Car stalling upon ignition and Ses light coming on

[MamaLion1]

I just purchased a 2001 Ifiniti I30 two days ago. I had a complete Diagnostic run on the car before purchasing it. Everything checked out fine and passed. The following morning I started car and it stalled. I pumped the accelerator a few times and it started, then stalled. The second time I tried it started up. I took car to inspection station, and they refused to inpect , saying the RPM's were to high. I ran car back to mechanic and they reset and took car through inspection for me. Later that day the SES light came on. I took the car in yesterday morning, and they told me the gas cap had not been put on correctly. The light went off. I ran a few errands and was just about to pull in drive, and noticed SES light came back on. I am at a loss because everything checked out fine with the diagnostic.My husband has a 1996 Toyota, and his SES light has been coming on and off for years he told me. Should I be conserned about this. The Infinti only has 102,000 miles on it. My Husband told me Nissans, and Toyotas aren't even broken in well until 100,000 miles. All this work was done on 12/5/2007 Repair engine harness to rear crank sensor replace air flow meter,spark plugs & reprogram E.C.M found wire to rear CRK sensor cut, and was repaired found Air Flow meter shorted due to clogged air filter plugs fouled old Ecm These repairs ran 925.00 I cannot understand if all this work was done 8 weeks before we purchased this car, why the SES light keeps coming on. I don't have a cell phone and I get very panicky, when anything on my car starts occuring. The thought of being stranded with no phone is very stressful. Please help!

[MinisterofDOOM]

Welcome!

When you took the car in, did they tell you what error codes were showing? Where did you take the car?

Also, do you know why the code went away (did they manually clear the codes, or did it just go away on it's own after driving for a bit)?It is possible that the gas cap is indeed the cause. If it has a bad seal, it won't matter if you put it on correctly or not--it will still trip the SES light.

You can try getting a new gas cap and see if a new one makes the light go away (it should disappear after driving for a bit with a new gas cap if that is indeed the problem).

If you know what error codes were showing, though, that would help a lot.

[MamaLion1]

Would these codes be on the invoice sheet where work was done? The guywe bought car from had all work done at Infiniti of Memphis. This work was done on 12/05/07 I noticed after I had driven car a few minutes it started much easier without having to pump accelerator any. To me this is like a sports carand I wasn't sure if it was normal to pump it a few times before ignition to start. My old 93 buick starts as soon as you turn key. I sure hope it is the gas cap. I can't afford to spend 900.00 like he did. Being a woman I am very apprehensive driving a car, with any possible problems. The thought of getting stranded really freaks me out.

[Mike G]

First off, welcome aboard!

Secondly, don't panic. I have come to find the systems on these vehicles to be quit picky in there diagnostics. If one little thing goes wrong, the SES light will come on, and yes, it's a pain. You have had quite a bit of work completed and most of it is your big problem areas. The only other suggestions I would have for you are that the fuel pump may be going out, throttle possition sensor on the fritz, your injectors may be clogged or malfunctioning, or possibly a coil is dying. Regardless of if the light is on or off, how is the car running during normal driving. I purchased my car almost a year ago and I would bet the SES light has been off for about two months is all. I know the problems but the car runs great...

Also pumping the pedal really doesn't help, it's an electric injection system and no fuel flows if there is no engine cranking. As well, this could cause a flood condition and will trigger your SES light.--Mike

[MamaLion1]

Thanks Mike. I wouldn't think since we had a complete diagnostic performed on Mondaythere should not be any major problems. I guess I will try getting new gas cap first. As the car is 2001 it may be old and seal dried out. The cars seems to drive alright after I drive it a bit. It died when i pulled onto the street yesterday morning but did start right up. That sort of freaked me out. I am wondering if I take it back to the Infiniti dealer where all that work was done about 10 weeks ago, they will guarantee their work. I have another question about this car too. It has a CD player and I was wondering is it supposed to be a single cd or multiple.There is a button on dash that says CD/cgr. I tried to put another Cd in with one already in, and it didn't go in easy, so I stopped. I didn't want to mess it up. I don't have an Owners manual, but ordered one off Ebay.

[Mike G]

As far as I know, the CD with a changer had a separate changer, located in the console or the trunk (I think).--Mike

[MamaLion1]

Hey Mike:

I looked under the seat, and in the trunk but didn't see any cd changer. I wonder if in truck, would it be where it could be easily seen? I just spent 2 and half hours at mechanic, becuase car was still acting weird ,when I try to start. Bad news.... Mechanic told me ihad something to do with some pin that controls throttle. He said possibly due to the fact the former owner used cheapest grade gas which gunked it up. The guiy we got car from told us it called for premium, but he uses cheapest grade.DUH!what an idiot. We filled with 87 Octane, which is what I have always used. The part is 340.00 at Infiniti Of Memphis. There labor is 150 an hour. My mechanic charges 75.00. He told he guarantees this will take care of problem. He said if he cleaned it out, it may or may not work, but the part would probably end up having to be replaced. I told him go ahead. I could just shoot the guy we bought the car from! He had to have known it was acting up when he sold it to me.We have spent on top of what the car cost 255.00 this week so far, now I am looking at 490.00 with part and labor.

[MamaLion1]

We took car back to mechanic and had them look at it agan. He told me the The pin in the Ignition module was really gunked up and was sticking, probably due the fact that last owner(idiot) used regular gas, instead off Premium which Infiniti recomended. He said he could clean but in 7 out of 10 this would probably be a temporary fix or not work at all. he reccomended just replacing the module, which we did. This ended up costing over 500.00. The part from infiniti was 340.00. Infiniti 's labor ran 150.00 and hour while my mechainc charges 75.00 so we left him go get part and install. On the way home I noticed the SeS light came back on CRAP! After I pulled into the drive and stopped,we noticed white smoke coming from exhaust. My Husband was saying that shouldn't be happening. It was cold outside, and I told him even his car had white smoke coming from exhaust. Because Infiniti has twin exhaust and is 6 cylinder, while his is a 4 cylinder with one exhaust, could that explain this?

Hey Mike:

I looked under the seat, and in the trunk but didn't see any cd changer. I wonder if in truck, would it be where it could be easily seen? I just spent 2 and half hours at mechanic, becuase car was still acting weird ,when I try to start. Bad news.... Mechanic told me ihad something to do with some pin that controls throttle. He said possibly due to the fact the former owner used cheapest grade gas which gunked it up. The guiy we got car from told us it called for premium, but he uses cheapest grade.DUH!what an idiot. We filled with 87 Octane, which is what I have always used. The part is 340.00 at Infiniti Of Memphis. There labor is 150 an hour. My mechanic charges 75.00. He told he guarantees this will take care of problem. He said if he cleaned it out, it may or may not work, but the part would probably end up having to be replaced. I told him go ahead. I could just shoot the guy we bought the car from! He had to have known it was acting up when he sold it to me.We have spent on top of what the car cost 255.00 this week so far, now I am looking at 490.00 with part and labor.[/QUOTE]

[Darktide]

Hey,Sorry to hear you're having all these problems. I know for a fact that the previous owner of my car didn't use premium gas, and I don't either. They neglected the car BIG TIME. There have been no problems stemming from that issue. If the previous owner went to DISCOUNT places and got crap gas that could cause it. I only go to Irving or Mobil, I refuse to put discount gas in my tank. I doubt it's that big of an issue.

If your car is stalling on you I'd go with mike on it being the Throttle Position Sensor. Having a hard start situation, and higher than normal RPMs sounds like it fits the bill as well.

As for the stock CD player. The CD/Changer button is a standard thing. It means that if you have a changer then that would be the button to push to control it. If you don't have one (and apparently you don't) it does nothing. So yours is just a single CD player. The changers are normally located in the trunk either on the sides (maybe between the fender and the cloth) or under the rear deck.

I normally wouldn't panic about driving a car like this. As long as it keeps starting again. One thing I'd check right off is the air filter. You listed what they fixed, I would honestly hope they'd replace a clogged air filter but you never know. Definitely replace the gas cap.

If you take it back to a dealership they should warranty any work that was done there. If they don't, they aren't very reliable. After your original statements I would have guessed at the Mass Airflow Sensor but since they replaced it and reprogrammed the ECM there shouldn't be anything wrong.

Lastly I'll agree with Minister. Have them hand you a sheet of paper with the codes written legibly on it. You don't have to understand it just be able to read it. Post them here and that'll give everyone here a better idea of what exactly you're facing. They may just be general codes but with your explanation of how the car is responding will help out for sure.

Good luck.

[MamaLion1]

Hey there :Thanks for info. Here is what we had done yesterday. We had the IAC moter replacedat a cost of 390.00 plus 112.50 labor. The car started right up without having to pump accelerator, however my Husband informed alot of white smoke came from exhast. I couldn't see this myself. Before we got to the next street the SES light came back on. I noticed an odor coming from exhast along with the white smoke. This morning I could not get car to crank. It would start for a second then go dead. Mechanic told me they would send a technician over first thing Monday morning to pick(or Haul off with wrecker probably) I don't know if any of the number s on the last work order are codes or not. In colum marked TC number are 034 and o64 In column SLS number is 034 If you read the post where I listed all work done in December 07you will see mjor problems areas taken care of supposedly.

I can't believe how stressful this is. I have had the a week, and not been able to drive it hardly at all. Not to mention after paying for car Monday having to put 804.00 on car so far this week, and it's still not running.

[Darktide]

I'm not entirely sure what your state has for lemon laws... but I'd be going for it right now. In NH they have 3 attempts to fix a vehicle's issue before you get to claim the lemon law and force them to take the vehicle back and I'm pretty sure you get all the money you sank into it back as well.

As far as I'm concerned you're dealing with a bunch of green (new) mechanics that are too incompetent to do anything other than what the computer screen tells them. There obviously is an issue that the computer isn't getting a trouble code for and they aren't intelligent enough to pinpoint it.

As for white smoke and the smell? It's not too surprising. If your car is having a problem cranking/starting and not running properly even when it starts, it's definitely screwing up your air fuel ratio which in turn is giving your catalytic converter a run for its money (which would be the smell)

I wish you the best of luck, but I'd be on the phone with the owner of the dealership telling them how much you feel like you're being taken advantage of and you certainly won't be telling anyone you know to buy anything there. That's a dealerships greatest fear, bad publicity.

Good luck.

[MamaLion1]

Morning:

Still experiencing ignition problems with Inifiniti. After paying over 549.00Friday to have new Iac Module put on car. The car dorve fine on way home, however the SES light cameback on before 100 yards. When I got home my Husband told me the car had white smoke coming from exhaust. We tired to start car after we got it home, and it was actually worse than before. This time we couldn't get it to stay running. It starts without pumping accelerator, as it should but immediately goes dead. I called Mechainc and explained what was happening. he told me it would be monday before he could get a technician over to pick it up. He will probably have to tow it, as we couldn't get it to start. Another question I have. When the work mentioned in another post was performed in December, there was a checklist which indicated the fluid levels etc were fine and passed. My mechanic after doing the diagnosticbefore we purchased car, told us we needed the engine coolant flushed, the brake fluid flushed , and the poer steering fluid flushed and replaced.This cost 180.00 I am wondering why this had to be done if only 10 weeks prior these things all passed the diagnostic performed by Infiniti? Are we getting ripped off by mechanic I am concerned that they are going to tell me tomorrow I need to have something else done and it will be alot more money.

[MamaLion1]

Hi Thanks for info. Actually we purchase Infiniti from individual, who is one of the investors in a used car business. We signed a no warranty as ispaper when we purchased, so I don't know it that is under any Lemon laws.I don't understand why the car is worse now after spending over 549.00 on it

[Darktide]

It's worse now because they haven't located the problem and are just guessing. It's not their money right? As for lemon laws, individual purchases aren't covered I don't believe, but if he was acting under the name of the dealership anyway you might be able to get him on it (or if he is an employee of that dealership).Anywho, when the do checklists at dealerships for other work, most techs don't even bother doing the actual checks. Gotta figure, they are getting paid by the job. which if the job calls for 4 hours they get paid that much whether they do it in 2, 4, or 8 hours. So they try to get through as many jobs as possible and that would slow them down.Like I said, get your mechanic to write down the codes on a piece of paper for you before he erases them. (the codes you posted may be right, P0340 sounds like a valid code, I just haven't had time to look through my list to see what it might be). It really does sound like you don't have much in the way of a mechanic or a dealer here. I've actually been very happy with service at Meineke (when I can't do it myself due to time). They do free diagnostics and normally do their best. I'd wait to find out what you're mechanic has to say about this monday. I feel awfully sorry for you having to go through all this mess. The car is really top notch but sometimes you get lemons in the best of the bunch.

[MamaLion1]

Hi: Thankyou for your input. I am beginning to lose faith in these guys as well. They were referred by one of my closest friends. She takes her Town Car to them all the time. They are Performance Tires, and do automotive work as well. My Husband has a mechanic who is Asian, and works for Lexus of Memphis. He does work on his off time, and Lexus lets him do it there in thier facility. I Plan on calling Infinti of Memphis in the morning to go over what workwas done thier in December with that tech. They open at 700, and this other mechanic we have been using opens at 8:00 If he can't get car running properly, or trys to get me to pay for some other outrageously priced part, I am considering having car sent to Lexus.At least I trust Bryan my Husbands mechanic. I have another question about parts. Is is necessary to purchase parts at dealership? Thier mark up seems really high. I saw the IAC Motor pricedat about 1490.00 less than what i was charged. I asked the mechanic about that....his reply was"That's like hiring a Mexican to cook Chinese food" any thoughts on this?

Thanks a bunch.

[Darktide]

there are some parts that you just have to go OEM on. But for the most part you can really save a bundle going aftermarket (Advance Auto, Autozone, etc etc). That's why I don't like dealing with most mechanics, they over charge for their time and their parts. Though in all honesty, if they have to warranty a part they lose all the time they put into it (though if they want to they can file a grievance with the company they bought it from for their time. I would only bring my car to people I know and trust. If your husband has a guy that he trusts... go with him. Better off that way I think.

[MamaLion1]

You have been so helpful. I don't know what eom parts mean. I plan on calling the Infiniti dealership soon and go over with the tech all that was done in December, before we purchased the car. If He tells me the fluidsthat these guys replaced at 180.00 were completely fine, and shouldn't have to be replaced within 10 weeks, then I will be very suspicious of any else they tell me.I am also going to call the mechanic (Bryan) who works for Lexus, that my Husband trusts. If these guys can get my car running long enough to get it to him, I am going to have him take a look at it.My Husband is about to have a nervous breakdown over this. He is under a Doctors care already, and is taking early retirement in May. He is so worried over the money because he has spent so much of our savings on the car and subsequent work. I was looking for a job, but ca't do anything without the car running. I am also calling my Attorney about this. We may not be able to do anything, having purchased through an individual who has something to do with a used car lot. I will make his life miserable though in other ways.My best friend is an IRS auditor, so we may have to have both his personal and business audited. I also have two good friends who are on television.One has her own show, the other is on one of our local news shows. It may be possible to do an expose' on the entire story. I don't think any of them want that kind of publicity.(;-) Will report back in later today after I find out whats going on. Lets keep our fingers crossed. If you are religious say a prayer.

[Mike G]

Wow. a lot going on here...

First off, on your work order where you saw TC, that stands for trouble codes, they are the codes poped with the SES (service engine soon).

Any tire shop that has no history with your car will see how old/many miles and recommend fluid replacement (coolant-brake-trans), even if it doesn't need it... The other shop checked the "levels", they were appropriate and for some reason did not feel the need to gouge you. They are probably fine as they are.

One of the problems that I was advised on when I had my Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor replaced was that some cars require the computer to be "re-flashed". This can only be done at a dealer for $$$, I was lucky enough that the computer in my car overcame the new sensor on it's own. One thing though was the new MAF sensor caused my O2 sensor to read rich, well of course this occurred because now the car was running more fuel like it should. We waited a few days, cleared the codes and was good for about three months. The systems are very touchy, and they will let you know at any chance to check the motor.

This car requires more "attention" than my 1992 GMC truck with 180k miles on the ticker...

--Mike

[MamaLion1]

Hey there:

Well after paying 549.00 to have a Idle Air Control Motor put on Fridaycar still experiencing problems upon starting. On the way home form mechanic white smoke coming from exhaust accompanied by funny smell. Now car will crank when you trun key but immediately goes dead. If i give a bit of gas, which kept it running before, it sounds like it is missing or sort like a quiet backfire. The tech could not get it started at my house this morning, so a wrecker was called. Now I await the diagnosis. There were all new spark plugs put on it December, when other work was done. Any ideas?

[MamaLion1]

Hello Mike:

Is the Air Flow meter anything like the mass air flow sensor? Because the Air Flow meter was replaced in december. Wouldn't the computer have to be Flashed at Infiniti when them did that. It state they reprogramed the E.C. M. whatever that is. I am so stressed over this. They Mechanic could not get car to crank yesterday, and had it towed back to garage. They were still working on it until closing last night. Fortunately it was inside the garage. I didn't want it left out overnight, as they say they are not responsible for cars left there overnight. If they can just get it to crank and keep running, I could take to a far more experienced (I believe ) mechanic at Lexus. He can work on it Saturday during his day off. He has a good relationship with Lexus, and they will let him use thier equipment and garage. I hope they are not going to try and stick me with tow charges and moore labor charges. The car was running better before they touched it! At least it would start and you could rive it.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Air flow meter is the same as Mass Airflow sensor, yes. Computer (ECM) shouldn't need to be reflashed for that. From what Mike was told, sometimes it is needed, but I've never heard of anyone having to have it done. The car usually just adapts to the new sensor once it sees a signal that looks "normal." Modern engine computers are pretty smart.

White smoke that smells funny from the exhaust could mean a couple of things.If it smells sweet, it could be antifreeze. That could be a sign of a bad headgasket seal. That's easy to check for by testing compression.Smoke from exhaust can also be caused by burning oil. Usually this smoke won't smell as distinctly or be as pure white as the smoke from antifreeze burning. Usually this is caused by of poorly sealing rings. Again, a compression test will probably tell you a lot here.

Other possibilities, noting your comment that the car seems to be missing, are bad coil packs (the electronics that provide power to the spark plugs) or bad fuel injectors (which could also cause smoke in the exhaust depending on conditions).

[MamaLion1]

Hey Mike:

Perhaps after they installed the new idle air control motor, there is to much fuel being supplied to car, causing it to flood upon ignition. Or the computer is sensing to much fuel and shutting down car. I called Infinitiof Memphis, who worked on car in December before I purchased it. They say to reprogram computer takes about 45 minutes and would run 110.00 That doesn't sound like that much $$$ to me. He also told me they charge110.00 an hour labor. That surprised me because the mechanic that has car now told me they charged 175.00 an hour while he only charges 75.00It sounds like the mechanic along with being inept is also a liar!

[MamaLion1]

Hi:

The white smoke and smell didn't happen until after the mechainic installed the Idle Air Control Motor. When I talked to him yesterday afternoon. He said he was finally able to get car to crack. He said it had something to do with the work done at Infiniti when they installed harness to rear crank sensor. Apparently afterthey reprogramed computer. He told me they weren't getting the proper readings due to that, and he had tried to program according to standard readings. He was going to turn off and allow car to cool down before trying to start again. he was going to let car set overnight and try again this morning when it was cold. I just spoke with them this morning and he told me he was having trouble keeping it running. he was sending over to Nissan down the road.He told me they just don't have the equipment to do the complete diagnostics on it. he told me they had done about all they could on it with thier equipment. I am just about at my wits end over all this.

[Mike G]

... They say to reprogram computer takes about 45 minutes and would run 110.00..

I could not recall the amount of time, but the $110 is right around what I was thinking (hence the three $$$).

The thing with these is that one sensor trips around 4-5 things in the computer. It will get worked out, and then you will love the car. Just be patient.

--Mike

[MamaLion1]

Hi Mike:

This is what all has been done to this car since December 5th 2007

The previous owner took it to Infiniti Of Memphis becuase it would start. They repaired the engine harness to crank sensor Placed air flow meter,spark plugs, and reprogramed ECM They found wire to rear CRK sensor cut, and repaired Air Flow meter shorted due to clogged Air Filter which had foulded plugs. Apparently the guy we purchased from was still having problems and decided to pass them along to us without mentioning them.

We drove the car without any problems before we purchased it. One of the first things I looked to see was if the Ses light was on. (several cars we had looked at had this problem) We had a supposed diagnostic ran before purchasing it at a cost of 75.00 They determined engine coolant needed to be flushed , as with the brake fluid and power steering fluid. at a cost of 289.48 The first problem occured with the RPM's being a bit high. They were and the car was sent through inspection, which it passed. I kept being concerned about the SES light coming back on. The mechanic determined the Idle Air Control Motor was fouled up and would be best to replace it, assuring me this would take care of problem. This was at a cost of 549.64 When the car was started to drive home clouds of white smoke accompanied by smell. When the car was turned off we were unable to get it to crank. Had to be towed to mechanic. He thought he had everything corrected last night, but apparently not! Now he tells me it is a problem with the cold start program, which needs to be programed at Nissan dealer. If they can fix the problem. it would be worth paying to have computer reprogramed. I am about at the jumping off point. I cannot believe I have had this car for over a week and haven't been able to druve it but once. I am really trying to be patient as we are into this alot of money with noother alternative. Having purchased from an individual there is no warranty . I just pray the Nissan guy doesn't tell me I need a new fuel pump or coils.

[MamaLion1]

Hi Mike:

Well after the enept Mechanic at Performance Tires decided his equipment wasn't sophisticated enough to diagnose my cars computer situation, he sent to Nissan. After speaking with thie tech one time, I had more confidence in thier abilities. They replaced all the bad wiring the bad Idle Air Control Motor had shorted out to the computer. They put in a new computer, which Performance got for me with thier discount. Nissan would have charged 2000.00 for new computer. As it ended up The labor of 94.00 and hour, all new wiring and new computer ran us 1239.16. So although expensive, we feel like we have almost a new car. Thankyou for all your asssistance.