91 Maxima GXE - 204,000 miles. Starts smoothly; engine sound great. After warmup (previously car would die when cold but run after warmup), card dies very quickly when put into drive. If I give gas at the same time I put into drive, car will go and will not die thereafter. Plugs and fuel filter need to be changed but I don’t think this is the problem. Air filter and PCV valve are new. Thanks.
One component that can cause this is a defective Idle Air Control/Air By-Pass motor.
This is mounted on the throttle body. And it’s function is to allow the engine to idle under all condition when the accelerator isn’t depressed. Sometimes these motors get dirty and fail to go to the proper position for the idle condition. Or they just fail outright. When this happens, the engine will stall anytime the accelerator isn’t being used. One of the indicators that this is the problem is that you’re able to prevent the engine from stalling by stepping on the accelerator.
You can try removing the IAC/ABP motor from the throttle body and clean it, and also the idle air bleed port on the throttle body to see if that fixes the problem. If it doesn’t, then it usually means the IAC/ABP motor requires replacement.
Tester