[Mcline]

First off, we are trying to see if we can find a fix for my car without a huge repair bill. Maybe someone has had the same issue with their xterra.

It had issues back in june/ july of 2018 where it would loose power, go in limp mode with sls light and another light i cant remember right this second. It would also jerk while driving when those lights came on. We took it to the shop and the mechanic said camshaft sensors needed replacing... replaced both and car ran fine for 4-5 months.
PROBLEM NOW:
The car started acting weird around 50-60 mph like it didnt want to accerlate any higher. If i took my foot off the gas it would finally acclerate to 60 mph then no higher. It just started making a really loud sound if i tried to go any faster. After a week of driving 20 mins a day never going over 50 mph, it started only acclerating to 30 mph with the loud noise. My check engine light isnt on. No lights are on. It cranks fine. .... also it has had this weird metallic pinging sound with accerlation since i bought it in 2017. It sorta sounds like a sewing machine. Any advice as to the fix/cause would be appreciated.

 

[Mcline]

Also, my husband says to him the car acts like its not getting enough fuel.... but we have no idea where to even start troubleshooting and trying to fix without taking to the shop.

 

[kms1990]

Also, my husband says to him the car acts like its not getting enough fuel.... but we have no idea where to even start troubleshooting and trying to fix without taking to the shop.

has the cooling system recall been performed on this truck? if not/unknown if it was, i would investigate the coolant and tranny fluid for mixing of the fluids indicating your radiator had the defective tank divider and allowed coolant and tranny fluid to mix which is slowly eating your transmission alive. the fix before this occurs is simply changing the radiator, afterwards however though it is a nightmare that may require up to a new tranny but some can be saved with a tear down and rebuild. coolant in your radiator may look similar to this

some more info https://www.thenewx.org/forum/11-po...d-surgery-tomorrow-trans-radiator-cooler.html

if you find coolant looking like the above picture you need to consult a transmission specialist in your area as this is not a DIY fix unless you have very specific transmission knowledge and have the room for a rebuild.

for even more info google "2nd gen xterra SMOD" or "2nd gen xterra strawberry milkshake of death"

also do you know if the cam sensors that were replaced were OEM nissan parts or aftermarket? if aftermarket they tend to fail alot, get OEM and swap them first and see if that helps but still check your fluid. and did they just repalce cam or was it cam and crank position sensors? these both need to be of ther OEM brand preferrably from the dealer.

 

[Mcline]

We havent done anything to the car other than the sensors mentioned. I have no idea if it was done before we bought it. We got it from a used car lot, it only had 1 previous owner. Will have to check into the fluids. Thanks!

 

[kms1990]

We havent done anything to the car other than the sensors mentioned. I have no idea if it was done before we bought it. We got it from a used car lot, it only had 1 previous owner. Will have to check into the fluids. Thanks!

were the sensors cam and crank or just cam? and were they OEM nissan branded parts or aftermarket say from Autozone or somewhere? if the latter you need to swap them with OEM nissan parts, any magnetic based sensor on nissan is usually better to go OEM as the aftermarket magnets tend to be smaller and weaker and send off a signal different than the ecu expects which causes other issues sometimes right after changing them and other not for a good bit after. examples of magnetic sensors are cam and crank position, knock

 

[Mcline]

Just checked radiator fluid is green. No pink at all. Took a pic but cant get it to upload. And it was just cam sensors replaced, because thats the only codes that showed up. And im pretty sure they were after market because the mechanic could get them for cheaper.

 

[Mcline]

Im not having any of the same issues as i did with the cam sensors. No warning lights are coming on. My car is not cutting off or anything. It simply will not accelerate and makes this really loud noise. Wish i cld get this video of the sound to upload! Also vdc off was the other light that came on with the cam sensors.

 

[kms1990]

Im not having any of the same issues as i did with the cam sensors. No warning lights are coming on. My car is not cutting off or anything. It simply will not accelerate and makes this really loud noise. Wish i cld get this video of the sound to upload! Also vdc off was the other light that came on with the cam sensors.

ok makes me lean more towards the SMOD, VDC is vehcile dynamic control (fancy name nissan gave traction control) that uses a combo of the ABS system and tranny to prevent slipping and maintain control, if your tranny is acting up this would wreak havoc on the vdc system as well.

 

[Mcline]

I have no clue. The vdc light hasnt came back on since the cam sensors were replaced. My husband says he doesnt think its the transmission.

 

[Mcline]

My car does NOT rumble or shake at 50 mph. It simply will not acclerate while producing a very loud sound. You can have the gas to the floor and it will not go any faster. The car drives very well other than the whole not speeding up thing and the noise. I havnt checked the transmission fluid, but the anti-freeze is anti freeze green.

 

[Mcline]

Theres my radiator/ anti freeze

 

[kms1990]

Theres my radiator/ anti freeze

Check the transmission dipstick too. But that looks ok. We really do need to hear the noise, maybe upload it to youtube and link it here if it will not upload directly

 

[kms1990]

I would also advise having the ecu scanned for codes, there can be pending codes that have not tripped the light yet, if any are found post them

 

[kms1990]

next we would need to check sensors, so if all this checks clean we need to inspect the abs system, wheel speed, transmission input and output shaft speed sensors, diff slip sensor

 

[kms1990]

any updates?