They said a cat-back exhaust would have absolutely no effect on engine pinging. Also, they sell and install the same system at this dealership (Stillen gen 2 cat-back). Besides, it's been pinging since the day I bought it anways, before I even had the Stillen on there.

 

i agree, i didn't think it would contribute. i just figured dealers would grasp for some excuse

best of luck!

 

Okay, after 5 days of waiting, I finally have some news. They told me that the car has been running lean. The MAF, even though consult 2 says is fine, has been causing the car to run lean. They are going to replace the MAF, clean the upper part of the engine (sea-foam type cleaner?), clean the spark plugs, and re-test. Perhaps replacing the MAF will solve the problem or maybe the cleaning will clear up some hot spots that were there from the factory (since it's been doing this since new). I know I'm not getting it back until the issue is resolved, so I'll keep everyone posted.

 

I'm glad they are trying for you. The MAF sensor could be part of it, that would make sense.
Good luck.

 

Well they still have the car... I talked to them on Monday and they said they tried the new MAF and it didn't help with the pinging. Last I heard from them, one of the O2 sensors caught their attention... but I'm guessing that didn't fix it either since I still haven't heard back from them. They did say they're using the process of elimination to locate the problem... I wonder how long 'till they try reflashing the ecm?

 

Thanks for the updates, Eugene. When (if) they figure it out, I'll share with my dealer, and perhaps get your service adviser's name/num for mine to talk to.

Wouldn't they need an alternate mapping/programming "at hand" to reflash the ECU?

 

I'm assuming nissan technical services (the place the techs always call and ask what to do next) will have alternate ecm flashes available. If not, they will have to take a closer look at the current one with 91 octane gas and perhaps richen up the AF ratio.

 

Well I spoke with Ron again this morning and he said they're pretty sure now it was one of the O2 sensors. They're replacing it and are going to test-drive the car to confirm it resolves the problem. I did make it clear to him that I'm in no hurry to get the car back - the last thing I want to do is bring it back in for the same problem. He said I should have the car back today if the O2 sensors replacement resovles the pinging. Could it be that there were some faulty O2 sensors installed on rev-up VQs?

 

Another question: would the rev-up VQ have different O2 sensors than the 5AT-VQ?

 

that's a really good question... I'll call the parts department to find out

 

Spoke with the parts guy, he said it's the same part. He did say the O2 sensors can be lazy when either new or as they wear.

 

Thats great news... well maybe.

Mine has been pinging like crazy today. Much worse that over the past few months. Not sure if i should blame the change in gas stations or the car. It is idling consistently at 700 even after warming up and no accys on since i filled up at this other chevron.

Could there be that much difference in fuel between two stations just miles apart?

 

Spoke with Ron again... he says the O2 sensor replacement didn't resolve the problems so they're waiting for Infiniti techincal services to tell them what to do next. He said I won't be getting my car back

 

Hated. At least you are willing and patient enough to let them take their time to diag the problem. I had a problem with my Lincoln LS where it would just spontaneously shutdown. No sputter, knock, hesitation... it would just die. Didn't matter if I was rolling down the I at 70 or coming off a traffic light.

I gave the car to the Lincoln dealer and they thought they fixed, next morning it repeated the problem so I had it towed back to them. I told em I didn't want the car back till they were 100% sure. 120 days later! I got my car back.

But several other owners had been having the same problem but wasn't as consistent as mine. In the end their work with FoMoCo Engineering team paid off for several other owners that I knew first hand.

I am pretty sure we are experiencing the same problem and am holding out till these folks you are working with get a good idea of whats going on. I am sure you want your car back badly and I hope you get it back soon but with a solution.

 

I first noticed the ping in mine after I installed the mrev and spacer and after a a couple of weeks of hoping it would just go away I removed it. I am sure the ping was there well before the install and I hadn't noticed because I wasn't paying as close attention as I was post install.

I had pretty much stopped paying attention after the uninstall but occasionally would hear it when the radio was off. Wasn't till i read this thread that I started listening more.