New Q owner

[RokntheQ]

Hey all I just purchased a 1997 q45 with 140000 miles I paid 3k for it the car is black with black leather Everything is stock with the acception of the hid kit. I just wanted to introduce myself on the forum my name is Jesse I live in Vegas

[elwesso]

welcome to NICO!!

[oldmako]

Well done. Hopefully the car will treat you well.

Lots of info on the site to maintain and repair your ride. Spend a few days reading and you'll get a pretty good idea of the cars complexity typical problems and issues.

Mine still puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. Hard to imagine a car this nice can be had for this little.

Enjoy!

ps My Hoverkraft is full of eels.
Modified by oldmako at 8:50 PM 2/16/2010

[RokntheQ]

Thanks fellas I'm really enjoying the car immensly. Service engine soon light just came on. Is this the same as chek engine or is this just informing m to perform regular maintainence?

[qship96]

Oh, let the fun begin!!!!!!

[maxnix]

Service engine soon light just came on. Is this the same as check engine or is this just informing m to perform regular maintenance?

An OBD II scanner will reveal all to you as far as the SES goes.

Your careful inspection will reveal the rest.

What is the car's service history?

[RokntheQ]

so i got to the bottom of the ses light it turns out to be a faulty knock sensor and a faoulty throttle position sensor i havent looked into the throttle sensor much but ill be able to replace the knock sensors for about 300 hundred bucks so after that its smooth sailing

[silkysmoothyjud]

Congrats on finding a gold nugget! You will start to realize how poorly made most newer cars are after you get it running right. My car, Niqole, is a conversation piece wherever I go. By the way, the search button on this site makes the Oracle of Delphi look like a spaz!!

[Q451990]

Welcome! There are several knock sensor replacement threads for the Y33 (97-01) series Q45. It's a bear, but well within the reach of a competent DIYer.

Good luck!

Heath

[RokntheQ]

Yeah I found a thread direcly about ks replacement I copied the how to to my iPhone I've taken on pretty major repair projects so Imna see if I can tackle this one it seems pretty basic if yur mechanically inclined. I'm finding this forum very helpfully. Thanks fellas :

[maxnix]

so i got to the bottom of the ses light it turns out to be a faulty knock sensor and a faulty throttle position sensor .... for about 300 hundred bucks so after that its smooth sailing

More like about $500 for all the gaskets and hoses (spark plugs?) you will be wise to replace at the same time.

Don't forget the KS harness.

[RokntheQ]

Good point while going throgh yhe teardaown mite as well perorm a good tune up. So lately I'm noticing a vibration at and over 60mph it seems to be coming fromthe driver side wheel I'm assuming I need to have a wheel balance done if that doesn't solve it... What else could cause this vibration?

[silkysmoothyjud]

Sounds like your on the right track. Take that tire and rotate it to the rear to try and isolate the problem. Balance, flat spot in the tire perhaps?

[RokntheQ]

I don't think there's a flat spot only because the tires and brand new the gentlemen I purchased the q from showed me a tire purchase reciept from just January on this year. Today I'm gonna have the wheels balanced if that fails then well I'm out 25 bucks and will continue to investigate the issue if it's not a balance issue then maybe it's bad/broken strut or strut mount. That would cause vibration wouldn't it?

[silkysmoothyjud]

strut mount, no......motor mount, only when accelerating. If it is coming from the front narrow it down to tires and/or alignment (tie rod ends)....but if its comming from the rear, could be anything from bad idler pulley wheel failing to a monkey with a hand grenade under the hood pulling the pin. good luck. those rear end vibrations are weird...

[RokntheQ]

i got ye wheels balanced the other day by discount tire and the vibrations seem to be gone they put weights on the in and outside the car now delievers a supreme luxury drive

[BadQ45t]

with that much mileage, if your still on the original shocks and struts those are shot. You should contact http://www.memoryfab.com and pick up some KYB SR Specials or buy new OEM ones. That will make a huge difference if that's not already done. Also tension rods have rubber mounts that go bad and make steering feel vague, check thoat out as well.

Good luck, this is a well built and solid car. I have 93k on my 97' and it is very reliable. Also if you don't have records of fluid flushes I'd flush everything, transmission, rear, coolant, brakes, power steering, everything. Use Amsoil, Redline or Mobile One to replace.

[Q45tech]

As I keep pointing out in buying a 13 year old used lux car the purchase price is just the down payment AND an equal amount will need to be spent on wear and tear repairs................to get the immediate roughness out...... then comes the fine tuning to get back near brand new.

Every single rubber item is damaged from exposure to heat, wear, and ozone.

[RokntheQ]

Exactly. This is what I plan to do... I'm enjoying this car alot It drives solidly and looks like a million bucks but there are ye small things that need revamping to make this car operate like the original 48k price tag

[seldomseen]

Congrats! The Q45 is a sweet car if/once you have everything is top shape. I started driving my Q this week after having it garaged for the past 7 months. I forgot how much fun the Q is to drive---it's also a mighty fast sedan too!