what is engine knocking mean

When stopping...keeps running is a phenomenon called "dieseling" which means that the combustion chamber is running hot and the fuel supply isn't being shut-off when the key is turned off~ might be a stuck relay...see what the trouble codes tell us~

I kind of puzzled your complaint and instantly thought "detonation", which is real bad and usually occurs when you've got an out-of-position distributor OR the engine was put together wrong~....but thankfully is just dieseling~....whew.

Just to supplement what the Judge said....From Wikipedia : Knocking (also called knock, detonation, spark knock, pinging or pinking) in spark-ignition internal combustion engines occurs when combustion of the air/fuel mixture in the cylinder starts off correctly in response to ignition by the spark plug, but one or more pockets of air/fuel mixture explode outside the envelope of the normal combustion front. The fuel-air charge is meant to be ignited by the spark plug only, and at a precise time in the piston's stroke cycle. Knock occurs when the peak of the combustion process no longer occurs at the optimum moment for the four-stroke cycle. The shock wave creates the characteristic metallic "pinging" sound, and cylinder pressure increases dramatically. Effects of engine knocking range from inconsequential to completely destructive. Detonation can be prevented by any or all of the following techniques: the use of a fuel with high octane rating, which increases the combustion temperature of the fuel and reduces the proclivity to detonate; enriching the air-fuel ratio which alters the chemical reactions during combustion, reduces the combustion temperature and increases the margin above detonation; reducing peak cylinder pressure by decreasing the engine revolutions (e.g., shifting to a higher gear, there is also evidence that knock occurs more easily at high rpm than low regardless of other factors); decreasing the manifold pressure by reducing the throttle opening, boost pressure or reducing the load on the engine.

There's a recall by Nissan to fix this very problem. It has to do with the Engine Control Valve. Call your Nissan Dealer for details, and they will set you up.

@ Robert- yeah they'll set you up alright. To get robbed