2001 Nissan Pathfinder LE Flashing SES Light

[cal_gal]

Hi there- I'm wondering if somebody here can help me. My car's SES light is flashing and my car is shaking (gets worse the faster I go) I took it into the dealer and they were able to get the light to turn off but about 4 weeks later it happened again. I took it to another mechanic and he changed the sensors however 3 days later the light comes back on, flashing and again, the car is shaking. I took it back to the mechanic and he says that he can't find anything.

I'm so frustrated that no one seems to be able to find and fix this problem. As soon as I pick up the car it starts happening again. I'm supposed to drive over 10 hours on Wednesday and I'm totally nervous about this car. Has anyone had this problem and been able to find the solution or does anyone have a recommendation on how to solve?

Thanks!

[lewisnc100]

You won't get much good advice unless you can post the actual error codes that were triggered. Call the dealer and get those or look on the receipt and post back. If the light is blinking that points to misfire which can be damaging, I think the owner's manual says try to keep it 45mph or slower while it is blinking. Also what sensors were replaced, O2 maybe?

[cal_gal]

Thanks Lewis--my SES light is now off again. Can autozone still pull a code if there is no SES light on? Everytime I take to dealer they say they can't do anything until light is on.

[infinman]

Anytime your SES light comes on and goes out, or stays on , a code{s} is set in the ECM memory.It remains there {light on or off} untill someone clears the memory.It may also store some important data{snapshot} of sensor inputs and actuator outputs at the time of failure..Most codes that are set are of the intermittant type.Depending on the severity of the code,your light might stay on but the cause of the light coming on is long gone.This creats a very frustrating and costly way of repairing these problems for those that don't follow repair flow charts for the specific codes.{dealership techs are some of the worst offenders.}This Autozone place sounds like they make a fortune by selling parts to people, that they don't need.
eg. Just because you pull a PO1140 code it does not mean the cam sensor is no good.It means the ECM detected a fault in the cam sensor circuit.This includes the sensor the actuator controlling the sensor,the wiring harness,or ECM itself.It may be common that cam sensors do fail, but not for everyone.You can take your chances that you have the same troubles as most other people but are you willing to take a chance {cost wise}.If I had Autozone read a code for me, I would take this information, get a manual and follow the specific diagnostic procedure for that code.Without following diagnostic procedures you only replace parts till the problem or the interest in solving it disappears.
This is just some information for those {no offence} who continue to "beat-up" the poor SES light, that is just trying to do it's job.

[pathylover]

Hey cal_gal, I experienced a similar problem with my 01 pathfinder SE. It took two trips to the dealership before they were able to pinpoint the problem. Apperently, the ECM resets istelf after the car is started a dozen or so times, so by the time most of us get to the shop, the code is gone and we're all left scratching our heads. Anyway, What was causing the problem was the number one cylinder coil. We have a direct ignition system, which instead of having a single distributor and coil, has electronic timing, and a coil on top of eack spark plug. It seems the the number one coil, which is different from 2-6, goes out unexpectedly ( I only have around 50K on the odo), and randomly. When it starts to falter you end up firing on only five cylinders, causing the shaking ( it throws the engine out of balance), and your SES light to flash. In my case the light would stay on and usualy the coil would begin to work again, sometimes after restarting the car. The unfortuante side to this is it's not covered under Nissan's warranty, and to get it replaced will cost you about $200 at the dealership. If your handy with a wrench, or know someone who is, the part by itself is $100 and it takes about 15 min to swap out ( when you're looking at your engine cover, it's just below the notch on the left side by the nissan logo. The wires leading to the coils are numbered and it should have a green tag on it). The other down side it that this peice shouldn't be dying yet, so the only aftermarket one you can get is from Autozone, and personaly I would soon poke myself in the eye with a hot fork than use any electrical parts from Autozone. I hope this helps you, I delt with this on and off for a couple of months before we figured it out, but since I replaced that part I haven't had any more problems.


BTW, if you have the BOSE 6 disk changer, it's also going to die at some point. That's how I found your post.