Fuel Injectors in Nissan Murano
Fuel Injectors in Nissan Murano
My Nissan Murano (2003 model) ran great for 40,000 miles. On 12/20/04, while driving on a highway in Houston, Texas, at 70 mph, it suddenly surged forward and the engine died. On restarting the engine would not hold. The car was towed to the nearest Nissan dealer, Robbins Nissan. The mechanic replaced the fuel pump but that did not solve the problem. Then he checked fuel pressure at the injectors that was found to be at recommended 50 psi. But fuel was not going through the injectors (all six). He tried to clean the injectors by applying gasoline with cleaner directly to the fuel rail. He even increased the fuel pressure to 70 psi. This effort did not produce any result. Then he used a set of injectors from another Murano and found that the engine runs. He blames bad gasoline in the tank of my car to be the culprit and Nissan technical advisers agree with him.However I do not agree with them and think there is some inherent problem with the injectors or the EFC (Electronic Fuel Control) system is malfunctioning intermittently. 1. There was no indication prior to the engine shutting down that injectors were getting clogged. The engine was running smoothly like in a new car. Fuel economy number was running at 18 mpg.2. The fuel tank was at ¼ full. The car ran fine on the same tank of gas till the incident.3. The dealer hinted there could have been some contaminant like sugar added to the tank. This does not seem possible since the Murano fuel tank has a lock on it. Also the car is parked in a garage at night.4. We use the same gas stations to fill gas tanks in three other cars in the family (Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Ford Cobra) and none of them has had a problem with fuel injectors.Has any Nissan car owner had a problem with fuel injectors? I’d greatly appreciate any input I can get.Thanks,Dilip DekaHouston Texas
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Ledfoot
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Honestly? This can happen to just about any car, given the right circumstances. As a rule of thumb, I never run any car I own below 1/4 of a tank of gas and here is why.
Even in a newer car, deposits of crud settle down in the bottom of your gas tank over time. By keeping your car above 1/4 of a tank, you limit the chances of some of these harmful deposits getting sucked through your fuel system. How often do you replace the fuel filter on your car?
Usually when something like this happens, deposits overload the fuel filter, clog the fuel lines, oxygen sensors, or fuel injectors (depending on severity....perhaps all three). Usually the problem is not severe enough to immediately kill your engine. You'll get a "check engine" light, indicating part of your emissions control system is malfunctioning (oxygen sensors are sensitive and easily thrown off)....perhaps some hesitation under light to heavy throttle. If the clog is located in a fuel line and not in a sensor or injector...even cleaning the injectors will not solve the problem, because the deposit is located somewhere in the fuel lines before the actual injectors. This would also explain why all of the injectors are failing and not just one or two. My first inclination would be to run carb/Fuel Injector cleaner through your lines after replacing your fuel filter and seeing if that frees up your lines.
Also, try to avoid (if you can help it) to get gas at a station while the station's tanks are being filled. When a tanker is refilling the gas station it's kicking up all the garbage at the bottom of their storage tanks and passing that delightful sludge to you.
This may or may not be what's happening with your Murano...but speaking from ten years of experience working and rebuilding cars, this was the first thing that came to mind.
Even in a newer car, deposits of crud settle down in the bottom of your gas tank over time. By keeping your car above 1/4 of a tank, you limit the chances of some of these harmful deposits getting sucked through your fuel system. How often do you replace the fuel filter on your car?
Usually when something like this happens, deposits overload the fuel filter, clog the fuel lines, oxygen sensors, or fuel injectors (depending on severity....perhaps all three). Usually the problem is not severe enough to immediately kill your engine. You'll get a "check engine" light, indicating part of your emissions control system is malfunctioning (oxygen sensors are sensitive and easily thrown off)....perhaps some hesitation under light to heavy throttle. If the clog is located in a fuel line and not in a sensor or injector...even cleaning the injectors will not solve the problem, because the deposit is located somewhere in the fuel lines before the actual injectors. This would also explain why all of the injectors are failing and not just one or two. My first inclination would be to run carb/Fuel Injector cleaner through your lines after replacing your fuel filter and seeing if that frees up your lines.
Also, try to avoid (if you can help it) to get gas at a station while the station's tanks are being filled. When a tanker is refilling the gas station it's kicking up all the garbage at the bottom of their storage tanks and passing that delightful sludge to you.
This may or may not be what's happening with your Murano...but speaking from ten years of experience working and rebuilding cars, this was the first thing that came to mind.