2000 Nissan Maxima: engine knocking or ticking

Filed Jan 14, 2011 · Engine · 137,000 miles · CA · fire

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.

Filed Nov 17, 2008 · Engine, Suspension · 15,000 miles · CA

Transmission failure: bought vehicle in april of '99. Transmission began to slip at 15k. Reman trans under warranty. 2nd slip occurred at 30k under warranty. Denied vehicle trade. Reman trans. 3rd occurrence at 45k, replaced trans w/ oem under warranty. Denied trade. Transmission failure at high temp for long drives (2 hr incline) and had to wait for the trans to cool before it drove again, one occurrence at 55k, oil ok. Still intermittent power loss/slippage. Dealership unable to recreate problem. Denied trade. Ignition coils: knocking, bad gas mileage, and power loss due to ignition coil failure at 70k. Was told I needed to replace all coils rather than the one that was damaged and all spark plugs. Alternator went out after repair. Replaced all coils, plugs and alternator ($1500). Still have power loss & occasional knocking. No help from nissan. Denied trade. Suspension: constant knocking of tire area at 60k. All 4 hubs damaged and replaced at 65k. All 4 struts leaking and had to be replaced also at 65k. No help from nissan. Nissan quote $3000. Opted outside repair for $1000, no more problems. Emissions: more loss of power (3000rpm+) and bad gas mileage. Probably linked to ignition coil problem. Problem has been diagnosed to 1 of 4 catalytic converter sensor failures. 130k. No help from nissan. $3000+. Fan: loud noise when A/C is on. One fan defective at 80k. Fan blade rubbing on metal frame. Replaced fan $200. No help from nissan. Conclusion: I wanted to have my vehicle considered a lemon and traded. I had no complaint with nissan or the maxima line. I only had a problem with just my car. Just wanted a new maxima. 5 lemon attempts with nissan, rejected each time. Dismissed under strict lemon law stipulation regarding repair statute of limitations and guidelines of repair. Vehicle has been nothing but trouble. Properly maintained and have maintenance receipts and dates of each occurrence listed above.

Filed Jan 8, 2008 · Electrical · 55,000 miles · WA

Vehicle started running very rough and had eng knock. Brought into a service department and was informed that #2 ignition coil had gone bad. The car was a danger to myself and other drivers due to the fact that it would stall and was very sluggish. I recommend that nissian recall this part due to the dangerous nature. After looking up the problem on different forums there are many many others with this exact problem. I have since replaced the bad ignition coil but it seems to be only temporary as many others can contest that one by one all the ignition coils will keep going bad.

Filed Apr 21, 2006 · Electrical · 58,000 miles · NY

My 2000 nissan maxima constantly knocks and pings when I try to accelerate on the highway or up a hill causing a dangerous condition on a entrance ramp or when attempting to pass. I have been told by nissan dealers that the ignition coils need to be replaced (for $1000) and there is a technical service bulletin issue by the federal safety agency to do so. I consider this a dangerous situation that nissan should be responsible for and I would like to see a recall to cover the cost of this defeat.

Filed Feb 24, 2006 · Electrical · 40,000 miles · MA

2000 nissan maxima with 42000 mile in otherwise excellent condition, generates pre-ignition knock. Has been diagnosed and shown nissan service bulletin no: ec01-023 - ntb01-059 indicating frequent premature failure of such parts. Nissan to-date has not issued a recall or expressed willingness to pay for such repairs to the tune of about $800 per vehicle. Such widespread failing, obviously defective parts should be replaced by the manufacturer.

Filed Mar 23, 2005 · Electrical · 47,702 miles · WI

In late october my "check engine" light came on. I took my vehicle to foreign automotive and they ran a scan of my engine. The feed back showed that the code showed that my ignition coil(s) were going out and needed to be replaced. The owner of the business did a search for service recalls or service bulletins on 2000 nissan maxima's and found a service bulletin dated september 6, 2001 that showed that the ignition coils installed in certain vins were faulty and needed to be replaced. The owner of the shop called nissan and asked if they were paying for the coils and they indicated they were not going to pay for the coils or the service. The shop re-set my "check engine" light and I told them I would get the coils replaced later in the year. Within a couple of days my "check engine" light came back on and my engine started "knocking". I decided to get the coils replaced. When the shop ordered the coils, two of the 6 were on back order because of the number of failures of these coils.

Filed Jan 6, 2004 · Electrical · 10,000 miles · CA

Had problems with engine ping 1 year after purchase. Was told by dealership to use better grade of gas and some pinging is normal. Pinging persisted and right after warranty expired, pinging got so bad the car was undriveable. All 6 coils and knock sensors needed to be replaced. Cost me $1500. Nissan won't cover any of it even though the problem obviously existed while vehicle was in warranty. Despite efforts to have the vehicle serviced, nissan was negligent in refusing to perform the necessary repairs and stalling until the warranty had expired.

Filed Oct 12, 2003 · Electrical · 52,000 miles · CA

2000 nissan maxima se with 56,000 miles. Mil light turned on while driving and stayed on. No knocking or power loss. Went to dealer and found dtc p1320 stored. Dealer said nissan recommends to replace all 6 ignition coils ! Cost me $800 and nissan and dealer refused to help pay for the defect. This defect is regular for 1995-2001 maximas but nissan refused to recall it or fix it under warranty ! They know about this problem as they have a tsr out for this. The dealer told me many 2000 maximas are having this problem fixed. But they don't want to take responsibility

Filed Jan 30, 2002 · Engine · NJ

Consumer stated engine will make a "popping" noise during acceleration and a "knocking" noise during normal operation. Dealership has examined vehicle but could not reproduce the problem. *ak

Filed Oct 12, 2001 · Engine · HI

Engine knock (pinging) at 2k RPM, 40 MPH.