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Is this a Cam Position Sensor Issue? Forums > > Is this a Cam Position Sensor Issue? Is this a Cam Position Sensor Issue?
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  #1  
Old 08-02-2010, 12:49 PM
Yinzer Yinzer is offline
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2004 Maxima
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
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Default Is this a Cam Position Sensor Issue?

Following is what happened to my 2004 Maxima SE (73,00 miles) during a stretch of hot weather:

Day 1: I drove the car with stop & go and highway traffic for a good 45-60 minutes. I parked and it sat for about 2 hours. I started it up and it worked just fine. After about a half mile of stop & go traffic the car stalled while at a stop light. I tried to restart it, but it took several attempts. When it did start, it ran odd - the engine revved, but the car barely moved. I was able to pull to a side street and noticed that I was "stuck" in 5th gear. I limped back to my friend's house, about a quarter mile, then turned it off. I waited a few minutes and tried restarting it. It eventually started and ran just fine. I drove home, about 15-20 miles, mostly highway, but also a mix of hills and stop lights. At this point the Check Engine Light WAS NOT ON.

Day 2: Another warm day. In the morning I drove the car about 10 miles, mostly back roads. It was parked for about 2 hours. When I tried to start it, the same symptoms appeared: stuck in 5th gear, hard to start, rough idling. This time the Check Engine Light did turn ON. I eventually got it to start and when it did, it ran fine. I drove to the nearest Advanced Auto store (okay, I took a few detours first) and borrowed the code reader. The code was "P0345 - Camshaft Position Sensor Circuit Malfunction Bank 2". The funny thing is, the code was in the reader 3 times. Since the car was running fine, I erased the codes.

Day 3: Did not use car.

Day 4: Another warm day. Drove the car with much stop & go traffic for about an hour. Just to liven things up a bit, this time the car decided to act up while it was moving. It stalled while I was going about 30 MPH. I was able to restart it, then I safely pulled off to a parking lot, killed the engine and waited. Tried several times to restart the car, but when it did, the same symptoms were present. The car did go into Reverse and could be driven in reverse. Considered driving the 4 miles home in Reverse, but instead just backed up under the shade of a tree. After a total wait time of about 30 minutes, the car finally started and ran normally. Check Engine Light was ON. Drove to Advanced Auto, checked the codes and again, there were three instances of "P0345". Erased the codes.

I have used the car intermittently and for short distances only since then. I've read other posts in Nissan help forums similar to this and was wondering if anybody thinks replacing the Cam Position Sensor is the way to go. Or, is this a preview of bad transmission problems - or something else - to come?

I'm relatively handy, but luckily have helpful neighbors with far greater experience with cars willing to help who work for beer. Is this something the above-average shade tree mechanic (my neighbors, not me) can handle?

Many thanks in advance for any help/advice/tips.
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  #2  
Old 08-02-2010, 06:00 PM
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mpe235 mpe235 is offline
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I would replace the b2 cam sensor. It is pretty simple. It will be the one on the front cylinder head.
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  #3  
Old 08-03-2010, 07:48 AM
bobflood bobflood is offline
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Agree with mpe235. Don't borrow trouble worrying about transmission, etc until you fix the part the code says and see what happens. The in-car diagnostics are pretty good nowdays.
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  #4  
Old 08-03-2010, 11:32 AM
wau wau is offline
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2000 Maxima
 
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Yes,base on the service manual,If malfunction on camshafe position sensor or its circuit,it will show following condition;A;no signal sent to ECM during start first few seconds.B;no signal during engine running.C;signal not in normal patten during engine running.all these can explain the symptoms your car has.Check the circuit before change the sensor.If you never change any sensor before you can go to youtube video ,auto repair;how to replace camshaft sensor.there are many video show you how.

Last edited by wau; 08-03-2010 at 11:46 AM.
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  #5  
Old 08-03-2010, 12:52 PM
Yinzer Yinzer is offline
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Thanks for the advice. That was the way I was leaning, but wasn't sure if I wanted to spend anywhere from $60-$100 on the sensor only to have it be something else and wind up miles from home with the same problem.

What is the conventional wisdom on buying this part directly from Nissan where returns of electronic parts are happily refused versus an aftermarket sensor from someplace like RockAuto.com?

Never thought of looking at YouTube for a How-To. I thought that was only good for sneezing pandas and people blowing crap up. Thanks for the tip Wau.
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  #6  
Old 08-03-2010, 01:01 PM
bobflood bobflood is offline
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Personally, I have no problem with aftermarket parts like this, mostly because of dealer's unwillingness to take these parts back. I think the dealer quality is probably a little better, but aftermarket is usually good enough.
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  #7  
Old 08-03-2010, 06:40 PM
wau wau is offline
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Hi Yinzer,I don't think you have other choice but change the sensor(after check of the circuit).You have symptomatic trouble code(means you has code also has symptoms).Despite where you bring it to repair all will do the same.If not work then wait and see if other code come out.You have understand how the car work and code set.There are two kind of code;one is malfunction of part or circuit,other is malfunction of normal function.Such as po340 is belong to first and po171 is second(mixture too lean).My experence one time after i clean the MAS and forget to connect and drove 100 feet and five code kick in.If you understand the basic code setting you will not wonder this happen.sure after I reconnect it and all code not come back.
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  #8  
Old 08-04-2010, 01:46 PM
Yinzer Yinzer is offline
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2004 Maxima
 
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Posts: 5
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Replaced the sensor with a genuine Nissan part. Once I figured out what I was doing, it was a pretty easy job. Shouldn't take somebody with half a brain more than 15 minutes. Keeping my fingers crossed that this fixes the problem. Thanks for all your advice.
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  #9  
Old 08-14-2010, 07:56 AM
Yinzer Yinzer is offline
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I think that fixed it. I've gone on three long trips in excess of 130 miles each in the past week and have had no problems. Many thanks for the advice and boost in confidence.
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  #10  
Old 08-14-2010, 08:40 AM
wau wau is offline
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Glad to know that you resolved the problem.You feel good right?Interesting about car(likely me) and resolve problems is rewarding.Why not? master(or try to) the human creator;automobile is a lot of fun.
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  #11  
Old 10-01-2010, 11:56 PM
buddyp808
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Had to stop by and say thanks to all your posts here. Had a 2004 maxima 3.5L stuck in fifth gear and a code P0340 in ECU memory. Since the economy is bad and prices so high these days I decided to Google the problem to see if something would come up. Wow! so much info.
After replacing bank1 Cam sensor the problem was eliminated. Id like to add again as above that for anyone who is about to replace a cam sensor on the 3.5Liter maxima that, Bank 1 is closest the firewall and bank 2 is closest to the radiator.
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  #12  
Old 07-10-2016, 06:30 PM
Mustardface Mustardface is offline
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2006 Altima Sedan
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 2
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I had the P0345 error on my 2006 Altima. This led me to beleive that I was having an issue with bank 2 camshaft position sensor. I replaced it myself (very easily). However the same problems shiwed up again. Stalling, not starting, and running like it was stuck in highest gear. Long story short, I found that the negative from the battery had broken off of the engine chassis. I fixed that and now everything is working normally now. TCS off light, slip light, and check engine light are no longer illuminated.
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