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  #1  
Old 09-17-2010, 08:30 AM
MyCarHatesMe
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Default engine misfire. PLEASE HELP!

I have a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder XE 6 cly 4x4
The end of February I had a squeaky belt problem fixed; not exactly sure which belts were replaced but the invoice says: r/r belts, alt belt- 110, poly serp belt 110. Took the car back because the belts were still squeaky and they tightened them. A month or so later, my check engine light began flashing; engine misfire. Replaced the spark plug on that cylinder and started running premium gas (a trick I found online) this worked for another month. Then when I would turn the wheel to the right all the way I would hear an awful grinding noise, not the tires rubbing, but something almost metallic sounding. One day that noise just stopped. Now the vehicle almost constantly has the check engine light flashing and when the light is flashing these are some of the side effects; it idles low around 750, loud putter and gets even louder when going uphill, rough and late gear change, car shakes when sitting or driving you can feel the shake in every seat in the car, it has a slow start after being stopped, the car seems lethargic and sluggish, occasionally you can smell unburned gas (which is not anything new, it's always been like that) Sometimes when the car is cold the light won't flash but will be on and the car runs fine. I ran errands all day yesterday and had no issues the car was running like it was brand new; the temp was never over low 70's. The day before I was on the highway going up a mountain and the fastest it would go pedal to the floor was 55... In a 70mph zone, and was quite hot that day. Sometimes when I floor the gas the car seems to "snap out of it" and will run fine for a bit. The computer error codes were P1320, P0300, and another P1320. I had stopped and asked a mechanic for some free advice and he ran a thorough computer test, which he said normally costs 79.99) and he seemed to think it was something loose or coil packs. I have no idea if the belts and grinding noise are related; it just seems like a big coincidence that after all that these engine issues would start. I truly have no idea and all ideas and advice is VERY welcome!!!! Thanks in advance!

Last edited by NissanTech; 09-17-2010 at 09:00 AM. Reason: Change font
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  #2  
Old 09-17-2010, 09:10 AM
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NissanTech NissanTech is offline
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Your mechanic is correct the P0300 code is set when there is a multiple misfire, without knowing the cause, but the P1320 is more specific to the ignition coils.

The problem is to find out which coil (s) is the bad one, most Nissan vehicle owner replaced all six coils at the same time.
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  #3  
Old 09-17-2010, 10:34 AM
MyCarHatesMe
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Thank you. That's what I was hoping it wasn't. The mechanic quoted me almost $800.00 to replace them... what a bummer! Thanks again
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Old 09-17-2010, 11:42 AM
keng62
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Turning the steering wheel all the way and holding it could cause damage to the power steering pump.
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  #5  
Old 09-23-2010, 08:46 AM
jpedderson
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$79 to read codes? Ripoff! Go to Autozone for free or buy a $20 USB to OBDII scanner from eBay (Supports All OBD-II Protocols OBD2 USB OBD Scanner v14: eBay Motors (item 170543875090 end time Sep-23-10 11:21:38 PDT)) and get some software for your laptop for $59 like Proscan. (Order ProScan OBD-II Scan Tools & Accessories)

I had the same rough running - its a bad coil. You can wait for the specific cylinder misfire code to come up, if you're lucky and just do that one coil or replace all the coils yourself (6 times about $80 each - http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/mm...oil~parts.html). Check the build date on your car (drivers door jamb sticker) to get the right coil. It is super, super easy to do, you just need to unplug the wire harness and have a 10mm socket and maybe an extension to reach in there. It took me about 2 hours to replace all the spark plugs (the coils sit directly on top of the plugs) and replace the #3 coil. The 3.5L is a lot easier than the old 3.3L to do plugs!!! Actually, the hardest part for me was unplugging those !@#$ darned harness connectors that were in the way of getting to the coils - there are two - they were stuck!

Last edited by jpedderson; 09-23-2010 at 09:00 AM.
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  #6  
Old 09-23-2010, 09:39 AM
keng62
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Great advice jpedderson, I will remember that if it happens to me.
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  #7  
Old 09-23-2010, 10:02 AM
MyCarHatesMe
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Thank you all. Found a coil pack for 55.00 going to put it on tonight, hopefully one will do for know...
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  #8  
Old 09-23-2010, 10:09 AM
jpedderson
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Did you get the code to tell you which cylinder coil is bad? Otherwise you're kinda working at random...

P0300 Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
P0301 Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected
P0302 Cylinder 2 Misfire Detected
P0303 Cylinder 3 Misfire Detected
P0304 Cylinder 4 Misfire Detected
P0305 Cylinder 5 Misfire Detected
P0306 Cylinder 6 Misfire Detected
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Old 09-23-2010, 04:16 PM
MyCarHatesMe
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jpedderson- thanks! Cylinder 4! Ole Pathy is running tip top now! I am so greatful for all the advice you all have given me!!! The 55.00 coil pack sure beats the mechanics 800.00! You all have saved me 745.00 Thanks!
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  #10  
Old 09-24-2010, 08:04 AM
jpedderson
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Happy to help... See, your car really doesn't hate you, LOL.
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Old 09-24-2010, 12:22 PM
MyCarHatesMe
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lol. This is true, she was just mad...
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  #12  
Old 09-27-2010, 08:50 PM
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the noise you hear when you turn the wheel all the way to either side is the PS pump.. try not to do that as it can be damaging, as someone said above.

the rough running issue sounds like a bad O2 sensor to me.. but you could test each coil to see if any of them are bad before you throw money at O2 sensors. plus the code for those should pop up.. but they don't always do so..
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