignition coil issues...I've also replaced injectors and fuel pressure regulators on them.

My first advice is to get a good high-dollar bottle of injector cleaner and dump it in the tank. Might take two tanks...see where that goes.

1/13/2010 1:37:04 PM

IAC or TPS? I had issues with the IAC being clogged on my old nissan, but that showed issues even when hot.

Is it running really low RPM when it shakes bad?

shaking points to a issue with 1 cylinder.

I had a injector that would stick open or closed, causing one cyl to run very rich or basically do nothing.
i have had TONS of nissan injectors stick on me. I have a few extra injectors i can loan you if you like.

1/13/2010 10:54:23 PM

I'm gonna get some fuel cleaner tomorrow, I pumped in some 93 octane yesterday. Yes, it dips well below 1 rpm when the idle shaking happens at stop lights. The car does not stall, nor does it shake (much) if I don't drive til around 1 in the afternoon (like I did today). Solution: stay in bed til the afternoon

1/14/2010 1:04:38 AM

So it is definitely a temperature related issue. yesterday was warmer than it has been anyways.

1/14/2010 7:56:03 AM

intake manifold has leaks and when the gaskets and metal warm up and expand, the gaps are sealed. I'd start with blowing smoke into the throttle body and seeing if you see it leak out near the block (when it's cold)

1/14/2010 9:06:20 AM