My 05 6MT, with 8500 miles on it, seems to have a knocking or pinging problem. Whenever I shift into a higher gear, and the RPM in this gear is less than 2000, engine ping will occur. Not for long mind you, the sensor is definitely picking it up, retarding the timing, and the ping goes away. But it seems to happen relatively consistently, and has been going on for over two months now. Here is what I’ve done to troubleshoot or resolve the issue:
- Always use premium gas. The car has only ever had Chevron, BP Amoco, or QT in it, all of which are 93 octane. Chevron and QT are both “Top Tier” rated, and it has pinged on them all.
- Taken it to the dealer. The test drive with the service manager went well, he heard it himself going into third at about 25 mph, and agreed it was engine knock. They ran diagnostics on the engine, found nothing, and found no codes in the computer. They were unable to find anything “out of spec”.
- Given it a “beating”. After allowing the engine (and hopefully the oil) to warm up for the first 10 minutes of the drive, I drove the remainder of the trip to work or home mostly in first and second gear, spending a lot of time above 5K RPM, with full throttle runs to 7K. This was an attempt to burn off any deposits that may have formed that could have been causing the pinging.
- Changed the air filter. At about 7000 miles I installed a K&N panel filter. Still pinged.
- Changed the oil about 3 weeks ago (when the dealer heard the ping).

Searching the sedan forum hasn’t turned up this same scenario, as near as I can see. Any ideas or similar stories?

 

I have an 05AT with 8K and I've noticed some pinging as well. I only use Chevron or Shell premium so I know it's not the gas. I'll be watching this to see if you get an explanation.

 

Same story here. Dealer says it's within spec. I've tried different gas, different filter, fuel cleaner, etc.

 

When shifting at that low rpm, that's pretty close to lugging the engine. When I shift that short, I always feather in the gas very gently to be sure I don't get any ping. That said, I've never heard my engine ping but once or perhaps twice--don't know if the difference is attributable to driving style or the car. (I am in an 04 6MT.) Are you sure you're not hearing a little gear rattle out of the transmission?

 

Most likely 'lugging'. Patient... "Doc, my arm hurts when I move it like this". Doc..."well then don't move it like that". Try raising your 'R's" a little bit and stop worrying 'bout 'mileage'. Your gas savings won't cover the repair $$$. UBCool, jbx

 

2000 rpm's isn't "lugging" a mid sized V6 engine by any means.
I can drive my Subaru Legacy GT with it's Flat-4 Turbo around
at 2000 rpm's with no issues.

That said, my 2002 Maxima started to ping noticeably when it had around
40K miles on it. It would only be noticeable though when accelerating very lightly especially on an uphill grade, no matter how steep.

Our G35 only has about 2K miles on it and none yet, but it might
just be an attribute of the 3.5 VQ engine. We live in CA though
and have to put in our California 91 Octane crap gas, which is
worse then most states 91 Octane.

If your car is a lease, wouldn't worry about it. The light pinging won't really
do any damage, and any minor damage it causes won't affect the car until
long after you've turned it in.
Don't drive the car harder or shift later (wasting gas and YOUR money) when
it's not needed just to avoid a little bit of pinging.

 

A blanket statement with contradiction included....not bad. Do you actually know what's making that "little bit of pinging" noise that you feel is no big deal in lieu of the possible gas savings? jbx

 

Not really sure, but the service manager was pretty certain it was pre-ignition knock. I'd also tend to think gear rattle would also be felt a little bit, maybe?

I have. It reduced the frequency, but does not eliminate it entirely.

 

Detonation is not something you want to occur with any frequency. It'll do damage to the piston/head sooner or later. Try a "second opinion" (a different dealer if you will), but try to get an answer dude. UBCool, jbx

 

You didn't read my post correctly.
2000 rpm's is NOT lugging the 3.5 VQ.
My point is, 2000 rpm's is lugging a 4 banger, especially a VTEC like
one where revs are needed to move the car around.
If you think you need to keep a V6 above 2000 rpms when crusing
around at public street speeds, you are simply wasting gas.

Of course I know what's causing "pinging". But again, you did not read
my post correctly. I stated, if you are leasing the car, it is NO big deal.
If you own the car and plan on keeping it and driving it for 100K plus miles
then yes it's another story. But who keeps new cars for more than
100K miles these days.

Personally, I wouldn't accept the pinging in a new car with 8K miles
on it. I'd require the dealer or manufacturer to correct the problem
with a new detonation sensor or fresh ECU tune of the engine.

 

Detonation isn't normal when you are using the recommended fuel. It should not happen at any rpm. Is it possible you have some valve/cylinder head carbon deposits that are raising your compression ratio?

You're right that driving your car at 2000 rpm is not lugging at all with this motor. I normally drive around town at 1500 to 2000 myself.

I agree about finding another dealer or have them speak to tech support at Infinti to help diagnose the issue.

 

Oh one other thing, try a good expensive bottle of
Fuel injector cleaner or gas/engine treatment in your
next couple fill ups.
They work surprisingly well and cured pinging I had
in a couple older cars in the past.

If it comes back after that, your car needs a fresh tune
from a reputable dealer....and that should be under warranty.

 

Yeah I did ....I thought...lol. It got confusing when you went from the 'mid-sized' V6 not pinging, to the flat four, to your own 6cyl. pinging problems. Maybe getting old and having to get up too many times a night to **** is making me cranky. Is all good...so no biggie. I think that Shaigh should 1.) Have the temperamental knock sensor checked/ relpaced 2.)Try switching 'up' in his brand of gas (or switch stations), 3.) 'Flat line' his ECU using the gas pedal method and pick up his driving style to re-initiate his settings to a more aggressive style, 4.) Try the injector cleaner. I never said you should have ta cruise @ over 2,000 rpm. to avoid detonation.....just be a bit more aggressive in his 'launch' with a manual tranny. Cool? jbx

 

Cool!
After reading my first post, I see where your confusion came in.
I wasn't very clear bouncing around like that.
All good suggestions too.

 

Yeah after driving my car around town today slowly and watching the tach, I regularly ran down around 1700 revs, but only with very light throttle openings. I did say below 2000 was "close to" lugging, but even that was probably an exaggeration.

What I meant was, in low RPM situations, you do need to be careful with the throttle. Suddenly cracking in throttle at low rpms can induce a little ping. When I upshift at low rpms, I'll often not use any gas pedal at all until the clutch is fully engaged, and only then smoothly feather in a little bit of right foot as needed.