[WindsorVersa]

Have owned car from new and now has 130K miles. Changed spark plugs & fuel pump at 126K miles; changed fan belt and battery at 130K miles. Had throttle body cleaned out last week and Sea Foam applied. All work done at local mechanic (not Nissan). Car starts perfect every morning and idles great in Park or Neutral (RPM's of 1000-1500). When I put it it into Drive or Reverse however the RPM's drop and the car stalls within 1-2 seconds. No check engine light and had it checked and No Check Engine codes found. It will start up straight away then I have to keep the revs up and eventually after 5-10mins it works in Drive or Reverse but feels like it will stall again. I can nurse it to get onto the freeway them it drives perfectly. When coming off freeway exit, it has stalled a couple of times at the Stop sign. During the day, it seems to start and drive fine. Any ideas what else to try? Called Nissan but another $175 for them to diagnose; then whatever they will charge to actually fix whatever the root cause is; however, I have already spent $2K since 126K miles. Is there something about the throttle having to re-learn driving? Any help or guidance appreciated

 

[tutti57]

Yep, bring it back to the local mechanic for the throttle body relearns. Closed throttle, pedal, and air volume. Make sure they didn't leave one of the hose clams loose too.

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[scarecrowdjinn]

I agree with Tutti57, try a throttle body relearn. I don't have any links off the top of my head, but if you look around you can find the procedure to do a throttle body relearn yourself.

Does anyone have a link?

 

[scarecrowdjinn]

Nissan Throttle Body Relearn Procedure — Ricks Free Auto Repair Advice Ricks Free Auto Repair Advice | Automotive Repair Tips and How-To

Please report back and let us know if that solves your issue.

 

[tutti57]

I'll add that usually there is a code accompanying this issue. I can't remember which one but it's a high idle code of some sort. I know it gets set when the idle is +/-100 rpms from target. Or there could possibly be a p0101 maf sen circuit code.

If you have a scan tool, I'd try it again, or see what your fuel trims are with it.

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[WindsorVersa]

I'll add that usually there is a code accompanying this issue. I can't remember which one but it's a high idle code of some sort. I know it gets set when the idle is +/-100 rpms from target. Or there could possibly be a p0101 maf sen circuit code.

If you have a scan tool, I'd try it again, or see what your fuel trims are with it.

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Hi Everyone for the advice. I followed the procedure in this video yesterday

It worked on Sat and I was able to drive the car all day on Sat. However, came out on Sun morning and faced the same issue with the car stalling in Drive or Reverse. Re-did the re-learn procedure again this Sun morning and it worked, but tried the car this evening and it is stalling in Drive and Reverse again. There is No Check Engine light and no codes stored. Have also sprayed the MAF sensor but that didn't help either.

 

[tutti57]

Does your scan tool show live data?

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[scarecrowdjinn]

That's interesting result. Now the question is... is the relearn process working, and somehow not holding the settings, OR it all the accelerator pounding or ignition turning putting enough fuel pressure into the engine to keep it running.. odd...

I would agree with tutti57, get your hands on a scan tool with live data.

Question, How long since the plugs, fuel pump, and throttle body cleaning did this start happening?

 

[tutti57]

I've never tried the relearns manually, only with scan tool, so I don't know how you would know if you did them right.

I wouldn't worry about memory retention, but since the battery was just replaced, I would be 100% sure that the terminals are very clean and tight. I just had this happen to me last week where I just cl abed and tightened terminals and the truck was acting weird afterwards. Either not starting or dying. I recleaned and fitted them and reconnected and it fixed it.

The scan tool will show if your mixture is good. I think the questions are, is the mixture good, is it the load that's stalling it or is the engine rocking in gear disrupting a connection, possible torque converter issue?

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[tutti57]

I've never tried the relearns manually, only with scan tool, so I don't know how you would know if you did them right.

I wouldn't worry about memory retention, but since the battery was just replaced, I would be 100% sure that the terminals are very clean and tight. I just had this happen to me last week where I just cl abed and tightened terminals and the truck was acting weird afterwards. Either not starting or dying. I recleaned and fitted them and reconnected and it fixed it.

The scan tool will show if your mixture is good. I think the questions are, is the mixture good, is it the load that's stalling it or is the engine rocking in gear disrupting a connection, possible torque converter issue?

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[WindsorVersa]

I've never tried the relearns manually, only with scan tool, so I don't know how you would know if you did them right.

I wouldn't worry about memory retention, but since the battery was just replaced, I would be 100% sure that the terminals are very clean and tight. I just had this happen to me last week where I just cl abed and tightened terminals and the truck was acting weird afterwards. Either not starting or dying. I recleaned and fitted them and reconnected and it fixed it.

The scan tool will show if your mixture is good. I think the questions are, is the mixture good, is it the load that's stalling it or is the engine rocking in gear disrupting a connection, possible torque converter issue?

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Thanks everyone. This is getting beyond my capabilities so I plan to take the car back to the local mechanic (not Nissan) tomorrow and have them check with the scan tool to see if any live codes and have them do the re-learn process in case I didn't do it right and take it from there

 

[WindsorVersa]

That's interesting result. Now the question is... is the relearn process working, and somehow not holding the settings, OR it all the accelerator pounding or ignition turning putting enough fuel pressure into the engine to keep it running.. odd...

I would agree with tutti57, get your hands on a scan tool with live data.

Question, How long since the plugs, fuel pump, and throttle body cleaning did this start happening?

Plugs & fuel pump replaced 4K miles ago and no issues; fan belt changed in last 2 weeks, then battery changed the next day then all the problems started, throttle cleaning was just done last week after the battery changed and then everyday have had the stall issues when putting into Drive or Reverse; ticks over just fine in Park & Neutral and starts first time every time

 

[tutti57]

Yeah, I would go back and tell them it's been doing it, and that you tried a few things to avoid bringing it back, but you'd feel better if they checked it out.

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[WindsorVersa]

Car started fine today this morning as normal but stalled in Drive or Reverse. Found another hack online to let the car heat up for a few minutes in ark, then turn on the AC for 60 secs, put into Park for 60sec, then turn for AC for 60 secs; after a few goes I was able to drive the car and took it to local mechanic who is 15 mins away. They used the scan tool and no codes and no check engine light and all the monitors are on. They advised they used the tool to re-learn the throttle when they cleaned the throttle last week. So, decided to leave car overnight with them and have then re-try it in the morning where hopefully it will stall and see what the scan tool shows if anything. If it doesn't show anything, then will replace the MAF sensor - can see online for $30 so it is an inexpensive try if it doesn't work; will let you know what tomorrow brings

 

[Fredobandito]

I'm curious if they find what's causing it. I had an issue on my 2015 sedan where the car felt like it wanted to stall out if I had to come to a quick stop, almost like it was either losing vacuum pressure or like the torque converter wasn't unlocked all the way. It idled fine with the A/C off or in neutral, but once you put it in gear it would bog down again.

 

[tutti57]

I'd be hesitant to put a maf sensor in it without some data. $30 sounds like a really cheap one, that may be fine, but it's rolling the dice with these things.

If you get a scan tool that can read live data ($15), you be able to tell a lot more. For example, if the sensor is dirty (which they almost never are on Nissan's), if you have a vacuum leak, or fuel delivery issue. If the shop is willing to fire one into it without diagnosing it, I'd bring it somewhere else.

It doesn't work on all cars, but seems to work well on these usually, if you unplug the MAF and it runs better, it's a indication that it could be the sensor.

Fuel trim data is critical for diagnosis on modern vehicles. Matt from Schrodinger's Box on youtube probably has the best video on them out there, in a way most can understand.

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[scarecrowdjinn]

Yeah, don't buy a MAF sensor unless you have proof it's failing. As tutti57 mention, spend the money on a scan tool that reads live data. It's a much better long-term investment.

I'd also would be curious on fuel pressure. I know you had the fuel pump replaced, but it could be a pressure thing.

The more I think about it, it has to be a fuel or fuel mixture problem. I don't know any thing that would cause Spark or compression to fail while putting it in gear, and running fine at idle.

 

[WindsorVersa]

So here is what happened today: the car was left overnight at the mechanic, the car did as expected - it started first time but then stalled straight away when it moved into Drive or Reverse. There was no Check Engine light and no codes stored before, during or after the car started then stalled. They said it stayed steady at 4.5V throughout; they said all the pressures were normal and no leaks found. So, they are at a loss as to what it is as there are no codes. They said they have pretty sophisticated scan tool and computer. The suggestion is to buy a MAF sensor online and try that. I found one online on ebay that claims to be an authentic Nissan part . It was < $25 and it will arrive in a week. When I left the mechanic's garage, it stalled in Drive. After running it in Park for a few minutes with and then without A/C on & then in then in Drive for a few minutes, eventually I got it into Drive and drove home the 15 min journey without incident....so I will let you know what happens when the part from ebay arrives. I could go alone to Oreilly's/Autozone and buy one for ~$140 but will see if the $25 part works or not first.

 

[WindsorVersa]

So, new $25 MAF sensor arrived yesterday but didn't fix anything as some of you suspected. Car shows the same symptoms- starts first time and ticks over nicely but stalls as soon as goes into Drive or Reverse. I've noticed that if I do the following ,it will eventually work in Drive or Reverse- so I turn the car on and let it sit in Park for ~5-10mins to let the engine warm up to normal operating temperatures then I turn AC on full , put into Drive with foot on brake for 60 secs, then turn off AC but keep in Drive for 60 secs, then put into Park for 60 secs , it then catches and I can drive normally - not ideal and not sustainable but enough to get the car to go. So now I am a loss at to what to do next. Option 1: take to Nissan for $175 for them to diagnose ; Option 2: sell to Car max or trade in? Option 3: ?? I noticed last night that there are many TSB reports for 2012 Nissan and several seem to point to TCM/ ECM /PCM software updates. Could it be that this is a software update that needs to be done to fix this? Either way, I think it will $175 to have Nissan diagnose. Any thoughts anyone? I can't keep throwing money at this. Still no codes and still no Check Engine light so a mystery as to what is wrong

 

[SlickVersa]

It looks like it is a time to cut your losses and take it to a place where they are able to really fix it. I think Nissan may apply diagnose fee toward the repair bill.