Limp mode.

Homer and Marge · Veteran Member

Limp mode.

Duh · Guru

Have you tried posing your question on the Australian X Trail forum? I gave you the link on the Tech Thread?????

Homer and Marge · Veteran Member

Not sure if I did post there, Duh. But I have been viewing problems others have had On that site Thanks for getting back to me and for alerting me to that site.

regardsMarge

Duh · Guru

No worries Marg, when I had my Xtrail I visited there a lot for info and advice etc.

Hope you get to the bottom of the problem.....

Duh · Guru

Hi Marg,

I don't know if this is what you would call "limp mode" but once my 2006 Petrol auto Xtrail conked out at a roundabout and wouldn't start again, the engine light (shape of an engine) lit up on the instrument panel.

I was in the middle of heavy traffic at the time and was holding everyone up. I got outside and looked under the bonnet but couldn't see anything visibly wrong (eg; lead off etc) and when I got back in the vehicle started, but light still on. I "limped" off the round about into a nearby parking area and rang the RAC.

When the RAC bloke came up he said it was the electronics and not to drive it with the engine light showing, he arranged a flat bed truck (covered by my membership, also taxi ride home) for me to an RAC workshop (it was a weekend) where they do repairs under the RAC banner and it was locked away until Monday, no workshop staff being on duty. They replaced something in the electronics, at a cost of about $300 odd dollars and I never had the problem again.

I am sorry, I didn't relate this to your "limp mode" problem earlier, I had forgotten about it, it was some time ago. The problem never happened again. I know the current owner of the X'trail and they haven't had any problems with it either since.

Have you tried ringing the RAC (or NRMA) for advice on your problem ???????

-- Edited by Duh on Thursday 4th of April 2013 10:22:07 AM

DeBe · Guru

This is a cheep ($20-$25 OBD11 tester) from China for reading fault codes & erasing them, purhcased on E bay. they are suitable for vechiles built after 2005. The conector is rectangular shaped & must be with in reach of the drivers position. the one in the picture is conected to a Barina in the fuse box. This tool i use on allsorts of vehicles & is easy to use. What surprises me is no Nissan mechanics seem to know or understand which sensors on these vehicles can cause a vehicle to go into limp home mode & go from there as part of there training. As a X Ford mechanic we were trained in each model & what to look for when fault finding. Some things that can cause Limp home mode are Cam or Crank sensors or Manifold vac or airflow sensors being intermittent. Or intermitent wiring or conectors & these can be hard to find.

-- Edited by DeBe on Thursday 4th of April 2013 10:57:27 AM

Sol · Senior Member

Homer and Marg,
When your car goes into limp mode, does the "Check Engine Light" come on?
If it does and you can, take it to an EFI Workshop and get them to put it on a Scantool.
If you want to chat to me about it you can call me and I'll give you the names of a few places I use.
My number is 0439704544.

Cheers Sol

GaryKelly · Guru

What a bummer, Homer and Marg. I sure hope the good people here can help your overcome this huge disappointment. I can readily identify with how sick it must make you feel, knowing that the problem will occur again with the likelihood of no one being able to fix it. Best of luck and all good wishes!

Homer and Marge · Veteran Member

Good morning Sol,

We are leaving Bowen now and hoping we can get a wee bit down the road. We will try the pull over and turn off the ignition trick and see how far we get. Thanks for your offer to speak to us and Homer will call you when we get back to the Atherton Tableland. The llights do not come on on the dash, even when we are crawling along. Bit scarey to say the least wish us luck.

Marge

spida · Guru

Have you had the onboard computer reset?
When I had that problem after a fuel pump job a reset fixed it. I was told the computer picks up a problem and puts everything into 'safe' (lmp) mode. Nissan must be able to check things out? I think if you turn the motor off and then when turned on again it 'clears' the limp if that works I would suspect definite computer problem.

Duh · Guru

Thanks DeBe, what are they "$25 code reader/ eraser" and how do you use them, also where do you get them from please?

I haven't got a radio code for my Ford Transit but want one for when I have to exchange the battery. My local Ford dealer wanted $190 to remove the radio to get the serial number for the code (and get me the code).

I have found from other enquiries that I can get the Serial Number and Audio Serial Number by depressing buttons 1 and 6 on my radio and reading the (very quick) displays. I took photos of mine to read at my leisure as it turns over very quickly. This saves taking the radio out partly which requires a special tool, not sure where you get one of those or if there is an alternative tool.

In the process now I have that info of trying to get the 4 digit code.

Sorry for the OT Homer and Marg.

-- Edited by Duh on Thursday 4th of April 2013 06:24:20 PM

herbie · Guru

Will be ordering one of those bad boys ..how handy would one of those gadets be and for the price who cares if it never gets used thanks for that info.

Regards Herbie

Sol · Senior Member

Homer and Marg,
Another idea that works a lot of the time is disconnecting a battery terminal for a few hours.

Cheers Sol

Duh · Guru

Just curious Sol, which one, negative or positive, and will your radio code have to be reset ????

DeBe · Guru

Doest matter which lead you disconect, but you may need a code for the radio & some dealers charge for the service. Mutch cheeper to use a $25 code reader/ eraser.

Duh · Guru

I towed my Coromal around Oz with my Xtrail and had no problems, the only problem I did have was a one off as reported earlier and that was just the vehicle on it's own on a day trip in the suburbs near home.....

PS: I loved my Xtrail and only sold it when I bought a Hi Ace campervan, I still miss it! cry

-- Edited by Duh on Friday 5th of April 2013 02:01:14 AM

DeBe · Guru

Hi Vic, my point was its easier to use the OBD scaner to erase codes in the engine computer, rather than disconect the battery & loose the radio code.

Sol · Senior Member

I'll do it free of charge!

Cheers Sol

Duh · Guru

DeBe wrote:
Hi Vic, my point was its easier to use the OBD scaner to erase codes in the engine computer, rather than disconect the battery & loose the radio code.

No worries DeBe, prevention is better than cure! biggrin

Duh · Guru

Sol wrote:
I'll do it free of charge!

Cheers Sol

Pity your on the other side of the desert to me, lol ! wink biggrin

Cruising Granny · Guru

Unfortunately I have seen several Nissan Xtrails and similar vehicles return to caravan parks on the back of a tilt tray truck with caravan in tow because the little tug broke its gear box or diff or motor. It's a big ask of a little car.
All the best with your little limp tug.

Duh · Guru

Coromal 450 should be well within the limits of an Xtrail CG, I towed a Coromal 475 with mine and had no trouble. They make a good combination, small van with a medium size tug. Different models of Xtrail have different towing capacities, the Coromal 450 has a tare of 900 kgs, so is not a heavy van and even when loaded the Xtrail should tow it ok.

TOWING

Not all X-Trails are the same when it comes to towing ability. While most variants offer a maximum braked towing capacity of 2000kg, there are some exceptions. These include 2WD, petrol manual variants, which are restricted to a maximum 1500kg. Diesel, auto X-Trail can only tow 1350kg (or 2000kg with the manual transmission).

The other, slightly confusing issue to consider is towball mass, which varies according to how much youre carrying on board the 1556kg X-Trail. Fully loaded to the maximum GVM of 2100kg, the maximum weight on the towball is limited to 50kg. Keep the GVM to 1850kg or less and towball mass increases, up to 200kg.

Nissan doesnt recommend fitting load levelling or weight distribution devices when using a Nissan Genuine towbar, and (sensibly) recommends no greater than 100km/h when towing.

With this mind (and the Ti CVT offering 2000kg towing), we hitched up a 1500kg caravan with 90kg on the towball. With the van weighing about the same as the X-Trail, it seemed a good match with only a slight drop in the rear suspension.

On the move though, the van was always noticeable behind, and the X-Trail struggled a bit, particularly up inclines. Trying to maintain a 60km/h speed up a short, medium incline hill required pedal-to-the-metal throttle and revving almost to the 6500rpm redline.

This resulted in the fuel consumption when towing never falling below 18.5L/100km, compared to 10.5L/100km solo. With a 65 litre fuel tank, youll want to make sure you dont venture too far from a fuel pump.

Even when sitting on the freeway at 80-90km the engine was forced to rev at 2500-3000rpm to maintain speed, which also contributed to in-cabin noise.

Although weve only driven it on another occasion solo, the gutsier, more fuel efficient diesel X-Trail with manual transmission would seem a much better option if you plan to regularly tow something 1500kg or greater.

VERDICT

Its easy to understand the attraction of the X-Trail among compact SUV buyers. Reasonably roomy, comfortable and practical, its also well equipped for the money particularly in up-spec models.

With an unbeatable 2000kg towing capacity, at least in this segment, its also a decent tow vehicle, although wed go for a diesel, non-CVT version if hauling a reasonably-sized rig is a major priority.

>> Thanks to Melbourne & European RVs in Melbourne, for loan of the Adria Adora 662UP caravan for this towing test.

NISSAN X-TRAIL TI 4WD

Engine: 2.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol
Max. power: 125kW at 6000rpm
Max. torque: 226Nm at 4400rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Length: 4635mm
Width: 1790mm
Height: 1700mm
Wheelbase: 2630mm
Ground clearance: 212mm
Kerb mass: 1556kg
Fuel: 65 litre
Towing cap. unbraked/braked: 750kg/2000kg
Tow ball mass maximum: 50-200kg (depending on payload)
Fuel economy (claimed): 9.1L/100km
Price: $44,990 (MRRP)

Homer and Marge · Veteran Member

Thanks Vic. Yes I had read your previous posting and thanks for that. We got home in one piece and while the car didn't go into limp mode, it was struggling for a while. Ringing RACQ for advice is on our to do list tomorrow. Also thanks for your report on the Coromal re towing with the Xtrail.

regards

Marge