Engine shut off in mid driving

[bina12834]

so i just had this happen to me twice today

first incident: i was coasting down a steep hill in neutral (i drive on this road everyday coming home from work and most always coast it in neutral) and my car shut off....a few lights on the dash remained lit up like the guages, the oil light and a few other warning lights....i put the car in drive while still coasting, threw it back into neutral and hit the button to turn the car back on.....no problems. i get home and tell my stepfather about the incident (he knows a lot more about cars than i do, and i know a good amount) and he tells me that you really shouldnt put an automatic car in neutral to coast....he said its ok with manual trannies, but not auto's.second incident (about 2 hours after the first incident): i was in a brushless car wash (yes, yes, i know but i just had surgery and cant wash it myself and it was filthy!!!). this brushless car wash was one of the gas station ones where you just pull in, put your car in park, and the machine moves around your car washing it. so about 3/4 of the way through the engine shuts off again. same warning lights remain lit as in the eariler incident. since i was in park i just hit the button to turn it back on

now....heres the thing....since i bought this car in march i havent had any problems like this before. on monday i installed my K&N WAI......do you guys think that this could have anything to do with my car shutting off like it did twice today?

oh yea...and my car only has 6500 miles on it....

[CanadianCoupe]

Sorry to hear about your car, that sounds pretty messed up. I dont think its an issue to put your car in neutral either, otherwise the shifter would block you from putting it in neutral like how you cant put it in reverse while driving.

I highly doubt that your air intake would cause this problem or had anything to do with it. But keep us posted as to what Nissan says as I know many people are planning on buying the same intake.

[dldjros69]

i sure hope it has nothing to do with the intake, mine should be here soon.

[bina12834]

im debating on whether or not to throw on the stock air box for my trip to Nissan....just so there no chance they blame it on the intake and void the warranty

[dldjros69]

Nissan the dealership stinks. They r hot garbage.

[Colton92]

I would put stock box back on if i were u. just in case. i used to throw my in neutral and coast, but stopped after some people told me it was bad.

[Alt.ImaCoupe]

I think the neutral thing with auto transmissions has to do with lubrication. I don't know much about a CVT, but I'm pretty sure that an auto trans doesn't circulate the fluid to all the bearing surfaces unless it's in a gear. A manual transmission lubricates all the time since it doesn't depend on a pump. It's just a box full of gears and oil. So if you're coasting in an auto trans in neutral the output shaft bearings could prematurely wear.

In terms of the intake, I would check the connector on your MAF sensor. If it wasn't plugged in properly it might be intermittently losing connection making the computer think the intake was blocked and shutting off the engine. Or maybe it's busted.

[adidas2go]

Sounds purely electrical. Since the only thing you changed was your intake, I would make sure the MAF is bolted in correctly. Make sure the gasket sealing the MAF isn't kinked and is set correctly. Also, disconnect the battery for about 5 min to reset the computer to get used to the intake. If none of the above work, definitely put back on your stock intake, and goto Nissan

[marlin29311]

so i just had this happen to me twice today

first incident: i was coasting down a steep hill in neutral (i drive on this road everyday coming home from work and most always coast it in neutral) and my car shut off....a few lights on the dash remained lit up like the guages, the oil light and a few other warning lights....i put the car in drive while still coasting, threw it back into neutral and hit the button to turn the car back on.....no problems. i get home and tell my stepfather about the incident (he knows a lot more about cars than i do, and i know a good amount) and he tells me that you really shouldnt put an automatic car in neutral to coast....he said its ok with manual trannies, but not auto's.

You didn't read when I said not to do this in the last thread this came up did you? This is terrible for your transmission and will cause your car to stall out! Do NOT put your auto/CVT in neutral when rolling down a hill! It saves you no gas, nor does it do anything advantageous for your car!

Your intake has nothing to do with this. I used to do this in my old car which was bone stock until I realized this was not good to do and my dad almost murdered me for putting this type of stress on the car.

DO NOT ROLL!

[adidas2go]

Him putting the car in neutral will not stall out his car, and it had nothing to do with his problem.

[bina12834]

Sounds purely electrical. Since the only thing you changed was your intake, I would make sure the MAF is bolted in correctly. Make sure the gasket sealing the MAF isn't kinked and is set correctly. Also, disconnect the battery for about 5 min to reset the computer to get used to the intake. If none of the above work, definitely put back on your stock intake, and goto Nissan

well since it happened to me twice that day it hasnt happened again. i never disconnected my battery when i installed my intake....i just did everything with it still connected (i just hate resetting all my radio/nav settings). i know my MAF sensor is plugged in all the way, is bolted down tightly, there are no kinks in the wiring, and its set correctly because theres only one way to insert it into the intake. is disconnecting my battery to reset the computer to get it used to the new intake something that i need to do?

i have an oil change and my 7500 mile check up coming up before the end of the month.....is this something worth mentioning to the dealership, even if it doesnt happen again? if it does happen again before i take it in, im def going to mention it, but my question is should i leave the K&N intake in, or put back in the stock air box before having them look at it?

[adidas2go]

Yes, if you are having electrical problems you need to reset the computer.

[bina12834]

so i disconnected the negative battery cable for about 30 seconds....that will reset the computer, right?

*edit*.....just re-read your eariler post adidas, where you say to leave the battery disconnected for 5 mins. does that mean both the positive and negative, or just the negative?

[Rolling Estonian]

just the negative will do

[dldjros69]

(i just hate resetting all my radio/nav settings).

Wow i just realized im going to have to reset everything, im far to lazy for that.

[bina12834]

cool....thanks

just the negative will do

[adidas2go]

Yup, just the negative