1998 Maxima misses terribly when idling

[schaery]

I believe a bad coil may be the cause of this problem but wanted to check here. My 1998 Maxima misses terribly when idling and between 30-40 miles per hour. Unfortunately, it doesn't do it consistently, and never throws a code. Of course, it also never does it when I take it to the mechanic. He suggested that it may be a coil, and I have found many complaints online that sound just like mine that had a bad coil. The mechanic did a test on the coils, and none showed bad but the mechanic said that would be normal since the problem isn't continual, that he really needs to catch it when it's missing. He did say that there's a small possibility it could be the MAF. He put a new one on, and is going to let me test it a few days without charge to see if that fixes the problem. The only problem with that is that sometimes the car has gone months without missing, then will miss like crazy for several days, then maybe not again for a week or two. Very agrravating. Any suggestions will be much appreciated. Thank you.

[loystock]

Did he check the air intake, vacuum lines and exhaust for leaks? Lack of trouble code and the fact that the problem is intermittent can really be challenging. Assuming the MAF sensor is Ok,when this problems comes up again, do a basic power balance test by disabling (disconnecting) one ignition coil at a time to narrow down the problem to a certain cylinder. Another option is to get a Known Good Coil (preferably new) and then swap one ignition coil at a time and try it for several days/weeks until you can locate the problem.