cal_gal

I have been having this problem intermittently for the past year (car has 55K miles). The SES light will come up, the car will start shaking and the light will start flashing. Last week I took it to a mechanic who replaced 2 sensors and 3 days later it started happening again. I've been reading strings and it seems that some people have had similar experiences when it is wet or humid.

I live in CA. and have had no rain for a few weeks and yet it seems to be happening more frequently. By the time I get the car to the dealership or mechanic (and I take it within the hour) the light is off and I'm told that they can't seem to get it back on.

I don't know what to do and I'm scheduled to make a long drive for Thanksgiving in the car by myself. Currently there is no light on but my experience is that it can occur out of nowhere. If anyone has any advice for me (I know nothing about cars and don't know how to check connections, etc.) please let me know. Thank you!

gfostertruro

I had that problem with my 2001 when it was under warranty. If the light flashes I was told not to drive it, they had it flat bedded to the dealership. The problem, I believe, was the egine was only firing on half the cylnders.

abmobil

Im not sure if the 01 pathfinder was included but i know almost all fairly late model nissans with VQ v6s had a recall for the crank and cam position sensors. Then said no trucks were involved but i think some of the pathfinders with the VQ wre involved.

jmeyers33

When the SES light flashes, it means that there is severe Catilyst damage occuring. This means to stop driving ASAP and take truck to dealer. There could be several reasons for this but one of the most common is when the Catalic converter on the exhaust get clogged or fuel soaked and starts to over heat. Thats when the light starts flashing and the vehicle will lack powere and start to run rough. If the car continues to be used the catalic converter could catch on fire and you will have bigger problems then. My advice to you is to take it back to the dealer and explain in detail what is going on. If there are faulty emmision componets on the truck or a bad Catalic converter this is covered on a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty no matter what and dont let them tell you different, It' Federal Mandated By Law!

Hope this helps! Good Luck!

inanima

I've had the SES light come on twice in my 01 SE. Of course this is right after I bought it six months ago at 60K, so it's out of warranty...
first time- engine was running rough, took it to dealer, misfire in cylinder, they reset it, cleaned the injectors, they did not replace a sensor-- $180
Get 60K service done, and one month later, light comes on again.
second time- truck's running fine, I drive it for a month this way with no problems. took it to dealer, Cam sensor needs replacing $225

just curious- how many more sensors are they that I could conceivably have to replace?
it's a little ridiculous that I'm paying like $300 a month in repairs to a truck that's only 4 years old.