# 2001 GXE just STOPS running



## Ludicrous (Aug 19, 2005)

Like the title says, my car will just stop running. Yesterday, I was driving down a residential street & it just shut off. It started right back up, so I thought maybe it was a fluke. Today, coming off the freeway, it did it again. Once again, it started right back up.

It almost acts like the same problem it had when the recall came out last year for the foam insulation in the engine computer box - then, too, the car would just shut off. It did it about 3 times before I heard about the recall (ironically, got the recall on my lunch hour, on my way back to work it died but wouldn't restart).

Other than routine maintenance (fluids, battery, plugs, etc.), I've never had to do anything to this car.

Any suggestions what could be causing it to just shut down randomly?


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## no1see2me (Oct 1, 2004)

Ludicrous said:


> Like the title says, my car will just stop running. Yesterday, I was driving down a residential street & it just shut off. It started right back up, so I thought maybe it was a fluke. Today, coming off the freeway, it did it again. Once again, it started right back up.
> 
> It almost acts like the same problem it had when the recall came out last year for the foam insulation in the engine computer box - then, too, the car would just shut off. It did it about 3 times before I heard about the recall (ironically, got the recall on my lunch hour, on my way back to work it died but wouldn't restart).
> 
> ...


Was the crank position sensor recall done?


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## Ludicrous (Aug 19, 2005)

no1see2me said:


> Was the crank position sensor recall done?



I called the dealer, they said they did the crank position sensor at the same time they did the foam removal.

Any other suggestions?


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## chimmike (Oct 17, 2002)

yeah, have 'em do it again.


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## Ludicrous (Aug 19, 2005)

chimmike said:


> yeah, have 'em do it again.



They want to charge me to do it again, since they are adamant that the recall work has been done.

Not sure if it matters, but the CEL is NOT coming on. How do they diagnose the problem, if it's not throwing codes?


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## chimmike (Oct 17, 2002)

they're idiots, they use computers to diagnose, and if there's no code, they don't think anything's wrong.

Call another dealer, explain the situation and what the car is doing, and tell them you don't think the other dealer did the recall, and you want it done.


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## Ludicrous (Aug 19, 2005)

Both sensors have been replaced, and it's still doing it.

It seems to do it when I'm slowing (coming off an off-ramp from a freeway, or slowing/coming to a stop).

Any suggestions what I should try next? We hooked a code puller to it, there were none since the check engine light doesn't come on.


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## rps180 (Aug 20, 2005)

If the dealer hasn't done the recall, your vehicle will keep appearing on the national recall.
Also, of all the Sentras I have worked on, I have had more Sentras having problems directly related to the throttle body or the ECM than the recalled crank & cam sensors.
Also, the symptoms you are describing also corresponds to a common failure point on most 1.8L Sentras. The ECM. I have seen my fair share of these things fail. And with no apparent reason. The symptoms also vary widely, and in most cases the symptoms are either very intermittent or very consistent. Some ECMs just plain quit and don't work. Some start to misfire. Some just work, but they have a CEL that won't turn off, and a DTC that you can't erase no matter what you do. Some have just weird problems that occur every so often. I even replaced one ECM with a brand new one, and the brand new one was already no good. (doesn't fire on cylinders 1 & 3).
And if you can't get the problem fixed at one dealership, always always get another opinion and go to another.


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## rps180 (Aug 20, 2005)

Also, even if you gotta twist some arms, if the dealership insists that it still doesn't do it, have them road test with you driving and have them hook up a CONSULT diagnostics computer so they can see what's happening with the sensors when it does happen during the road test.


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## SummerTaz (May 3, 2006)

Might be almost impossible but just in case.... I had the same problem on a 2001 XE, it was the mass air flow sensor. Of course the CEL was ON but a very long shot could be that the fuse for this sensor is out so the CEL won't turn ON. But usually when you have that kind of problem and the fuse is out the car begins to run a little bit better so you would be one of a kind and Nissan might name a new car illness after you. Anyways, I thought it might help.


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