Check Engine Light Issue

[Rosco99]

Hi everyone,

New here so i apologise if i post this in the wrong place. (come say hi at my introduction thread http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?34481-Hi!&p=621484&posted=1#post621484)

I am looking at buying a 2002 Patrol GU III which seems to be in great condition and very well cared for. The only issue that has me questioning the purchase is that apparently for many years (5-7) when driving in heavy traffic such as Sydney city for more than an hour the engine light will come on from time to time. Apparently when checked by Nissan the dealer was unable to get an error code from the car and since then servicing has been conducted by Southcoast 4wd who have also been unable to find a fault. Apparently there is no loss of performance or indicators that anything could be going wrong when this happens. Also the light does not come on during long road trips. A NADS kit has been fitted by Southcoast.

I was curious if this has happened before and if anyone had any thoughts as to what might be going wrong?

Also if there is anything specific to check when buying a used Patrol that hasn't been mentioned elsewhere (I've done a pretty thorough amount of research) I'd be happy to hear about it.

Has anyone had experience getting a mobile mechanic or similar to look over a car before purchase?

Cheers!

[happygu]

At least they have been upfront about it, which seems to be a great thing...

I had the same light come on a couple of times with my 2001 model when I had it, with no performance issues either.

It could be a few things, amongst these the most common are Turbo Pressure low - cracked hoses, loose hoses, split hose, leaky intercooler, or even a little water in the Fuel Filter ...

[Rosco99]

Thanks happygu!

The seller suggested that it was most probably water in the filter, however I am not sure how that could happen only in the city stop start traffic. Either way the seller seems more than upfront about everything relating to the car and clearly has taken good care of the vehicle (fitting NADS is a big step). I am leaning towards buying it but will have to wait to drive it or have a mechanic look over it if i can find one in Wollongong.


where did my original post go?!

[happygu]

Not sure about the post, but getting a vehicle check is a great idea....

The last thing you want is to find out that you have bought one with a worn out injector pump ( unless you are aware and this is calculated into the purchase price ), so a bit of foreknowledge can be helpful - even in negotiating price.

One thing to be careful of with the 2002 models, is that these ones are on the edge of the early model motor issues, which caused a lot of owners money and heartache - piston issues due to poor fuel controls.

Mine was troublefree at 72,000klms, and I was lucky enough to trade it in for $3000 less than I bought it for new, and grab the less troublesome update version ( 2003 model )

Having said that, someone at my work had an original 2000 model at 320,000 klms and no issues ever till they traded it in on a new Navara

[Rosco99]

The last thing you want is to find out that you have bought one with a worn out injector pump ( unless you are aware and this is calculated into the purchase price )

The purchase price at the moment is $14800 which would be too steep if not in pristine condition so I definitely havent worked it in.

For anyone who is late to the thread the TLDR is that im looking at buying a Patrol ST Plus GU3 2002 that has a check engine light come on occasionally over the past few years during city driving of more than 1hr, no problems on the highway and no error codes during diagnostics. It has a NADS installed for the majority of the kms

[NissanGQ4.2]

where did my original post go?!

Your original post automatically went into moderation as any member that has less then 25 post will have their post moderated if it contains the @ symbol or a link to a website ( even 2 this one ).

We had to do this to combat spam.

It back now :)

[Rosco99]

haha okay! Test drove/inspected the car today and called his mechanic to talk about the particular car and the mechanic said nothing but good things! Looks like I'm gonna join the owners club soon boys!