Nissan Repair: Sputtering start, fuel pump relay, leaky injector


Question
Occasionally when I start my 04 Xterra (non-supercharged) it
sputters and idles really roughly.  In the past, I would be
able to give it some gas and it would run normally, but now
it seems to not cure it.  I can shut the car off, and
restart it and it start fine and runs perfectly.  In
addition, the most recent time it did this, the engine oil
light was on, but no other warning lights came on, including
the check engine light.

If I had to guess, I would think its some kind of air/fuel
problem, but the fact that this is intermittent (happens
maybe once every 2 weeks, but it has now happened twice
within 3 days), I'm thinking it maybe also be something
electrical, possibly a fuel pump relay.  

Answer
Jordan,

Either the plugs are in need of replacement or you have a leaky injector or two.  If you have not had a tune up in a couple of years I would suggest replacement of the plugs, cap, rotor and wires.  A fuel treatment like Lucas would be fine.  Nissan does not recommend fuel treatments and I have found that Lucas does not mess up the pump or the injectors.