Hello,
I am not only new here, but I am quite ignorant about the inner workings of my 2001 Frontier and of automotive mechanics in general. I almost always pay a service technician to take care of issues, even minor ones. I recognize that I pay a premium for my ignorance; I only want my vehicle to work so that I can get on with my life. However, my current issue is requiring me to do a great deal of research and solicit multiple opinions.
Here is a description of each occurrence of the issue, and the assessments of professionals who have diagnosed it:
1. First incident: Approximately three weeks ago, I unlocked my Frontier remotely as normal. I had no indication that anything was wrong as I opened the vehicle and inserted the key. When I turned the key to start the engine all power suddenly went dead, and the engine didn't even try to start. I turned the key back, and then a few seconds later retried to start the engine. It started as normal. There was no indication that anything had gone wrong; even the clock on the radio hadn't reset.
2. Second incident: About two weeks ago, the engine again failed to start exactly as I described above. I was able to remotely unlock the door, and the dome light came on - but upon turning the key, all power went dead. Once again I turned the key back, waited a few seconds, and retried. The truck started as normal.
I then backed out of my parking space, drove through the parking lot, and turned onto my street. Then other symptoms occurred: the "ABS" light came on, the "O/D Off" light start flashing, and the truck acted as if I were in Neutral. Depressing the accelerator caused the engine to rev, but didn't accelerate the vehicle. These symptoms lasted for about five seconds, and then mysteriously vanished. At that point I resolved to have the vehicle serviced.
3. Third incident: The service station was closed at the time of the second incident, however, and I had to pick up my wife from work. We had to make a stop on the way home. Upon parking and exiting the vehicle, I attempted to lock the doors remotely - and nothing happened. All power was dead, and the truck wouldn't start exactly as I've described previously. We tried periodically over the next fifteen minutes or so before finally calling for a tow truck. Another thirty minutes and several retries later, the tow truck finally arrived.
We had to back my vehicle out of the parking garage in order to load it onto the tow truck; my wife inserted the key, turned it to the "ACC" position, shifted into Neutral, and depressed the brake pedal. We had to wait for another car to pass before we could back out, and after about ten to fifteen seconds of holding the brake pedal, power suddenly came back on. She was then able to start the truck as normal. Again, the clock hadn't reset and there were no other problems. We drove the truck to the service station ourselves.
4. First professional assessment: We left the truck overnight at the service station closest to our home. After twenty-four hours of the truck being in their care, they were unable to duplicate the issue. They confirmed that there was no problem with the battery, and they could not find any evidence of an electrical problem. Their best educated guess was that there was a short in the ignition, and that replacing the ignition might resolve the problem. They did emphasize that they couldn't be sure, however. Hoping that they were right, I authorized them to replace the ignition.
5. Third incident: Earlier this week, on Tuesday night, the truck failed to start again. There was again no indication that anything was wrong up until the time I turned the key to "START." All power suddenly went dead again. This time it took ten to fifteen minutes of periodically attempting to start the truck before it finally started as normal.
6. Second professional assessment: I took the truck to a local dealership for service the following day (Wednesday afternoon). I described the entire issue exactly as I've described it here, and the representative there took very detailed notes. Convinced that they would give it their best effort, I agreed to leave it with them for diagnostics. The representative said that he would get back with me the next day.
I received a callback from him this afternoon, and he let me speak directly with the tech who had been diagnosing the issue. They, too, have been unable to duplicate the problem. However, the tech is pretty sure that the issue lies with the PNP switch shifting out of position. He said that this would explain not only the truck failing to start, but also the symptoms I experienced while driving during the second incident (where the truck acted as if it were in Neutral). He also said that the truck was having difficulty shifting from first to second gear (my wife had noticed a slight problem with such), and that this was also consistent with a fault in the PNP switch.
If I recall my conversation with him correctly, he was leaning toward recommending that the PNP switch be replaced. Doing so, however, would be no small feat: it would require replacing the valve body, and because of the age/mileage of the truck doing that would not be feasible without replacing the entire transmission assembly. This would be a repair costing in excess of $2,000.
I want to emphasize that I may not correctly recall his explanation for why the PNP switch couldn't be replaced without replacing the entire transmission, but he and the service rep were definitely implying that the transmission replacement would be necessary. They were sensitive to the cost and didn't yet want to recommend the repair without being able to duplicate the issue, so they asked to keep the truck for another night to continue diagnostics. I agreed to let them keep the truck for further diagnostics.
So tomorrow I may receive a recommendation from them for a transmission replacement, regardless of whether they can duplicate the issue. Faced with the likelihood of such a costly repair and simultaneously fighting my own ignorance, I'm asking for help:
1. Do you agree with the second diagnosis, that of the PNP switch being at fault?
2. What additional work on the transmission needs to be done in order to repair/replace the PNP switch?
3. If you were incapable of doing any diagnostics or repairs on the vehicle yourself (as I am), how would you proceed from here?
Thanks for reading, and thank you in advance for your feedback.
heihojin
I am not only new here, but I am quite ignorant about the inner workings of my 2001 Frontier and of automotive mechanics in general. I almost always pay a service technician to take care of issues, even minor ones. I recognize that I pay a premium for my ignorance; I only want my vehicle to work so that I can get on with my life. However, my current issue is requiring me to do a great deal of research and solicit multiple opinions.
Here is a description of each occurrence of the issue, and the assessments of professionals who have diagnosed it:
1. First incident: Approximately three weeks ago, I unlocked my Frontier remotely as normal. I had no indication that anything was wrong as I opened the vehicle and inserted the key. When I turned the key to start the engine all power suddenly went dead, and the engine didn't even try to start. I turned the key back, and then a few seconds later retried to start the engine. It started as normal. There was no indication that anything had gone wrong; even the clock on the radio hadn't reset.
2. Second incident: About two weeks ago, the engine again failed to start exactly as I described above. I was able to remotely unlock the door, and the dome light came on - but upon turning the key, all power went dead. Once again I turned the key back, waited a few seconds, and retried. The truck started as normal.
I then backed out of my parking space, drove through the parking lot, and turned onto my street. Then other symptoms occurred: the "ABS" light came on, the "O/D Off" light start flashing, and the truck acted as if I were in Neutral. Depressing the accelerator caused the engine to rev, but didn't accelerate the vehicle. These symptoms lasted for about five seconds, and then mysteriously vanished. At that point I resolved to have the vehicle serviced.
3. Third incident: The service station was closed at the time of the second incident, however, and I had to pick up my wife from work. We had to make a stop on the way home. Upon parking and exiting the vehicle, I attempted to lock the doors remotely - and nothing happened. All power was dead, and the truck wouldn't start exactly as I've described previously. We tried periodically over the next fifteen minutes or so before finally calling for a tow truck. Another thirty minutes and several retries later, the tow truck finally arrived.
We had to back my vehicle out of the parking garage in order to load it onto the tow truck; my wife inserted the key, turned it to the "ACC" position, shifted into Neutral, and depressed the brake pedal. We had to wait for another car to pass before we could back out, and after about ten to fifteen seconds of holding the brake pedal, power suddenly came back on. She was then able to start the truck as normal. Again, the clock hadn't reset and there were no other problems. We drove the truck to the service station ourselves.
4. First professional assessment: We left the truck overnight at the service station closest to our home. After twenty-four hours of the truck being in their care, they were unable to duplicate the issue. They confirmed that there was no problem with the battery, and they could not find any evidence of an electrical problem. Their best educated guess was that there was a short in the ignition, and that replacing the ignition might resolve the problem. They did emphasize that they couldn't be sure, however. Hoping that they were right, I authorized them to replace the ignition.
5. Third incident: Earlier this week, on Tuesday night, the truck failed to start again. There was again no indication that anything was wrong up until the time I turned the key to "START." All power suddenly went dead again. This time it took ten to fifteen minutes of periodically attempting to start the truck before it finally started as normal.
6. Second professional assessment: I took the truck to a local dealership for service the following day (Wednesday afternoon). I described the entire issue exactly as I've described it here, and the representative there took very detailed notes. Convinced that they would give it their best effort, I agreed to leave it with them for diagnostics. The representative said that he would get back with me the next day.
I received a callback from him this afternoon, and he let me speak directly with the tech who had been diagnosing the issue. They, too, have been unable to duplicate the problem. However, the tech is pretty sure that the issue lies with the PNP switch shifting out of position. He said that this would explain not only the truck failing to start, but also the symptoms I experienced while driving during the second incident (where the truck acted as if it were in Neutral). He also said that the truck was having difficulty shifting from first to second gear (my wife had noticed a slight problem with such), and that this was also consistent with a fault in the PNP switch.
If I recall my conversation with him correctly, he was leaning toward recommending that the PNP switch be replaced. Doing so, however, would be no small feat: it would require replacing the valve body, and because of the age/mileage of the truck doing that would not be feasible without replacing the entire transmission assembly. This would be a repair costing in excess of $2,000.
I want to emphasize that I may not correctly recall his explanation for why the PNP switch couldn't be replaced without replacing the entire transmission, but he and the service rep were definitely implying that the transmission replacement would be necessary. They were sensitive to the cost and didn't yet want to recommend the repair without being able to duplicate the issue, so they asked to keep the truck for another night to continue diagnostics. I agreed to let them keep the truck for further diagnostics.
So tomorrow I may receive a recommendation from them for a transmission replacement, regardless of whether they can duplicate the issue. Faced with the likelihood of such a costly repair and simultaneously fighting my own ignorance, I'm asking for help:
1. Do you agree with the second diagnosis, that of the PNP switch being at fault?
2. What additional work on the transmission needs to be done in order to repair/replace the PNP switch?
3. If you were incapable of doing any diagnostics or repairs on the vehicle yourself (as I am), how would you proceed from here?
Thanks for reading, and thank you in advance for your feedback.
heihojin
