# 2000 sentra no oil, check engine



## imani9533 (Jan 9, 2016)

Hello everyone. I hope someone can provide some guidance. My daughter said the check engine light came on while driving and car started shaking. Man stopped to help and said there was no oil. Added 3 quarts, drove car about half mile back home, but engine shakes, check engine light still on, white smoke from muffler. About 6 mos ago fix catalytic conv and an intake value to stop car from sputtering and sporadically cutting off. Has about 130k miles. Any ideas? Think safe to drive slowly to get code at auto store?


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

How safe it is to drive, I cannot tell you. Getting the codes would be helpful. If it's not leaking the oil, it is likely burning it, which may be why the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. Head gasket failures aren't uncommon on these Sentras, so that's something to keep in mind. Hopefully running it low on oil didn't hurt the engine. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to see what the spark plugs look like and check for cross-contamination in the oil and engine coolant.


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## imani9533 (Jan 9, 2016)

smj999smj said:


> How safe it is to drive, I cannot tell you. Getting the codes would be helpful. If it's not leaking the oil, it is likely burning it, which may be why the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. Head gasket failures aren't uncommon on these Sentras, so that's something to keep in mind. Hopefully running it low on oil didn't hurt the engine. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to see what the spark plugs look like and check for cross-contamination in the oil and engine coolant.



Thanks. I have the codes now. There were two codes p1320 ignition coil and p0302 cylinder 2 misfire. Someone looked at it and said coil on spark 2 was bad. Should Fixing coil on #2 fix the misfire?


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

A bad #2 ignition coil would set both of those codes and cause a rough running condition, but it wouldn't cause massive oil burning. I would replace the coil and clean the #2 spark plug, and then make sure the oil is not contaminated with gas (or anything else). If it runs ok with the new coil, I would monitor the oil usage carefully to see if it is other issues. Stick with a genuine Nissan or Hitachi coil.


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## imani9533 (Jan 9, 2016)

Perfect! I didnt have access to dealerahip and needed it fixed today. Friend replaced #2 coil and seems to be running good again. He is going to change oil to get excess out before it ruins a gasket? Does that sound right? I usually only have a family member touch the car for "at home repairs" (certified Nissan mechanic) but he was not available. Never used anyone else so a bit nervous since daughter has to travel to and from school everyday on interstate. Do you think she should stay on city roads for a while? Since you are saying most of the same things, I am feeling a bit more relaxed. Thank you again!!


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