po8pimp

ok so I was driving yesterday and noticed a loss in power and a service engine soon light.... me being the cautious person I am took it to the nearest auto zone and had them check it out..... they read the code and it said a large leak in the fuel and emissions system.... I started to freak asking questions.... the guy said you know this may sound silly but maybe you left your gas cap off or something.... I was like no way.... so I checked.... it was there so I was starting to really worry.... called the nissan service dept and told them the code and first thing he asked was did you change the fuel cap.... I said yes cause I did about a week ago.... I bought a cap with a lock and key..... the guy said get rid of it and put the old one back on and clear the code..... so I did.... and strangly enough power back and code gone..... so this is just a heads up to one aftermarket item.....

koyoki

its because the cap that you bougt was junk thats why. prob has a leak in the gasket. normally things like this you have to be very carful when you upgrade it. one slight wrong part and BOM your car might blow up. especially if it is the gas cap.

po8pimp

blow up hardly..... however you are right it was junk that is why I got rid of it..... wasn't really worth it in my opinion.... just letting others know that the cap should stay stock for possible future problems......

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

I still don't get how the gas cap affects the SES light. i know some cars have this feature, but doubtful we do.

I have driven home 2x's with my cap still on the door. no light.

MaxFan

It's required by OBDII. In case there is a fuel leak. Most cars have to have it. I think awhile back, Toyota and/or Honda got fined big time for not turning on the SES in their firmware. To avoid false alarms, the computer takes a couple of consecutive flags to turn on the SES. I bought a Montero Sport in '97 which had a loss-pressure in the fuel system. They changed the caps twice, then the filler neck And by the time they got serious enough to change the fuel tank, I asked for a refund. I cost me ~$400 to drive that SUV for almost 8000miles/8 months (1st occurance @140miles). I got into a '97GLE and stick w/Nissan since

4MySwee

iTrader: (2)

That happened to my husband last month! He has an '06' Tundra. He hadn't tightened the gas cap down enough and it threw a cel/ses light.

Odd thing, it was over half a tank later.....hmm.....

PapaL

iTrader: (2)

Its in the manual


Page 2-12 of the manual:

"Malfunction indicator lamp on steady An
emission control system malfunction has
been detected. Check the fuel filler cap. If
the fuel filler cap is loose or missing, tighten
or install the cap and continue to drive the
vehicle. The lamp should turn off after
a few driving trips. If the lamp does
not turn off after a few driving trips, have the
vehicle inspected by a NISSAN dealer. You
do not need to have your vehicle towed to
the dealer."


Page 3-12 of the manual

"Use only an original equipment type
fuel filler cap as a replacement. It has a
built-in safety valve needed for proper
operation of the fuel system and emission
control system. An incorrect cap
can result in a serious malfunction and
possible injury. It could also cause the
malfunction indicator lamp to come on."

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

yes, I've read all that before and agree it is possible, but still have not experienced it. and a few others that were told it was due to their gas cap, when checking the codes found another cause.

perhaps pressure is lost gradually and I always caught it soon enough to not trigger the light.

po8pimp

I will take it back in to auto zone and see if there are any other codes but there is no SES light now so I doubt it.... can't hurt to ask though.... car is running great though.....

DRod

Seriously?

MaxFan

I had my first SES on about 2 weeks ago. I went to Autozone to read/reset it. My K&N was extremely dirty so I put back the OEM. The light didnot come back. Then yesterday I cleaned/put back the K&N, now the SES light is back. I'm pretty sure my car doesnot like my K&N (drop-in) any more. But it had been good for 2 yrs. I had same K&Ns in the '97GLE and '99Pathy without any issue for all these years. I had the heatshield taken care of a few weeks back. According to the TSB, the heatshiled issue + that SES code will call for the CAT replacement. I am right now 34miles before 36K mark. So I guess I will have to stop driving until I can bring it to the dealer tomorrow. Don't want to take a chance. I'm pretty sure if I put back the OEM filter it will fix the problem.

MaxFan

So I brought it in and the dealer ordered a Mass AirFlow sensor. Will need to bring it back on monday. They reset the SES. Of course, I have the OEM airfilter back in. The SES doesn't come back today. So I guess it's OK with the OEM filter. But I still wonder why it doesn't like the K&N anymore ? Too much air ? They may have a few questions on monday, when I bring it back and there is no code.

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

maybe you over oiled it for too little air or got oil on the maf?

MaxFan

I cleaned more than 1 K&N at a time. My pathy never complains. I know about over-oiling so am very careful. It took me a week to prepare the filters. The SES light was on the 1st time when the K&N was in the car for so long (maybe clogged up, too little air since the OEM fixed that). The 2nd time it was a newly-cleaned K&N (too much air ?). If the oil has messed up the MAF, how the OEM clear the code now ? It's pretty weird. But I don't think I will put the K&N back anytime soon. By the way, my paperwork says "Tech ordered Airflow Sensor per BULLETIN SOP". Is there a bulletin for the MAF, 'cause I can't find it ?

po8pimp

did you try putting in the K&N and then resetting the ecu.... take off the negetive terminal for at least 5 min then turn it back on.... make sure the ses light isn't on at all when doing this.... if that doesn't work I would ask more questions, because the ses shouldn't even come on with the filter gone... but as mentioned before oil could possibly done it... I did the K&N recharging when I had a drop in and never had a problem.... good luck keep us posted

MaxFan

I own a total of 3 K&Ns (same model, I think). Dropped in since '97, '99 and '04. The '04 is in my Max. I've done so many recharges. This is the 1st time I see this weird issue with the '04. Like I said in my previous posts, the OEM filter fixes the problem (after resetting the SES by the scanner). My main concern is: the K&N can degrade the MAF over time. In my case, the OEM still can fix since the MAF isn't that bad yet. But it could be worse. I was a strong believer in K&N. But now I don't think it's worth the trouble anymore. If the light doesn't come back by Monday (the OEM is in there), I just ask them to go ahead to chang out the MAF. My car is now over 36K warranty period.

MaxFan

So they replaced my MAF on wednesday. Today (sunday) the SES light went on again. I have the stock filter in there the whole time. I'm in a tight situation now. Something else is wrong. Last time I read the codes it said either the Airflow Meter and/or Fuel/Air meter. So it could be one of the Fuel meter (one for each bank). The situation is I'm now over the 36K mark. I will call the service advisor tomorrow and be calm about this. I hope he will take care of this situation and we both avoid a bad confrontation. I've had many trips to the dealer but all has been taken care of under warranty. I hope this is not the start of a long and troublesome relationship. I've been thinking of how much $$ I will loose to move into an Infiniti. Life is too short to deal with problems, isn't it ?

PapaL

iTrader: (2)

If you've been having the problem before the 36k mark and they have been trying to fix it, shouldn't they keep trying until its done? Seems only fair to me.

MaxFan

Life would be so much nicer if we deal w/ nice people. I heard so many horor stories about dealers ripping off customer everywhere. These sort of problems actually fall under the emission warranty which last longer than the 3yr/36Kmiles period. Especially in California which can go upto 8yrs/80Kmiles. My dealer has been very nice so far. They took care of problems w/o hassles.

MaxFan

They decided to replace the expensive 3-way CAT. It's on order and I will need to bring the Max back again. This is in the TSB for exaust noise + SES. In my case the exaust noise happened before the SES (not the same time). So you should all watch out since it must be popular to make the TSB. I think mine must be the 1st case for the CAT here. It's expensive but should at least be covered by the federal emission warranty (3yr-50Kmiles). Your state may have additional warranty. For California, I think, the CAT is covered for 8yr/80Kmiles. Will see if it's the right fix. For me, since it happened before 36K, they need to fix this problem. The service advisor says they won't close the case for awhile until it's fixed (they won't submit the paperwork to claim the service)