Yes, my gas cap was stolen. I would have thought people in this world would be better than to do stupid stuff like that but..... Anyways, I called the dealer to see what options I had regarding replacement and they had stated the locking-type gas caps don't work. Is this true? Also, will the service engine light remain on after I replace the gas cap or do I have to go into the dealer and pay them $80 to reset the light? I purchased my truck from these people and I can't believe they want to charge $80 for something that I'm sure would take only a moment or two. I mean my truck is still under warranty but they said since it isn't a warranty issue they have to charge me. AGGHH!!

Travis Visser
Clearwater, FL
2000 SE Super Black

The manual states that if you leave the fuel cap off it can result in the * service engine soon * light illuminating. It also states that replacing the cap and driving a few tanks of gas (not hard to do in an X or Frontier) will cure the problem.

Disconnecting your negative (-) battery terminal for about 1 hours will do the same thing.

What happened is that there is a sensor that will tell the computer about gas vapor leak in the tank, which will turn on the nasty light on the dash.

Hope this helps

SNG

I think there is something with the locking cap and '01's not fitting right. Even over at xterraparts they specify 2000's only.

I tried to use the Stant locking gas cap on my 2001 SE. It didnt work at all. The Check Engine light came on after a few miles of driving. I replaced the stock cap and in a few hours of driving around town that day the light went out.

Find another dealer to handle your service, it looks like this one's morals are a bit skewed.

Hope that helps

I will look around my house when I get off work for that Locking gas cap. If I still have it I would be happy to mail it to you and save you a few bucks.

Right - Stant doesn't have a 2001 Xterra cap yet, AFAIK.

As for the light - make sure your cap is tight and after 3-4 *normal starts* of the engine, it should go out.

That sucks that somebody snagger your cap, man. Bastards. You might want to look at a junkyard - I'm not sure if Frontier caps would work, but that might be a possibility also. There's a site that someone mentioned a while back, which had a couple of wrecked X's that I'm sure won't be needing their caps anymore... I Don't remember the URL though. Phooey.

BP, the site you're talking about is:
http://www.copartfinder.com


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gothamist -- MAXC member
http://www.beatdriven.com/xterra.html

I guess what seems to worry me the most is the fact somebody could dump something harmful down the gas tank and I'm sure it would cost a lot more than $13 bucks for a new gas cap. All in all I have no complaints about my X. It is the best truck I could own for the money but why Nissan didn't put a release lock on the gas door is beyond me. Thanks for everyone's input on this. You guys are so helpful!! I found the message board last month and it's fun to read all this different information about the Xterra!

Travis Visser
Clearwater, FL
2000 SE Super Black

I got the Stant locking gas cap for my 2000 X and it didn't seal - had to put back on my original gas cap. The dealer told me the same thing - that the locking gas caps are a waste of time for consumers because they don't seal right very often...

my locking cap has been working perfectly (Stant). Had it on for over a year now on my '00 with zero probs. Except I can't figure out how I fill the tank with gas, lock it up, and within 250 miles the gas has escaped again!
duh! Thanks! I'll be here all week, folks!

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Cheers!,
-john aka areuin

OK...a word from the other side of the fence.... I am an automotive technician, trying to make a living. You bring your truck in and tell me the Service Engine lamp is lit....am I supposed to get my diagnostic tools, scan the code, make sure that it is JUST the gas cap setting the code, and then fix it for free?.....sorry guys...I know sometimes the price of parts can be pretty high....but us technicians need to make a living too!!!!

I'm sure that you would rather spend your time fixing more interesting stuff than loose or missing gas caps, and I don't deny you the right to earn some dough but the auto company
put a big foolproof label on the cap that says "TIGHTEN ME" but Darwin evolved a more foolish fool.
It's almost as if somebody at the design bureau said as a joke, "Lets put this light on the dash that goes off every so often for the lamest of reasons so that the service dept can charge $X, of which the $x goes into the dealers pocket as profit, for diagnosing and resetting."
Come on. It's not even in the same league as putting a man on the moon, but design a sensor in the tank that lights up a lamp on the dash that says "tighten the cap, moron!" instead of the "service engine soon" lamp.



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- kayak_x
2000 Alpine SE 4x4

LOL! I have to agree with Kayak_X, having been bitten by this "idiot light" already myself.

Driving home from the dealer, no less...

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2001 Solar Yellow SE 4x4 V6 5spd

I just had my 15k tune up at the dealer and they left the gas cap off for some reason. (not sure why they were in there in the first place)
By the time I got home the light was on. Go figure.

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Lance
Silver XE 3 packages

What? You thought the dealer drives to the gas station to get gas for test drives?
:-)


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- kayak_x
2000 Alpine SE 4x4

[This message has been edited by kayak_x (edited January 18, 2001).]

just rememeber, that this error is one of the only error that if resolved, the light will go out by itself over time. says so in the Xterra Service Manual i have. So if you fix the gas cap issue, your light should go out by itself after a few days.

BTW, i have the locking gas cap (Stant) for my 2000 and it works flawlessly. there was one time were i left it loose and i was going to the dealer anyhow and they told me that this was it.

Oh and to respond to the technician guy. Pllleeeaasssseee, it takes no time at all to plug in and read the errors from the computer. the techs at the dealer were back out talking to me in less than 10 minutes. they charged me nothing except the right to laugh at me, which i gave them, cause i did something stupid.



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Synchro (aka Kirk)
Ashburn, VA, USA (suburb of Washington D.C.)
2000 Xterra SE, Alpine Green, Auto, 4x4, ARB, 32" BFG MTs
President: Mid-Atlantic Xterra Club
http://www.maxc.org/members/synchro.htm

In support of Pathfinder (I have been laughing my a** off, you sound just like my boyfriend), the computer equipment that reads codes off the newer cars cost their shops thousands and thousands of dollars, plus constant upgrading ($$$) of the system to read the new makes and models that come out each year. Plus the time and $$$ to train their techs on how to use it. No way is a good shop going to read a code for free, most have a standard fee they charge just to hook up your rig to the machine. That usually runs around $50. So take the $50.00 fee for the computer code reading, 15-20 minutes labor to read the code and diagnose the specific problem, and $12-15 bucks for a new gas cap if you don't have the old one, and you're right up around the $80.00 that visser was charged. Here's another way of putting it - you have a pain in your chest you go to the doctor's office and they run an EKG and all sorts of other tests, then find out you have a lung infection. Know what fixes a lung infection? Ibuprofen (been there, done that). So just because you can take an over-the-counter medication to cure yourself doesn't mean that doctor's office isn't going to charge you for all the tests they did. And you wouldn't expect them not to, or complain because of the cost. BECAUSE...what if it wasn't just a small problem???

Sorry guys, just gotta step in and defend the mechanics out there - they're not all crooks. They are trying to make a living just like everyone else, and if they did all their diagnosing for free, they wouldn't make enough to feed their families. It's hard, dirty work and they are constantly having to go to school and get caught up every time a car manufacturer produces something new...all at their own costs.

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But your chest doesn't hurt when you forget to zip up your zipper, and the person who tells you your zipper is down doesn't charge you for telling you.

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- kayak_x
2000 Alpine SE 4x4

OK, call me a skeptic, but how does ibuprofen cure a lung infection?

Brent

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Hey! I've got an idea - why don't you put black electrical tape over the "service engine soon" light and stick a rag in the nozzle of the gass tank? That's what they used to do to their trucks in Kentucky! Real cheap! (PS - don't call an electrician for the electrical tape, it'll be too expensive then).

Ross in Indy

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[This message has been edited by Tonka Ross (edited January 19, 2001).]

Hey Offroad - well the Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory and painkiller. They could give you a prescription but it would be the same stuff, so they say to just take regular store-bought stuff and double the dose. That was from the emergency room doctor when I went in - believe me, I thought I was having a freakin' heart attack!

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Oh, and Kayak -

If you have a friend who's a mechanic or the shop you go to takes pity on you, they may let it slide. But if you go to a professional to "zip your zipper," they're gonna charge ya for it!

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My point was and continues to be the following: user errors which could be detected and warned (through additional sensors and/or lamps) should not cause a lamp to light which forces you to pay money to be told what you did wrong. Imagine if you didn't close your door properly and that caused the "service engine soon" light to come on which could only be reset by the service dept. Instead you have a little lamp which tells you that a door isn't closed properly, which has the effect of making you check them. They could probably just as easily make the "low fuel" lamp blink rapidly on engine start if the tank doesn't pressurize correctly, which could have the effect of people checking if their cap is on tight.
Don't build systems to sustain a service industry.

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- kayak_x
2000 Alpine SE 4x4

So, it looks like your issue is with Nissan then...I agree, maybe it could have been designed differently. But then it does say in the manual that when the "check engine" light goes on, it may be your gas cap not keeping a good seal. The original cap your X came with kept the correct pressure, so if you change your gas cap over to a locking one and the "check engine" light goes on for no apparent reason you could run down and spend $12.00 on a new gas cap and see if the light goes off before you take it into the shop...

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One thing some of you don't seem to consider. the code for the "gas cap" is not a code that simply states that your gas cap is not on. it is a code that sets when the system tests for pressurization of the fuel system...mostly for emission control, and vapor feedback.(vapor feedback keeps your fuel vapors from escaping the tank, recirculates the vapors, and burns them in the engine) the code can be set because of a break in the fuel line, a fuel tank itself that may have been punctured accidentally, preventing pressurization....the list goes on and on...so don't go acting like we are trying to rip you off because of a loose or missing gas cap....the standard tests for that code take almost a full hour to diagnose, because there are some of us techs out there that really do care if your cars run right!!!....that is my job, I am DAMN proud of it....and yes i DO deserve to get my pay for my time....sorry if I offend anyone out there....but there are some technicians out here that pride themselves on honesty and integrity!!!!.....

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