Nissan X-Trail - Ignition Issue & Scans Do NOT Pick Root Cause

Aimanu on 26/01/2018 - 20:16
Last edited 27/01/2018 - 09:03 by 1 other user

Our Nissan (X-trail, 2003) is creating problem with the ignition since last 2-3 months. The car sometimes doesn't start or it sometimes stops in the middle of the road. I took it to the Nissan Service centre but they could not find any error in their scans.
Today I could not start while it was in the garage, so I called RACV. The guy could start the car in the first go, but when he turned it off and tried again he could not start it! He then did some checks but everything was ok, but he could not make the car start. This is the report he provided later through a txt message to me : “Intermittent no ignition Spark 12 volts OK at coil unable to check injector switching suspect crank angle sensor fault although RPM signal was present at scan tool undercrank no fault codes logged.”

Now, I am clueless what to do with the car. I will have to perhaps tow it to the nearby garage (or, to Nissan service centre?), however the bigger problem is that if the situation remains the same (that no one knows what’s happening with the car) then what do I do with the car? If I put this car for sell, will anyone buy it (as I have no plan to hide the car’s problem) ? If not, then what other options do I have ?

I am quite worried as I have two small kids – and a working car is very much needed.

Automotive

Comments

  • holdenmg on 26/01/2018 - 20:34
    +2

    Call Nissan and have your VIN number and see if your vehicle was part of the 2003 X-Trail Recalls. https://www.productsafety.gov.au/recall/nissan-pulsar-and-x-…

  • fillit on 26/01/2018 - 20:53
    +1

    i'd start with replacing the coil pack first

    failing that and not wanting to spend money to fix it, just put it up for sale, people will still buy it even if it's not running/running properly (price reflected)

    • Aimanu on 26/01/2018 - 22:02

      Thanks - much appreciated for your advice.
      I will talk to a garage and try and find out how much it costs to replace the coil pack.

  • Euphemistic on 26/01/2018 - 21:10
    +1

    Unfortunately this type of glitch can be time consuming and expensive to fix. It is a bit of trial and error, replacing stuff until the problem goes away.

    We had a car that would randomly misfire. Took it to the dealer and they found something wrong. I fixed it because it was a simple thing and not covered under warranty. Car kept missing, eventually it just stopped. Was throwing all sorts of random codes indicating expensive parts replacement in the end it turned out to be a faulty earth wire they hadn’t installed properly when doing other work.

    Persist with it. Selling it won’t make the buyer happy, trading it in will get it off your hands though.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/01/2018 - 21:32
    +1

    Crank angle sensor?

    • pasey25 on 26/01/2018 - 21:41
      +1

      My immediate thought too

      • Aimanu on 26/01/2018 - 21:55

        Thanks for your thoughts - @annandale and @pasey25.
        The RACV guy apparently checked that this afternoon. Please refer to the txt the guy sent me - I copied it EXACTLY as I had received it.
        (The txt received unfortunately did not have punctuation at all !!)

        • altomic on 27/01/2018 - 01:22

          http://home.exetel.com.au/frolektrics/replace-the-crank-posi…

          ~$50 delivered on ebay. easy to install. remove wire connector, remove 10mm bolt, remove crank sensor, install new sensor, replace 10mm bolt, reconnect wire connector.

        • AdosHouse on 27/01/2018 - 06:27

          @altomic:

          That looks fairly easy to get to, all things considered. Even my VY V6 Commodore, and absolutely easy car to work on requires me to remove the harmonic balancer. Which has a big f'off bolt to undo.

          OP, stopping in the middle of the road does sound like a faulty Crank Angle Sensor.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/01/2018 - 21:57
    -1

    Buy a $80,000 high yield investment car. Problem fixed.

    • jsb on 27/01/2018 - 07:02

      Can we please stop these jokes already. It's not funny anymore.

      • chumbucket on 27/01/2018 - 08:37

        The username should tell you he is all about beating dead horses :P

  • [Deactivated] on 26/01/2018 - 23:45

    probably the fuel pump

    • TheOneWhoKnocks on 27/01/2018 - 07:39

      Could also be another possibility, something fuel related.

  • Euphemistic on 27/01/2018 - 18:50

    And just to add, my current ride, a Navara ute is playing up. Has a dead spot on acceleration but is not throwing codes. What I’ve been able to see so far using a budget OBD scanner shows situation normal which is really frustrating. Not keen to take it to a mechanic… yet.

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