i just filled up my 2003 base model with mid grade fuel, drove about 5 miles down the freeway...it gave a strange buck then the service engine light is on all the time now....when i got home i turned it off and started it a few times. it barely started every time i tried...it would turn for a few seconds then start......anyone know what the problem is....

 

what's a buck?

and the Z calls for premium, why are you using mid-grade?

 

Get the code pulled. There's not enough information to diagnose it over the internet.

 

like...hesitated, bucked, etc.

and in the future, could you please post only if you have a way tohelp....instead of being one of those guys that always pipes up about the grade of gas you use, because it'sthe only piece of info you are able to contribute.....good work my friend

 

Why did you use below premium?

You're a dumbass for not using the recommended (or required) grade of gasoline.

Worst case scenario... Engine is blown due to detonation due to lower octane rating. Doubtful, but possible.

A possibility is the injectors have gotten clogged maybe due to dirty gas, etc.

Definitely get the code pulled.

 

wow thats funny... i just posted on another thread about putting mid grade in my car with no problems. i do a 50/50 mix though.

 

Read up here and then realize what you're doing:

Compression Ratio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compression_ratio
Octane Rating: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating
Detonation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detonat...bustion_engine

 

well obviously i have some grounds to ask why you would put mid-grade in a car that requires premium gas... because now your car is f*cked up, and you are asking us what is wrong. trust me when i say that the couple hundred dollars you spend on premium vs mid-grade a year is a lot cheaper then a blown motor. i am def not one of those guys that is just going to call you an idiot, i am here to offer my help. all i did was ask you a question.

how is the car running now? any strange behavior?

 

if it has a extended crank time but starts and idles its most likely one of your cam/ crank sensor.

 

bingo....

i barely got the car to the nissan dealer....it was the cam sensors
my warrantee does not cover it so i have to eat the 550.00. i also read about a recall with the 03 cam sensor, i gave nissan north america a call about it and they tell me that it does not apply to my car...

 

glad to hear it, dont let everyone get you down about gas, the only thing youre doing by using midgrade is losing performance and mileage, you wont blow up your stock vehicle running regular, knock sensor is a beautiful thing (usually)

 

Just curious, why doesn't the warranty cover the cam sensor?

 

IIRC sensors are a wear item and not included under the warranty. it would only be covered under a recall

 

Knock sensor is great until it fails, or misses some knocking, and then your engine blows up because it is using 87 octane in a high compression engine. But hey, you go ahead and save a couple bucks on gas, at the cost of your engine.

 

i run premium always cause i enjoy performance and mileage. everyone oughta know that running lower grade doesnt save money.

PS: let the knock sensor go bad. if it does, the only thing that happens is you get a ghey timing curve and absolutely terrible performance. failsafe's exist for a reason. 90% of people that have a vq35 run regular, yet you dont see 90% of them blown up on the side of the road. why is that?

 

VQ35? or 350Z? You may not be aware of this, but the VQ's in other cars (Altimas, Maximas, etc...) have different timing curves, and other changes. There is a reason why premium is required on the 350Z/G35 and only recommended on the Altima 3.5 and the Max.

And again, if the knock sensor fails in the wrong way, the timing won't change, and an engine will go boom. It certainly isn't a 100% occurence, but it does happen. Again, though, it's your personal choice, but please don't pass bad information around.

 

its required in all of them...confirmed by looking at gas door. again, "required" =\ people actually doing it. ill spread bad info as i please, its just not going to happen right now. 89 WILL NOT make your stock engine pop.

PS: WTF is fail in the wrong way? have you ever heard of that happening? ive heard of them failing the "right" way a million times and never the wrong way. but that must be because the engine blew and people assumed it was the tune, right?

 

Nope, VQ35 in the Altima 3.5, premium is "recommended" In the 350Z/G35, it is required. Not sure about the Max, or other VQ35's.

Fail in the "wrong" way would be failing, and then then not reporting knock to the ECU, AND not reporting that it has failed. In other words, giving false readings to the ECU stating that knock is not occuring when actually it is.

So, yes, you are wrong again, but I'm done here, you obviously have no idea what you are talking about.

Suffice it to say that anyone running anything belkow 91 octane in their VQ35 is risking problems other than just poor performance and poor gas mileage.

 

okey dokey