Gen 5 Maxima nightmare

[oldsnail]

my folks have a 00 maxima gle auto 3L v6.
not sure if anyone have any experiences to share with this type of vehicle.

1) SES light went on - dealer replaced 6 ignition packs
2) SES light came back on the next day - replaced o2 sensors and exhaust
3) SES light came back on around a week later and replaced the MAF
4) SES light came back on not long after replaced idle control valve.
5) SES light came back on and was told that the ECU was needed to relearn the ICV
6) SES still on and the dealer said the ECU was fried and needed to replace it. he showed us that there was a burnt chip on it.

searched around the junk yards and found one in calgary with the best match ECU

7) took the car back to the dealer to program the new ECU and relearn ECU.
8) this was fine for 2 weeks, then the SES light came back on again.. decided to take it else ware and it was still giving the same code as before, P0505 - idle control valve.

after thousands of dollars, my folks is just losing faith in this car.. it stalls on startup without stepping on the accelerator. has anyone had any problems with 5th gen maximas? trying to find shops that can fix this, but they indicated it can only be fixed at dealers (consult II).

other than that, the engine has been rock solid.

[Klobbersaurus]

so what was the initial cause of the check engine light?
did you need the coil packs? maf? o2 sensors?
or are they just throwing parts at it and hoping it will work? the coil, maf and o2 sensor are common failures but may not have necessarly been your initial issue
did they reflash the ecu when they replaced the maf?

you dont need the consult software to fix, the code that it shows is only a guideline, another issue in the system could cause the fault, perhaps there is a broken wire or something?

[littledog]

So was it just the IACV P0505 code that was tripped the whole time? It seems weird they are replacing so many stuff that's totally unrelated to this code...

Anyway here's the service manual for your particular car. Hope it helps.
http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/maxima/2000/

My dad had a 5th gen same as yours but never had any problems before. Now he's driving a 5.5 gen with the 3.5 and never had any problems either. Good luck (and no you don't need consult to fix the car)

[godwin]

If the chip on the ECU burnt.. chances are you have some fundamental electrical issues.. etc voltage regulator / alternator overcharging that cause surges, burning electronic bits out.

Had a problem with my company's first Subaru leases a decade ago.. it turned out to be an errant screw on the main trunk.

[oldsnail]

i only came in the picture at the ecu part.. it was actually really hard to find!! i had to find the same model with the same specs ( auto, trac control, electronic engine mounts, etc). the dealer wanted a grand for a used one.

i dont know what actual code they had prior to the P0505. they just see an engine light and bring it to the dealer.. i have a reader and that is what i can confirm.. the rest was done at the local nissan dealership.

The dealership performed a ECU relearn/flash on: MAF , ignition coil , and O2 replacements. (from receipts)

thanks, i have the FSM.. does not mean much to me though..
from research. a common short is the electronic engine mounts sending a short out to the ecu. and fries the chip that controls the ICV. i have disconnected the mounts before the ICV and ECU replacement..

i also noticed it was plugged back in recently.. so i assumed nissan plugged it back in..

after seeing this happened to the maxima.. i was paranoid and sold my g20.. even though it is a different car, it shared a similar 32bit ecu.. and it has the same MAF .. (tried swapping)

[Klobbersaurus]

why dot you unplug the engine mount again and see what happens

[oldsnail]

yeh.. it is unplugged.. it makes no diff and stalls with an engine light followed after.

i removed the icv to clean and examined the ecu with no internal damage as well..

really hope i kept the so called failed ignition packs.. i doubt all 6 died.. and they were not cheap.

[godwin]

Do you still have the dead ECU? You should put the PCB under the microscope and trace the path of the surge.

[oldsnail]

i have the dead ECU... from visual inspection, it was a NEC chip.. the chip blew to a point where the model number was not attainable.


the exhaust was replaced because the stupid said it was damaged while removing the O2 sensor.
they said it was an old car.

[godwin]

It is not the question of the chip, but to identify the traces on the PCB to the connectors of the ECU so you can narrow down which connectors caused the deadly surge and hopefully help you narrow down and find the culprit.

Usually for that amount of amps to cause a chip to fry, the traces will appear to be bloated and irregular. If the traces are not that bad, then find the solder blobs on the chip's legs.

Originally Posted by oldsnail

i have the dead ECU... from visual inspection, it was a NEC chip.. the chip blew to a point where the model number was not attainable.


the exhaust was replaced because the stupid said it was damaged while removing the O2 sensor.
they said it was an old car.

[Klobbersaurus]

Originally Posted by oldsnail

i have the dead ECU... from visual inspection, it was a NEC chip.. the chip blew to a point where the model number was not attainable.


the exhaust was replaced because the stupid said it was damaged while removing the O2 sensor.
they said it was an old car.

wow, its real hard to damage an exhaust while doing the o2

[godwin]

Cross thread the O2 sensor?

Originally Posted by Klobbersaurus

wow, its real hard to damage an exhaust while doing the o2

[Klobbersaurus]

well it was when they were removing it, they could also use a thread chaser to clean it up

but anyways, you should just get someone to check it correctly, sounds like nissan was just throwing parts on it originally just cuz coil packs were common failures on these cars but may not have caused or issue initially, same with the maf

[oldsnail]

other than the SES lights..
i asked my folks again on the story

initial problem was periodic stalls on stop lights with low idle.. the stalls stopped after the O2, MAF, and packs were in.

then it started high idle. before and after the ICV was installed.. it was getting high idle, and yes, because it is idling @ 1500-2000RPM, it has unintended acceleration. then that cleared up after the ECU..

after the ECU, there were no SES lights for around 2 weeks.
now it is back to square 1, where it stalls on starts up and stops with low idle..

my parents took it to another shop.. it is a shop where they service high end vehicles.. they said they cannot fix it and said this was a dealer thing.. they are in victoria.. there is only 1 nissan dealership there

[Klobbersaurus]

try some other shops, just cuz a shop doesnt have a consult, doesnt mean they cant figure it out, find someone with a snap on modis or verus

sounds like nothing has changed after throwing all that money into it...what a waste

[godwin]

Honestly these days majority of the people can't think methodically. Since the ECU is fried and things like MODIS etc can't give a good result; it will take a long time for most people to find the problem.

In the end, before the OP take it to another shop, I think he should think hard about the cost benefit ratio. It is a 10 year old car, it might just be easier to just trade it in vs bringing it in for another a day or 2 of diagnostic work at shop hour that's a few thousand right there. (Before the cost of another ECU). Are you getting it done at the Nissan Dealership? I thought most works dealerships have 1 year warranty on repairs?

I still think the OP should find which pin is causing the surge, hence at least narrow down the field of suspects. If the car runs for a few weeks, chances are the ECU became a slow burning fuse for whatever the main culprit is. At this point, getting a shop fix it is just not economical.

[oldsnail]

folks brought it in to another shop - non dealership.. Idle control valve had a small leak. ordering another one.. non-oem this time.
since the OEM replacement didnt last long.
$600vs$200

every time they bring it to the dealer, they find a different unrelated problem..

[oldsnail]

seems like everything is good now.
2 month process:
OEM 6 x ignition pack ($700)
OEM o2 sensor + exhaust ($900)
OEM MAF ($500)
OEM ICV ($600)
used ECU ($350)
another ICV ($250)

$3300 in repairs, the car is probably worth 4k at its best.
still need to replace shocks..

[Warp9Racing]

all those things are pretty common with that maxi and stalling.
coil packs COMMON
MAF/air filter COMMON....
I've seen ECM's too
i would be curious to see the consult II print out the first time around though...