Sounds like another dealer guessing exercise.
I suggest you get a second opinion from a real mechanic.

The problem is the ignition coils. The CEL suggested that but you
chose to ignore both the CEL and the dealers diagnosis. Some of the 99
year Maxima's are prone to premature ignition coil failure. Replace
the coils and that should take care of your problems.

Nirav
96 Max GLE, 117k

"njmodi" <njmodi2 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote

Should not the dealer or competent independent mechanic be able to test this
and confirm the diagnosis?

Your suggestion sounds like you know what you are talking about, but
sometimes
dealers and unscrupulous independent mechanics diagnose by guess
and replacement.

One more time: It is the ignition coils. Go to the dealer and let them
fix your car.

Nirav
96 Max GLE, 117k

njmodi wrote:
You might try this first, just to see if it works. It's free and takes
very little time.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hlight=hanshin

Dave

Don't worry, Nirav is obviously quite confident about his diagnoses and
you should therefore not think twice about spending your hard-earned
money in replacing all the coils. His directive to have the dealer do
the job is also spot-on as this is a very delicate operation that
should only be attempted by an official Nissan-certified master
mechanic.

. . . NOT ! ! !




njmodi wrote:

feynmanfa... (AT) yahoo (DOT) com wrote:
I didn't do the diagnosis, the car ECU did that and the dealer
confirmed it:

1. The CEL is lit and indicates an ignition failure
2. The dealer confirms the symptoms as being ignition coil failure
3. He has a 99 year Maxima - this model year is known for premature
coil failure

The original post was asking for confirmation of the diagnosis and that
is what was provided.

As you imply, replacing the coils is straightforward and if he wants to
take it on, good for him. He'll be able to replace all 6 coils for the
price the dealer will charge to replace one.

Why do I recommend the dealer over his mechanic? his mechanic sent him
home after pulling the ignition failure code - without diagnosing
either bad coils or the root cause. This mechanic doesn't deserve his
business.

feynman - if you knew all the answers, maybe you should have helped him
by providing something more useful than a sarcastic reply.


Cheers.
Nirav
96 Max GLE, 117k

Wow! Thanks for the very informative link. It seems quite plausible
that the ubiquitous coil failures would have some mechanical cause
other than something to do with the coil winding/insulation. When mine
go, and from what I have been reading it is only a matter of time, I'll
give the Maxima.org method a shot.


David Geesaman wrote:

feynmanfan88 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com wrote:
I know, it's incredible somebody at the .org would investigate
something, <gasp> practical. I mean, the coils are are far from the
muffler and tail lights I'm surprised half the people there have even
heard of them.

</rant>

Dave

It's only because they were investigating ways of making their coils
glow a bluish neon color while energized -- using only salt water, a
wad of aluminum foil, and a bendy straw -- that this amazing discovery
was had.

Toyota MDT in MO