# P0011 & P0302 / P0303 & Mechanic Question



## headlight_clip (Nov 9, 2006)

I'm having some trouble with my 2002 Altima 2.5.

About 8-9 months ago I had my radiator's cap replaced, apparently it was leaking coolant.
Roughly 6 months ago I started having a cylinder misfire code, on cylinder 3 (P0303). I had just crossed 100K miles.
My coolant was low several times. I had to fill it 3-4 times over 2 months.
My engine overheated and checked the coolant, it was low again.
I had since moved from NY to TN and took it to a new mechanic.
The car was stuttering at times.
They replaced the radiator. The coolant kept leaking, the car still at the stuttering problem, which was explained to me that coolant might be leaking into the cylinders, and that noise was the coolant being cleared/burned away.
After looking into it, the mechanic replaced the head gasket. This was an expensive job (almost $2,000).
I picked up my car, and before I got home (about 5 miles), I got a new code, P0011. The car didn't sound right. I drove it back.
The mechanic checked it out and replaced some sensors. I forget which, but it was about $300 worth of work and hardware, I think the O2 sensor was one (I can check my bill).
I picked up my car, seemed to run well, this time after about 10-15 miles, the P0011 code came back.
I returned to the mechanic and I remembered that I had gone to see the inside of my engine when he took it apart and the mechanic noted that these metal discs had to go back in a very specific position, so I asked "are you sure this is not a problem due to not putting the engine back together right". He said "maybe, we have to check some things".
He then cleaned "the solenoid", one related to the camshaft positioning.
I picked up the car, the code returned in a few miles.
He then replaced the solenoid.
I picked up the car, I immediately noticed the engine didn't sound good. I popped the hood and it sounded like it was coming from the motor inside the alternator.
I told the mechanic, "is this going to be fixed?" He was sympathetic. I said, "Look, I'm going away for 2.5 weeks, I can leave the car with you and you can take your time."
I returned, he replaced the alternator, didn't charge me for labor. I think he he also replaced the starter, but that might have be a time earlier. I had left it with a full tank and I knew he was going to drive it around to see if he could get the error to come back. When I picked it up, the fuel light was on, and the car didn't sound good. When I turned it on the check engine light came on, and so I called him over. He said maybe it just needed to be reset. He reset it. Halfway down the block, it returned and this time it was flashing and really sounded crappy. I have a code reader, so I checked it out, P0011 and P0303. I returned, he suggested it just needed gas. I got gas and it sounded better. I cleared the codes. The P0011 code came back after about 20 miles. That was about 4 weeks ago.
At this point I'm $3,200 in. I haven't had time to bring my car in, and at this point I'm not sure I want to. The last time he said now he thinks it's the computer. Which to me sounds ridiculous since the engine feels weird occasionally, and now I am getting a P0302 code, and the car sounds really crappy. This seems to not happen as much if I keep a full tank. P0302 came up when the tank was at 1/4.

A couple of things to note.

1 - Prior to all this, I went about 6 months where I would often let the tank get to E and then fill it. I was wondering if perhaps the tank is a bit dirty, and something happens to cause a misfire when it gets near the bottom of the tank.

2 - I haven't taken it to a Nissan service station in maybe 6 years or more, so I imagine there might be some recall/bug fixes they need to apply.

3 - When I first brought it to this mechanic, I had also just switched to synthetic oil. The mechanic also did a thorough cleaning of the engine with some special cleaner. I am getting higher efficiency.

If anyone has some advice about what this could be or something I should say to this mechanic (or another one), I would very much appreciate it.

I was thinking that I could clean out the fuel tank some how. Is that wise? Can I do it myself?

Thank you!


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Sounds like the mechanic got in over his head and now you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. My educated "guess," and that's exactly what it is, is that he may have assembled the timing chains out of time. Obviously, without being there or knowing anything first hand, who knows? The best thing that could be done is to take it to an experienced Nissan tech who has the know-how and equipment to diagnose the problem. Unfortunately, this will mean a whole new set of expenses for you and if it is something that the initial mechanic didn't do correctly, you'll need to address it with him (and possibly take him to court) if you want to re-coupe some or all of your loses. If the balance shaft and timing chains have to be re-installed correctly, you'll be looking at hundred of more dollars to your expenses. But, of course, we don't know if that's the case or not until you can find someone who knows what they are doing to figure out what is wrong. Best of luck!


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## headlight_clip (Nov 9, 2006)

Thanks that was pretty must my estimation - the mechanic is nice, but ultimately incompetent. Hopefully it will really be just a few hundred dollars more, not $1k.


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## headlight_clip (Nov 9, 2006)

Following up on this. I brought it to the Nissan service facility near me last Friday, I was going out of town, came back Wednesday. They were great. They did have a delay because the guy who originally handled my account was let go. They didn't even charge me because they felt they were a day late, and this was due to recalls they were performing. I had not had any of the recalls done. One of them was a big ass piece of metal that took several hours to replace.

Anyhow, they moved the coil pack from cylinder 2 to 1 and now that is misfiring. I'm wondering if coil pack replacement is something I could do. The quote I got from their parts department was that it's $134 (I think for one coil pack, but unsure). Seems I can get them way less expensively elsewhere. I saw a video of a replacement on a sentra and it did not seem difficult, but I haven't found much specific to the 2002-2006 Nissan Altima.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

The coil is very easy to replace. Just remove the top engine cover, remove the 10MM head bolt from the coil, unplug the coil, pull it out of the spark plug well and reverse to install. It's a 5-10 min job. You can get coil packs for a lot cheaper, but you don't want to get low quality parts. You can get a Hitachi coil pack at Rockauto.com for $61+shipping. Google search and you'll find 5% discount codes you can use for Rockauto. Hitachi is the original equipment manufacturer of Nissan coils. Look for: HITACHI Part # IGC0008


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## headlight_clip (Nov 9, 2006)

I heard on the aforementioned video that you should replace all four at the same time. Is that really necessary?


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## headlight_clip (Nov 9, 2006)

smj999smj, thanks muchly. It was very easy to replace.

After speaking to Nissan again it sounds like to know if it's the balance shaft or timing chains, it would indeed cost hundreds of dollars in labor to take the engine apart.

How necessary is this? The car seems to run well. I may even be getting better fuel efficiency than I was before. However, I still have the check engine light for P0011. If it's timing chains off a bit will that eventually cause some big problem?

I have a few choices - ignore it and hope for the best. I'm also considering trading in the car towards a new car, but I rather not. It's not just the money, but it seems like a waste. I'm generally a good driver, easy on my car. I expected to get another 50-100k miles out of this one.

I'm not sure how to handle the first mechanic. I've avoided going back because I don't imagine many scenarios going well. I don't want them to touch the car again, but I want them to know what happened. It seems unlikely I can get them to pay to have someone else check the car out.


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## arturofuca (Apr 19, 2015)

Hi, last wek I replaced the head gasket to altima 2004, did a re rig to all pistons, wen started de engine again sounds good for a wile, then begun to knok, was a failure on conectin rod no 3, replace it, but this time started shaken and have p0302, check balancer chain it seems to jumped one teet, I think this is the cause of p0302 misfire , it was not the coil or spark plug !


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## arturofuca (Apr 19, 2015)

Hi, I did a head gasket replacement, and wen put back the balancer chain it jumped one toot, and result engine shake and code p0302, not the spark plug not the coil , nex time gona check tre times!


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

If the timing chain is off a tooth, that means the valve timing is off in relation to the piston position, which I consider something that should be fixed now rather than wait and see how it goes. You could potentially end up burning valves, damaging the rings, damaging the catalytic converter, to name just a few things.


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## arturofuca (Apr 19, 2015)

It was de balancer chain, The timing still ok.


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