Crankshaft center sensor repair
 

Alright, first post in forever on my350z.

Gonna try and keep it short. Bought the car used in 2008 with ~60k (2003 Performance manual fyi). Now sitting about 90k. Never had any issues, whatsoever. Literally the perfect car. Love it.

About 2 or so months ago my check engine light comes on. The car is running fine and I figure I'll take it in when I get some free time and a little more spending money. Last week my VDC and slip lights come on randomly when I'm backing up leaving work but the car is still running fine. I read about it online and apparently it's not too uncommon. I schedule an appointment to take my car into the dealership on May 28th (I'll be able to use my parent's car since they're going on vacation).

Tuesday of this past week my car stalls at idle and I know something is up but she fires right back up and I decide I'm willing to wait it out until the 28th. Next day I'm driving to work. Sitting at a red light car stalls again. I turn the key she fires up and stalls again immediately. Sh!t. Something is fcked. Turn the key again and the engine turns over for about 2 seconds then fires up. I give it gas immediately and she gets me to work. I decide to drop the car off that day after work.

The dealership calls me and lets me know that the stalling issue is being caused by my crankshaft center sensor and I've got some other things that could use fixing but aren't necessarily in need of immediate attention. They are getting an ABS sensor code from the check engine light but feel that the crankshaft sensor could also be causing the issue. I say alright, fix the crankshaft sensor ~$700.

I go to pickup the car today and the check engine light comes back on so I take it back. The ABS sensor is still being read on the code. Whatever, just fix the sensor so my lights off I tell them.

Now, this is where my actual question and issue comes into play. I just wanted to give some background info. I read up on the crankshaft issue today and found out that it's actually a recall on 2003 350Z's. http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2003/.../350z/recalls/ Recall ID 33411.

So, my car is obviously no longer under warranty but as this is a recall item it should be fixed free of charge correct? I'm just unsure of the process behind automotive recalls. I tried to get in contact with Nissan NA today but they are closed and by the time I called the dealership back the service manager left for the day.

It's not an absolute emergency but I certainly do not want to pay for a fix that should be covered by a recall. Am I in the right to prove and request that this fix should be free or is there some loophole that would allow them to charge me for the repair because I'm not the original owner and the car is no longer under warranty?

Just looking for some advice here, hope you guys can help me out.

TL;DR: Crankshaft center sensor was repaired/replaced at a Nissan Dealership due to stalling issues. I was charged for the fix but I believe that this is a recall and want to know whether or not I should be responsible for the payment. http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2003/.../350z/recalls/ Recall ID 33411

Bump

You won’t get any coverage unless you are inside the VIN value. The issue you mention was a Voluntary Recall and was limited to a specific range of VIN’s.

Nissan generously covered some 2003 owners (they were not required to do this).

--Spike

Thanks for the answer. I'll make sure to follow up and inquire with my Nissan dealership or Nissan NA.

Glad I tackled this myself, as it was a fairly simple job.

All it cost me was a $79 OEM replacement part (superseded part #) used on all the new models and compatible with my 2006 GT and an hour of my time.

Lift car, remove plastic shield, remove sensor, install new sensor, re-install plastic shield, reset ECU with OBD gas pedal sequence. Car runs just fine now with no more symptoms and no more S.E.S. lights.