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06 1.2 - Engine Malfunction - Nissanman
Hi,

I'm driving a Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 "E" and on my way to work this morning, the yellow engine light appeared on the display.

It is currently with a local garage who are running a diagnostic test, but I'm really worried it could be something serious. The sickening part of all is that the 3 year warranty only ran out 4 days ago (!!!)

On my way home last night the engine seemed to be slightly less nippy than usual, and at one or two points, without applying any extra pressure to the accelerator, the car sped up slightly on its own. I noticed that the rev needle at some points was "quivering" a bit. It was very windy outside though, so perhaps I was imagining things. But this morning, the car drove fine to work but the engine light came on the display.

Any thoughts? I'm terrified it could be something serious - I don't even need it after next month and was planning on selling it.

Just for info - 2 days ago I put some oil in as it was getting low. I put quite a bit in, and the oil was purcharsed about 4/5 years ago. It is Tesco oil for all petrol engines. I also wiped around the top of the engine with a wet wipe, as it seemed to be covered in ash. Not sure if this could shed light on the matter.

Thanks in advance
Robert

{edited to remove make/model/year/engine info from header as this automatically gets included from the mandatory boxes that you have to fill in}

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 27/05/2009 at 11:30

06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - Nissanman
Just got it back from the garage - they have said it is a problem with upstream lambda sensor, which needs to be replaced. The engine does seem slightly jittery. Does this sound credible? £230 apaprently.

DAMN!
06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - Optimist
I'm not a tech, but someone else on here will tell you whether or not it's credible.

But if it is a sensor fault at 4 days out of warranty, ask your dealer if they can talk to Nissan about a bit of goodwill.

Good luck.

06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - bimmer-driver
If it was me I'd get them to change the oil aswell. Some Tesco stuff thats 4-5 years old probably isnt suitable for a Micra. Really needs to be 5-30 semi synthetic on this engine.
06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - doofer
If the car has been serviced on schedule by a Nissan dealer they will almost certainly fix it under warranty, or at the very least contribute. If it has been serviced elsewhere they may well say no.
What codes did the diagnostics give?
Are you sure you didn't put too much oil in?
I've never changed the lambda on this model so cant say definitively, but £230 fitted seems a bit steep. A quick search is showing Bosch sensors at around £80.
06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - Nissanman
Hi, thanks for this and to the other guy for responding.

They didn't tell me the diagnostic code - only that it is an upstream lambda sensor problem. The engine is definitely acting a bit weird. If I am stood still then the revs suddenly increase a bit without me touching the accelerator, and it can also lose power a bit - seems like the amount of fuel reaching the engine is fluctuating.

I am taking it to the Nissan garage tomorrow and will hopefully persuade them to make a contribution to fixing it. Unfortunately I haven't had it serviced since I got it a year ago, and certainly not by them (seeing as their stupid reminder comes up every 12000 miles, and they charge a fortune.) But I may get away with it yet, as it is plausible that I am waiting to have it serviced until now.

I am frankly disgusted with Nissan. My family have been purchasing Nissans since the late 1980s and in fact all 3 of my cars have been Nissans. I have been brought up to believe they are a great, reliable brand, and yet I now find micro chips malfunctioning after only 3 years, and I am likely to be charged somewhere near £300 for them to test and fix it. This sort of thing should last for the life of the car, not 3 years. I now fear that all sorts of other sensors will also break at some point. It's not wear and tear stuff like a broken clutch, it is stuff I have no control over that should last for a long time.

I am also sceptical about the fact that it took until approximately 72 hours after my warranty to end for it to happen. How convenient.

I may have over filled it with oil.. would this have a bearing on matters? ... Just checked. It would appear that I did over fill it, insofar as the oil goes above the oil mark on the measure thing. Would that matter?

Thanks again

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 28/05/2009 at 01:33

06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - Dynamic Dave
... Just checked. It would appear that I did over fill it insofar as the oil goes above the oil mark on the measure thing.


By how much?
06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - Nissanman
It looks like the oil had not been over filled, or not by much at least. I got the oil changed the next day and the guy said it didn't seem it had been over filled.

So I am back to where I started... had a diagnostic test and the garage said it was the Upstream Lambda Sensor needed replacing. However, I have since spoken to several mechanics who have said that this isn't necessarily the case, and I don't want to pay a garage to replace the sensor when it turns out there is an underlying problem that has caused the sensor to give a malfunction signal.

One guy has said it could be something as stupid as a bust spark plug, or that the sensor that is in there simply needs a clean.

I told another mechanic about the engine revs changing a bit without any input from me and he said it could be the throttle body, and that the lambda sensor wouldn't affect the revs.

I'm going to take it to a garage I used to use and hope they just work out exactly what the problem is and fix it, without me needing to go back.

Out of interest though - let's say for arguments sake that the car had been over oiled; could this, in theory, cause the Lamba sensor to play up???

Cheers
06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - Woodspeed
If you have over oiled it, and drove up a steepish hill accelerating, it is possible for oil to be sucked into the bores, burned, and leave a heavy deposit on the sensor.
06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - oilrag
"I put quite a bit in"

"Just checked. It would appear that I did over fill it insofar as the oil goes above the oil mark on the measure thing."

"Out of interest though - let's say for arguments sake that the car had been over oiled; could this, in theory,"

You would be best helped with advice OP if you were up front about the amount of oil you put in and the level on the dipstick.

Edited by oilrag on 01/06/2009 at 12:02

06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - bcbooky

Hi,

Sorry to revive the thread but I am having the EXACT same problems with my 2006 micra 1.2 S. I only just bought it and it was fine when i took it for a test drive. It only has 15,000 miles and has full service history. However, when I was driving home about 1 hr from the dealer, the car was experiencing the same things as has been written here in terms of " ... without applying any extra pressure to the accelerator, the car sped up slightly on its own". I then stopped and turned everything off, turned it back on and the engine malfunction light came on (orange).

I rang the dealer and he seems to think that the engine malfunction light is due to a faulty oxygen sensor that could have been triggered when it was 'jet washed' whilst being valeted. He said that he would cover the costs. I've taken it to an independant garage who hooked it up to a diagnostic machine which indeed brought the malfunction light sensor on due to a faulty front lambda/oxygen sensor which should be on varying voltages but is on a constant voltage. Is this indeed the solution to the problem, and is this malfunction light/oxygen/lambda sensor in some way connected to the speeding up/jerkiness of the car or is this due to something else?

Regards,

Bcbooky

Edited by bcbooky on 14/01/2011 at 12:39

06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - bcbooky

Just an update incase someone else has the same problem. I think we have found the solution. Although the upstream lambda sensor is coming up as faulty with the code P0132, the actual problem is the downstream lambda sensor. Basically, we had them both changed, but initially only the first one. After this one was changed the same problem occurred and the engine light came back on with a jittery engine. Once the rear sensor was fitted, everything was back to how it should be, so I hope it will help anyone with similar problems!

06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - Peter D

Did Nissan pay. ?? Regards Peter

06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - rachel muir

I've had similar problems too.

I've got a 2004 (54) 1.2 nissan micra which I've had since new.

Last december the amber/yellow warning light came up on the dashboard. Took it to a local garage (well know tyre and exhaust company) and a diagnostic was carried out, I was told that it was the oxygen sensor to the front of the exhaust system and it would need replaced. It cost £170 excl the diagnostic, so in total it was just short of £200.

Now less than 3 months and 1500 miles later the fault has re-appeared again!!!!

Took it back to the garage who did the work, and they've said it'll need another diagnostic to see whether to new part has failed or something else has gone!!!! Considering these sensors are supposed to last between 60 - 80 thousand miles, and I've only done 42 thousand (I only do about 6-8 thous a year mileage). The car is over 6 years old (7 this year) but this is getting beyond a joke.

The car has been regularly serviced by Nissan when it was under warranty and I get it serviced every year by another garage who I go to (they don't have the diagnostic system to carry out this work).

Could it be that the part fitted was faulty? Or could it be something else?

Does anyone have any ideas?

06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - elekie&a/c doctor
Possibly something else.Apart from worn timing chain issues which flag codes for crank/cam sensor faults,it would not be unusual to flag a lambda sensor fault but it is often the post cat sensor (downstream)that corrupts the info for the front sensor and thats why everyone changes this one first(upstream).Need to get a diag check done first.hth
06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - rachel muir

Had another diagnostic done tonight, and the bad news is that the other o2 sensor at the back has also gone. So that's another £200 that I've had to pay tonight. The part has been ordered but won't be in until Wednesday/Thursday. They won't order the part unless I pay for it first.

They've said that the damage to the front one has probably masked the damage done to the back one. Considering I had to wait 2 weeks for the part to arrive for the first one, hopefully this one will arrive when they've said.

So far this car has cost me £400 in 3 months!!!! Sometimes I wonder if the potholes are not helping matters. Since I noticed it on Saturday, I used a quarter of a tank for only 20 miles. I only wish I could afford a new car, but that won't happen unless I win the lottery lol.

Me and the OH have decided that we won't be buying another Micra, as it's costs too much to repair or get replacement parts.

06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - jasimog

Reviving this old thread - exact same fault with a 54 reg 1.2 Micra at 37000 miles. Yellow engine warning light, fault codes P0139 P1147. Upstream lambda sensor changed at a cost of £210 (+ £45 for the diagnostics) at the local dealer. After less than 20 more miles the light has come on again and, judging on what has been posted already I'm now expecting the garage to say that it's the downstream sensor! Will post the resolution once it has been sorted.

06 1.2 Nissan Micra 1.2 2006 - Engine Malfunction - jasimog

...I'm now expecting the garage to say that it's the downstream sensor!

To follow up from my earlier post, the main dealer did indeed say that the other oxygen sensor needed changing. Apparently this was 'completely unrelated' to the upstream sensor fault, but as an engineer I do find this hard to believe.

The bottom line is that they replaced the second (downstream) sensor and the yellow warning light has not returned yet, so it does seem that the problem has been sorted.

As far as the cost goes, we managed to get the £45 'diagnostic fee' waived and also the labour charges (more of a challenge but they relented). In total an additional £150 inc VAT was paid, which is a slight discount on the cost of the sensor itself, which is apparently £142.50 + VAT.