Endiku65.. welcome. he has a problem... read on

[zippy656]

I have a Pathfinder 2.5 Aventura auto, 2007, bought to tow a Sterling Elite,which is rather heavy for my Vectra.
The Tank - as she is affectionately called - has the Intelligent Key system, not something I would have chosen, but the car was very,very right money. No starting problems were encountered at all until I decided to buy a duplicate key, from the local main dealer, who programmed it, and it worked. On a number of occasions in the last three months, the car would not start: turn the switch, nothing, just as if there was a dead short somewhere. A local mechanic fitted a separate lead to the starter motor from the control box, which seemed to work well until this week, when there was a repeat performance. A local auto electrician thinks the immobiliser is cutting in for some reason - the engine started for him, sod's law, of course - and another local tuner's diagnostic box could not get far enough into the system to find the fault this morning.
I am not now using the 'new' key and, touch wood, Tank is starting as well as it used to before the most recent problems. I have booked it into my local (Crewe, Cheshire) main dealer on 10th January, but the diagnosis is likely to cost an arm and a leg. Any clues in the meantime, to avert a double amputation, would be much appreciated, especially as I am an old age pensioner (bah humbug: I've got Ducatis, knock years off) and the Tank drinks diesel like I sup Aussie Shiraz.

come on chaps.... nice welcome with some ideas please...

[lacroupade]

well its either just in manufacturers warranty or, if he bought it outside that less then six months ago, the selling dealer is responsible for any and all faults that could have been developing at that time.

Id be surprised if anyone here has specific knowledge of that fault on that vehicle....as Daved will tell you, they are "very very right" money for a good reason LOL!

[clivvy]

I agree this one is difficult to diagnose without seeing it. the electronics are very complex-for a reason-money. these arent DIY fixes I dont think, so id be chasing up the dealer you purchased from and claim it was an inherrant fault when he sold you it perhaps, but then, youd have to prove it probably? heres an example. Lass at work bought a Merc A class. to me, thats a posh motor and for the money, id expect it to be good as new. Anyway, she went to the shops with the kids, parked up, saw a bit of smoke, then, the whole dash set alight. She was fine, kids were fine and the car didnt explode or anything, she got it towed back and the dealer really tried to fob her off, she won the court case and got all her money back.

for you, you have an intermittent security fault of some sort, and i suppose you cant diagnose it without a computer. good luck, and i hope you get it sorted cheap.

[briggie]

you mention the replacement key at a main dealers .... did you actually purchase the vehicle at a main dealers ? .... or any bona fide dealer ? ..... or was it purchased privately ?

[lacroupade]

some threads on't t'internweb suggest that this intelligent key system has been prone to corruption if the key comes into contact with a mobile phone, which then scrambles its memory. Nissan have apparently been replacing such keys FOC....

[Endiku65]

Thank you all for your advice. It was purchased privately in April, from the best friend of my stepson, both of them in the motor trade, so no dealer recourse applicable. The car was a Cat D write off, having floated down a swollen stream, when the electrics/electronics became slightly damp---but very little other damage had been caused. I bought another key, simply because I hate having only one vehicle key ( I once had 4 for a Moto Guzzi Spada II) but only a main dealer can supply and programme one. It is, however, behaving itself again at the moment, starting as it should, but further investigations are in hand, to try to trace the mystery fault: the intermmitent ones are always the worst.
As and when it is finally sorted, I will report back, in case another member suffers the same problem.