97 Q45 TCS/SLIP/SES light came on after some RPM hesitation

[pnanda16]

So I was driving from LA to San Francisco this afternoon and in the freeway with some traffic, I started seeing some hesitation, like when I left the accelerator pedal, the RPM dropped (naturally) and then I would see the RPM go up by itself and I could feel as if the transmission was going one-gear up, and then go back to the OD and RPM would fall again. This happened three four times whenever I took my foot out of the pedal (no acceleration). Right after than, the TCS-OFF, SLIP and SES lights came on. I tried calling infiniti dealers close-by to see if the car needed immediate attention. After the lights came on, the car went to fail-safe mode and the torque-converter lock-up didn't work. Other than that, I could drive the car just fine. When I stopped at the next gas pump and turned on car after a few minutes, the TCS and the SLIP lights went away but the SES light stayed on and still does. Drove another 200miles to bay area and didn't see that problem surface.I came back and did a lot of reading in this forum and read a lot about how relays could be a problem, alternator could be possible issue, TCS/ABS actuators etc. Then I read somewhere that the Y33s (my car) don't have the alternator problem that the G50s used to have. So I am a little confused as to what to do. Tomorrow morning I am taking it to autozone to get a code reading. What should be my next step? I have a pioneer HU which shows voltage supplied at 13.x volts when driving, so I am assuming the voltage regulator is not the problem. Because it seemed like the transmission was hesitating, is this a transmission problem (I really hope not!)?

Appreciate your valuable input. My Q has been running great all along.142K miles, all fluid flushes done every 2yrs..thanksPhal

[maxnix]

Then I read somewhere that the Y33s (my car) don't have the alternator problem that the G50s used to have. So I am a little confused as to what to do. Tomorrow morning I am taking it to autozone to get a code reading. What should be my next step? I

You read incorrectly. G50 alternators are not problematic, especially if cleaned regularly.

There is a TSB on alternator recalls for some 1997 FY33.

Tell us what a decent scan tells you.

[Q45tech]

Every OBD2 owner should have their own inexpensive OBD2 SCANNER so that you can read the initial codes without turning the vehicle off or driving somewhere.

[pnanda16]

Thanks q45Tech, that is a very sound advice. I will buy one and keep in the glove compartment/trunk and read the codes before turning off...

I went to autozone and connected the reader and got the following numbers (total 3)1. P0325 Knock Sensor 1 Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1 or Single Sensor) 2. P0120 Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch A Circuit MalfunctionFor the 3rd error code, I got two different notes- OBD2 reader said something else and about.com website says something else. 3. P1705 Manufacturer Control. Transmission - OBD2 reader Throttle Position Sensor ((Nissan, Infiniti)) - about.com

I am not sure which text is more accurate for #3.

To give you a history of what happened, we had been on a road-trip for 6+days and were returning to bay area yesterday which on the freeway near LA (slow moving traffic) the car seemed to hesitate for a few seconds and the TCS/SLIP/SES lights came up (hesitation = seemed to change gears and RPMs fluctuated when I removed foot from pedal). I have always filled premium fuel on the 1700mile road trip, but I cannot say that all fuel pumps were well maintained (sometimes we were in real remote locations).

After the lights came on, the momentary hesitation went away and we drove another 200miles to reach home and things were just fine. This morning also things are just fine, idling well and all other health checks look good. When we started the car after the issue, the TCS & SLIP lights went away but the SES is ON. Something tells me that some bad gas caused knock and everything else followed that and hopefully things won't happen again. Can I be that lucky....or should I now start replacing all the sensors the codes are spitting out. Or, should I reset the codes and wait to see if they reappear?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Autozone was great in renting the unit for free. I still have it with me and if the advice is to reset and wait, I will do that before returning the reader. Also please advise on an inexpensive reader to buy and keep.

thanks!!Phal

[pnanda16]

I spoke with Joe and after some more reading, went ahead and reset the 3 codes and so far driven 100+miles, SES hasn't come up yet. I am assuming that if the TPS is bad/intermittent, I will definitely again get the SES light, right? I am almost sure the Throttle position sensor is an issue and needs to be replaced, I am hoping nothing else is broken. Will keep you posted. Any other advice?

thanksPhal

[elwesso]

It could be, always try cleaning the connectors first and ensuring theyre making a solid connection. may not do anything, but its good to rule out the easy stuff!

[pnanda16]

Wes, thanks I will check the connectors.

Last night I noticed some oil on my garage floor below the driver side. I checked that was reddish and very close to the ATF fluid color I have. I am not sure if that leak happened yesterday, I think I missed looking at it, I think the leak was there when we returned from the road trip. Total fluid on the floor would be close to a cup or so (240ml). I wiped the floor and this morning there was no additional fluid. Did lots of reading on transmission leak and Turbine Sensor Leak was a first suspect. This morning I took it to two shops to put on teh lift and check. The harness, wires coming out of the sensor area are completely dry and there was no place that looked oily around transmission at all.

The only place that has a wet spot is right below the torque converter housing where there is a small hole at the bottom of that housing (i will link a photo shortly). That hole looked like the candidate that might have allowed some fluid to leak. The transmission specialist said it could be:1) either the front seal is leaking (that means to drop the transmission and replace), or2) you had excess ATF and the system got rid of it this way and you might not see the leak again.

I had done a complete ATF flush about 2 months ago and I think the leak started right towards the time I was completing the 1700mile 6-day roadtrip. In another thread, I mentioned that I got TCS/SLIP/SES lights came up showing TPS error. Have driven another 200miles afer reseting the codes and so far no new codes.

I have been religiously servicing the Transmission (and other components), like every 2yrs/30K, I do a full machine flush with Mobil1ATF, starting at 40K miles about 6yrs ago.

Which theory from the two above might be right? I am not sure if there is any connection between the error codes I got and this leak or just that in the long trip, oil expanded and excess fluid accummulated in the TC housing and leaked out through that hole.

Thanks for any input! Greatly appreciated.Phal97 Q45, 143K miles