For the life of me I can’t figure this one out and have already dropped a pretty penny trying to have the dealer solve it. In the past year my '01 Pathfinder SE 3.5, has had the mass air flow sensor removed (August), all new coils and sparks (December '09), air filter, fuel filter, the list goes on. I’m not getting any “service engine soon” or throwing of codes.
Now without any idea why, after I have been running my car for a while, when I stop and have to run into a shop, or shut the car of from approx 30mins, when I go to restart the car, it immediately drops rpms and stalls out. The car will restart, but again the rpms will drop to almost 0 ans stall. The only way I can keep the car going is if I work the throttle at the same time I shift into gear. From there the car runs really rough around 1500-2000rpms. Once the car runs for about 2 mins or so, it will idle ok and seems to run alright. I’ve thrown some dry gas when I fill up, but the problem still persists. Any thoughts
May be a rich running engine. Inspect and or replace the spark plugs, if they are fouled with soot. Clean the idle air control valve and passages, and throttle plate and throttle bore, with Throttle Body Cleaner. Check the electrical values, resistance and voltage, of the engine coolant temperature sensor.
Look around (ask) for a qualified independent mechanic. The dealer is up to the challenge.
I am guessing you have solved this issue but thought I would post for future browsers benefit. I too had the same problem without any codes thrown (and currently experiencing it again after 9 months) on my 2001 3.5L Pathfinder. My local mechanic replaced the idle control motor and it completely fixed the problem. It wasn’t cheap as the part alone was about $400. Hope this helps for anyone else. I’ll post back with my current problem with the same symptoms and let you know if its the same part failure.