Z does not accelerate
 

While cruising at around 60mph on the highway the other day, i tried to accelarate but my Z did not seem to respond. Literally i pushed the gas pedal to the floor and was only able to go up to 65mph. I checked the oil temp thinking limp mode(although i think i couldnt make it to 60 if that was it) but temp was under 220. I stopped, turned off the car, turned the car on again, drove and everything was back to normal. After that, 3 days have passed with no issues thank God, but... Wtf?! :mad:

Also, no SES light came up, coolant temp was normal, only mods are whats on my sig and these mods have more than 2 months on the car and had neverexperienced this before. I use premium 93oct fuel from the same gas station.Not sure if any of this is relevant, but just in case.

Anyone? Searched but no conclusive answers found :mad:

http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...ml#post1862054

May be related?

Thanks for the link. At least i havent experienced the sputtering part(knock on wood), but the lack of response was definitely noticeable. I hope it was just a hiccup and not something that will happen again. Really dont feel like dealing with the stealership :mad:

Just brainstorming here, old schools guys feel free to correct me, but that type of failure feels/sounds like maybe a sensor issue as in the car thinks you are braking hard and trying to accelerate at the same time... Like I said, just thinking out loud, does the ECU cut the gas if it reads you as on the brakes and accel at the same time??? If so, perhaps you have/had a sensor/switch checking out...

JT

Anyone know if one of those cheap elm327 OBD readers can read acceleration/brake positions? If so, you may be able to spot this using one. Otherwise, maybe cleaning out your MAF sensors with some CRC MAF cleaner could help?

Yes...obd2 elm327 with torque pro with paid Nissan Adv plugin theres brake switch parameter. It will let you know if your brake switch is on if its not. On off value only.

Ah, good to know :tiphat:

Be sure and let us kn ow when you get it figured out... nothing worse than having the same issue and not seeing an answer at the end. :)

Here's the link to my thread: http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...ation-lag.html - I am just about to write up a detailed follow up so check in an hour from now.

Sounds like what i experienced twice so far and i think thompsontechs is on the right track. But several members on this forum have reported similar symptoms but different solutions. The other more common solution is replacing all camshaft position sensors and the crank angle sensor. The least satisfying solution seems to be replacing the throttle bodies (problem re-emerges shortly after, because throttle bodies were replaced as a stab in the dark solution by dealers).

Thanks for writing. Yes, i was actually able to accelerate when this happened, just not too much.

Thanks. Ive experienced issues with dirty MAFs before, but usually the symptom is hesitation. No harm in trying this out though, as i have some CRC MAF cleaner around. 5 days of driving after the issue happened, no problems so far :ugh2:

sounds to me the fly by wire throttle is failing in some way. they can act several different ways when they fail from not responding at all to input, to reving up and down on their own to going full bore. just my opinion.

This seems possible as well, perhaps a positioning sensor failure. The more stuff you have in the design, the more there is to fail. I do not like fly by wire stuff myself... give me a good old mechanical connection. :) Hey. I'm old!

I had this same problem and it turned out to be a throttle positioning sensor was faulty. Unfortunately Nissan doesn't just sell the sensors you have to buy the whole throttle body which is 835 $each! I had to find a used one on eBay for 210 $. Good luck to you sir

Did this cause occasional jerky acceleration? I felt some hesitation/judder when I was accelerating today.

So at lunch I tried it out, I just took off normally in first (this is all under like 10mph) As I was rolling all of a sudden it felt like I pushed the clutch and jumped off it. (Because car stopped accelerating then accelerated, the tires did a quick chirp and vdc flashed)

But i assume it is covered under warranty if ones warranty has not expired, right?

Nvm , pulled a coil pack and have oil on it.

This happened for the 2nd time now. So p!ssed!!! Cant believe a 2013 40k car(in PR) with only 10K is having issues already. Going to the stealership this week to see what BS they come up with. Sorry everyone, just blowing off some steam, im just really frickin p!ssed :mad:

2 switches near the brake pedal. disconnect the left one, then fit a jumper across the connector on the harness side (jumper the male connector, not the switch which you have now disabled)

nb: disconnect battery as it's very easy to accidentally short something while fitting the jumper.

jumper can be a big staple, wire or whatever. tape it up to insulate after

Sorry in advance for the question im about to do, but: how would this help and what possible risks am i looking at? Sorry, but never heard of doing this before.

have a read of my thread, esp the last page: http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...ation-lag.html

the switch on the left is mainly used to kill the cruise control when you brake. the switch on the right is for the stop lights so dont worry, your brake lights will still work as they should.

the left switch is also used to tell the ECU when you are braking (don't ask me why Nissan chose to use two switches...) and in a bid to prevent a runaway Toyota situation, the ecu will not let the throttle plates open more than 15 degrees (until you pass 4000rpm) if it detects the brake pedal is pressed. Think of your garden hose when it gets a kink, then you unkink it... wet tshirt due to sudden increase in water flow etc.
I've actually discovered thru a lot of experiments that if your foot is on the brake pedal, the ecu will not let you accelerate faster/open the throttle plates further than its position at the moment you pressed the brake pedal. until you eventually pass approx 4000rpm.

So, if your brake pedal switch is not adjusted correctly or faulty and the ecu is misled to believe your foot is on the brake pedal, grandma's going to leave you at the lights while you're swearing and cursing.

This particular switch on the left is a normally open switch so when you press the pedal, the switch is NOT depressed and therefore circuit is open. The one on the right is normally closed.
So the jumper trick fools the ecu to always think the brake pedal is NOT pressed, by simulating a closed circuit - as if the brake pedal was at rest (which means the switch is depressed).

Eventually, the lag issue will appear again. I think it's because the ecu's failsafe is to assume the driver has to press the brake pedal at least once in X minutes of operation or Y distance has been travelled. I havent triggered it often enough to notice a pattern but both times when the issue reappeared with the jumper in place, it was after driving in heavy stop/start traffic.

hope that helps :) see what the dealer says/does and then try my get-you-home trick if they cannot solve it

only risk i can see is if you use the cruise control - it wont know when you are braking so you might be fighting the cruise.

simple way to avoid this is to refrain from using cruise control, or if you must then remember to turn off the cruise when you brake/coast

Can you post a picture of this switch next to the brake pedal? Thanks

sorry folks, either the LHD models have the sensors arranged differently or my memory has failed me.

i cant upload pics via this damn iphone but i'll point you to this thread: http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...tml#post664697

there are two pics in it. the switch i am talking about is the skinny black one which is on the RHS of the first pic. the chunky one is for the brake lights. dont disturb that one

ok so i just went outside to check my car. my memory didn't fail me.

RHD models will have the cruise control brake switch on the left, stop lamp switch on the right.
LHD models will have it the other way around.

either way, it is the black skinny one you're after.

Thanks for taking the time to post and explain juld0zer. I will go to the dealer first but im anticipating a lot of BS+they will not solve the problem. Ill throw them a bone and try to explain the possible causes to this issue from what ive gather on what everyone has said and see if that helps. If not, guess ill have to follow your advice or live with this problem. Kind of bummed right now, and a bit disappointed with nissan :shakes head:

the brake switch could be the solution but keep your mind open to other possibilities as i know of a few other possible causes/solutions.

for me, i'm 95% sure it's brake switch related as i can induce the problem by simulating a depressed pedal.

keep us updated!

Hey P's Z, looks like you're not the only one, I've had this problem for quite some time. I thought it was the tune I had being too aggressive or dirty MAF sensors. Last thing I did was get an etune from uprev and changed to 93 octane gas. I haven't had the problem since. But it always happened to me in the mornings when I first started the car. Shut it off, turn it on again and it would go away. Let us know what the stealership says. :tiphat:

Will do Kabestro. This morning i cleaned air filters, maf sensors and disconnected the battery just for the sake of it since im pretty sure thisis not what is causing the problem.

Oh, and sorry to hear about you having the same issue, good thing you we're able to take care of it. :tup:

The problem continues and its happening more frequently. Went to autozone today since i havent been able to go to the dealer yet. Got OBD II readings and a P0101 code came up, even though SES light has not appeared. According to this site: P0101 Nissan Mass Air Flow Circuit Range/Performance OBDII Engine Light Trouble Code | Engine-Codes.com

Possible causes are:

- Faulty mass air flow sensor
- Intake air leaks
- Dirty mass air flow sensor
- Dirty mass air filter
- Mass air flow sensor harness is open or shorted
- Mass air flow sensor circuit poor electrical connection

Ive cleaned maf sensors, K&N filters were cleaned and are not over "oiled", checked for leaks could not find anything, so I guess this definitely leaves me no choice but go to the dealer. If its not a faulty maf, i can only assume its either any of the last 2 causes listed above. Assoon as i have more info ill report back.

theres nothing stuck in the airbox inlets or hoses like chunks of foam, garbage, plastic bags right? If you are going to the stealer to have the sensor looked at make sure it isn't something stupid or you will feel really bad later. also when checking for leaks don't forget to check the pcv and brake booster lines that go into the manifold. Save yourelf some time your code is for the passenger side, check the evap hose too. if you cant tell if it is leaking or not grab a needle nose pliers and pinch the hose in the middle to see if it make a difference.

Yes, i do find a leaf every now and then, but never think that the issue since its strange that i turn off the car, turn it on again and it works fine(unless the leaf gets out of the way of the airflow passage when i turn off the car and turn it on again) im definitely thinking of removing my z1 maf hoses and the airbox just to be sure. Ill definitely take your advice and check the lines, pcv and hoses... Thanks! :tiphat:

Checked lines, pcv, evap hoses, all seems to be ok. Took off my maf hoses, put oem ones on. Will be going to the dealer in the next few weeks when i get some time off work.

I've had almost the exact same issues. Dealt with it myself for a little while but eventually it threw a CEL so I took it to the dealer. They said it was the K&Ns and that oil from them damaged the MAFs and they would need to be replaced and not under warranty. I decided to just clear the CEL myself, clean the filters and ensure no excess oil, and spray the MAFs with MAF cleaner.

It got better immediately and I didn't have an issue for some time. Eventually though I started to get the feeling of overall decreased performance and recently I've had the codes (not the CEL though) thrown. I've cleaned the MAFs a second time which seems to restore some performance but the reaction is sadly random and not very consistent.

I'm beginning to think that maybe the dealer had one thing correct and that is that the MAFs actually need to be replaced. If this is the case I believe K&N warranties their product under Magnuson Moss and will reimburse you for the replacement of parts not covered under manufacturer warranty "apparently caused" by their filters. Thing is, if replacing the MAFs helps and the cause was the filters/oil I wouldn't want to use them anymore (and for that matter any of the CAIs also utilizing oiled filters, which immediately limits some of my favorites. :( However Stillen has released a new Gen3 dry using AEM filters.).

The other problem is that some of the issues mentioned relating to the throttle sensor definitely make me wonder if that is the problem. Interestingly, before reading this thread my instincts where telling me that it was primarily throttle response which seems to be the symptom. Hard to say exactly what is the problem so I'm very interested in seeing what your experience turns out like.

Coincidently, SES light came on today. And I do have K&N filters also. Its dissapointing to think that the oil messed up the MAF sensors,ive used K&N filters in all my previous cars and never had an issue, so that says a lot about how crappy our MAF sensors are. Ill definitely try and go to the dealer this week, really dissapointed in my Z right now :shakes head:

Just a little update, took my car to the dealer, did routine check up but have mostly been working on another forum members car(carlitos Z) which was first before mine. They have done tons of testing and changes in carlitos car, from reprogramming ECU to changing maf sensors and they have still not solved his issue let alone mine. They even tried to blame the motor oil we are using on our car as part of the issue, as neither of us uses nissan ester oil. We gladly responded: "well youre the ones that think this is the issue and are stomped, if you pay for the oil change, well gladly take your oil" :tup: They have yet to confirm if they are going to replace it of course. Last but not least, it is rumored that some people in the states that have had this problem have had it resolved by replacing the throttle bodies, which i read here somewhere. Of course being this an expesive alternative to solving our problem, dealer will gladly keep our cars in the meantime checking on other bull****! So, thats all i have to report for now, ill be picking up my Z tomorrow while they work on carlitos car. That we know of, there are 6 people with this issue in PR, some are even forum members. Again, this has been a very dissapointing experience, between the bogus and misterious issue we have that no one seems to be able (or capable) of solving, to the inneficient product that nissan has cooked up. Dont get me wrong, i love my car, and will most likely keep it if the problem is solved, but im definitely frustrated right now. Thanks to all who have written and have been giving me their input on this, as ive even had to give these pointers to the certified mechanics who are working on our cars. I will most likely be writing a very interesting letter to nissan in the upcoming days.... :stirthepot:

For now... :hello:

hey mate, at least you got a CEL!! i have nothing to go by. Just instinct, determination, constant research and speculation.

what mods do you have? how about carlitos?

First of all... Thanks Pedro for open a thread with the problems that our Z's have right now... i know this will work with other members in the future...

Ok I dont have to much to say cause Pedro already talk about that... currently Pedro's Z dont have any mod... they remove all the mods to see if the problem go... but still there... From my Z.... right now the only mod that they have is the HPS Post Maf Tubes... Oem catback and oem drop in filters cause the first time i leave my car under warranty they said that the problem was the K&N drop ins... they told me that i have to recharge them... i said they only have 10k miles and we know those filters you have to recharge them every 50k miles... well short story... i put the oem ones and the car still with the problem... I have some friends in this forum with post maf tubes and k&n drop ins for more than 3 years and never had an issue...soo that is not the problem. Today when Pedro pick up his car.. with nothing to do on his car... The person of customer services said that finally are going to clean my car throttles bodies and make an adjustment on them to see if that works... They are going to do that before proceed to change the throttle bodies... if with just cleaning them and the problem go... they are going to do the same on Pedro's Z.

Anyway we are going to keep this thread updated... and we hope that this people finally fix our cars cause this is my 2nd week with out car ands that is my only car right now.... :shakes head: