[Rodrigo Cidad]

Hello, I have an 05 Xterra for almost a month now, and I'm loving it.

Since I bought it it has show me low oil pressure in low revs which I thought normal.

Today I drove around 600 miles and parked it for 2 hours, when I turned back on. It had no oil pressure at all.

The needle doesn't even move. It does has enough oil and I change it 3 weeks ago. The temperature is perfect and It doesn't present any wired sound.

I was afraid to run it but because the temperature was perfect I drove it the last 10 miles of the trip to make it home and it still working perfect.

I've read a lot of post similar to this but none that explain this particular case.

Could anybody give me a hand of what's going on? does the pressure sending unit fails and this is just a sensor issue? what would you guys recommend to find the problem

thank you

 

[dejablue]

Change the sensor before you drive anymore.

 

[tbattle]

Seeing same symptoms. Is this a common failure more of sensor? More results seem to be about gauge going to the top rather than to the bottom.

 

[Rmwheeler300zx]

If you want to be sure, hook up a mechanical pressure gauge in place of the sender and check.

If there's no noses or drivability issues then it's more likely an issue with the sender or gauge. I say drivability issues because most variable valve timing systems utilize oil pressure to adjust the valve timing. I believe the VQ40 utilizes adjustable intake timing at least.

 

[tbattle]

To follow up in case anyone finds this thread, it was just the sender. Easy fix. Thank you.

 

[Omac]

Just replaced my oil sender. Gauge back to normal. Very common issue.

 

[kms1990]

If you want to be sure, hook up a mechanical pressure gauge in place of the sender and check.

If there's no noses or drivability issues then it's more likely an issue with the sender or gauge. I say drivability issues because most variable valve timing systems utilize oil pressure to adjust the valve timing. I believe the VQ40 utilizes adjustable intake timing at least.

the vq40 has variable timing on both ends and yes uses oil pressure to adjust so you would notice tons of noise and power loss if you had low oil pressure

 

[Jennifer1980]

I've had the same issue with my 05 Xterra. Once the car heats up and I come to a stop, my oil pressure drops very low to where the oil icon comes on. Once I start to accelerate, the pressure goes back up. But if I am at a stopped at a red light in traffic, not only does my oil pressure drop but my Xterra starts to over heat. I've had the sensor, oil pump, oil pan changed and still can't figure out the problem. Any advice on what to do??

 

[kms1990]

I've had the same issue with my 05 Xterra. Once the car heats up and I come to a stop, my oil pressure drops very low to where the oil icon comes on. Once I start to accelerate, the pressure goes back up. But if I am at a stopped at a red light in traffic, not only does my oil pressure drop but my Xterra starts to over heat. I've had the sensor, oil pump, oil pan changed and still can't figure out the problem. Any advice on what to do??

have the timing system checked also have the oil system flushed you may have something clogging a passage what weight oil are you using and what brand oil filter? also how often do you change it and what is the climate where you live? does this occur more on a hill or incline while the front of the vehicle is pointed upwards?

 

[Jennifer1980]

have the timing system checked also have the oil system flushed you may have something clogging a passage what weight oil are you using and what brand oil filter? also how often do you change it and what is the climate where you live? does this occur more on a hill or incline while the front of the vehicle is pointed upwards?

have the timing system checked also have the oil system flushed you may have something clogging a passage what weight oil are you using and what brand oil filter? also how often do you change it and what is the climate where you live? does this occur more on a hill or incline while the front of the vehicle is pointed upwards?

I'm using 5w30 Castrol Oil. I usually purchase the oil filter at Wal-Mart (I don't usually pay attention to the brand). Oil is changed every 3,000 miles. I live in Southwest Texas so our climate is The climate is semiarid in moisture and subtropical in temperature. Humidity is more often high than low. Summers are long, hot, and frequently humid; winters vary between sunny, warm, cloudy, and cool weather. The pressure drops at no matter the position.

 

[kms1990]

I'm using 5w30 Castrol Oil. I usually purchase the oil filter at Wal-Mart (I don't usually pay attention to the brand). Oil is changed every 3,000 miles. I live in Southwest Texas so our climate is The climate is semiarid in moisture and subtropical in temperature. Humidity is more often high than low. Summers are long, hot, and frequently humid; winters vary between sunny, warm, cloudy, and cool weather. The pressure drops at no matter the position.

i would suggest you find a better filter, i am willing to bet you are using a cheap off brand filter and it is too restrictive and causing pressure issues. i change my oil in my 2011 every 5k but use synthetic ether castrol, mobil 1 or valvoline (whichever i can find the best deal on with a good filter) check out the filters at o'reillys (if one is near you, sure there is) they actually sell some of the better oil filters around wix and wix xp are some of the best on the market and oriellys is the best place to get em. the stp extended life at autozone isnt bad but not quite as good as wix xp(i have seen a professional break down of the make up and design on these so thats why i choose them), would never go the 10,000 miles it says it can on the stp extended life filter box. might try 10w 30 for an oil change and see if it helps some as well (definitely do synthetic if you do, i'd recommend synthetic anyways) oil and oil filter quality are very important, just like your blood in your body the oil isx the life blood of your engine and lets use your liver as an example would you runa s good if you lost 50% of your liver or it lost a bunch of its filter capacity? no you would feel bad, have low energy etc your engine is the same way with oil, it needs good oil and filtration to stay in good health you need a filter that can get the tiny dirt particles and hold the but not restrict flow too much so your pressure will stay up. have to rember too, engines ahve very very tight passages where oil must be at a good pressure and flow to prevent friction the engines in most modern cars (2nd gen xterras included) need good oil pressure to make power too as they use the pressure to change the valve timing and cam profile in the engine as you accelerate and need more power and to keep everything as efficient as possible

I also live in texas but north texas, (fort worth area) so hot but a bit less humid than southern or southwestern texas, sure you get the wide temp swings like we do where it can be 75 or 80 one day then 40 the next this will also mean you need a good filter that can filter out the moisture that naturally builds up in these wide temp swings.

 

[Jennifer1980]

i would suggest you find a better filter, i am willing to bet you are using a cheap off brand filter and it is too restrictive and causing pressure issues. i change my oil in my 2011 every 5k but use synthetic ether castrol, mobil 1 or valvoline (whichever i can find the best deal on with a good filter) check out the filters at o'reillys (if one is near you, sure there is) they actually sell some of the better oil filters around wix and wix xp are some of the best on the market and oriellys is the best place to get em. the stp extended life at autozone isnt bad but not quite as good as wix xp(i have seen a professional break down of the make up and design on these so thats why i choose them), would never go the 10,000 miles it says it can on the stp extended life filter box. might try 10w 30 for an oil change and see if it helps some as well (definitely do synthetic if you do, i'd recommend synthetic anyways) oil and oil filter quality are very important, just like your blood in your body the oil isx the life blood of your engine and lets use your liver as an example would you runa s good if you lost 50% of your liver or it lost a bunch of its filter capacity? no you would feel bad, have low energy etc your engine is the same way with oil, it needs good oil and filtration to stay in good health you need a filter that can get the tiny dirt particles and hold the but not restrict flow too much so your pressure will stay up. have to rember too, engines ahve very very tight passages where oil must be at a good pressure and flow to prevent friction the engines in most modern cars (2nd gen xterras included) need good oil pressure to make power too as they use the pressure to change the valve timing and cam profile in the engine as you accelerate and need more power and to keep everything as efficient as possible

I also live in texas but north texas, (fort worth area) so hot but a bit less humid than southern or southwestern texas, sure you get the wide temp swings like we do where it can be 75 or 80 one day then 40 the next this will also mean you need a good filter that can filter out the moisture that naturally builds up in these wide temp swings.

Never looked at it that way. We do have an O'Reilly's here in town so I'll definitely stop by since I am due for an oil change. I have thought about switching to synthetic but just haven't done it yet. I suppose it's time! Thank you so much!

 

[kms1990]

if you look up the filter under wix you might get p/n 51358 or 51358xp, this is standard height filter, if you want more filtering capacity 57356 or 57356xp will fit and is about an inch taller filter so you get significantly more filter area do note this filter is a bit more difficult to install due to where and the angle our filter is installed at but is certainly doable and is the filter i use in my truck so i can get better filtration and more dirt holding capacity. you will need to add about another 1/5th or so quart of oil but we already have to buy a 5 quart and a 6th quart to fill so its not an extra expense. my oil stays very clean over 5k using the 57356xp and castrol/mobil 1 or valvoline. links to both filters so you can compare(these are base fikters not xp versions): Wix 51358 Wix 57356

 

[kms1990]

Never looked at it that way. We do have an O'Reilly's here in town so I'll definitely stop by since I am due for an oil change. I have thought about switching to synthetic but just haven't done it yet. I suppose it's time! Thank you so much!

yeah oil changes and fluids arent something to skimp on on a car you plan on keeping. its worth the extra $10-20 to get synthetic and a better filter same with tranny fluid its worth it to get a premium brand and good filter same with diff fluid, coolant is one thing that brand really doesnt make a difference on, i personally like peak but any brand that meets manufacturer specs will work fine if you want to skimp anywhere on car maintencne lighting is one place you can (not headlights, if you drive at night alot, but say tail, turn signal, brake lights etc dont need to be fancy LEDs or anything expensive just basic whatever fits will work great) working in car parts in college and being a car guy i see all too often how being cheap or skipping on one repair or maintenece item can snowball your repair and maintenance costs and cause a good car to become a pile of junk fast. its rather sad how often i saw this at the parts store, guy would come in and say "oh thats too much" skip it then be abck in weeks later needing evern more parts and ends up spending way more because they let more go and the car started falling apart.