The Nissan Path

ok, posting up in regards to a problem my buddy is having, just started tonight.

when he cranks up, engine will start up and then rpm's drop and engine stalls out. it will do it every time, but if you give it a little gas when starting the rpm will drop just a bit on the downside and then adjust properly. once running, idles fine, not rough at all. SES light has not come on at all. Cleaned the MAF sensor, didnt seem to make a difference. TRIED relearn procedure (never gotten it to work on my 2001, either).

he has not noticed any hesitation or engine vibrations. He did mention that at times if he is getting on the interstate under moderate acceleration, he will notice a distinct smell that he only smells at that point, and then it goes away. i mention the smell issue because these two issues have been mentioned when i googled, but no answers were to be found.

at first i leaned toward the MAF, but being that it only has problems during initial start, doesnt seem charactersitc of that failure.

thanks in advance.

Mine did the exact same thing when I bought it but it had been sitting for several months. It continued for a month or two of daily driving but then just went away. I figured it just needed to be run. I didn't do anything about it because like you said it wouldn't stall if you give it a little gas.

Dirty fuel injectors and/or fuel filter? I don't know....

The throttle body is dirty. the head design on the vq35 causes those engines to pull oil through the pcv valve. The burned oil and carbon really gum it up and the little space that air is supposed to get through at idle, is sealed off. I drove mine for 4 months without a CEL coming on.
Nissan quoted $1300 for a new throttle body and computer. Both were supposedly bad. Well i decided to take a look myself and the mothers left my intake loose so i pulled it off and it was very dirty.
Its unsuggested by most people because the fly by wire can get messed up but i took it off, and scrubbed it with a scotch brite and soapy water.
Goodluck. I signed up just to help with this because so many mechanics couldnt figure it out, nissan i think knew but claimed it was so many other things. I found it myself and it cost me $18 to buy a new allen pack (someone misplaced the one i needed) mass Airflow cleaner and a box of scotch brite pads.

Figured I would post an update. Not long after the problem started, based on someone else's advice, he sprayed starter fluid into the intake tube. Although I may have had aprehension about this method, he has said that the problem was resolved and has not returned since.

fastpathy35 wrote:The throttle body is dirty. the head design on the vq35 causes those engines to pull oil through the pcv valve. The burned oil and carbon really gum it up and the little space that air is supposed to get through at idle, is sealed off. I drove mine for 4 months without a CEL coming on.
Nissan quoted $1300 for a new throttle body and computer. Both were supposedly bad. Well i decided to take a look myself and the mothers left my intake loose so i pulled it off and it was very dirty.
Its unsuggested by most people because the fly by wire can get messed up but i took it off, and scrubbed it with a scotch brite and soapy water.
Goodluck. I signed up just to help with this because so many mechanics couldnt figure it out, nissan i think knew but claimed it was so many other things. I found it myself and it cost me $18 to buy a new allen pack (someone misplaced the one i needed) mass Airflow cleaner and a box of scotch brite pads.

+1

I was having stalling problems after starting first thing in the morning on my old Maxima, Altima, and this Pathfinder... I cleaned the throttle body and problem went away the next morning when I went to start it.