I searched on this a bit already but have not been able to find enough answers, yet. I went to my mechanic and he says the CODE is 420 (if i remember correctly) and claims it is either the Catalytic COnverter or the Oxygen Sensors or both...
Anyone had these probs?? I have a 2K with over 46,000 miles.
Are there some TSBs out on any of this? If yes, what can I do since my warranty is out??
If the probs are what my mechanic says they are, should it cost over $500 for the catalytic and over $100 for each O2 Sensor???

Any feedback appriciated!
-Erik

 

$100 ea for a Nissan O2 sensor is close...
But you can get a catalytic converter for $100...
Not from Nissan, but a universal one...

 

Most likely you need to replace O2 sensor, they're prone to fail on 2k Max. If you were monitoring your mileage close enough you'd probably notice slight decline in it. Mine was consuming about 10% more gas at that time. This should be covered by powertrain warranty since O2 sensor is part of engine management system. As far as catalytic converter goes I hardly believe that you need it to replace. Two reasons: you don't have that high mileage yet and I've never heard of failed converters on 2K Max yet. You didn't put something crazy in your gas tank, did you?

Mike.

 

Thanks for the info, Mike. It's funny you ask that q. I filled up super 15 mins before the light went on next to the GW bridge in Jersey. After a week of having the light on, my mechanic reset it adn it came back 4 days later. As far as my milage, it has been ****ty as far as I am concerned for a very long time now.
I have the car for 3 years and a week now and as I mentioned over 46K miles. Should the dealer change the O2 sensors for free??

 

 

I wasn't certain in my post, sorry - dealer replaced O2 sensor on my Max under warranty, free of charge (~30k miles). Mileage wasn't that good on the car from the day one - I never got above 440km from full till "fill up" light(mostly highway) but got even worse 2-3 months before SES. Today I was filling up at the same gas pump I got my last tank from - my odometer was showing 488km and "fill up" light wasn't even on yet. I think, I could go up to 500km this time. It was highway too. I mean, I've never had this kind of mileage out of the car before, no matter what kind of gas I was using, how smooth was road etc. My Max is auto, I live in Canada where they put methanol in gas - it all makes mileage worse. I'm using 91-92 octane exclusively.

Mike.

 

Man...talking about methanol...I've noticed at least a drop of 2 to 3 MPG while using gas with methanol mixed in. It's worse in the city since they mix in 15% rather than the 10% out in the country.

This is comparing to the only 1 gas station that I know does not use methanol in their formulars...and I pray to all sorts of supernatual beings that it will stay that way!

What's the use in mixing methanol in the gasoline? You end up buring more and thus producing more exhaust gas anyhow...

 

check this thread out:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....5&pagenumber=1

Your ECU needs to be updated.

 

If your cat convertor is bad it should be under the emissions warranty and replaced free from the dealer. If your O2 sensor is also bad there would be a charge to replace it, the warranty on O2 sensor is 3/36. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks everyone for all the feedback.
Most things seem to indicate a bad O2 Sensor. Anyone know if the ecu has to be reprogrammed with that or is that a totally different thing?
If it has to be, can a regular mechanic do it or only dealer? What do they do anyway??

 

Seems that all sensors're covered under 3yr/36000 miles indeed , I just checked booklet I got with the car.

From the receipt I got after my replacement:
1. ECM Reprogramming
2. Replace rear O2 sensor
226A0-2Y902 SENSOR

I believe, what they called "ECM Reprogramming" is really procedure to erase DTC which was set by failed O2 sensor. AFAIK, there is no special programming after O2 sensor replacement since ECM supposed to adjust itself to new sensor automatically.

Mike.

 

Here is your problem. I too have a 2000 Maxima SE with about 37k and a lit service engine soon light. I took it to the dealer under the 60k engine and transmission warranty and they told me that the code read faulty cat. However, since my cats are not faulty, they said that my car needed a ECU upgrade and they did it for free under the warranty. This is probably the same exact problem that you are having.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys!
I went to the dealer the other day, for an oil change and asked them to check out the SES light. All they did is reprogram the ECU for free. I guess I will wait and see if the light comes back on. I think they just did what the TSB said, the ECU was "too sensitive"...

 

With this much money on the line, go out and buy a EQUUS code scanner for $130. Hopefully the mechanic didn't erase the codes. If he did, you will have to wait till your service light comes back on. When you scan the code from the car it will tell you exactly which sensor is shot. At 42k, it is not normal for any Cat to die on you. The Cat is a solid piece and rarely every craps out on you unless your car in not maintained. Code P0420 is a "fault in the Catalyst system on the right bank of the engine", so your problem is probably that O2 sensor. The stock sensor is a bosch part, so forget going to the dealer. The part # written on the stock sensor is A24-B710509320. The part has a nissan stamp on it, but also says bosch on it. If this is the problem, you $500 job, just turned into a $200 job if you do it yourself. It' not hard. I bought my scanner yesterday and just did a similar job.

 

Hey, thanks for the reply ppetruccelli.
I have since taken care fo the problem. As I mentioned, the deal did it for me for free eventhough I was past warranty. I know there was a TSB out for this, I don't remember all the details sicne it has been about 1 Year since I posted this thread...
Thanks for your help.
-Erik

 

Chuvak, I had the same problem w/ my 2kSE. The SES light came on, I took it to the dealer after the warranty expired and they reprogrammed the ECU. They said that it was too sensitive. That was last year and about 30k miles ago. To this day it has not come back on. Forget about spending $130.00 on a code reader. You're good to go!