Help Maxima rpm's won’t go pass 2000 rpm's

When I step on the gas and try to take the rpms up to 2000 the engine acts like it is going to dye out but it doesn't it just jerks and won’t go any higher. the car still drives and changes gears I just have to coast it up to that speed I have gotten it up to 55mph it just take a long time. Few people here in town say that it could be the fuel system acting up so I was going to change the fuel filter and use fuel injection cleaner. When I called Nissan about the problem they talked to me like I was ignorant so I hung up in his face then called back and told him that I have been screwed too many times by the dealerships.

Sounds like your MAF. check that out..maybe it's faulty or unplugged.

Is your check engine light on?

Does you check engine light work? (Comes on when the key is turned to the on position)

It definately sounds like your MAF sensor has gone bad.

Just wanted to reinforce, check your MAF to make sure the plug didn't somehow disengage itself.

I checked my cel and it didn't have any new codes from before which was knock sensor, and 2 engine coolant temperature sensors. When I checked the MAF Sensor with the multimeter it seems to be within spec and when I unplug it with the car off and turn the car on and got to rev the engine it shuts off. Some of the things that people have suggested checking are fuel filter, timing belt, rev limiter ( by the way where is the rev limiter), and fuel injectors. The car does drive but it doesn't rev pass 2000 rpm at that point it starts to choke and jerk like it is going to shut off but doesn't. If you guys have any suggestions it would be appreciated.

Originally posted by maximafever
When I checked the MAF Sensor with the multimeter it seems to be within spec
Just because it checks out "OK" with a multi-meter doen't mean it's sending the ECU correct data while the car is running.

The car does drive but it doesn't rev pass 2000 rpm at that point it starts to choke and jerk like it is going to shut off but doesn't. If you guys have any suggestions it would be appreciated.
What you are describing here points directly to a malfunctioning MAF sensor. See if you can find a friend with a 4th gen Max and swap MAF sensors with him. Thats an easy way to isolate the problem.

all I had to do was reset the ecu and the problem went away. When my car overheated due to my radiator having a crack in it it through off my ecu. It did give me the MAF sensor code using the OBDII scanner but reading the cel it didn't. Thanks for all of the replies now my radiator is fixed and I haven't had any problems out of it since.

Originally posted by maximafever
It did give me the MAF sensor code using the OBDII scanner
Your ECU was in limp mode because of the MAF code, not because of your car overheating. I find it strange the cel was not on indicating a malfunction was found, especially the MAF failure code.

The reset cleared the MAF code and returned the ECU to normal operation. If and when you MAF goes wacky again, your going to have the same symptoms. I suggest you replace the MAF sensor at that time and clear your ECU of the error once again. You shouldn't have any more problems after that.

I know it was due to the overheating of the car because before I replaced the radiator the car overheated again so bad that my valves were too hot and was sounding like a loose bike chain. At that point the car lost the ability to rev above 2000 rpm. When I went by Nissan and told them what the problem was they said since my valves had gotten so hot that the car went into a limp mode so that the driver wouldn't be able to push the engine hard. Like I said before the cel was on it just didn't give me the MAF code by reading the cel blinks, but the only time I got it was using the scanner. Since then I have driven my car without any problems. I'm not saying you don't know what your talking about, just sometimes one problem causes another and the fix can be simple.

1997 Maxima SE - I had the issue of motor stalling out or not acelerating at EXACTLY 2000 RPM, so I knew it had to be ECU related to be that precise at 2000 RPM. I changed MAF and that didn't help. The only other clue was the fans running at high speed constantly. I went to the dealeship because I had no check engine light and my usual mechanic could not get a code. I asked them to check the engine coolant sensor but told them the gauge in the car always read normal.
They checked the engine coolant sensor and it was reading 312 degrees to the ECU and putting the car in limp mode at 2000 RPM. turns out the sensor is a "split" type and sends two signals - one to ECU and one to temp gauge in the dash cluster. only the part sendign to ECU was bad. replaced it with OEM for about $200. Well worth the cost - so hopefully this post will help someone else later