Been scratching my head over this for quite some time. 2004 Maxima SE (5 speed AT) will turn over and fire up when cold (sitting 30 minutes or so), and immediately after cutting off (no matter what distance is driven), but after 15-30 seconds, it gets progressively harder and harder to start, up until the point it is cold. Behavior is very repeatable.
To back up, some history. Wife was driving it and said the car cut off and wouldn't go above 2000 rpm and the MIL light was on after restarting. The P0340 code, I later learned, threw it in limp mode, and the "2000 rpm" limit was the fact the trans locked in 5th gear. Replaced the VIAS thinking it might have been that. Bought both front and rear sensors just in case, tossed them in the trunk, and drove the car for several months with no issue. Was driving this past weekend and had the same thing happen. Replaced the front camshaft position sensor since it was in the trunk, cleared the code, and was on my way. A few miles later, it cut off again, and restarted back into limp mode. Drove it to a house and replaced the rear position sensor.
Car drove back home just fine (several hundred miles without me stopping), but then had an issue where the car wouldn't start back after sitting for a few minutes (less than 5). Tried resetting security/pulling the negative, and that only worked after letting it sit for quite some time. Replaced the coolant temp switch to the ECU with an aftermarket one, but the probe diameter was ~1mm larger, enough to block coolant flow. Regardless, still had the same issue with the new sensor, so the original was reinstalled.
Drove it to work today in the morning, and fired up just fine at the end of the day. Stopped for about 10 minutes and it wouldn't fire up at all. Got some starter fluid, sprayed the intake, and it finally roared to life. Got back to my house again and observed the same repeatable behavior with it getting harder to start when warm up until the point it cools off.
Seems like a fuel issue, but I'm not sure what. The car runs fine for hours of driving after it starts, completely smooth with no skipping, not very indicative of a dying fuel pump. My old Jeep had a problem with fuel drainback that made it hard to start, so I'm thinking it may be that, or something related to that and fuel line temperature (or a combination of the both). Any help would be appreciated.
To back up, some history. Wife was driving it and said the car cut off and wouldn't go above 2000 rpm and the MIL light was on after restarting. The P0340 code, I later learned, threw it in limp mode, and the "2000 rpm" limit was the fact the trans locked in 5th gear. Replaced the VIAS thinking it might have been that. Bought both front and rear sensors just in case, tossed them in the trunk, and drove the car for several months with no issue. Was driving this past weekend and had the same thing happen. Replaced the front camshaft position sensor since it was in the trunk, cleared the code, and was on my way. A few miles later, it cut off again, and restarted back into limp mode. Drove it to a house and replaced the rear position sensor.
Car drove back home just fine (several hundred miles without me stopping), but then had an issue where the car wouldn't start back after sitting for a few minutes (less than 5). Tried resetting security/pulling the negative, and that only worked after letting it sit for quite some time. Replaced the coolant temp switch to the ECU with an aftermarket one, but the probe diameter was ~1mm larger, enough to block coolant flow. Regardless, still had the same issue with the new sensor, so the original was reinstalled.
Drove it to work today in the morning, and fired up just fine at the end of the day. Stopped for about 10 minutes and it wouldn't fire up at all. Got some starter fluid, sprayed the intake, and it finally roared to life. Got back to my house again and observed the same repeatable behavior with it getting harder to start when warm up until the point it cools off.
Seems like a fuel issue, but I'm not sure what. The car runs fine for hours of driving after it starts, completely smooth with no skipping, not very indicative of a dying fuel pump. My old Jeep had a problem with fuel drainback that made it hard to start, so I'm thinking it may be that, or something related to that and fuel line temperature (or a combination of the both). Any help would be appreciated.
