Here's my story...please help!
 

First off....love this site and love my 00 Maxima.

Here goes...took my 00 Maxima SE (manuf 7/99) to the dealer for the 60k service. SES light was on as well. Dealership called and said before they started the 60k service, they wanted to let me know about the SES light and what that problem was. The tech said:
1. MAF was bad
2. 2 O2 sensors were bad
3. Neutral Part Position switch was bad.
They could fix it all for $975. I was blown away by this so I told him to hold off fixing for now (I've been to this site many time and wanted to check out some posts).
I picked up my car later that day and the SES light was cleared. I asked the Tech for the codes that they found....and he really didn't have any. He only was able to give me the code for the Neutral Part Position Switch (P1706). The other 2 problems he simply said "the cross count on the O2 sensor was 7 and it should be 9" and "the barrow of MAF was 75% when it should be 90%".

Not really knowing what the heck the Nissan dealer Tech meant by all this, I decided to swing by Autozone to have them check the codes to see exactly which ones they were. The guy at Autozone said there weren't any codes - it PASSED.

Just by reading the above, can anyone here give me their thoughts on whether the Nissan tech was filling me full of crap? I just don't trust them. If what he said was true, how critical is it that these get fixed and how soon? Since the codes are clear, should I simply wait until the SES light comes back on and then find out the exact error code?

Should it really cost $975 to fix all this? I'm no mechanic but my neighbor is and would help me DIY. He's got the tools, lift, etc...prob whatever would be needed. How much would this cost for parts alone?


Thanks for the help!!!

The dealer probably cleared the codes out of the ECU so that's why Autozone didn't find anything. If there really is a problem with the car they will reappear and the SES light will come on.

As for the problems themselves, checkout the SES sticky.

well, if the dealer pulled the codes that means they cleared them as well. Autozone's reader cant pull codes that arent there. wait a while and see if they come back. Also, could you tell us what actually went wrong with the car besides the light being on

im suprised they cleared them. if a problem continues the ses will come up after the computer cycles so maybe after 50-100miles it might come on. the problems that you have are probably affecting each other. i had a maf go bad in my old subsru and it killed the o2 sensor. they kinda work together. the maf went bad and the 02 didnt know how much fuel to add it ran very lean and killed the 02. if i were you i would pick up a new maf, there not that expensive(100) and change it and then see if the o2's are toast. or if you really want to do everything yourself. the maf will take you minutes and the hardest part about taking the 02's off is lifting the car. otherwise your looking at maybe an hour of work. good luck

Nothing much was really wrong with the car except maybe a slight decrease in gas mileage. The SES was annoying me so I took it in to the dealer (opened new in the area so I thought I would to test them out) to have them look at the SES light and also have them do the 60k service. Verdict is still out whether they are reputable or not :-)

The SES sticky gives a description of the P1706 code (Park/Neutral Position Switch) but there's not much more than that. Can anyone explain what this is?

You got shafted my friend, you can purchase repair guides that will tell you what the codes mean!

Also, you can buy a diagnostic computer program and get the codes yourself.

Why did he get shafted? it is not like he had the car fixed there, so no harm done.... :rolleyes:

As for the sticky situation your transmission fluid may need to be replaced or filled up.

Well, I thought he said he paid $975 dollars?

man your really saying some stupid statements... why would he buy a computer program that cost hundreds of dollars if he can either A.) check them himself for free, OR B.) got to autozone to get them checked... also for free? stop posting before you hurt yourself.

Sorry, I read it over again, my mistake!

Well if he learns how to repair the car himself, it will save him money in the long run.

One question, did your car come with the 6-speed (special edition feature or something) or did you have that installed yourself?

Good Bye and have a nice day.

I did NOT have the dealer fix anything related to the SES light. They simply told me "the cross count on O2 sensor was 7" and "the barrow on MAF was 75%" and I did not have them fix it. I was wanting to know if these were severe problems or just something that the dealer thought they could throw at me and then me throw my cash at them. I wanted to check with the experts on this site to get their thoughts.

I also was wanting to know what it means if the Park/neutral Position Switch is bad. Is this a major problem?

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

First of all, the guy who measured it knows nothing about what he is doing. when looking at O2 sensors, you want the voltage to be cycling (number doesnt matter) back and forth on the rears and fairly steady on the fronts. Second, the MAF voltage goes between 0 and 4.5, all he needs to do is check that the voltage changes as air goes thru it (also, he needs to know that it will never register 4.5 volts sittting still).

the PNP switch is what tells your automatic whether its in park, neutral, or in gear. Try starting the car in neutral, that tests the neutral part of it. Also, put the car in D and attempt to start it (make sure you are out in the open when you do this PLEASE), the accessories should come on, but the starter will not. If it does, you have a bad one (if it kicks on while the car is in gear it will move, this is why you should do it in the open).

Interesting....especially since mine is 5sp manual.

Well then if its a 5spd then try to start it without the clutch pressed IN (make sure the car is in neutral). If it starts then the clutch inhibitor switch- also called neutral safety switch, is bad. This switch is also used to DEactivate the Cruise controll when you press on the clutch. Thats pretty much all it does. If the light doesn't reapear, then the neutral safety switch code might have been just a fluke- aka ghost code that might or might NOT reappear.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

:grinno: