Hi guys,

I am sorry that this isn't a 5th Gen Maxima, but I have a 2001 Pathfinder with the VQ35DE and recently it started to stall (or hiccup) at traffic lights, causing the "service engine soon light" to come on.

a year ago, the light came on, and because it was still under factory warranty, I took it in and local dealer said there were no codes in the computer and charged $255 (yes, you read that right) to reset the light.

6 months later it came on again, and then after about 30-50 miles of driving, it went out by itself.

it came on last week and after 30 miles it went out, and then it started the "stalling" "hesitation", and then the light is back on again after 5 days.

Although I have extended warranty on this car, I am afraid to take to the local dealers because they are crazy...

My understanding is that the MIL (malfunction Indicator light) comes up due to either fuel or emissions problems.

I have recently replaced the fuel filter by myself, and I am suspecting that the dealer did not replace the fuel filter when they were doing "service". Twice, I found that they didn't replace the oil filter when doing oil change (just drain and refill). I am wondering if the fuel filter not being replaced for long time caused either the fuel pump to break down, or (God forbid) cause damage to the injectors?

My last guess is that the new filter I put in is faulty and blocked? It is a genuine Nissan fuel filter from courtesy nissan.

I am at a loss on what I should do. I was also shocked to findout that the 5th gen maximas have "permanent fuel filters"??? That didn't make much sense to me but anyway, I have searched the internet and couldn't find any answers or hints on what maybe causing my problem.

I am now thinking that perhaps I should try buying a cheap aftermarket fuel filter to see if the problem goes away?

Any response would be immensely appreciated. Thank you all,

 

Got to auto-zone and have the code read by them for free.

 

I wouldn't be suprised if the MAF is faulty, but yes, go to autozone to have your codes read.

 

Can you believe that the local autozone charges $20 to read the code??!? But then again if one dealer is charging $255 to reset the light, then who can blame others for trying to get a piece of the pie...

I must live in "rip-off" land...

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=374481