2000 Nissan Maxima Engine Problems

THE SUB FRAME IS RUSTING OUT. THE FRONT MOTOR MOUNT IS ONLY PARTIALLY ATTACHED AS THE MAIN BEAM IS SEVERELY RUSTED. I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE ISN'T A RECALL ON SOMETHING SO DANGEROUS, AS A FAILURE OF THIS COMPONENT CAN RESULT IN THE HOOD LATCH GIVING WAY OR THE MOTOR DROPPING FROM THE CAR. *TR

MY SON WAS DRIVING THIS CAR AND HEARD THE ENGINE MAKING UNUSUAL NOISE AND A CLUNKING NOISE. I TOOK THE CAR TO A MECHANIC TO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT AND FOUND OUT THE FRONT SUB FRAME IS COMPLETELY RUSTED OUT. THE FRONT MOTOR MOUNT ISN'T ATTACHED TO ANYTHING. THE MOTOR ISN'T SUPPORTED UP FRONT. HE TOLD ME THE CAR IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE ISN'T A RECALL ON SOMETHING SO DANGEROUS. I'M FILING THIS REPORT IN CASE I HAVE TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION AT A LATER DATE. *TR

MY VEHICLE, AS WITH MANY NISSAN MAXIMA'S FROM 2000 TO 2003, IS AFFECTED BY A DEFECTIVE RADIATOR CORE SUPPORT. THE PART IS EXTREMELY PRONE TO RUSTING AND DECAYING WHILE THE SURROUNDING PARTS REMAIN INTACT. THE PART ON MY CAR HAS DEVELOPED HOLES AND CHUNKS ARE CONSTANTLY FALLING OFF, POSSIBLY CAUSING A SAFETY HAZARD. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 NISSAN MAXIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE RADIATOR CROSS BAR WAS CORRODED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP. AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 108,475 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 108,575. UPDATED 08/14/12*LJ UPDATED 08/15/12

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 NISSAN MAXIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS MADE A LOUD BANGING NOISE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE RADIATOR SUPPORT WAS COMPLETELY CORRODED PREVENTING THE HOOD OF FROM OPENING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 135,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 142,000.

DURING ROUTINE INSPECTION AT NISSAN DEALERSHIP TECHNICIAN DISCOVERED THAT THE STUCTURAL SUPPORT FOR THE RADIATOR WAS ROTTED. THE STRUCTURAL SUPPORT ALSO SUPPORTS THE ENGINE. DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME THAT THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AND REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE ENGINE MOUNT IS COMPROMISED. THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON DEFECT, AS I OBSERVED AT LEAST 5 OTHER SIMILAR COMPLAINTS POSTED ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE. OWNERS OF THESE VEHICLES SHOULD BE NOTIFIED OF THIS DANGEROUS CONDITION.

I CHECKED MY OIL AND TRANSMISSION FLUID ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF AFTER BUYING THE CAR AND RIGHT WHEN I SHUT THE HOOD THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT POPPED ON AND STAYED ON OBVIOUSLY VERY TEMPERAMENTAL. ABOUT A WEEK LATER WHILE STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT THE ENGINE FELT A LITTLE WEIRD THEN WHEN I STARTED DRIVING RIGHT AWAY THE CAR LOST POWER SHUT DOWN AND ALL THE LIGHT POPPED ON I HAD MY 2 YEAR OLD AND 3 YEAR OLD AND FIANCE IN THE CAR AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP AND I ALMOST GOT HIT TRYING TO STEER IT OUT OF TRAFFIC INTO A MCDONALD'S. CALLED THE DEALER AND HE JUST LEFT US SITTING THERE IN THE HEAT. CALLED THE TOW TRUCK AND I WAS TRYING TO RESTART THE CAR BUT IT WOULD TURN OVER BUT NOT STAY ON. SO I WAIT AND WAIT AND DECIDE TO TRY STARTING IT LIKE 20 MINUTES LATER AFTER LOOKING UNDER THE HOOD AND IT STARTS RIGHT UP AS THE TOW TRUCK IS PULLING UP BUT HE CHARGED ME ANYWAY EVEN THOUGH I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IT FROM THERE TO THE DEALERS ON MY OWN THE DEALERS MECHANIC KEPT TRYING TO DIAGNOSE THIS THING AND KEPT SAYING OH ITS FIXED NOW ABOUT 4 DIFFERENT TIMES...FIRST HE SAID IT WAS THE COIL PACK,THEN HE SAID IT WAS THE MAF MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR,THEN THEY SAID BAD GAS WAS PUT IN IT BY THEM AND THEY CLEANED THE GAS RAIL,THEN FINALLY THEY LISTENED TO ME AND REPLACED THE ISC (IDLE SPEED CONTROL) MOTOR NOW IT STARTED WORKING AND NOT DYING ON ME WHEN I SLOW DOWN OR STOP AT RED LIGHTS BECAUSE THEY GAVE IT BACK TO ME LIKE THREE TIMES SAYING IT WAS FIXED AND IT WASN'T BUT NOW WHEN I'M IN THE PARK POSITION WITH THE CAR RUNNING WITHIN ABOUT 20-30 SECONDS THE RPM DROPS AND THE CAR LIGHTS UP AND DIES BUT AT LEAST IT STARTS RIGHT BACK UP AND DRIVES NOT LIKE BEFORE BUT THIS IS STILL A PROBLEM. LOOK ON IDENTIFIX WEBSITE AND YOU WILL SEE THAT 4 COMPONENTS NEED TO BE RECALLED. THE MAF,IGNITION COILS,ISC,AND MOST EXPENSIVE OF ALL THE ECM WHICH IT SAYS IS USALLY DAMAGED ONCE THE ISC IS DONE FOR.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 NISSAN MAXIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS RECEIVING TRANSMISSION SERVICE WHEN THE RADIATOR FRACTURED FROM THE VEHICLE DUE TO CORROSION. THE RADIATOR SUPPORT WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND ADVISED THAT THERE WERE NO RECALLS FOR THE FAILURE AND NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE WAS OFFERED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 152,000. UPDATED 03/24/11*LJ UPDATED 05/02/11

MY NISSAN WAS PARKED ON THE STREET ABOUT 11:00 PM. THE FOLLOWING MORNING, JUST BEFORE 7:00 AM, I HAD KNOCKING AT MY DOOR AND IT WAS THE FIREMAN WANTING THE KEYS TO MY CAR SO THEY COULD ACCESS THE LATCH TO OPEN THE HOOD. SMOKE WAS COMING OUT OF THE SIDES OF THE HOOD AND THE FIREMEN WERE ALREADY SPRAYING MY HOOD AS THE ENGINE WAS ON FIRE. SINCE THE LATCH DID NOT WORK, AN ELECTRIC SAW WAS USED TO OPEN IT. THE ENGINE WAS DOUSED WITH THE FIRE HOSE TILL THE SMOKE STOPPED. YOU COULD SEE THAT THE WHOLE ENGINE WAS BLACK. THE FIRE WAS SO STRONG THAT THE FRONT WAS SITTING ON TOP OF THE FRONT TIRE. IT HAS BEEN REPORTED AS AN ACCIDENT WITH CAUSE UNKNOWN AND MUST HAVE BEEN BURNING ANYWHERE FROM 30 TO 90 MINUTES. ODD THAT A FIRE WOULD START SINCE THE CAR WAS SITTING OVERNIGHT FOR 6 TO 7 HOURS, COLD. I WAS FORTUNATE NOT TO BE IN THE CAR. IT WAS LUCKY THAT IT WAS A RAINY DAY AND CAUGHT EARLY BY A NEIGHBOR BEFORE IT AFFECTED ANY OTHER CARS, PEOPLE, AND RESIDENTIAL AREA BY BLOWING UP. IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE NISSAN'S EXPLANATION TO THIS INCIDENT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 NISSAN MAXIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN RESTARTING THE VEHICLE, THE ENGINE WOULD MISFIRE AND THE VEHICLE WOULD SHAKE ABNORMALLY. THE VEHICLE WOULD ALSO SHAKE ABNORMALLY WHEN DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS AND WOULD SPORADICALLY BEGIN TO LOSE POWER. THE DEALER PERFORMED A DIAGNOSIS ON THE VEHICLE AND DETERMINED THAT THE IGNITION WAS DEFECTIVE. MOST RECENTLY, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED AND WOULD NOT SHUT OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 34,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 36,000.

AFTER DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS FOR 20 MINUTES, GOT OFF HIGHWAY AND PULLED INTO GAS STATION. AFTER PUTTING THE VEHICLE IN PARK, THE CAR SHUT OFF. AFTER COMING OUT OF THE STORE, IT FAILED TO START. WENT BACK TO THE CAR LATER, AND IT STARTED RIGHT UP. TOOK TO MECHANIC, BLAMED THE SERVICE LIGHT ON THE ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM. CAME ON AGAIN 2-3 WEEKS LATER, TOOK TO A DIFFERENT MECHANIC WHO SAID IT WAS THE IGNITION COILS. QUOTED ME $1300 TO REPLACE ALL 6. OPTED NOT TO PERFORM REPAIR AT THAT TIME. 2 WEEKS LATER, THE COIL FAILED AND CAUSED THE CAR TO RUN VERY ROUGH, AS WELL AS CONSUME LARGE AMOUNTS OF GAS. REPLACED BROKEN COIL AND O2 SENSOR. CAR CONTINUES TO GET FAR BELOW AVERAGE MPG. ABOUT 15 MPG HIGHWAY DRIVING. *TR

MY 2000 MAXIMA HAS A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. NORMALLY, THE CARS RUNS FINE BUT APPROXIMATELY 10 TIMES OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS IN EXTREMELY HUMID CONDITIONS AND WHEN THE TEMPERATURE IS AROUND 50 DEGREES (F), THE IDLE GETS EXTREMELY ROUGH. I HAD THE FAULT CODES READ AND THEY WERE P1320 (THREE TIMES) AND P0420 (ONCE). AFTER BEING READ, THE CODES WERE RESET, BUT IMMEDIATELY RETURNED. THIS DEFECT HAS EXISTED ON AND OFF FOR OVER TWO YEARS AND HAS BEEN RESET SEVERAL DURING THIS TIME. WHEN RESET THE LAST TIME, THE WEATHER WAS EXACTLY AS DESCRIBED ABOVE. THE CAR HAS 36K MILES AND IS DRIVEN AROUND 4K MILES PER YEAR. MY INVESTIGATION INDICATED DEFECTIVE COILS, WHICH ARE KNOWN PROBLEMS TO NISSAN AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED A LONG TIME AGO. THE CAR WAS PURCHASED DUE TO CONSUMER REPORTS GREAT RATINGS BUT BECAUSE OF THIS DEFECT I CAN SAFELY SAY THAT I WOULD NEVER PURCHASE A NISSAN AUTOMOBILE AGAIN. ASKING CONSUMERS TO PAY OVER $1000 TO REPAIR A VEHICLE BUILT WITH DEFECTIVE PARTS IS ALMOST CRIMINAL. NISSAN SHOULD OWN UP TO ITS RESPONSIBILITY AND RECALL THE KNOWN DEFECTIVE PARTS THUS RESTORING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND VEHICLE RELIABILITY. *TR

I HAVE A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON AT 60,000 MILES ON 2000 NISSAN MAXIMA, BUT CODE WAS P1320 WHICH DEALER ASK TO REPLACE ALL SIX COILS OF CYLINDERS COSTING 2000$. *TR

MY MAXIMA STARTED SPUTTERING AND ACTED AS IF IT WAS GOING TO DIE. THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT CAME ON. AT ABOUT 3500RPM THE CAR BRICK WALLED AND DECELERATED. FIRST I TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC WHO BLEW OUT ALL MY HOSES. THAT WORKED FOR A COUPLE MONTHS. THEN THE LIGHT CAME BACK ON AND WAS ACTING UP AGAIN. REPLACED THE 2 FRONT OXYGEN SENSORS. WORKED FOR ABOUT A WEEK. WENT BACK TO THE MECHANIC WHO REPLACED THE MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR AND REPLACED THE FUEL FILTER. RAN GOOD FOR A FEW WEEKS AND STARTED ACTING UP AGAIN. TOOK IT BACK TO MECHANIC AND HAD TO HAVE THE FIRST OF 6 IGNITION COILS REPLACED. RUNNING FINE, OCCASIONALLY SPUTTERS, BUT MY SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT WON'T GO AWAY. TOOK IT TO A NISSAN DEALERSHIP AND THE SERVICE DEPT. SAID THAT THE 2000 MODEL DOES NOT HAVE AN ECM SOFTWARE UPDATE! *TR

2000 NISSAN MAXIMA MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR FAILURE. *AK

ENGINE COILS AND OXYGEN SENSORS HAVE BEEN NEEDED TO BE BE REPLACED ON MANY OCCASIONS SINCE I'VE OWNED THIS VEHICLE. WHEN 2 OF THE COILS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, THE ENGINE RAN EXTREMELY ROUGH (FROM BOTH MISFIRES) CAUSING A HUGE REDUCTION IN ENGINE SPEED AND THE INABILITY TO PASS OR ACCELERATE SAFELY ONTO THE HIGHWAY. THIS HAPPENED SO ABRUPTLY ON ONE OCCASION, THAT I WAS NEARLY RUN OFF THE ROAD. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER (PURCHASED AUG 1999) AND HAVE HAD TO REPLACE 4 OF THE 6 ENGINE COILS AND ALL 4 OF MY OXYGEN SENSORS (EACH ON DIFFERENT DATES). I ONLY HAVE 116K MILES ON THE VEHICLE. *TR

I DRIVE A 2000 NISSAN MAXIMA THAT CURRENTLY HAS 48000 MILES ON IT. I DEVELOPED AN ENGINE PING AT 45000 MILES AND TOOK IT TO THE DEALER FOR SEVICE. THEY REPLACED ALL 6 COIL PACKS AND AIR SOMETHING OR OTHER AT A COST OF $1300.00. I HAVE DRIVEN IT 5000 MORE MILES AND I ONCE AGAIN HAVE AN ENGINE PING. I TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALER A SECOND TIME TO WHICH THEY TOLD ME I WAS A QUART LOW ON OIL AND THAT WOULD CAUSE A PING. THEY DID AN OIL & FILTER CHANGE. I WAS PLEASED AS I DROVE AWAY AND HEARD NO ENGINE PING, HOWEVER ABOUT 30 MILES LATER IT CAME BACK. THEIR THEORY OF BEING 1 QUART LOW ON OIL IS NOT CORRECT. I DECIDED TO RESEARCH THIS PROBLEM ON THE NET, AND SEE THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH NISSAN'S. THIS IS NOT A CHEAP FIX AND I THINK NISSAN SHOULD HAVE TO RECALL THIS AS IT SHOULD NOT BE A CONSUMER FIX.

ENGINE RUNS ROUGH DURING COLD WEATHER (<50 DEGREES) AND TRIPS THE CODE FOR ENGINE MISFIRE. THE CODE DOES NOT ALWAYS TELL WHICH CYLINDER HAS THE MISFIRE. ENGINE COILS DETERMINED TO BE THE PROBLEM, BUT REPLACEMENT ONLY DELAYS ANOTHER MISFIRING FOR A WHILE. I LIKE THE CAR BUT DOUBT I'LL EVER BUY ANOTHER NISSAN BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. *TR

FAULTY ENGINE SENSORS; ENGINE FAILURE; MANUFACTURER'S FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE PROBLEM. *NM

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 NISSAN MAXIMA. ONE YEAR AGO, THE ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT CONTROL PANEL. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THE COIL IGNITION FAILED. THE COIL IGNITION WAS REPLACED. SEVERAL MONTHS LATER, THE ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AGAIN ON THE INSTRUMENT CONTROL PANEL AND THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER REPLACED ALL OF THE COIL IGNITION SPRINGS. ONE WEEK LATER, THE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AGAIN AND THE DEALER STATED THAT THE OXYGEN SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE OXYGEN SENSOR WAS REPLACED. FIVE MONTHS LATER, THE FAILURE RECURRED AND THE DEALER STATED THAT THE CATALYST NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED BECAUSE THE EXPENSE EXCEEDS $1,200. THE MANUFACTURER WOULD NOT PROVIDE ANY ASSISTANCE BECAUSE THE WARRANTY EXPIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 74,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 88,000.