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Pathfinder misfiring
Own a 2001 Pathfinder. Just recently the Check engine light came on and the truck has been misfiring on and off for the last tow days. Had mechanic look at it and while on they way there the truck stopped misfiring. He said the code was a mis fire code but could nto fix as there was nothing wrong. Said it was not the egnition coil. When doing reseach he found a report stating this is a common problem and the solution is to rewire truck completly. Big $
Any suggestions?
Mark
Any suggestions?
Mark
0
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Comments
While I did not have the same exact problems that you did there are some similarities. I have a 2000 Pathy LE that I purchased in December '05 with 77K on it. Around 6 months later all of the gauges (speedometer, tachometer, e.t.c) would go dead then all of a sudden it would come back by itself. I paid it no mind until my wife was driving it one night and the CHECK ENGINE light came on and she smelled a "buring smell". To make a long story short, nine days and $800 dollars later I got the truck back. I was told that besides getting new parts for it that it had to be rewired AND my mechanic had to take it to Nissan. It was that complicated. The bad wiring was probably causing the burning smell in the truck. Since I've hsd it back (about a month) I had not had any issues.
First off, go to the dealer, don't trust a generalist mechanic with an electrical problem as they rarely have the proper tools to fix the issue.
This is a very common problem with this engine. I've lived through 2 years of check engine lights and poped OBDII codes, to the point I have my own code reader now!
I would bet that your coils are just starting to go. My problems started at 80K or so and took until around 100k to solve. The end result was new coils for every cylinder at a cost of $600 installed. Problems gone. The coils are known to wear out on this engine. I hear O2 Sensors too, allthough mine have poped codes several times, since having the coils changed I've only had check engine codes onces(P0140, O2 sensor).
I also found running premium gas will really help keep the engine from lighting the check engine light. I tried to run 89 for awhile and got a check engine like every other week, switched back to premium and no problems anymore.
A re-wire on a japanese car? This Mechnic must be clueless, never heard of it without a fire being the cause.
As I type my 01' SE is at a Nissan dealer for a strange mis in the engine. I get a drop in power at 3200-4000 rpm now. There's a new service builtin out for the 3.5 engine. The Variable Valve timing system has an known issue, be sure and ask to have this checked if you take your Path to a dealer.
Seriously, I have never found a mechanic that can do the electrial work like the dealer can. I drive between 25K-60K per year and have owned a ton of cars. This is my 3rd Pathfinder.
Hope this helps!
Scott
Thanks for your reply. Your info help alot. It is going into the dealer later this week. This mechanic is very reliable and an honest person, so I trust what he says to a degree. But when he said this I know I needed to get an opinion from Nissan. we have always run premium since we bought this vechical about 3 years ago.
I appreciate your help.
Thanks for your reply. This info does help. Car is going into dealer later thsi week. We'll see what happens
Good luck with the dealer. Some are good, some not with Nissans. Maybe some day they will equal Toyota in this area!
I know what your saying about the mechanic, I have a good one thats not a dealer too. He was the one that made these comments to me! He basically said its wise to never use a non-dealer for electrical issues as they can't "try" parts without having to buy them like the dealer can. He also said diagnostics are tough without the factory tools.
If you keep having check engine issues buy the code reader, they only cost $75, less then the normal labor rate to re-set a check engine light. It's a very easy tool to use, and friends will really like you for being able to read and re-set their codes too!
Scott
I bought a used 2001 with 100,000 K in 2005 and shortly thereafter, I noticed a slight hitching but only occasionally. It was getting on my nerves so I eventually brought it to the dealer and the service manager and I went for a run to see if he could shed some light on this for me. He could feel what I was talking about but could offer no advice as there was no engine light on, therefore no code. He said to just keep driving it so I let it go.
About 2 months ago, I was getting some spark knocking and the hitching was still there, I had 158,000 K on it and it was due for a spark plug change anyway, so I brought it into my local mechanic to do the work. I picked up the vehicle with the hopes of the problems being solved, but, on the way home the 'service engine' light came on, spark knock was worse and the hitching was still there.
I took it back to the mechanic the next day and when he read the code, it was showing that the O-2 sensor was reading 'lean'. Then he decided that maybe the injectors were clogged so he did a cleaning and reset the computer, away I went and again, on the way home, the 'service light' came on again, no change !
I then made an appointment with the dealer with the hope that these guys would solve all of my problems. Their computer was reading the O-2 sensor lean, the mass airflow sensor was reading out of the required parameters and I had a bad coil. I went ahead and purchased an aftermarket air flow sensor, no good, so got another one, no good either. Finally, I got a used one for $200.00 out of a running vehicle and installed it myself. It seemed to run better and the 'service engine soon' went out but the spark knock and hitching was still there. Back I go to the dealer to have the coil replaced and a few other non related issues taken care of. To make a long story short, after almost $800.00, the spark knock and the hitching are still there !!
I brought the SUV to work this morning and it hitched and pinged at every hill and as I came up to the dealer, I couldn't drive by. I went in and took the service manager for a run and as I pointed out the hitching to him, he said he couldn't notice anything at all.
Any help on this one would be appreciated !!
Mike
I've replaced the following:
spark plugs, wires, cap, rotor, ignition coil.
fuel filter.
checked and fixed all vacuum leaks on intake, and for the emissions system, checked fuel pump for proper function.
ran codes on the ecu. everything is working properly.
put in injector cleaners. ( seafoam, etc.)
cleaned the MAF sensors.
checked all electrical connections under the hood, repaired the slightest crack or exposed wire. ran motor at night with no light, did not see any spark leaks anywhere.
it runs fine at low RPM's, off road is fine. once the rpm reaches 2500-3000 it has a misfire. when accelerating it skips and I can see the RPM needle drop for a second then go back. no check engine light is on. gas tank is clean.
with all the replacements my gas mileage increased but the misfire is still there. especially when climbing a hill on the highway. I live in Hawaii and there is always a hill on the highway to climb. :mad: