"Service Engine Soon"
 

Okay fellas, I know all of you have probably seen/heard of this before, but the plague has hit my MAX now for the first time after over 3000 miles on the odometer. I've had no previous problems w/ the engine @ all until this afternoon coming home, the "Service Engine Soon" light came on. Checked the fuel cap as the owner's manual says. I just unscrewed it and put it back on since it felt a little loose, but not too much. Been fueling w/ 91 octane just as Nissan recommends. Have K&N air filter installed for over 1500 miles now w/ no problems. Have noticed my gas mileage has been crappy (averaging 16.4 - 16.7 mpg), but I take multiple short trips, 2 - 5 miles a day, consistently around town, which I think is why I'm getting the crappy mileage...no long road trips as of yet (not to include the 2 hour return trip home from the dealership in Phoenix). So what gives? Suggestions? Others have this problem? I'm all ears! Thanks in advance!

Only 91 octane? What the hell, you should drive around till you find some 94!!!!

Seriously though, your mileage will get better as you put more miles on the car. My mileage was absoultely horrible till about 6000 miles or so. I used to run 87 octane with no noticeable difference in performance. I have tried 94 octane with good results in the summer. In winter, with the amount of idleing to warm the car up, and the winter additives I find its just a waste of money.

The SES light may go off by itself in a few days. If its concienient make and appointment at the dealership to have it read and reset. It would bother the hell out of me and I know I'd bring the car in as soon as I could.

CM

Somewhere in the manual it says the SES light may turn off after a few short trips if the code was not for something significant.

Mine has 10k miles and I'm averaging 23-25 mpg on 91 (all that's available in CA) commuting which is about 50/50 traffic/highway. Oddly, I'm not particularly easy on the gas and I was expecting worse mileage.....but I'm not complaining.

you guys must be kidding right? you should only run 93 octane in your car the engine burns 93 much cleaner. canadianmofo is 94 octane available in canada? the highest grade available in the states is 93

as far as the mileage concern, i've put over 20,000 miles on my max since april 03 and my mileage is awesome now. The first 5000 miles i was getting close to 21 but after two oil changes I was starting to see the improvement. I'm averaging 24.2 now.
I've only run 93. I think its safe to say that the gas and regular oil changes will make a difference.

Well, it's nearly impossible to get 93 or 94 on the West Coast, up here in Washington 92 is all I can find. Oregon mostly is 91 where I stopped, but some places had 92, and California 91 is pretty much all you get.

Yeah the station I got to has little flags outside advertising "94 Ultra" gas. Its labled on the pumps.

I just phoned them to confirm it was 94 too. The owner was there and assured me it wasn't just 91 relabled. I know the guy so I trust him.

CM.

When I lived in Mass a few years ago you could get Sunoco Ultra 94.

Are you kidding me? SUNOCO has had 94 for as long as I have been living on the east coast.

Okay guys... Thanks for all the high octane advice. Believe you me, if I had access to 93 or 94 octane, I definitely would be using it. Unfortunately, in Tucson, the highest I can find is 91, so that's what I'm using for now.

But please, stay on subject... I'm really looking for anyone w/ info/experience w/ the "SES" light coming on in their 04 MAX. I just filled my tank and have been around town a few times already for the last couple of days and the stupid light hasn't gone away yet...you can imagine my frustration! :banghead: Made a "precautionary" appointment @ the dealer to check it out Saturday, but I'm really hoping it will disappear by then. So, please, if you want to discuss octane, open another thread to discuss. All "SES"-infected MAXIMers are welcome. Thanks again!

Highest ive seen in phx is 91, but i dont look around too much, i go 87 anyways, in the spec v i went 91 but that was different....i get like 21.3 mpg now, hopefully get it up to like 22-23, at 5,777 miles now....

I bought a K&N a few weeks ago, but haven't installed it yet (been outta town). Now I'm wondering if it's a potential problem. If I was you I'd try putting the stock air filter back in for a few days, see if it goes away. You never know, it could be the O2 sensor or MAF sensor's operating window is too tight, so all the extra air flow is beyond its ability to meter. A long shot, but worth a try. You notice anything unusual? Loss of power or bad mileage?

Beautiful Ducati Desmo. Wish i can get one myself.

Thanks. If I had more garage space I'd probably also have a Ducati Monster S4R,

and this new bike coming out called the Fischer MR1000. :cool:

http://www.fischer1.com/media/6_G_R.jpg

My SES light has come and gone at least ten times in 15K miles. It appears that it is very sensitive...I just have not got a chance to take it back to the dealer. If I thought it was a critical problem I would have taken it in right away. Don't think it's anything bad, just an ultrasensitive sensor. Looks like there are a lot of bike owners / Max owners. I have a CBR954RR and a Kawi ZX-10R on order. My Max is my 4 wheeled motorcycle. I love driving it.

4 door ZX-10R or 4 door Goldwing with a sidecar?

Thanks for the help, desmo. Took the car in and the svc consultant checked the system and found no errors. Default cause: as per the manual, gas cap not tight enough... Well, damn! If Nissan would design their fuel/O2 sensor system a little better, maybe we wouldn't be wasting your time on stupid stuff like this. Also, he said he would do this for me for free THIS time. But next time I'll be charged labor for the tech's time... GO FIGURE!!! Because Nissan designs their sensor system to be freaking to sensitive, I have to pay?!! :banghead: :mad:

Do the 6th gens actually ask for 93? My 2000 asks for 91, so I give it 93, since in Alabama in 99% of the stations it's 87,89,93.

As an aside I believe that in some areas, like in California, some gas stations sell 100 octane at something silly like $5/gallon.

BTW, anything above the recommended is a waste of money, and anything below the recommended you're losing engine efficiency (MPG and power), since the ignition timing has to be retarded to fight pre-combustion. I've heard different opinions on whether long-term use of a low-octane gasoline is bad for an engine. I realize these engines have knock sensors, but knock sensors work by detecting a knock after the fact and then retarding timing until the knocking is no longer there. The computer continually tweaks this.

Glad you got it fixed with the easiest/cheapest possible solution, and that it wasn't your K&N (now I can install mine, which is still sitting in the trunk. :D). What is your impression of the K&N so far? Can you comment on both the low-end and top-end? Thanks.