I have an '03 Sedan 5AT and lately with this colder weather I'm getting this odd chattering noise on acceleration.

It's coming from the front of the car...either engine are or transmission. It only started when it got really cold in Houston, TX. We've recently hit 30's on nights and it's usually 33-50 during the days. A few days after it got that cold my car is making a type of "pulley whirring", "some type of belt rubbing" noise from somewhere in the engine compartment or possibly under or behind the engine...maybe the tranny. I can hear from inside the car and I think it's pretty loud outside also. Coincidently when the noise started, I got a "Service Engine Soon" light. I am at 64K miles and am out of the warranty. I would rather ask you guys first rather than take it to the dealer immediately. Please understand, that I am looking for opinions or ideas from you guys first rather than going to the dealership immediately. I am out of warranty! K, so that sound only comes on when I accelerate or cruise at a constant speed with my foot resting on the gas. I've never had this problem before and the weather has never been this cold either.

Any clues?

 

Can you try to describe the noise a bit more, is it a squeal? I was going to say it is something with your belts (they can sometimes act up/slip in cold weather).

I think your car just doesn't like all of this cold weather we have been having in TX.

 

^ As mentioned above, it could be the drive belts affiliated with the alternator and the A/C either losing their tightness or starting to dry out. Hence you will hear a somewhat loud whining noise when you first start-up in the morning, and the noise goes away after a few minutes of driving.

As far as the SES light, I would take the car to an Autozone or Advance Auto store and get the error code diagnosed. It's a free service, and that itself will pinpoint the problem area(s).

 

It's possible that it isn't the cold at all but a bit of road debris, a plastic bag for instance, that has been sucked up and is now wound up in a belt or around a pulley. Have you taken a good look around in the engine compartment? Just a thought.

 

Ok ultra gay. I was able to get the code for the SES. #P0011 - Says: Cam Timing Over-Advanced.....Bank 1.

What the hell. The car sounds like a diesel with steady cruising. All that sound is coming from the cam area. I called in infiniti service and it will probably cost ~$350 to repair (replace parts) they said. Geez. What the F*** could go wrong? It was seemingly random to fail like that. This car is becoming a headache sadly. The service manager said over the phone, from the service code, that the engine is retarding timing and possibly a cam sensor is faulty or failed.

 

Ouch! I'm at 90K miles now and feel your pain.

 

Timing chain replacement, and or a guide for the chain might have come loose. Either way same cost. Sucks though. Let us know what they find out.

 

Sounds like a timing chain problem to me. That's odd, they typically last 100k+.

 

Ok, so the problem was fixed.

Turns out to be low engine oil!!!!
What the hell. I was even on synthetic yet the dealer said I had about 3 of 5qts left. Pulled the dipstick out and there was almost no oil to read. From the engine code and computer, they were instructed to test and see if the engine oil was adequate first!...so they did and found the low oil situation...therefore they changed the oil and the all the clicking from the cams were gone. Timing chain or cams were not bad afterall. Everything is back to normal.

I guess in some cases this version VQ does like to drink oil. I've seen a thread somewhere on my350z with some folks complaining about their Z's eating through so much oil.

 

There's been some threads here about oil consumption problems...SUCKS!!!

 

If I recall correctly, the oil consumption issues were primarily limited to you rev-up guys. I don't think many 5ATs were having this problem (someone can correct me if I am wrong).

 

Last night I experience the same problem you described. For others interested, It started with a loud squeeling from the front of the engine. Figured it was the idler pully so decided not to drive the car for a couple of days and ordered the lower tensioner pulley. On the way home from work is when I experienced a sudden change in the idle quality when I came to a stop light and the the SES light came on P0011 was the code I pulled after I got home. Also noticed clatter noise after I shut the engine off. So became very worried because I've known of my oil consumption problem since about 40K the car is now on its way to bout 100K(98K+) been nursing the consumption problem since at he time of discovery the dealer didnt want to do anything and actually said could be because of infrequent oil changes of which i could not prove since i do my own oil changes and only take the car in when a major service is due. I did change my oil 2 weeks ago which was after I had done it in Dec but did use a thinner grade of oil which I think cause a faster oil consumption considering i got this problem today. I will try the oil change today and see if that fixes it. Will post results later. Again Thanks Jakeup I never thought I would find a post with the exact problem as mine.

 

Hey guys. I just got this same problem Friday night. I went and had some of the stuff checked out and everything was fine. I then changed the oil and now the car is back to normal. I guess mine was low on oil too. I'm so glad it wasent anything major