2004 nissan maxima 3.5 wont start. changed crank sensor and the car has 3/4 of gas in it. While i crank it constantly smoke came up from starter.

SOURCE: 1996 Maxima Starting Issue

My car was having the problem I had my ingnition switch change, stater and a new battery and now it's fine.

SOURCE: Starter motor and ignition switch and O2 sensor and pipe 1997 Nissan Maxima

You need to remove all of the air intake and other things behind the battery. The start motor is held in with two bolts. You might need a breaker bar to break loose the one bold as I did. Once you remove all of the air intake equipment. This will help you gain access to the starter motor. You might not need to remove all the air intake equipment I know it made it alot easier for me to remove the starter and I took it to the auto store and had it tested.

SOURCE: my 2000 nissan maxima wont start

it's probably your starter, buut you might check your gear shift if it is an automatic, and make sure it is in park all the way...

SOURCE: I have a 2001 nissan maxima that wont start. My mechanic front

the cp sensor is big problem for nissan. you can buy one at auto zone for $35 and with a little time and patience you can replace it. i think you might have a crank position issue. the key has nothing to do with it. just bad timing

SOURCE: How do I change the starter in a 2000 Nissan?

Go to Maxima.org. There is a section on changing the starter, complete with photos. I changed mine (2000 Maxima) after reading the instructions and it took only 40-minutes. The only hard part is getting one of the starter bolts loose, but I did it using additional leverage from a metal, hollow broom stick.