Nissan Versa no power before and after trans. replacement

Dean Owner New York Posted   Latest  
Case Study
Driveability
2012 Nissan Frontier S 4.0L (VQ40DE) 5-spd

Just thought I would share this with the group. I was called to a transmission shop that had just replaced the Transmission with a low miles used unit. This has a CVT. The original complaint was very low power upon acceleration from a stop. This was the reason the trans was replaced. The same complaint existed, before and after the trans replacement. Scanned all modules and found the below pictured codes. I noticed when accelerating from a stop, for the first second it would acclerate at a normal rate and then fall flat and not accelerate beyond 5-10 mph. When in park, engine would rev normally up to redline. I felt the traction control was active during acceleration in gear. So, I unplugged the ABS module. The vehicle accelerated normally. At that point, I noticed the left rear tail lamp was sitting ajar in the pocket. I had heard a story a few years ago, about the wrong brake lamp bulbs being used in a Nissan and causing similar low power issues. I had the shop owner step on the brakes, and I noticed the third brake lamp was out. A new bulb was placed into the third brake lamp, and to my absolute surprise, the vehicle was operational and acclerated normally. If I did not see it, I would never believe it. I hope, this may save someone some time. Like the saying goes, I'd rather be lucky than good. 

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Cuba Mobile Technician
Pennsylvania
Cuba
 

Wow! That's amazing! I'm just dumbfounded on how these systems are getting to be! The wrong bulb causing DRIVEABILITY issues?! I suppose it was part luck and part hearing of a past odd malfunction. Superb job and 1 you'll never forget

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Geoff Diagnostician
Hawaii
Geoff
 

That's a wild one Dean. One question; When you wrote, " I felt the traction control was active during acceleration in gear" do you mean you physically FELT it, or did you mean you "had a hunch"? Thank you, and aloha from West Maui,

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Dean Owner
New York
Dean
 

Geoff, It literally felt like the traction control was active during acceleration.

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Geoff Diagnostician
Hawaii
Geoff
 

Thank you for the clarification, Dean.

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Dusty Instructor
Texas
Dusty
 

Good find Dean! Just wanted to tack some related information on this one. NTB15-082 discusses moisture in the taillights causing hesitation with or without DTC P0705 on … Versa.

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Frank Owner/Technician
Ontario
Frank
 

Roger that...was going to make mention during my 'lunch break' but you beat me to the punch:)

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Michael Mobile Technician
Utah
Michael
 

Wow!, That is out there. Great find. Thank you for sharing.

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Allan Instructor
Manitoba
Allan
 

Just want to clarify Dean. When you say third brake lamp are you referring to the high mount brake lamp? Great catch, it pays to store all those weird fixes you hear about in the memory banks. Thanks for posting. Have a great day.

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Allan Instructor
Manitoba
Allan
 

Hi Dean I just noticed that the title of your post says Nissan Versa but the vehicle ID says 2012 Frontier. I like to save odd information for future reference so I want to get the details right. Thanks.

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Dean Owner
New York
Dean
 

Sorry for the mix up folks, I was the center mount brake lamp, and it was a Nissan Versa.

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John Technician
West Virginia
John
   

Good find! We see it all the time at the dealership.

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