2001 Nissan Maxima (California) Stalls in Park, Has P160 code sel light

[pcumming]

2001 Nissan Maxima (California) Stalls in Park, Had P0160/P0158 code + sel light

I have been trying my best to research this and seems there is not a single solution that will fix my issues. Car been at 2 independent mechanics and prob not solved. Last mechanic said he will not charge me much until he can resolve this. I asked Nissan about this issue and they said it could be anything.....

I have read a lot about the 01 Maxima's and the plethora of SEL/Emission issues it has along with the expensive things people have tried to resolve them, part by part replacement. II read in some forums and a mechanic also said that the 2001 ECU will sometimes show the incorrect code for what the problem truly is.

Appreciate any help. My mechanic will be researching more next week and talking to Nissan and others. Am unemployed and cannot afford to replace a ton of parts until we find a real solution.

PROBLEM:

Stalling in Park/Neutral while engine hot-normal idle RPM is about 650-700

1. Car will stall occasionally while in park or neutral. If you rev engine up to about 5k RPM's and let foot off accelerator (in park/neutral), car will occasionally stall. Will not happen while in drive. No code thrown in ECU.

What work has been done in past: Cleaned current Mass Air Flow Sensor, had fuel injectors professionally cleaned a while back (15k miles), had new coil pack put in and new plugs (15k miles). Stalling has gotten more frequent. Had ECU reprogrammed in last day, had 2 (of the 4) O2 sensors replaced (by mechanic) with Nissan parts prior to Nissan ECU programming.****Not sure if Nissan put ECU in self learn mode (could be an issue????)

Mechanic put the diagnostic scope on it and got it to stall a few times again today and to him the diags looked normal. Did not get lean code but have heard ECU may show wrong codes for 01 Maxima's.

Stalls with or without P158/P160 codes I recently got, see #2 below.

2. After 15 minutes of leaving mechanic today, the SEL light came back on. Only code P0160. this time. Had code of (P0158/P0160) 3 days before.

As mentioend above, I had 2 sensors replaced with Nissan parts. .Mileage is fine, car runs fine otherwise. Cannot get inspected in NC with SEL light on unless it goes off and stays off for 100 miles. Inspection due in a few months.

I have read posts that said perhaps SEL light and or stalling could be due to: Throttle body, MAF sensor replacement (I had it cleaned), replace all 4 O2 sensors, new coils (done 15k ago), idle air control valve, fuel pump, replace camshaft(crank) position sensor, clean throttle body, replace throttle body and/or sensor(?), vacuum leaks (should show in ECU?), etc.. Obviously do not want to replace everything....If it were a lean code, I would get a different code I would think and then have to change something (ideas)-Mass Air Flow or ??????I think I am getting the wrong code. Had another mechanic use his reader and got same code as my mechanic.

Thanks so much for an answer I hope that may remedy the above 2 issues.

SincerelyPeter
Modified by pcumming at 12:12 PM 1/9/2010