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Hi there,

I have owned a used 2001 Nissan Primera for about 2 years now and have been having problems with it ever since. The car jerks during acceleration and engine makes a high pitched noise. The car then slows down no matter how much pressure you put on the accelerator. The car seems to play up every time I have to stop and go (eg. at traffic lights, long traffic queues etc). It also seems to play up after driving long distances on the motorway. The only way to get it up and running again is to stop and turn the car off for about 15mins. I have had the car checked in May about this problem but have had no progress with the mechanics.

The high pitch noise is something of a curve ball in trying to diagnose this problem. Have you tried turning off the air-conditioning (if switched on) when the squeal starts as it may be the belt slipping due to a compressor or belt tension problem.

Nissans of this age (more so the Pulsar model) do have known issues with cam and crank sensors (part of the electronic engine management system) which can cause the engine to stall or idle and run erratically (doesn’t cause a high pitched noise however). This should be identified by a workshop carrying out a electronic scan on the engine management system.

A fault code may be sitting in the computer which will help identify the problem.

The dashboard engine management warning light normally stays on (until the ignition is switched off) when these sensors play up.

Ask the workshop you used in May if they had the electronics scanned. If they didn’t, it may be worth suggesting you have it done.