Episode 359: I have Returned! Nissan Grinds My Gears & WTH Fujifilm???

Show Transcript

Greetings, you’re listening to the Liam Photography Podcast, I’m your host Liam Douglas and this is Episode 359. So Tina and I are back after two weeks in the New York/Pennsylvania “Twin Tiers” region visiting with family and friends. I know normally I would cover the latest news stories on my Sunday episode but I thought this week, I’d talk about our trip and why Nissan pisses me off as well as WTH Fujifilm.

First, I want to talk about why Nissan pisses me off and first let me explain that back in November of 2018 I bought a certified used 2017 Nissan Rogue All Wheel Drive from Nissan of Union City in Georgia. When Tina and I moved to NC two years ago I wanted to get her a newer vehicle and she really wanted a truck but trucks were stupidly over-priced so she decided to get a Nissan Rogue as well. Hers is a 2015 that had very little mileage on it when we bought it as it was owned by an elderly couple that didn’t drive a whole lot.

Now my Rogue had been a great vehicle until recently. Back in Sept of 2022 we took Tina’s car up north for a visit and while up there her Check Engine Light came on. I checked it with a code reader and it said the Upstream 02 sensor was in need of replacement. No one had them in stock, not even the local Nissan dealer in NY. The soonest anyone except Amazon could get them was 3-6 weeks! I wasn’t crazy about getting one on Amazon as a lot of that stuff is cheap Chinese crap, but I had no choice and I figured to be safe, I’d replace both the Upstream O2 sensor as well as the Downstream one in the CAT.

My son Alex and I got them both replaced and her car seemed fine again, we drove it all the way home without issue and it had been fine until recently. Now my 2017 Rogue had the same mileage on it as hers at this point so when we got home I replaced both O2 sensors in my car figuring preventative maintenance. Especially when the one in Tina’s car went bad we were trying to get home from PA and her car died in Williamsport, PA so we had to have it towed back to our daughter’s house in Elmira.

After a couple days of driving mine with the new sensors in my Check Engine Light came on and showed code P0171, which means lean mixture of air and fuel in bank one. I looked on-line and this code could mean I had an issue with anyone of several parts including the O2 sensors. So I bit the bullet and took my car to a mechanic and he’s been working on her off and on for a couple months now. This guy is a highly experienced ASE certified mechanic with all the diagnostic equipment a mechanic could need. His computer cannot find anything wrong with my Rogue so he was going to start tracing wires to try and determine if it had a short somewhere.

So on July 1st we took Tina’s Rogue up home for a visit again, since we also took hers in April and we usually like to rotate our cars to keep the mileage down on them. Her car gave us no problems in April, but after we got back her car threw the same P0171 code one time and didn’t again for a couple thousand miles. We headed up on July first and her car threw the code twice on the drive up and even ran a little funny for a couple minutes but then cleared up. The light came on once while we were up there and I had called the local Nissan shop to get it looked at. They were booked and couldn’t get the car in until Friday the 14th the day before we left.

I figured that would do but then when I called back to make sure the mechanic had ordered new O2 sensors, he had not and they were only planning to “diagnose” the car for a few hundred dollars. Now when I called this Nissan shop on the 1st during our drive up, I let him know that since no one could get them right away I did replace the O2s with ones I bought on Amazon and he told me that they have seen numerous Rogues that started throwing odd Engine codes if the O2s were replaced with non OEM Nissan ones. I called my Mechanic back in NC and let him know so he said he would get the OEM ones and keep me posted. I have not heard back from him on my car yet so I will call him tomorrow.

Given the fact that Tina’s Rogue does run funny sometimes, hers might be easier to diagnose and fix as that code could mean clogged fuel filter or bad fuel pump. Now the reason mine is such a pain is mine had never run badly, the light comes on every 75 to 300 miles but the car runs flawless. Additionally I have been hesitant to take mine to Nissan as another of my Mechanic’s customers has an Altima with the same engine and hers was throwing the same code and Nissan charged her $3,000 and never fixed her car and my mechanic finally figured hers out and fixed hers. He tried the same solution on mine and yet it still keeps throwing the code. All I know at this point is if we cannot fix mine soon I will probably trade it in and get a new Rav4 from Toyota as I’ve always had good luck with Toyotas and I’ve owned more of them than Nissans over the years. If you’ve owned a Rogue with the 2.5 Liter 4 cylinder engine and had the same issue and fixed yours, feel free to reach out!

Now in some photography related news, Fujifilm recently announced that they are making a limited edition 100 year Disney themed X100v with a Disney and Friends wrap on the body similar to what Leica did with their Disney themed Q2. Now Fujifilm has never done a themed camera before and they are limiting this run to only 100 bodies to match Disney’s 100 years. The camera will only be available in Hong Kong and will sell for around $2,000 a piece! As you already know if you listen to this podcast regularly, the x100v has been impossible to get thanks to the TikTok craze around this camera and Fujifilm even stated recently that if they ceased production of the camera it would still take them 2-3 months to fill all the backorders. And now instead of ramping up production of the regular x100v for those of us who want one badly, they are wasting time making Disney themed units instead.

From techradar.com; “The Fujifilm Disney project website reveals the list price for one of the 100 cameras, each equipped with a unique serial number, is HK$14,999. That price converts to around $1,918 / £1,465 / AU$2,807 – not a bad deal for one of the best compact cameras in 2023, plus some of the proceeds will go to the Hong Kong Community Chest to support its children and youth services. “

Now this version of the x100v comes with a custom made thumb-grip, a Disney themed half-case as well as a custom made camera strap and is packaged in a really nice wooden roll top box that I believe is made from red cedar from looking at the photos.

As you know if you listen to this show on a regular basis, I have been a big fan of the https://www.fujirumors.com/ website and the owner Patrick and I have become friends via email. He recently posted that the next GFX100 will be released on Sept 12, 2023 during the next X Summit event and that the x100v replacement will be coming in the first quarter of 2024. At this point I still don’t know what they might put in the next x100 body other than maybe the new 26MP stacked sensor and maybe bring back the D-pad and up the ND filter to 8 stops but I guess we will have to wait and see.

On a more positive note, Fujifilm did recently add support for the original GFX100 as well as my GFX50R to their new X-App so now all five of my camera bodies work with the new app and I was able to finally delete the old, crappy camera remote app!!!

Ok that is going to wrap Episode 359, we’ll return to normal news episodes next Sunday unless you prefer my ranting with a touch of news!

Remember I now have my own discount code for all Platypod branded products at http://www.platypod.com using my code LD20 you can save 20% off on ALL individual Platypod branded products EXCLUDING Bundles, which are already discounted and Square Jellyfish or Lume Cube branded items.

I also now have my own affiliate link for Think Tank Photo, use the link to guy any of their gear, get a free gift and free shipping!!!

https://www.thinktankphoto.com/?rfsn=7232819.5f5392&utm_source=refersion&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=7232819.5f5392

Head Shot Tools

https://www.headshottools.com/

Also be sure to join the Liam Photography Podcast Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/liamphotographypodcast/ You can reach the show by call or text @ 470-294-8191 to leave a comment or request a topic or guest for the show. Additionally you can email the show @ liam@liamphotographypodcast.com and find the show notes at http://www.liamphotographypodcast.com.

You can find my work @ https://www.liamphotography.net and follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @liamphotoatl. If you like abandoned buildings and history, you can find my project @ http://www.forgottenpiecesofgeorgia.com. and http://www.forgottenpiecesofpennsylvania.com.

Please also stop by my Youtube channels Liam Photography

Forgotten Pieces of Georgia Project

Forgotten Pieces of Pennsylvania Project