Stranded...why?

B

bmakkanic

Member
Location
AZ
I drive an '03 FX45. Today, on my way home from work, it started acting funny. I was on the freeway and attempting to stomp on it. I was waiting for the transmission to downshift, but it wouldn't go. I made sure I was in Drive. I tried it again. No luck. So, one last go and the car shuts down at 60mph. Dash lights look like a Christmas tree; steering and brakes stiff as hell!

I park it on the side of the highway. I take the key out of the ignition and sit for five minutes. I put the key back in. All of the electronics worked fine. I tried to turn the key (I don't use the intelligent key, if you couldn't tell by now). It wouldn't turn over. It makes a single clicking noise like it's about to crank and start, but...no dice. I got it towed back to my house after waiting on the side of the road for two hours.

I have a couple of ideas on what's wrong and I'm hoping it isn't the transmission. I hope it's starter, alternator, connection, something minor, etc. related. Anyone have any insight on this? Anything helps!

Crossing my fingers.

Cheers,
Brian
 
Could be your cam sensor. Take it to the dealer and have the code read with the consult II. I just had my cam sensor replaced. The FX would crank all day but it would not turn over. $80.00 in part and $110.00 in labor and all is fine now.
///7620
///3944
 
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Wow. Just wow. I got it towed to a local Nissan dealer and they did a diagnostics test.

I blew my engine. They want $10,000 to replace it. They didn't even give me enough details. They said that if I want to know exactly what is wrong with the internals, I have to pay for them to take it apart. I don't have a warranty. Basically, my life is crap right now...

So, I'm gonna try and find someone who will take it apart and tell me what's wrong and what needs to be replaced...or just swap the whole thing out with another, hopefully lower mileaged motor.

I've never tackled anything this big before, but I suppose I'll try to do this myself. I just need someone who's worked on this engine to guide me. I'm willing to fly someone out to me because I'm not trying to F this up even more...ahaha.
 
Yeah - sounds suspect... maybe get another opinion from a different shop before you start taking things apart?

Try an Infiniti dealership rather than a Nissan - they may have seen this before on your model and know more than the Nissan techs do.
 
Hope it's not the engine--I was debating wether to renew my extended warranty or not . This post made the decision for me-RENEW
 
Same exact thing happened to me two days ago! Stock fx45 motor 82,000 miles. I wasn't pushing it hard, going about 70mph on the highway... all of a sudden smoke fills the engine bay and my interior lights come on steering braking stiff, smoke clears I coast to stop.. All the oil was pouring out and dripping on the ground. Got it towed to a pepboys(open on sunday) guy said I blew my engine. Strange, one day prior I heard a very tiny faint knocking, didn't really know what to do. and they also want 10k to fix. Any suggestions?? Where can we get an engine?
 
I totally forgot about this thread. I had my engine replaced with another one from 2003. Apparently, there's a 15% chance FX45 owners got stuck with an engine that just burns oil and that's an affect of rings not sealing right (or so I was told...). Anyway, I paid $4,500 out of pocket and my extended warranty/insurance covered about $6,000. I'm sort of pissed about that, but at least I got something out of it.

Here's the excerpt of the report:

The inspector's reports and the digital photographs that were taken of the damage revealed that the # 1 rod bearing was spun and worn paper thin, indicating a long term failure over a period of time. The # 2 rod bearing was discolored and worn down to the copper. There was oil in the bearing indicating that the pump was working and the crank was also severely worn but not discolored. The camshaft on the left head showed metal contamination and scoring on the camshaft and camshaft cradle caps. The inspector concluded his reports by stating that the pattern of damage indicated a material failure of the # 1 rod bearing with long term continued operation, and that the scoring seen to the camshaft indicated that metal had circulated throughout the engine.
Click to expand...

Look up LKQ. They ship nationwide :)
 
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Engine oil should be checked every 1,500 miles. I've lost up to a quart.

I say 1,500 but I really check every 3,000 miles.

I read enough issues of oil burning and making sure this doesn't happen to mine.

Sorry to hear all of your stories of blown engines.
 
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