sal81

Hi - my first ever forum post ever...


I have 2009 G37x. Car stalled on highway while driving - then would not start. Engine turned for 8-10 seconds but never start. Had to tow car to nearest AAA certified master tech. He pulled P0340 - camshaft position problem bank 1. Then after ordering the wrong part twice, he replaced the sensor but it still won't start. He said that he could get it started without the camshaft sensor installed? Been 2 full days since they had the car, but are still diagnosing.


To my surprise, while pulled over on the side of the road, I noticed oil dipstick was dry. I admit car has not had oil change in 20k miles - I use Mobile1 synthetic 5w30. After pouring 1 qrt of oil in it, the bottom 4mm of the dipstick had oil on it. It took two more quarts to bring the oil to within the normal-high range on the dipstick. I know 20k miles is a lot, and I am very upset with myself right now about that - but how could the oil get that low?

I have seen no visual evidence of an oil leak - no oil at all in my driveway where I park it and the master tech at the place it is at now said it isn't leaking. The first thing they did was change the oil (with mobile1 synthetic 5w-30 which is the only oil I use).


(Also, although this may not be related - wanted to also say that about 18 months ago, the car would randomly make an annoying knocking sound. I'm told that the sound is coming from one of the catalytic converters.)


Please help. 115000 miles, 2009 G37x

dkmura

Judging by the high mileage on your G and the lack of oil in your crankcase, I'd suggest your VQ37VHR has suffered severe wear, If the rings are worn, the Mobil 1 could simply slip by and get burned in the combustion cylinders. Once the oil level gets low enough, the receiprocating parts- crank and rod bearings- would begin to seize (knocking sound). Putting more oil in will help, but cannot undo the severe damage already done.

Sorry- I can't help on your P0340 issue, but a 'no start' condition should be something a qualified tech (with a code scanner) should be able to figure out. Just be aware that your engine could be badly compromised after you get it started. Only an engine rebuild will restore it before it blows.

sal81

Thanks for the reply. How much does it cost to do an engine rebuild? That knocking noise coming from the cats started a log time ago, before I ran on such low oil. Engine seemed to run fine up until now. I should mention that it also stalled immediately after starting a couple times per week and the only way I was able to start it was by giving it gas. That started about a year ago

miketyler

I had an experience with CPS P0340 on my G35. After replacing with cheap aftermarket sensor it seemed fixed but CEL light returned. After a lot of research I took to dealership. What I learned is there is a difference in the OEM CPS and cheap aftermarket parts.

Also, your engine may throw a CPS - Left Bank code but it may actually be the right bank or even the sensor at the flywheel. They all talk together. The technician told me that they will replace the specific location cps first as diagnosed by the code but if that doesnt do it, they replace all three.

I have to ask - how could you ignore the critical routine maintenance on your engine 4 times?

miketyler

A theory on where you oil went - after 10k miles and all the carbon and deposits are allowed to linger in your oil, it starts getting thick. Heat cycling has an affect and what follows is the thick oil starts building up in the engine, and settling in the oil galleys, nooks and crevices where it would normally flow thru sort of like cholesterol in a person that doesnt watch their diet. Another 10k miles on this old oil might lead to severe sludging so I would guess that most of your oil is built up under your valve covers and is now solidified sludge.

telcoman

Welcome!

Big mistake #1 not checking your oil.

Mistake #2. Just because he is AAA certified what makes you think he has the necessary qualifications to work on an Infiniti?

Mistake #3.
Why do you never check/change your oil?
My previous 06 G35 6sp had 53 oil changes prior to me trading it in with 171792 miles and the engine still ran like new,

Mistake #4 thinking that using an expensive synthetic oil is a substitute for not doing regular oil changes.

My 06 G35 sometimes used a quart every thousand miles.
Not a problem as oil is cheap and I would just add a 1/2 qt when needed.
I was at the dealer a few weeks ago when a young woman had her Infiniti in there. She had not changed oil in 30k miles. She had a leased vehicle and it was costing her over $10k for the engine replacement just to turn in the vehicle.

You don't need to use expensive oil. Just change it regularly.
Have you ever read your owners/service booklets that came with your vehicle?

You've learned an important expensive lesson.

Good luck to you.

Telcoman

financeman

I won't lecture...you've learned a very hard and expensive lesson. Get your car into an Infiniti dealership and get the problem diagnosed by someone who is specifically trained. Sounds like your engine might be shot.

I hope all works out well for you.

dkmura

You can only hope the knocking was from another source and not from bearing failure. As for the stalling, usually our VQ engines run very smoothly. If it stalled and you had to force it to run by increasing throttle, that is a not a good sign. Usually means the internal friction of the engine has increased significantly.

As for cost, rebuilding a VQ from the block up will be very expensive. As telcoman related, a factory trained tech will need a lot of time and parts to rebuild or replace it. $10K doesn't seem unreasonable for that big a job, although you might find a local independent who can do it for less.

telcoman

I'm sure a AAA certified tech can do it for less with a very uncertain outcome.
I don't know the finances of the OP but my advice to him is to start shopping for a new Infiniti on the internet. Get quotes from at least three dealers.
Once you get the best out the door price then bring up your trade in
Negotiate the best you can and get rid of the 09. Now its only good for parts.
Putting in a replacement engine on a five soon to be six year old vehicle does not make financial sense.

Telcoman

Rochester

iTrader: (9)

Kind of funny, but kind of totally serious, too...

OP's next car:

sal81

I definitely am learning a very painful lesson here. I got a call from the place the car is at now - they guy things the timing chain is stretched?


Going to have to pay him $1350 for rotors and brakes he already replaced and his diagnostics and a new cam sensor.


Then what, do I have it towed to Infiniti and have them diagnose in the hopes that they can fix it? How much are we talking here to replace the engine?

00Max00

20K on Mobil 1 was not the problem, the engine run with only 2 Qt oil was.

gsteigerwald

This is what exactly happened to my car except it wasn't my fault. Bought a CPO 2010 G37x Sedan and after a month with it, it just shut off on me one day and wouldn't turn over.

Obviously they never actually inspected it and slapped the CPO on it. Needless to say, they paid for and dropped a brand new large block engine into it and 7k miles later its running like a champ. I can't complain now, then I was flipping **** though.

stiizy

I'm sure a nice chunk of change as they wanted to charge me $1800 to replace an axle, an engine must be a grip..

sal81

Just wanted to say I appreciate everyone's input on this. I'm an idiot - plain a simple. I never really understood the consequences of not "getting around to" an oil change - never in a million years did I think it the oil level would drop 3 quarts in 20k miles. Why I choose to learn lessons the hard way in life - I will never know.


I can only hope at this point, that I get better news from the Infiniti dealership. I intend to have the car towed to the nearest one WITHOUT telling them that I have been told that the engine is bad by the previous mechanic. I would rather have Infiniti diagnose it and reach their own conclusions.


My plan is to go pay the "AAA" certified repair place the $1350 and say thanks for nothing (the "master-tech" that was working on my car is technically off today - I'm told he stopped in early this morning to look at the car once more and concluded that the timing chain was stretched, then went home and had someone in the front office call me to tell me the bad news...this guy proceeded to tell me they can fix it by replacing the engine with an $11,900 jasper? motor....obviously trying to get car out of there asap) I asked how the guy that called me how the tech came to that conclusion, and he said: 1. because the engine runs without both cam sensors installed and 2. because of the abnormal readings that he gets when the cam sensors are installed.


The only thing that is giving me some hope is that the engine really did seem to run fine, it idled fine, purred like a kitten...no engine knocking, no loss of power, etc. The knocking noise I referenced in my OP is sporadic and is not originating from the engine. Also the occasional start and stalls that I experienced seem to be pretty common on the '09 G37's (based on google research). Either way I learned my lesson - just hope it doesn't force me into buying a new car right now. I'm not prepared for that.


Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond to my post. I appreciate it.