Hello all,

I've done my diagnosis and I'm ready to buy parts, however I'd like some more educated folks to look over my shoulder real quick. For some reason I'm not 100% confident in my diagnosis.

The patient is a 2001 i30, 96k miles.
The weather is damp and drizzling
No recent repairs/modifications/adjustments other than replacing the starter 5 months ago.
Car is now parked and in "do not drive" mode.

The symptoms:
Driving to post office, stopped at red light. Thought the car was vibrating a bit more than usual (a pen in the cupholder was rattling,) but didn't think much of it.

Afterwards, started up and while backing out of the parking space, I could tell something wasn't right, it had a little bap-bap-bap feel to it, and same with driving in the parking lot ~10 mph. No error lights of any sort on the dash. Starting off from red lights were really choppy, and the steering wheel wobbled for the first few feet.

Drove home, less than 5 miles. Drove it gently keeping it under 2k RPM. A few blocks away, three lights came on: TCS OFF, SLIP, and SERVICE ENGINE SOON. SES was flashing.

Ran inside, got my code reader and learned this:
P 0302 Misfire Detected, #2
P 1320 Manufacturer Control

My searching skills here on the org tells me that the 1320 code is ignition related, and since there's a miss and it's isolated to one cylinder, the coil on Cylinder #2 has failed, and I should replace it.

More searching tells me that coils on our car are a weak point. I cannot remember if I have dotted or undotted coils

The way I see it is that I can just go ahead and replace Coil #2 to make do, or go ahead and replace all 6 for good measure.


To the elders: Do you agree with my diagnosis?

 

looks good.

I'd get ONE coil now, OEM ONLY, do NOT get aftermarket coils unless you want to always have your P1320 code. I'd get one now and then the others at a later date.

 

You are correct in your diagnose of the two codes you have.

If your tight for money you can just replace the bad coil only but best bet is all 6.

Also make sure the coil is a Nissan factory coil there are a few aftermarket coil brand that don't have the correct resistance and will fix the misfire and you wont have a driveability issue but you will still have the 1320 code since its picking up a coil out of spec.

Also here is the TSB for your issue on very rare issues it might be wiring causing the problem by the strut tower as mention in the tsb but it is very rare normally it is a coil.


http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/tsb/NTB01-059.pdf

 

Just curious, why not do them all at the same time while I'm in there and have my tools out? I'm either paying now or paying later... and later might involve a tow truck if I'm not close to home.

Interesting. I did notice some pinging lately since I've been able to drive with the windows open. I wonder if this applied to i30's as well. I'll have to snoop on this one.

 

Of course you can...But if you didn't have the hundred or so bucks for OEM coils, it would involve saving up a bit

I was just saying one now since you only NEED one right now. If the others are working, keep 'em. Why chance messing with something that's working, y'know? You might break an injector or something and then be down again. jmho

 

Agreed, I'd replace just the one for now, unless you have quite a bit laying around to spend on 6 OE coils.

An aftermarket coil should work fine but as said, you'll likely keep that P1320 code.

 

FWIW, I replace just one coil about 2 years ago and have never had to replace another one yet.

 

You know, that makes sense. I guess I had it in my head that everything had to stay "even,' and suddenly having one coil at 100% and the other 5 with 90k of use on them would cause things to go wonky. Thank you for saving me some pesos!

 

that's what we're here for

And if you want a bit more security, you can get one spare front coil and one spare rear coil

 

Post-Repair Followup:

Replaced Coil #2 as discussed. Rusty from Gunn Nissan shipped me one for $97

Everything works great, no CEL, everything is back to normal.

Note for the Newbies -- Make sure to check your FSM when determining which cylinder is which.

 

lol


#1 cylinder on our cars is the one closest to pass. side rear



It goes like this .....


Rear bank, ( closest to firewall ) , Spark plug #1 ( closest to pass. side strut ) and middle is #2, driver side is #3




Spark plug closest to pass. motor mount on front bank ( head closest to radiator ) #4, middle #5, plug closest to transmission #6

 

...no. Nissan doesn't use a cylinder layout like Ford does, with 1-3 on one bank, and 4-6 on the other.

 

It looks like the easiest way to remember it is while standing at the front of the car, imagine that each cylinder is a gear position on a stickshift.

 

Or move the coil to another cylinder and see if the problem follows

Just kidding, congrats on the repair.

 

lol


At least i remembered where #1 cylinder was ...its been a few years since i had to learn this , thanks for clearing it up

 

OEM coils are made by Hanshin/Hitachi and cheaper than the ones that come in a Nissan box...