Sofa king

Hey guys I'm new here, I have a 05 maxima SE that went into limp mode last night. I've had the car for lil over a year with no major issues. The car just recently went over 140k and ever since I've noticed a bit of a clunk in and out of reverse, no other slips or clunks in any gear. I checked the tranny fluid and it has a bit of a burnt smell to it but still has a bit of color to it. Last night while trying to get up to speed at a light the car just died. I coasted off the road but managed to restart it. But it's clearly in the 3rd gear limp mode, just wondering what sort of issues could cause this. This happened on Christmas day so I'm praying its not a new tranny fix as I don't have the $4k right now for a new one. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Costee

Run a scan for codes.

Sofa king

I have a buddy coming in the am to check for codes. I disconnected the battery for a hr, then hooked it back up and tried starting it. Started great, drove it around the block a few times till the heat got up to normal driving conditions and it died again. Reverted back to limp mode.

NIKV69

Yes get a scanner on and write all codes down. The cam position sensor is likely culprit.

Sofa king

NIKV69 you are spot on, code reads p0340 cam shaft position sensor, A circuit Bank 1 or single sensor...you know your ****, how easy of a fix is this?

Costee

Use oem.

NIKV69

LOL I don't know that much LOL. It's just that is usually the first thing to go and is always the culprit when fail safe mode kicks in.

Above poster is right use dealer part. More money but right way to go. I replaced mine in pairs. You don't have to. This is a good link

http://engine-codes.com/p0340_2005_nissan_maxima.html

Sofa king

Nearest actuall Nissan dealer is about a 2 hr drive, read a few posts on this sensor and it seems I can get one that works at the local advanced auto for around $65. Glad I didn't buy a junky ebay one for $15!

Sofa king

Ok so I got a new sensor from Carquest for $69 and brought it home and hooked it up. Now the car won't even start! It cranks but never sounds like it's close to starting. Could it possibly be because it's not a genuine Nissan sensor? It looks identical, clicks right in. I'm about to switch back to the old one just to see if I can get it to start. Not sure where to go from here?

Mateen995

either its not a genuine sensor or you may have gotten the wrong one.
I remember I got a cranksensor for M/T spec by accident & the car didn't turn over. There are two different cam sensors, one is straight & one has an angle to it.

Sofa king

i actually took the old one out before I went to buy the new just so I had a comparison. It was the straight one just like the one I took out. The guy made sure it was bank 1 like I told him I needed. I actually put the old one back in just to see if the car would start...it didn't really want to, cranked hard but it did start. Battery was a bit weak so charged it n tried again, started no problem. Same deal as last time went into gear, moved over to manual no issues until it got to normal driving temp and it died again. Gotta assume the sensor from Carquest was crap. Suppose I should just order the real deal from Nissan.

Mateen995

yeah the sensors tend to cause the car to stall when they are hot,
from my experience the 3.5L is very picky with parts. Go OEM & you should be fine. If you don't want to make the drive you can always order from courtesynissan & wait depending on how badly you need the vehicle fixed

if you can, get all both cam sensors done & crank sensor as they will eventually go bad and cause the vehicle to stall later on

Costee

+1

Sofa king

I called the Nissan dealership 2 hrs away, they said the sensor from Carquest should have worked. They asked if the car clattered or ticked at all recently, it had but it sounded like it was from the exhaust. It was more of a rattle not a tick, and I noticed there's a broken bracket holding the exhaust nearly a month ago. The guy said it may be the timing chain? Does that make sense to anyone? Would it really only throw a code for cam position sensor? From everything I've read these things rarely fail and are terrible to fix. The car still starts and runs with the old cam sensor, but it dies once the heat gets up.

Mateen995

I don't know about that but cam & crank sensors do effect how the car runs even before causing a stall when they are warm. Since you have a code for it & that your car does stall once it is warm, it is most definitely the sensor. Just replace the sensors.

NIKV69

Wow totally bizarre. I agree the aftermarket sensor should have worked. I doubt it is your timing chain. Have you ordered OEM sensor?

Costee

Go oem, and please run your request by part numbers. That way, you remove uncertainties.

Sofa king

Got the new sensor from Nissan yesterday, put it in and the car starts right up! Drove it around town and no problems at all. Although the wife just called me today and told me the check engine light just came again. Haven't had a chance to check the code yet, but it must be something else as she made it to work with no other issues. Really glad this forum exists and you guys are all active and informative, hoping I don't have to use the help daily though lol.

Mateen995

Good to hear, if you haven't cleared the code with an OBD it will still be there until you clear or the car goes through a couple of driving cycles

NIKV69

Very true, keep us posted on if there are any new codes!

Sofa king

Yet another problem...wife took the car to work this morning and it died on her again. It's sitting in a parking lot now and I'm debating towing it to a shop. It's like there's a valve leak or air leak or something. As soon as you start it, it revs wildly up to 3500rpm then goes down, then back up, over n over. There's no throttle at all, if u hit the gas at all it does nothing. Tried putting it in gear but it dies immediately. Pretty sure there's another throttle sensor there, but not sure that's the problem. Ever seen anything like this?

george__

iTrader: (1)

Keep us posted

worst case scenario...

www.car-parts.com

Costee

Thought you said the SES light came up again. Did you scan to verify whether it was the old uncleared one or a new one?

Mateen995

Sounds like your ECU might need to be replaced. If you search on YouTube for 350z throttle relearn, his cars revs were bouncing like that & required a new ecu.
Did you perhaps clean the TB recently?

Sofa king

My friend with the code reader is out of town till Sunday, so I haven't checked the new code yet. As the car was running fine I thought the 4 mile drive to work would be fine, clearly I was wrong.

Sofa king

I have not touched the throttle body, only thing I did recently was the cam sensor.

Costee

Understandable. Having a scan tool for modern cars is a worthwhile investment.

Mateen995

is your problem similar to this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyg9s10GnZw

Sofa king

No because he can get it into gear. The jump in rpms goes up to around 3500 and back down, if I put it into any gear the car shuts right off.

Costee

Disconnect both battery terminals all night and let's see whether the SES light will resurface. That, at least, should switch off the old one if still there.

Sofa king

I ended up having the car towed to a local shop, didn't want to but I only had one tow n wasn't sure if it was something I could fix. Mechanic at the shop said it could be the throttle body, or idle air intake sensor, or could even be a large vacuum leak. Really hoping it's not a throttle body as I see there around $800. I'll keep you guys updated when I find out.

george__

iTrader: (1)

You could the TB yourself... Very easy

Check rock auto and car-parts.com too

Sofa king

Looks like it was the throttle body, really surprised though at the pricing from the shop...quoted under $300 for everything. Hope this is the end of the issues with this car cuz I went to start my truck this morning and it started leaking antifreeze from the radiator. Hoping the trucks heater core maybe just froze or something as the temps here in Upper Michigan dipped to -30 with wind chill last night. If not I may be looking to trade in for some newer models lol!

gawoods

These cars are really picky. I was told by tech that anytime you are working on them to disconnect the negative (ground) battery cable. He means working on anything electrical; i.e.: sensors, spark plugs, fuel injectors, etc. One possibility could be that when replacing the cam sensor you inadvertently caused a vacuum leak somewhere. Check all your hoses and connections.