FloydMax Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 Three of us where I work bought 2001 Pathfinders within the same month. An SE and two LE's. All three of us have "check engine soon" lamps on the dash illuminated. What a crock of s.... These cars have been treated....no "babied" from the get go....they are our "wive's" cars and get perfect maintenance. Synthetic oil. Purolator One. Bosch. Premium treads. I've said it before... the only problem with the modern automobile is the freaking emissions monitoring system. They run great, they drive great, they last a long time, they don't pollute much at all. Nitrous oxide emissions are a thing of the past. But the single, most aggravating thing is the sensors which don't hold up and prevent the car from being driven because "THEY" have gone bad. The decisions on driveability are being made by the least reliable part. Kind of like having the village idiot as the Mayor. :furious: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derogate Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 My moms '00 Honda CRV did the same thing. It's just a warning to take it into the dealership to do the scheduled maintanance. There is nothing wrong with it I suspect. Just another great way for the dealers to empty your pockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelmanLS1 Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 My moms '00 Honda CRV did the same thing. It's just a warning to take it into the dealership to do the scheduled maintanance. There is nothing wrong with it I suspect. Just another great way for the dealers to empty your pockets. I've heard that Fords have a huge problem with this. Every single thing in a Ford is tied into the computer. If one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong. And if the computer is screwed up, the vehicle in almost every aspect is screwed up. Driveable, but screwed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trainman Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 The car manufactures in Canada are very annoyed that a lot of us ignore the check engine light. They are pushing to be allowed to program their on board computers so that after a set number of start cycles with the SES light on, the car will not start and will have to be towed to a dealer. Let us hope it does not come to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 All three of us have "check engine soon" lamps on the dash illuminated. What a crock of s.... Are the codes for all 3 trucks the same? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Dank Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 Good question...Floyed, unless you are able to pull the error codes off all 3, you can't assume that all 3 have the same problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 so, did anyone actually check for the codes or is this just babble? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 I've heard that Fords have a huge problem with this. Every single thing in a Ford is tied into the computer. If one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong. And if the computer is screwed up, the vehicle in almost every aspect is screwed up. Driveable, but screwed up. Better than my Pathy.. when the computer was toast, I could not even drive it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trainman Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 I've heard that Fords have a huge problem with this. Every single thing in a Ford is tied into the computer. If one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong. And if the computer is screwed up, the vehicle in almost every aspect is screwed up. Driveable, but screwed up. On our Mercury Mystique, both O2 sensors went at the same time. The computer would not allow the car to start and it had to be towed to the dealer 100 km away. All under warranty . The car had over $4,000 work done under warranty according to our dealer :furious: (and Ford wonders why we did not buy any more after having Fords for 20 years). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 Many vehicles have a 'take to stealership soon' light. I'm not sure what turns them on, but I wouldn't be suprised if it was just milage, and when you pull in they say "oh, you are due for your 30,000 mile servicing" or some crap like that. I knew a guy who worked at a stealership and said they just turn the light off (ie reset the comp somehow). I hate newer cars for this reason. Just like the black box they are putting in some that records your 'behavior'. WTF ?? I'd never go near anything with On Star... They can track the vehicle (somewhat), open and lock it, listen in, etc... BS, not in my vehicle you dont !! They are pushing to be allowed to program their on board computers so that after a set number of start cycles with the SES light on, the car will not start and will have to be towed to a dealer That sounds like a BIG law suit waiting to happen there, not to mention a few stealerships being burned to the ground. FEAR NOT !! If they actually passed something like that, underground reprogramming modules that disabled it would become common as dirt... F'ing governments !! *gasp, wheeze, pant, pant pant...* B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 I know my wife's VW has a little warning light that comes on at milage intervals. It's for the O2 sensor, so that you change it before it goes bad. There's a reset button on the back of the speedo on the firewall for it. The light has come on 3 times that I know of, still has the original sensor, no issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edta1 Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 I know what you mean. I had a 01 pathfinder and I've had the check engine light come on twice. The first time it came on was about 45K. A timing sensor went bad. ok, had it replaced. Then 5K later, it came on again! The problem? Same thing! THe other timing sensor went bad. :o Needless to say I was quite disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 (edited) The "check engine" or "service engine soon" light (aka "malfunction indicator light", or MIL) is generally for emissions-related problems, caused by as simple as a loose gas cap. Various computer sensors that help the engine run efficiently will cause the lamp to glow if there is a malfunction. More details on the MIL are described in the owners manual. The service interval lamp on many cars is completely different than the "check engine" light. Its purposes is to notify the driver that the car is due for regular preventive maintenance, such as oil changes, new spark plugs, etc. The service interval lamp is resettable without tools, and the procedure is often provided in the owners manual. On my wife's 93 Accord, you insert the key into a slot in the instrument panel to reset the service light. On my 04 TSX, you hold down the odometer trip reset button for 10 seconds while turning the ignition on. On 96 and newer cars, the MIL is resettable with an OBDII scan tool, or simply by disconnecting the battery (which erases the computer's memory). However, if the emissions problem hasn't been corrected (ie. replace a bad sensor or fix the problem that caused the malfunction, etc.) the light will glow again shortly. Unless the original poster can verify that all 3 Pathfinders MIL lamps are caused by the same trouble code, I think this thread is just rant and babble. Edited September 13, 2005 by XPLORx4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBikeMike Posted September 15, 2005 Share Posted September 15, 2005 I just took in my Pathy for a lot of work. Included in that work (a frikkin Thousand dollars worth!) was the SES light for the evap canister cellanoid. Got it back from the shop, the next day, THE LIGHT CAME BACK ON! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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