Service Engine Soon on, Altima 2000-HELP..

[Bonjela]

My car Altima 2000. It just got Service Engine Soon (SES) light on. I brought to non-Nisssan workshop, and they said that it were some problems with, MAFS, Engine too lean, engine misfire # 4. And then they changed MAFS. However, the light was still on. Then I took my car to Nissan Dealer, they said the engine had too much water. They changed all Spark plugs, spark plug wires, and fuel filter. After 4 days, the light came again. It is now ON. Actually, the engine had a little hesitated, especially when it was in idle condition. And the radio sometimes didn't work, I don't know whether it is related to the SES light problem or not. What could cause the SES light "on" in my car? Could somebody help me, please...... .......... thanks.

[JustSayGo]

Your first step should be to find out what codes are stored in the computer now. AutoZone will read the codes and tell you what they are with out charging you. Your 2000 Altima probably needed a tune-up if the sparkplugs have never been replaced. Are you saying that the tune-up eliminated a slight hesitation? There may be a loose connection inside of your radio causing intermitent function. It is very unlikely that there is any common cause with the SES light indicating that a code has been stored in the ECM and your radio. If the dealer charged you to eliminate or diagnose the cause of the codes stored in the ECM, and you still have the same codes, they owe you for something. If you have a code related to the MAFS, the other shop owes you. Your repair invoices should list the codes. Too much water? Must be some kind of miss-understanding.

[cnote25]

Originally Posted by JustSayGo

Your first step should be to find out what codes are stored in the computer now. AutoZone will read the codes and tell you what they are with out charging you. Your 2000 Altima probably needed a tune-up if the sparkplugs have never been replaced. Are you saying that the tune-up eliminated a slight hesitation? There may be a loose connection inside of your radio causing intermitent function. It is very unlikely that there is any common cause with the SES light indicating that a code has been stored in the ECM and your radio. If the dealer charged you to eliminate or diagnose the cause of the codes stored in the ECM, and you still have the same codes, they owe you for something. If you have a code related to the MAFS, the other shop owes you. Your repair invoices should list the codes. Too much water? Must be some kind of miss-understanding.

I actually have the same list of problems. My Service Engine Soon Light came on and I took it to a Nissan dealership to have it checked. They told me that the Mass Air Flow Sensor needed to be replaced, and they cleared the code. I decided to wait until I could get the car back to my own delaership to have them check it over and do the work if necessary.

The same day that I brought the car in to my dealership, the SES light came on again, but when the code was read it was a #4 cylinder misfire. The dealership determined that this misfire was caused by a small amount of water in the #4 spark plug boot, which they fixed for free. They told me to keep driving the car as is, since I had not noticed any change in performance. They did however recommend bringing the car back in a few weeks to have the 96 Km service done to it, which I agreed to. When I did bring it back 6 weeks later, the SES light had come on three times, and gone away on it's own each time. When the dealership read all three codes, they found the engine was running lean and traced it to a leaking Intake manifold gasket which they repaired under warranty. Now, less than a week later, the SES light is back on.

One, last point, my car just failed an emissions test (barely). ..apparently my Nox emissions were slightly on the high side.

I had all 4 spark plugs replaced when the manifold gasket was replaced.

I'm not sure if any or all of these things are related, or if I have a series of separate issues.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

[JustSayGo]

A manifold vacuum leak will cause lean miss-fire and increase NOX. The intake manifolds have a problem that sometimes causes a leak. I suspect that cnote25 manifold is still leaking and Bonjela probably has the same problem. The moisture and sparkplug boot issue is a common explaination that satisfies a customers question, and may have allowed a warranty claim from the dealer to the manufacture. You drove away happy and feeling that they gave you something. The dealer should fix your car without additional charge to you cnote25. The dealer will pay for a rental car which should provide added incentive to repair your car quickly and correctly. Don't pay for rental upgrades or additional insurance, or accept less than an Altima. If you know what codes are stored in the ECM, the dealer can't tell you otherwise. Knowing the codes could become your advantage.

[Bonjela]

Originally Posted by JustSayGo

A manifold vacuum leak will cause lean miss-fire and increase NOX. The intake manifolds have a problem that sometimes causes a leak. I suspect that cnote25 manifold is still leaking and Bonjela probably has the same problem. The moisture and sparkplug boot issue is a common explaination that satisfies a customers question, and may have allowed a warranty claim from the dealer to the manufacture. You drove away happy and feeling that they gave you something. The dealer should fix your car without additional charge to you cnote25. The dealer will pay for a rental car which should provide added incentive to repair your car quickly and correctly. Don't pay for rental upgrades or additional insurance, or accept less than an Altima. If you know what codes are stored in the ECM, the dealer can't tell you otherwise. Knowing the codes could become your advantage.

==========

OK, Thanks. I already talked to the Nissan Dealer, and I will bring my car back to them for repair. I will try to get the Codes. However, they said it is still warranty for the same problem (Spark plugs, The wire, and fuel filter), but if the problem is not on those 3 things, then I have to pay again, because they said when they checked the SES light "on" previously ( 2 weeks ago), there was no indication to engine too lean or missfire. They said only too much water in the engine.

I am thinking to give Fuel Sytem Cleaner into the gas tank. Could it because of dirty fuel injector?

Please help.......;-(

[cnote25]

Originally Posted by JustSayGo

A manifold vacuum leak will cause lean miss-fire and increase NOX. The intake manifolds have a problem that sometimes causes a leak. I suspect that cnote25 manifold is still leaking and Bonjela probably has the same problem. The moisture and sparkplug boot issue is a common explaination that satisfies a customers question, and may have allowed a warranty claim from the dealer to the manufacture. You drove away happy and feeling that they gave you something. The dealer should fix your car without additional charge to you cnote25. The dealer will pay for a rental car which should provide added incentive to repair your car quickly and correctly. Don't pay for rental upgrades or additional insurance, or accept less than an Altima. If you know what codes are stored in the ECM, the dealer can't tell you otherwise. Knowing the codes could become your advantage.

Thanks for the info JustSayGo. I took my car back to the dealership and they ended up replacing the catalytic converter (Under warranty). That took my Nox emissions from 497 ppm to 14 ppm and allowed me to pass the emissions test. They didn't tell me what the stored code was in my ecm, although they assured me that they would have checked it and if there was anything to be concerned about they would have fixed it and/or told me about it. Not sure what to think about that, but if the SES light comes back on, it may be time for another dealership to have a look at the car...then again, maybe Santa (aka my girlfriend) will put a code reader under the tree for me.

Thanks again!