Nissan - Xterra :: 2002 4WD Losing Power Traveling Uphill
Oct 9, 2012
The 2002 Nissan Xterra (4WD), automatic transmission, I drive for work is starting to have trouble traveling up hills. Just the other day I was traveling on a freeway up a fairly steep grade for ~6 miles. It wouldn't down shift and the pedal was to the floor while I watched the speed slowly drop. I started noticing earlier this year that it will disengage the cruise control on this same steep grade, though not every time. This used to be my personal vehicle and I have been driving it since 2002, so I know how it drives. A mechanic test drove it today and chalked it up to age (our admin assistant took it to the mechanic, so I didn't get to talk to him). Its got something like 170k miles. That is a lot of miles and it is 10 years old, but I am really wary of any diagnosis based solely on age.
View 8 Replies
Advertisement
I'm looking for a car that is cheap to maintain. I have to have something that allows for interior cargo space.So far, I can find either of these two models for under $8k in clean condition.
I like the Subaru Outback (H6 engine), but I know that more parts can likely equal higher priced maintenance. AWD involves a front and rear differential and a transfer case that can go bad anytime and it has a more complex set up than a basic truck. Then, there's the computery crap that can go wrong.
The Xterra, if I can get a basic 2 wheel drive should, I'd guess, be fairly cheap to maintain, no? Sure, I loose out on the driving advantages offered by the Subaru Outback and gas will cost more.
I love driving the Subaru, but I'm guessing that once a bunch of rattles, leaks, and other issues start cropping up that I might not be so happy with it. The vehicles in my price range are all sitting at 100k - 120k miles. The Nissan Xterra is a truck. It drives like a truck. I might be happier with it, knowing I won't have to pay for high priced repairs. I drive rather conservatively with the intention of keeping my vehicle in good condition. It would be a daily driver for the next 18 months.
Even with higher fuel costs (Xterra will likely get 16-19 mpg), I'm thinking I'd be better off buying the Xterra than the Subaru, yes or no?
View 12 Replies
I have a 2002 Nissan Xterra with 94K miles on it. Sometimes after I start the car it shakes and sputters. This has been going on for a couple weeks and I didn't really think anything of it. Today as I was backing out of a spot, the car started shaking again and then the engine died and the check engine light came on. What that could be?
View 3 Replies
I have a 2002 Nissan Xterra with 250k miles on it and it runs like its was just off the factory floor, or at least it did. Today I got in my car and started it up normally and put it in drive to leave, but when I took my foot off the break it started to roll backwards on flat ground. I immediately put my foot on the break and looked to see if I might of put it in reverse by accident, but it was in drive. I took my foot off the break to see if it would do it again, but it didn't. However the whole drive it didn't respond the way it used to, it was more sluggish, but only slightly. And now it whistles in relation to the throttle that I never had before.
View 5 Replies
Diagnosing our 2006 Hyundai Sonata.....2.4 L engine....automatic.
While cruising along, about 40mph and up I guess...when traveling at a steady throttle and engine speed... if you ever so slightly give it more gas, sometimes it will act as though it is losing power for a second and then kick back in.....but revs will stay up....
I was thinking either throttle position sensor or (gasp) transmission.....it doesn't really feel like a slipping tranny....but wondering if it is issues with the overdrive...
View 3 Replies
I have a weird issue with my 2002 4x2 manual Nissan Xterra...when I drive along (usually happens when I'm in 3rd or 4th gear), and depress the clutch pedal to start slowing down for traffic, while the gear lever is still in the 3rd or 4th gear position, the rpms start coming down as the car coasts, but then a strange grinding/whirring/grumbling noise starts happening. The noise immediately goes away if I pull the gear lever into neutral, OR if I re-engage the clutch to start accelerating again. So, it only happens when BOTH the clutch pedal is depressed, AND the gear lever is "in gear". What could this be? The car has about 115K miles, but I believe the previous owner changed the clutch recently (80-90K), and the clutch itself feels fine.
View 3 Replies
I have a 1986 27ft Class C RV on a E350 chassis, 460 ci with about 140,000 miles on it. I inherited it when my Dad passed. I live in the southwest and I am have trouble with it, it seems to be a fuel supply problem, I think?
It runs fine on level ground, but we tried to go to the white mountains this weekend and could not do it. On an incline the engine would start to starve for power. At times we could only drive at 25 mph! It kind of seemed like it was running out of gas, if I tried to give it more throttle it would just die or fall on its face, if I let off the pedal and gave it gas again, it would run for a bit and then do the same again. We were lucky to get it back home. I replaced the electric fuel pump (on the side of the road) during the trip, but that made no difference.
The engine ran cool the whole time! it has only one 40 gallon tank. I can find any other fuel pump on it. but don't understand all the lines going to and from the gas tank either?
I noticed there are these silver metal tubes that feed off the exhaust manifold up to a cylinder looking thing on both sides of the block. One of the tubes is broken from the ex manifold and the manifold is plugged. Not sure how this got damaged or what this parts function is but was wondering if this could be a problem ..
View 14 Replies
I've got a 1994 Mercedes C220 which recently has been losing power going uphill. This is a random occurrence but starting to happen more frequently. When going up a hill the car engine starts to "miss" and the engine sounds like its fluttering. It is definitely losing power.When I get to the top of the hill; if I turn the engine off and restart it all goes back to normal and runs properly.what is it??
View 2 Replies
My brother and I both drive Chevy S10 ZR2s, 2001 and 1998 respectively, and they both have the same problem(s). Initially, the first minute after starting, the trucks will backfire and hesitate, which is most apparent when traveling up hill because if the engine hesitates when traveling up hill, we don't go anywhere. However, after this initial minute, the truck perform just fine, mostly.
The only time that they will not perform well after this initial minute is if we go to pass someone on the highway and need to accelerate harder to do so. If we do this, the same symptoms described earlier return, but they will not go away unless the trucks are shut off and allowed to "rest" for a few minutes. A similar problem was described in last week's show, but that was for a carbureted S10 and I'm pretty sure that ours are EFI.
View 1 Replies
Accent 2008 (155,000 km) .... Walter pump, all belt, timing belt, pulley where changed @ 120,00Km when i bought the car.
**No code showing in dtc no check engine light**
I've been losing power uphill, RPM at 4,000 and and losing speed. I heard a loud sound coming from the front starting at 2,500 rpm and up (like if the exhaust air is struggling to get out), not sure who to explain that accelerating noise
On Flat surface it's slower accelerating up to 3,000 rpm with that loud sound. It's like the more i pressed on the gas pedal, the less acceleration i get.
**Running idle up to 4,000 rpm in park, no loud noise, engine running normal sound with no lack in acceleration in RPM**
2 weeks before I had 2 ignitions coil going bad at same time, i run it about 2 miles before changing them, and the exhaust/catalytic converter came hot and melted the plastic dust cover under the car near the catalytic converter.. Did I premature burn or plug that catalytic converter?
Would it be catalytic converter? Fuel pump? Fuel Filter..
I thought of buying a catalytic converter cleaner and put in fuel tank and up the intake..
View 21 Replies
Having issue with ac system cycling on and off while traveling up hill, slopes, etc?? Have a 98 f150 with 4.6 auto and past several months ac acting weird. Its been really hot, ac still is cold but not sure why cycles on and off? Just goes off for several seconds then back on, does not shut off altogether just seems like compressor shuts off intermittently.
View 3 Replies
My 2005 Nissan Pathfinder with approximately 150,000 miles has been losing power while driving. It's pretty scary. The problem first manifested one week ago when it stalled at a stoplight. It restarted after a few panicky moments of frantic key turning. My husband and his identical twin brother took a look under the hood when I got home and discovered the terminal on the battery was loose and had a screw in it to maintain a closer fit. They remedied that by replacing the screw with aluminum foil. Four days later, I'm driving away from a large big-box store, and it loses power again. I got it restarted and drove around back of the store to the tire center. They tested the battery, and declared it "bad".
The battery and the terminals were replaced. Hooray! I was safe. Or so I thought. The very next day, I drove out to the middle of nowhere to go fishing, and it lost power three times. I was an hour away from home and there was no cell phone service. I left the lake before dark and lost power once more on the way home. To recap, the first time it lost power I was stopped at a light, the second time (at the store) I was at a stop sign, the third, fourth, and fifth times I was driving but slowing down for cars in front of me and had to pull over to restart it, and the last time I was driving down hill and the power came back on before the bottom of the hill. A lot of lights come on in the dashboard when it loses power.
View 4 Replies
I have a 2000 Nissan Xterra. About a month ago it stalled while I was backing out of a parking spot. When I turned the key, the engine turned over but wouldn't start. A few minutes later it started and I drove it on a long road trip. It was fine until today when it stalled when my husband was going around a corner. He waited a few minutes then it started. Now tonight he started it, drove down the block and it stalled again. This time it won't restart.
View 1 Replies
I can get my car to rev past 4,000 rpm in gears 1-4 but in 5th gear it wont pass 3,000. It used to be fine, but one day it was just like this and hasn't changed since. This is annoying because where I live some of the speed limits are at 75mph. When I'm in 5th gear at 3,000 rpm I'm only going 65. What can I do to fix this? Reset ECU? Clean MAF sensor? Is it related to an approaching timing belt failure (I'm at 94k miles and it needs to be replaced before 105k)...
View 19 Replies
My 2003 Nissan Xterra has recently had a few things go wrong up until now I knew how to fix. Now I have only HOT air coming out of the interior vents. It doesn't matter what I do. I turn the knob to cool and turn the AC on and no cold air. I know that cool air isn't being introduced to mix with the engine air. What are some possible solutions and areas to look at.
View 4 Replies
I have a 2003 Nissan Xterra, and have been having starting issues for while. Everybody who does a starting diagnostic test says everything is ok and working. Over the past 18 months, I have gotten new battery (charge is fine), replaced starter ( fine), distributor cap (wires, sparkplugs, cap, also fine.) Alternator has tested fine also, have not replaced this yet. The delay seems to be getting slightly longer, but once kicks in car starts fine. I have put too much money into this already to fix problem that has not gone away. Something is wrong and nobody has a clue Side note, no problems with engine, just takes a few seconds to start.
View 2 Replies
2000 Nissan Xterra 2x4. 185,000 miles. I recently took the car to the mechanic a couple of days ago and had the IACV/TPS sensor replaced. Afterwards I had to tighten the throttle cable because of a grinding noise. Now the car putters slightly, then it seems to come close to stalling. This occurs while idling, while parked and at red lights, as well when driving. While in motion the car shudders and shakes slightly, as if on a bumpy road, but its fresh pavement. While these symptoms occur the RPMs (avg=900rpms) fluctuate; spiking to nearly 2,000rpms then plummeting to 3-400rpms. Notes:
(1) I found that the wire coupling on the distributor was broken (Probably Mechanic). However, the metal prongs for the coupling seem intact (Picture).
(2) Not original distributor (from Cardone Select), I do have the original though.
(3) Spark plug wires are original (old) except for 1.
(4) Spark plugs are a bit old, not that old though I think.
(5) It occurs more often during the cold, snow, and rain.
View 1 Replies
I drive a 2004 Nissan Xterra. About 3 weeks ago I started out to run some errands and as I was pulling out of the parking lot the brake light came on. I pulled over and depressed/released the parking brake a couple of times and it stayed on. I proceeded to run my errands and after about 10 - 15 minutes the light went out. The brakes seemed to be working normally the whole time I was driving. When I got home I checked the brake fluid level and it was about halfway between min and max.
Since then the light has come on three more times. Each time the outside temperature is below 15F. It does not come on when the temp is higher. After driving for a short time the light always goes off.
Could there be freezing in the brake lines? Should I have the brake fluid flushed and replaced? I've searched my recommended maintenance schedule and this doesn't appear anywhere in it. The recommended brake fluid for my vehicle is DOT3.
View 9 Replies
When I make right turns. Its as if the power steering does not work. It is not constant, no issues making left turns, and seems to happen more often in cold weather. About 5 years ago i had a recall to replace the steering column and thought that may have been the issue but took my car in for the recall, they replaced the steering column and still have the same issue.
View 5 Replies
8 months ago i had a blown head gasket and went with a total new engine replacement. I did not use my usual mechanic but another repair shop that had a good reputation due to the price of a the new engine. My car ran well for about 2 months then i started to notice 2 issues. 1) when i applied the brakes hard the car stalled on me and 2) when i put the car in drive there was about a second hesitation before the car would drive. The hesitation (slipping) only does it when the car is in drive gear (auto transmission) and after a few moments of the car runs well even when i park it and restart it the rest of the day.
It only hesitates that way the first time i drive it for the day or if it has been parked for around 4 hours or more. The stalling when i press the brakes hard is constant. I took the car back to the repair shop and they told me my 6 month warranty did not cover that issue cause it was not a engine problem; they said they can look at the car but to even look at it was another $150. I think they are wrong and trying to get more $ out of me so I declined and now my 6 month warranty is expired and i still have the issue. When the car is in idle the rpms are very normal and when driving the rpms are normal. What it could be?
View 11 Replies
We recently replaced the engine in my 2003 Nissan Xterra and since then we have had a problem with misfires. When accelerating it will periodically. Bog down and the car runs so rough the whole thing shakes. Then it rapidly accelerates and smooths out. Then the check engine light flashes. We have replaced everything not nailed down-plugs, wires, knock, crankshaft and mass flow sensors and on and on.
View 10 Replies
