I recently bought a 2003 Maxima (A33 model) with the VQ30DE engine. It
has done 96,000km (60,000 miles). I have a few questions.

1. The owner's manual calls for spark plug replacement at 90,000km.
Well, my Maxima has done 96,000km so I pulled out one spark plug to
check its condition. The gap is still the same as a new one (1.1mm) and
the platinum tips on the centre and group electrodes are still there.
Is there any point in replacing the plugs?

2. The gas pedal is a little stiff, which makes it difficult to
smoothly open the throttle when I want to take off slowly. I thought
perhaps the throttle body needed cleaning, but when I operate the
butterfly valve by hand it's as smooth as silk. I tried pulling the
throttle cable from the driver's side of the firewall and it's a wee
bit stiff, so does that mean the problem is with the cable itself?

3. My dashboard has a really annoying creak/rattle from around the
driver's side air vent. The rest of the car is so quiet and refined
that this rattle really gets on my nerves. I thought I would pull out
the plastic trim around the air vent and see if I could fix the rattle,
but I can't figure out how to remove the trim from the dash. Here is a
link to a photo of the air vent:

http://img154.imageshack.us/my.php?image=max19yn.jpg

I successfully removed the trim below the air vent that contains the
electric mirror controls, but no matter how hard I pulled I couldn't
remove the large piece of plastic that contains the air vent.

Thanks in advance for any helpful advice.

g00g1eme (AT) gmail (DOT) com wrote:
throttle is most likely a throttle body that needs to be cleaned. Get a
can of throttle body cleaner (NOT carb cleaner), a toothbrush, and have
at it. Can't help with the rattle.

-jim

g00g1eme (AT) gmail (DOT) com wrote in news:1140823394.048720.290910
@e56g2000cwe.googlegroups.com:

May need a bit of grease on the pivot. The cable could
be a bit stiff too. You can try to disconnect the end
at the throttle body and drop a few drips of oil down
the sleave. Work it a bit to distribute the oil. Then
give some time to work it's way down the cable.

This is rare. Check the engine grounding strap. Make
sure it has a good electrical connection to the chassis
and back to the battery. I once say where a loose strap
caused the throttle cable to become the ground path from
the engine. Sparking between the cable and the sheathing
caused the cable to pit and burn, causing it to stick.
But that's rare.

1. As said, if idle & mpg is fine, dont change. Still looks do fail... (maybe already changed?)

2. Theres no gas pedal wire, its all electronics: pedal, motor controlled Throttle... As already stated, maybe pedal assy needs lubrication. Maybe pedal resistor worn? Try some spray lubricant which dont affecct electronics, CRC or whatever.

On some vehicles (not maxima) the car is 'born' with a 'pedal like that'. Especially some French cars. Terriblese...

Copypaste from page 470; FSM/Engine Ctrl System.
"Electric Throttle Control Actuator consists of throttle control motor, throttle position sensor, etc. The throttle control motor is operated by the ECM and it opens and closes the throttle valve. The throttle position sensor detects the throttle valve position, and the opening and closing speed of the throttle valve and feeds the voltage signals to the ECM. The ECM judges the current opening angle of the throttle valve from these signals and the ECM controls the throttle control motor to make the throttle valve opening angle properly in response to driving condition. ..." for more clic clic clic via 'Favorite Links' below.

3. Depends on sound, if its a creack, just lube?


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[....I once say where a loose strap
caused the throttle cable to become the ground path from
the engine. Sparking between the cable and the sheathing
caused the cable to pit and burn, causing it to stick.
But that's rare.
Seen also that, Been there: in the middle, on of a big frozen Lake... How to start as wire smolders? Ground the engine with a big wrench, Get a real sparkling startup...


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g00g1eme (AT) gmail (DOT) com wrote:
only. Where are you from?

I would change the plugs anyway just for re-assurance. With today's
computer managed cars, the computer can compensate greatly for a very
tired plug, still running the engine smoothly etc, but gas mileage will
be poor and other negative factors.

For the gas pedal issue, I had a similar problem in my Sentra. The screw
the prevents the butterfly valve in the throttle body from closing
completely was completely gone. Take off from stand still was always
abrupt. I replaced the screw and all was well again.

For the air vent rattle, I had a rattle in my 98 Maxima which I was
convinced was something inside the dash. Oddly enough it turned out to
be the heat shield covering the catalytic converter. Check that.

Hope this helps

CD

... Where are you from...Hope this helps
- Sorry. No hope no hlp on gas pedal issue: As said, there IS NO throttle wire...

- the RH drive pic suggests NZ, GB, Aussie. (Needs to open whole dash to acces tubing)


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I'm from New Zealand. We didn't get the VQ35DE in the A33 Maxima.

The Maxima throttle body doesn't have the screw that your Sentra had.
It has an IAC (Idle Air Control) valve, or whatever Nissan calls it.

The creak/rattle is definitely the air vent trim because when I apply
pressure to it the noise stops.

This isn't a U.S. spec Maxima. It DOES have a throttle cable. The
sticky throttle doesn't appear to be caused by the throttle body or the
gas pedal, because if I operate the butterfly valve by hand it's
perfectly smooth and if I pull the end of the throttle cable from
behind the firewall in the driver's footwell it feels stiff.

There's also one other fault I forgot to mention: When hitting a large
bump (like a speed bump or steep driveway entrance) there's a faint
clunk from the right-front suspension area. It sounds very minor at
this stage.

RE: Worn plugs and poor gas mileage.

I'm not exactly sure what economy I should be getting from the Maxima.
Most of the time I don't carry any passengers and I drive with a
reasonably light foot. The figures I've got so far are 19.5 miles per
gallon stop/start city driving and 29.5 miles per gallon on a highway
trip.