2001 Maxima Service Engine Soon light

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lw_elite@hotmail.com - 20 Mar 2005 03:22 GMT

Hi,

I have a 2001 Maxima. The Service Engine Soon light came on; a few
weeks back it popped on b/c I didn't tighten the gas cap enough (it
went off shortly after I tightened it). Now, the light is back on for
the past week. I took it to an autozone and I didn't get the actual
code number when the tech hooked up the computer, but the guy said the
cat converter performance was low.

I've been doing a lot of driving in and out of the mountains, I'd like
to just reset it if I can. Unfortunately the 2001 computers don't seem
to have the same screw that can reset it like earlier maximas -- is
there a way to reset it?

Anyone know if the light will go off after time if the problem corrects
itself?

Thanks,
Tom

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JimV - 20 Mar 2005 03:36 GMT

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> Thanks,
> Tom

You need the scan tool to reset it. Yes, it will go off after a certain
number of starts if the problem is corrected. Cat efficiency issues are
often corrected with firmware updates (from the dealer).

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lw_elite@hotmail.com - 20 Mar 2005 04:28 GMT

Thanks Jim,

Any idea on how many starts are necessary or how long I should wait
before bringing it in? It's been a week, figure 3 starts/day -- if
there's a genuine problem I want to get it fixed, it's low mileage so
my hunch tells me there's no problem.

Is it possible a bad tank of gas could've caused this?

Thanks for your advice,

Tom

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JimV - 20 Mar 2005 04:41 GMT

> Thanks Jim,
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> Tom

I just looked in the shop manual, but I can find it. I think it's like
35. Chances are it's going to come back. Codes seldom just go way, with
the exception of the eval error from leaving the gas cap off.

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lw_elite@hotmail.com - 20 Mar 2005 05:00 GMT

Great, thanks again for the info and quick reply. I'll probably wait a
few days and see if it goes off... otherwise, I'll bring it into the
shop.

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vander@netscape.com - 23 Mar 2005 00:17 GMT

disconnect the negative battery connection for a minimum of 12 hours,
24 would be even better,,

I know this sounds insane, but i had the same problem with my
2000,,and though disconnecting the battery for an hour would clear the
light, it apparently was not long enough to clear the error in the
computer - which would trigger the light again in a few days or weeks.
The whole system needs to re boot, and the only way to get it to do
this is to completely clear all the memory buffers.

>Great, thanks again for the info and quick reply. I'll probably wait a
>few days and see if it goes off... otherwise, I'll bring it into the
>shop.

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Bob - 23 Mar 2005 06:25 GMT

I had this problem with my 99 Maxima a few weeks ago, did quite a bit
of research online about it, including numerous newsgroups and ended up
fixing it by doing the following:

The light came on just a few minutes after I had filled up on gas, so I
drove the car with the light on until it was pretty much empty again,
then went and bought some good fuel injector cleaner, filled it up with
a full tank of the best gas I could find (93 octane) and dumped the
fuel injector cleaner in it.

Drove the car for about half a tank and the service engine soon light
turned off and hasn't been back on since.

May or may not work for you, depending on what the actual problem is,
but worked for me and avoided the hastle of checking engine codes or
paying $$$$$ at the dealership. Worth a shot anyway, even if it
doesn't fix your problem, it definitely won't hurt your car and might
save you some dough.

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anonymous - 25 Mar 2005 02:29 GMT

lw_elite@hotmail.com wrote in news:1111285354.624680.40470
@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> Thanks,
> Tom

I had a similar situation. AutoZone said it was cod P0420...I waited about
3-4 weeks, and one day, I realized the light was off. Has been off for
about 2 weeks at this point.

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Jim - 25 Mar 2005 17:36 GMT

I have a '02 Maxima and it seems to me that the SES light comes and goes as
it wishes. The first two time it came on obviously I was little worried and
rushed it to my dealer.

First time he did minor checks and said there was nothing majorly wrong.
Second time he did some serious testing for emission leaks and things (made
me pay $50 bucks) and told me that my car had a very minor leak in the
emission system. He told me that I need to replace two values which would
cost me about $300. But he was not completely sure if that will do the
trick, so I procrastinated for a while and the light went away. It was 3-4
months ago.

Since then the SEC light comes and goes once a month or so. There is no
pattern to it, though I am thinking it may be due to the outside temperature
variation but I m not sure.

just my 2 cents,
J

> lw_elite@hotmail.com wrote in news:1111285354.624680.40470
> @f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> 3-4 weeks, and one day, I realized the light was off. Has been off for
> about 2 weeks at this point.

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LL - 25 Mar 2005 19:26 GMT

HI,
I had the same problem about 6 mths ago. I checked the gas cap and it was
tight. I took it to checkers for a diagnostic and received the same code
as the person below. I went to the Nissan dealer and they said they'd have
to run their own tests. I decided against it. It went off after I changed
places I got gas. I have always used the highest octane rating no matter
where I filled up. If I add a fuel additive it goes off. I have now been
getting gas at Chevron and it has been off ever since. If I change and get
gas where I use to it will come back on. I don't understand how it could
be the gas station. Everyone I know gets gas at the same station and they
don't have problems with their car. I'm sure it has to do with the car but
now the light is off so I'm not sure the dealer will be able to figure out
the problem. I think my gas milage is lower than it use to be. Then again
with gas prices constantly increasing maybe it just seems like I'm filling
up more.

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