seth99gxe

I first must say that I have had my maxima for almost 2 years and have never had any problems with it.. nothing but regular maintenance. I bought a OBD II code scanner to read codes from my moms 4runner. I decided I would hook it up to check if my car was throwing any codes. It throws code P0325, the knock sensor code. I erased the code twice and it has always come back. I have always used premium fuel as recommended. I decided I would take it to the dealer for service because I have an extended warranty until I reach 86k miles which is another 20k down the road. They checked the car and out gave it back to me with a $75 charge saying that there isnt anything wrong with the sensor, the code is caused by my modified cat back exhaust and lack of the use of premium fuel, which as I said before I have always used. They said the code is a ghost and will always remain and will never go away. I'm not quite sure that I believe what they are telling me. I figure they just dont want to fix it because it wont cost me anything it will be covered under my extended warranty program. What do you guys think? I dont know what to do to get rid of this code, I dont think that my modified exhaust has anything to do with the knock sensor. Any information would be helpful..

s0ber

iTrader: (7)

Unless your throwing 02 sensor codes I dont see what your exhaust would have anything to do with it... There just pulling the oh my god you changed the car, your warrantys voided kind of act they dont feel like changing anything.

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

The dealer is wrong on all 3 counts.

Your catback is not causing it.

Your gas isnt causing it.

It will go away.

It will go away when you change the sensor. Now get to work

s0ber

iTrader: (7)

Yeah I just changed my sensor today, my hands still sting from all the cuts, I think they purposely made that area of the engine with a bunch of sharp edges...

Anyways check out ebay where I got my knock sensor, there only $90... Unless you can find some way into getting what you want from that dealer.

gtr_rider

iTrader: (50)

I got it for $80

seth99gxe

I dont mind replacing it myself and I was just going to do it until I noticed that my car seemed to be different from the pics posted on the web with the replacement instructions. I think I have come to the conclusion that my car is a CA model which includes a swirl control valve which completley blocks access to the sensor and isnt easily removable.. anyone have any suggestions.. perhaps try another dealer and see what they say? I want them to have to do it, that is what my warranty is for..

LudeAEM

They are beating around the bush... the now its a ***** to change the KS (to them they probably remove the whole intake manifold) so they say your modified exhaust is causing it. I work at a car dealer so I know how this all works. Don't let do this... put up a fight. Go right to the service manager and talk with him... if he still gives you shish.... then go to the GM of the company or whoever. I tell my friends to do this when they go to the dealer and it works.

seth99gxe

you dont have to worry at all about that.. I will beat the issue till its a dead horse and I will get my way.. I argue my way up till I get the results I want.. I just am not looking forward to dealing with the complications of the issue.. what are the details regarding my modified exhaust and the validity of my warranty.. would changing my exhaust have actually voided my warranty or are they just using this as an excuse and how would I argue this point with them and force them to fix it under warranty?

SteVTEC

"Nissan" and "warranty" should never ever be used in the same sentence.

Yup, standard dealership smoke blowing hoping you're just a "dumb schmuck customer" and will go away.

seth99gxe

thanks for all the input.. I took my car to the local nissan dealer in the area.. I spoke with the service manager and told him about my problems with the other dealer. He doesnt believe what the other dealer is saying about the knock sensor. He agrees that the sensor is probably bad, and isnt caused by my cat back. I have an appointment to take it in next week.. Hopefully they will just replace it and things will be all good, otherwise I will have to call nissan customer service I guess. Thanks again

Pappa Grande

Wow! Your extended warranty covers a knock sensor?

C MAX

iTrader: (4)

i have a cally car too. its in the same place its just a b!tch to get to
you just have to take your time use a extension set it will come out.

Jatan

iTrader: (3)

Go get your $75 back from the first dealer and them

seth99gxe

heres the story... I took my car to the other nissan dealer in the area and spoke with the service manager.. he wasnt sure what to tell me so he went and got the main mechanic to come and talk with me.. the mechanic said he had been working at the dealership for 12 years.. he fed me the same line of bullsh!t that the other dealer did.. almost.. he claims that almost 75% of the vehicles that come in to the shop throw the knock sensor code but your average customer doesnt know becuase it doesnt trip the CEL, so they dont bother fixing it.. he said he has never in his 12 years replaced a knock sensor and said it doesnt cause any driveabliltiy issues so basically dont worry about it. I wasnt satisfied with his answer and decided I was going to replace it myself. I got the sensor and got to work last night.. once I got the swirl control valve out of the way it was clear sailing.. but the whole job was quite a task. I took it out for a spin and it hasnt thrown any codes yet. I think the problem is fixed, finally.. Thanks everyone for your help.

Seth

s0ber

iTrader: (7)

What a dumb stealership.

RichMax

iTrader: (2)

So how exactly did you remove the swirl control valve without removing the upper intake manifold? I got sick of looking for ways to do so and just bypassed the knock sensor with a resistor (mildly dangerous)

Everything they said was such total BS-- they said the same thing to me; in fact they said if i didn't see a CEL there were no problems at all and that the ECU didn't store codes... WTF?!?!?!>?

seth99gxe

to answer your question about removing the swirl control valve.. it wasnt an easy task, I removed the air box and intake **** so that I could get a straight shot at the bolts holding the swirl control valve (there are wiring connectors and other **** somewhat in the way but it can be done), then I used a long extension and swivel socket to remove the two bolts mounting the swirl control valve to the intake manifold.. after I got those out I had to disconnect the linkage by removing the little "c" clips. After the valve was removed and out of the way I still couldnt fit my hand under the intake.. I just put a few socket extensions together and again used my swivel socket to get the knock sensor loosened up and I pulled the whole thing out.. put the bolt through the new sensor and used my extensions to thread it and tighten it up. I put everything back together in reverse order.. the whole process probably took about 3 1/2 hours.. I just was careful because I didnt want to loose any of the small parts. you non-cally cars thought you had it rough..