Nissan Titan Forum banner

Transmission Slipping, ATP light ON, Weird noise

7028 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  mbringas
Hi all,
Long time reader, first time I post...
I have a 2004 Titan with 35's bfg's
I was out on the sand with the 4x4 on and off...
went out on the pavement and noticed my ATP light on when in park and my 4LO light flashing when cruising. Got back to the sand 4x4 seemed to work fine, I then had to pull my brothers truck out of the sand and kinda did a tractor pull on him... I guess my Tranny overheated cause it slipped in D when I wanted to take off again. Shut the truck down restarted it and got on the freeway with no problems. Drove for about 50 miles but 4LO light kept blinking. Put some emergency non Nissan oil in the tranny drove for another 10 miles and now it's making a weird noise in the drive train sounds like... ATP light still ON while in Park and 4LO flashing still. Anyone out there have any idea what it could be? I tried getting under the truck and wanted to see if the front drive shaft was free but "it is not" is this the way it should be? is my truck still stuck in 4x4?
do you guys think it's still covered under warranty even it's a 2004?

Thanks ALL
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
Nice first post.......

How many miles are on the truck?

You putting Non-JMatic fluid in it voids the warranty.

Good Luck.
Thanks,
ouch, you think that non jmatic fluid is what's causing the noise? I only drove it about 10 miles after I added the quart of fluid.
I've got 37k miles on it...
mbringas said:
Thanks,
ouch, you think that non jmatic fluid is what's causing the noise? I only drove it about 10 miles after I added the quart of fluid.
I've got 37k miles on it...
Running non-Jmatic fluid could be like running gasoline in a diesel engine, there's a reason you don't do it. I would suggest getting a complete trans fluid flush ASAP. Not just a drain and fill but a complete flush, you have no idea how the two fluids will react with eachother and the detergents in each one could be fighting, which can cause corrosion and seal problems. Not to mention the non-spec fluid doesn't meet the requirements of the transmission.

Also, it's normal for the front driveshaft to not spin by hand with the front wheels on the ground. There are no automatic hubs and no disconnect in the front diff, so all drivetrain components will turn even while in 2wd. The t-case simply shifts and disconnects the front output shaft inside the case.

Good luck, keep us posted!
  • Like
Reactions: 1
The owner's manual has the info on this. I looked it up a while ago.
Thanks, but what about the slipping, ATP light and 4LO flashing before I ever added the non jmatic fluid? Does it sound like it could be the tranny itself? I read on other posts something about a couple sensors...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When you engage into 4x4 high, the four wheels on the center display will light up. If you shift to 4LO, there is a light on the right of the console that lights up while you are in 4LO. If the 4x4 light and/or the ATP light come on when you start the truck, you could have a bad ATP sensor, I had mine replaced last week. I would turn the key, and the 4x4 and ATP would light up, then go out when the truck was started. Then, driving down the road, the 4LO light would flash and the center drivetrain picture would disappear. For a few seconds the 4LO would flash, then go back to normal. They had to order the sensors, it took three days for them to come in. One was $21.00, the other was $18.00. Took them 25 minutes to put them in. The bad sensor wouldn't let the transfer case shift into 4 LO, but regular 4x4 still worked. Hope this helps.
See less See more
  • Like
Reactions: 1
Isn't the 4Lo light flashing a symptom of a bad ATP sensor in the trans?

I doubt the fluid is wrecking anything, but you should have it flushed anyway. Sounds like they will already be in there...
took it to the dealer... the noise is coming from the transfer case... apparently something broke, it might have been the fact that I kinda did a tractor pull on my brothers Jeep 4x2 Commander... still, I would think the transfer case was stronger than that on my Titan.
it should however be covered under warranty. The Dealer called and confirm the repairs tomorrow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top