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Car Forum / Nissan / Nissan Maxima / January 2005

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Engine not idling smoothly.. why?

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John Dalberg - 19 Jan 2005 17:10 GMT
When my Maxima 1999 is idling, it feels like its sputtering. I mean the
engine is not running smoothly and I can see little vibrations in the rpm
gauge. Last time I had the car checked at the dealer they told me that the
oxygen sensor needs replacing. Would a bad oxygen sensor cause the engine
not to idle smoothly?

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John Dalberg

Dan - 19 Jan 2005 20:47 GMT
> When my Maxima 1999 is idling, it feels like its sputtering. I mean the
> engine is not running smoothly and I can see little vibrations in the rpm
> gauge. Last time I had the car checked at the dealer they told me that the
> oxygen sensor needs replacing. Would a bad oxygen sensor cause the engine
> not to idle smoothly?

Yes.  The front O2 sensors are used by the ECU to
help determine the proper air/fuel ratio.
Jaime Arredondo - 20 Jan 2005 15:22 GMT
I would clean your throttlebody before you buy any new O2 sensors.

> > When my Maxima 1999 is idling, it feels like its sputtering. I mean the
> > engine is not running smoothly and I can see little vibrations in the rpm
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Yes.  The front O2 sensors are used by the ECU to
> help determine the proper air/fuel ratio.
cmdrdata - 20 Jan 2005 16:14 GMT
Steps to try:

1. Get a fuel injector cleaner and add to your almost full tank).
2. Get a "carb" cleaner spray clean up the linkages that operate your
throttle and related links.

The idea is that the fuel injectors maybe "dirty", hence limiting fuel
flow. The second thing is that throttle plate may not be closing all the
way to the limits. These 2 things will cause the engine computer to
incorrectly set the fuel-air mixture settings, hence the engine rough
idle.
(bad oxygen sensor or bad throttle position sensor aka TPS will also cause
this  problem .... but I would do this after I tried the cheaper options).
Jawire - 21 Jan 2005 00:48 GMT
A bad O2 sensor shouldn't cause IDLE problems. I think the ECU uses its info
in closed-loop mode while driving. I think the problem might be a bad or bad
ignition modules. I'd start there.
> Steps to try:
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> (bad oxygen sensor or bad throttle position sensor aka TPS will also cause
> this  problem .... but I would do this after I tried the cheaper options).
jmattis@attglobal.net - 22 Jan 2005 03:03 GMT
> Steps to try:
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> (bad oxygen sensor or bad throttle position sensor aka TPS will also cause
> this  problem .... but I would do this after I tried the cheaper options).

And change your PCV valve.  It can cause a poor idle or may at least be
contributing to your problem.

JM
 
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