HELP! Random Bucking/Misfiring w/ Only 45k Miles.

[2010RogueSL]

I have a 2010 SL with 45,000 miles, bought new with regular oil/filter changes and air filter changes. Very randomly the car will buck, almost like a misfire while driving. Sometimes on cruise control sometimes on slower city streets. It's very inconsistent and happens 2-3 times during a 30 mile trip around town. No other symptoms, car starts and runs great otherwise.

Would I be correct to assume it's the spark plugs and/or coil packs? Could it be a bad fuel injector? I don't believe it is related to the CVT or the ABS sensors based on what I'm feeling when it happens. Thanks for the help!

[ImStricken06]

like i stated on the other thread you posted under:

spark plugs (could be the culprit that your feeling)
coil packs (could be the culprit that your feeling)
inspect & clean or replace ABS sensors (could be the culprit that your feeling)

or let the dealer dig up and codes that are not lighting up the CEL

[2010RogueSL]

Okay thanks ImStricken. I'm thinking I'm going to start with the coil packs and see what happens.

[ImStricken06]

then you might as well change the plugs too- since they are right there

[2010RogueSL]

Money is pretty tight right now so I was hoping to only fix the problem itself even though I know the right thing would be to cover all bases at the same time (4 coils & 4 plugs). Cheapest coil I found was $86 (didn't want to risk getting a defective one from ebay).

Do you think it would be un-wise to only get one coil and go cylinder to cylinder until I find the bad coil? That is, pending the issue is the coil and not something else...

[ImStricken06]

Money is pretty tight right now so I was hoping to only fix the problem itself even though I know the right thing would be to cover all bases at the same time (4 coils & 4 plugs). Cheapest coil I found was $86 (didn't want to risk getting a defective one from ebay).

Do you think it would be un-wise to only get one coil and go cylinder to cylinder until I find the bad coil? That is, pending the issue is the coil and not something else...

personally, i wouldn't play that game. i would simply replace all the plugs FIRST. at less than $30 for all four, that could repair your problem.
you can go to any auto parts store and pick up an average set and do the job in less than 15mins.

OEM nissan plugs for: $23.65 with free shipping
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NISSAN-OEM-2240 ... 62&vxp=mtr


here is a set i found (with free shipping) for $22.96. granted its not the best plugs, but it will do the trick for at least 50,000miles.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Autolite-APP568 ... d5&vxp=mtr

then if that doesnt solve it, you can replace the coil packs. but since you are gonna be there dealing with the plugs - inspect them and the contact points and make sure no oil is present. clean all the metal contact points just to make sure.

PS: since we have aluminum heads, make sure to not torque down the plugs more than a normal hand tight. anymore, and you risk stripping the threads on the soft aluminum head and you have a $1000 dollar repair bill.

[2010RogueSL]

I really appreciate your help and I agree it makes sense to start with the plugs first. A torque wrench is one item I do not have but I'm sure I can find one to borrow. What's the recommended torque? Is it in the owner's manual? I'd rather not risk my judgement of "normal hand tight" and strip the threads on the head.

[ImStricken06]

I really appreciate your help and I agree it makes sense to start with the plugs first. A torque wrench is one item I do not have but I'm sure I can find one to borrow. What's the recommended torque? Is it in the owner's manual? I'd rather not risk my judgement of "normal hand tight" and strip the threads on the head.

my pleasure

you dont need a tq wrench. trust me, a regular hand tight is fine. screw it in by hand (put the plug down in there, and hand screw it via an extension) until you feel resistance. then another quarter to half turn and your done.

as per the FSM(just checked for you) its 19 FT LB's of tq, so thats just about regular hand tight. no more than screwing a screw into something thats soft. imagine if the head was plastic.

PS: 14mm socket is what it will take. and i like to use a telescopic magnet to pluck them out - or you can use my the ghetto/road-side way:(roll up a 2"x2" piece of duct tape with the sticky side exposed into a small ball and shove it into the socket and reach down and shove the socket onto the plug.)

[2010RogueSL]

One last question, one of my family members is insisting it's water in my gas (I'm in Upstate NY) and told me to get some isopropal dry gas and use it for a month. I haven't done it yet but I've been through about 7 full tanks of gas since this started from different gas stations between my location and New Hampshire and it's still occuring. I'm reluctant to think this is the problem and was wondering if you had an opinion on it.

[ImStricken06]

One last question, one of my family members is insisting it's water in my gas (I'm in Upstate NY) and told me to get some isopropal dry gas and use it for a month. I haven't done it yet but I've been through about 7 full tanks of gas since this started from different gas stations between my location and New Hampshire and it's still occuring. I'm reluctant to think this is the problem and was wondering if you had an opinion on it.

this doesnt have to be your last question lol.... thats what we folks are all here for.

water in your gas:
ummmmmm..... 'water in your gas'..... well... idk. since you said that you went through 7 tank fulls (over 100 gallons) that it wouldn't still be effecting your engine. its such a far stretch that id find the idea of the sun's solar flares affecting earth magnetic field - to be a larger possibility than water in your fuel. in other words, if you had water in your fuel, your engine wouldnt run. and having so little water that the engine simply hiccups once in a blue moon = almost unheard off.

could your car somehow be accumulating moisture from the air? thats more possible than water being in your fuel from the pumps. but even still that wouldnt cause what your feeling. this is more from a missed ignition/spark - (only my guesstimate) and thats going to be from a spark issue(ignition coils combined with spark plugs make "spark" so thats why i say coils can be the issue as well). heck this could be a loose wire or frayed wire around the coils thats causing this too-> so make sure you check all the wires leading to and from the coil-packs.

[2010RogueSL]

I'll be thoroughly inspecting the wires for any damages/cracks/looseness once I get under the hood. LoL on the solar flares, I guess I could have said "moisture" as opposed to water. I do know the fuel sensors in or on the tank were replaced by the dealer under warranty as the gauge stopped reading at around 34,000 miles. (I don't know where they are located). I wonder if maybe they didn't seal it up properly and the winter frost is having an impact now. Just brainstorming. It still feels more like misfiring than bad gas and/or moisture.

[ImStricken06]

I'll be thoroughly inspecting the wires for any damages/cracks/looseness once I get under the hood. LoL on the solar flares, I guess I could have said "moisture" as opposed to water. I do know the fuel sensors in or on the tank were replaced by the dealer under warranty as the gauge stopped reading at around 34,000 miles. (I don't know where they are located). I wonder if maybe they didn't seal it up properly and the winter frost is having an impact now. Just brainstorming. It still feels more like misfiring than bad gas and/or moisture.

agreed. just change the plugs and see how you go. i know the plugs used by nissan now a days are good for 100,000miles, but i still will change mine at 50,000 for my own maintenance schedule. (along with everything else disposable). dont forget to report back to us!

[2010RogueSL]

@ ImStricken - I ordered the Nissan Plugs from the eBay link you sent me. Took a while but they're here now. My spark plug socket didn't fit. The plugs appear to be 14mm. I've gone to Sears (Craftsman) and Napa Auto Parts and haven't been able to find one. The Advance Auto Parts website has one but I don't know if the rubber bushing inside the socket would grip the plug. Any ideas on where I can get one? I was hoping to do the service on Monday but it looks like right now I'll have to have it shipped from somewhere...

[ImStricken06]

@ ImStricken - I ordered the Nissan Plugs from the eBay link you sent me. Took a while but they're here now. My spark plug socket didn't fit. The plugs appear to be 14mm. I've gone to Sears (Craftsman) and Napa Auto Parts and haven't been able to find one. The Advance Auto Parts website has one but I don't know if the rubber bushing inside the socket would grip the plug. Any ideas on where I can get one? I was hoping to do the service on Monday but it looks like right now I'll have to have it shipped from somewhere...

i am sure loews and their great tool section will have a socket you can buy. harbor freight will have it. home depot will have really expensive HUSKY brand- which you can return when done , any auto parts should have a 14mm socket - its strange they didnt. what state are you in?(if in the US)

[2010RogueSL]

I'm in NY state. I found one available online at Sears.com with a magnet to hold the plug in place while installing. I'm surprised as well the local auto parts stores don't have them in stock. I will check out Home Depot and Lowe's tomorrow before ordering online. We'll see how it goes.

[ImStricken06]

I'm in NY state. I found one available online at Sears.com with a magnet to hold the plug in place while installing. I'm surprised as well the local auto parts stores don't have them in stock. I will check out Home Depot and Lowe's tomorrow before ordering online. We'll see how it goes.

ouch. was gonna lend you mine if you were in NJ.

[mechanicalmoron]

I must say, I've never heard of a miss like you're talking about from spark plugs without the motor already seriously underperforming. And at 45k miles and a modern engine, you're just comming up to the earliest you could need to do the plugs, and many people go much longer. A healthy motor with no fouling or richness problems or anything like that shouldn't really go through plugs like that, that I've ever heard of anyways.

They're an easy cheap thing to start on, but seriously, I doubt they'll fix it.

Have you pulled off all the coils and checked the contacts with the plugs, maybe squirt some dielectric grease is there, etc?

You could go to autozone and have them pull all the codes off, it might tell you exactly what's wrong.

You might try accelerating hard, at full steering lock each direction, and see if you can make it happen. Could be a CV problem, if you're an aggressive driver or have a torn boot.

....or a transmission problem. Or even timing or knock sensor. Because (and I very well may be/probably am wrong) I simply can't see a plug or coil failing in such a way that it does that, especially at that age.

[ImStricken06]

plugs? small chance of failure.
coils? hell ya. happens all the time. but since coils will all be changed, might as well do plugs as well.

[2010RogueSL]

I'm praying its not a CV or transmission problem. Right now I was only planning on doing the plugs, if no change then the coils, if no change then the dealer...

I haven't had a check engine light of any kind. Could there still be codes Advance Auto Parts could pull that might not have been significant enough to throw the check engine light?

The "buck" is still happening very infrequently and randomly.

I'm just going to order the socket online. The websites for Lowe's and Home Depot didn't show any 14mm spark plug sockets.

[ImStricken06]

MAF is cheap enough to replace too $23 on ebay

[mechanicalmoron]

I'm praying its not a CV or transmission problem. Right now I was only planning on doing the plugs, if no change then the coils, if no change then the dealer...

I haven't had a check engine light of any kind. Could there still be codes Advance Auto Parts could pull that might not have been significant enough to throw the check engine light?

The "buck" is still happening very infrequently and randomly.

I'm just going to order the socket online. The websites for Lowe's and Home Depot didn't show any 14mm spark plug sockets.

Most cars have a lot of codes that won't light the CEL.

For instance, the knock sensor on a 240 doesn't. I don't even think MAFS does. Just go and have codes checked, it's free a bunch of places, and could have the answer, there's no reason to randomly change parts until you know that the car can't just tell you what's wrong.

If you think it might be abs, why don't you unplug the actuator or pull the fuse, and see if that fixes it?

[Leftie59]

Did you solve this problem? My Rogue is having the same problem and the dealer does not know how to solve this misfire.

Thanks, Lefie59

[JohnVT]

I've seen multiple threads about this problem, but I don't see any response about resolving it. Has anyone resolved the problem? What did you do? thanks

[JohnVT]

My 2009 Rogue started doing this at about 50K miles. The dealer has decided it's NOT the CVT, and changed the upper strut mounts on both sides, said he changed a bushing on the front end suspension (my father in law had this work done, and I don't have the service report. I can't see evidence of a bushing being changed...) Dealer also changed the plugs.
I cleaned the MAF and changed the air filter.
Is it possible to inspect/clean the fuel filter? (ie, pull out the pump, clean the filter, and put it back?)
Does it make sense to change the ignition coils?
I was thinking of putting SeaFoam in the fuel tank. Anyone have any experience with this? or with putting Sea Foam in the intake manifold?
Sometimes it does this a lot. Other times it will be only rarely for a few days. But it's very frustrating.
thanks!