This morning my girlfriend was driving to work and all of a sudden the engine stalled. She was on the freeway so she threw it in neutral and restarted the engine. After she got it restarted she couldn't get it to rev over 2500 but everytime she took her foot off the gas the rpm would drop down very low. When she took it close to 2500 the rpm needle would jump all over the place. Has this ever happened to anyone before? I want to take it to the dealer but scared I won't make it to Falore but I am not willing to take it to Capitol Nissan which is only 5 minutes away!

 

Isnt there a recall on 03's for something like that. Affected something like 63000 Z's!

 

BTW I have an 05 and no mods yet.

 

That sounds weird. Call the dealer and ask them if they've ever heard of it. See if maybe they can tow it if it keeps doing it and is undrivable.

 

My engine stalled after my pop charger came off.

 

Check the air intake duct tubing that connects directly to the throttle body. It is possible that it may have just popped off and was loose to begin with. That is my diagnosis especially if the car still starts and eventually dies down again. Good luck!

 

Yes. I’ve had it happen twice and both times were approaching a toll both. I turned the engine OFF, waited a minute, then turned the engine ON again. Never has happened since then.

 

I would guess mass air flow sensor, how many miles and what year?

 

Thanks for all the quick replies! I gonna pop the hood and look around at lunch time to see if anything is loose. Hopefully its a simple fix!

 

What's wrong with Capitol Nissan? Can anyone recommend a good Nissan dealership service dept. down in the South Bay? I bought my car from a former Nissan dealer in San Fran, but they stopped selling/servicing Nissan's over there, and never had to take to any dealers for anything so far (knock on wood). If case I have to, however, I was wondering which one has the best service dept. down here...Thank you...

 

something similar happened to my wife in our sedan. turned out to be the throttle body.

 

You have a bad crank position sensor. I had the same problem with my 2005 350Z. It is covered under the manufacturer's warranty.

 

Yes, happened to my 95 Maxima several years ago - I would be going down the expressway and the engine would stop suddenly - no warning - slip it into neutral and it would start up quick - pull it back into drive and take off. Only once did it die at an intersection and had one heck of a time restarting it. Had it to two garages several times before they diagnose the mass air flow sensor. Car was well out of warranty - cost me $750.00 Good luck!

 

Is it even possible to get the engine to just die on you while you're crusing in gear down the freeway??? The "in gear" part would make it impossible to spin the engine down wouldn't it?

 

Dont you know you can start a car with a dead battery by pushing it with another auto?? Can't do that with modern autos - bumpers made out of "paper" ( actually plastic ) LOL , Yes it does die in gear - while traveling 60 mph or more. Happened to me several times - not a good feeling when one is in the middle of car going down the expressway.

 

The exact same thin happened to my 05 once at 3000 miles. The dealer asked me if I had just filled the tank up with gas. I told him that I had. They told me to take off the gas cap and secure it tightly. I did, and it hasn't happened again in 6000 miles. ??? Not sure what the deal was.

 

Of course I know you can start a car by pushing it... What i said made reference to that fact actually. Since the car is moving and in gear, then it should be the transmission that while traveling would actually be exerting force on the engine and keeping it "on". I guess unless somehow the throttle doesn't keep giving the engine gas then eventually you'd just slow down until you slowed to a stop.... hense the "stall"? So my question is then, how is it actually stalling when moving..... does the ecu basically turn off while the engine is still in motion and in gear?

 

could be the O2 sensor... common problem on nissan vehicles.

 

If it loses gas and/or some electrical signal thats needed for the engine to operate yes it will stop running. The engine may still be in essense moving but the other things needed to run aren't being supplied any longer.