adamzan Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I love Nissan but I hate most of their dealers. My mother almost got screwed by two of them with abs issues on her maxima. They wanted her to replace the whole unit (3 grand for the part) when it was just a simple rear sensor issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5523Pathfinder Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 If you work at an honest dealer that's good, it just seems a lot of them aren't. Do you know anything about when the ECU needs to be replaced? Yep, usually in those sentras, if the ECU fails, it won't talk to the CAN system, but everything else should talk. It will throw codes saying it won't communicate with other things on the system, WHICH IS NORMAL. A quick check of power and ground to the ECU and to the DLC are easy, quick checks. Upon replacing the ECU, the immobilized function needs to be programmed with a code from ASIST. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 ok, SO, if the ECU is determined to be bad, what do you do next?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gv280z Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Want to say thanks to everyone for any advice that was given, this will be my last newer Nissan that I ever own. Will stick to older models from now on, at least you don't need a degree in electronics and computers to work on them. What is the cutoff year on this? I'm really interested in trying to get atleast up to an 03 QX4 or R50, maybe sell the Altima and get the little Missus into a luxury 4x4 suv. I'm really kinda nervous to let go of my Altima though because it's been such a great car for ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 Well like Adam was telling me, that this was not normal ( what our car was doing), I wish everyone who has a newer car the best of luck, cause this crap may never happen but if it does, good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5523Pathfinder Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 ok, SO, if the ECU is determined to be bad, what do you do next?? Replace it, like I said. Parts fail, even new ones. You could pull a j/y unit and have the immobilizer programmed and see if it works. All new cars have pretty much the same thing(chipped key). All cars break at some point. Again, sorry that your local dealers couldn't figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) so you replace the ECM than what? Of course all cars/trucks break at some point, the problem is when you take your car/truck to the dealer that makes it, you expect it to be fixed, not to tell you they need to replace everything, to me that sounds like they didn't even look at it and were just trying to get as much out of me, the customer, as they could. The bad thing about Nissan is you have to have a consult tool to do what needs to be done on it, who else would have one, like I told my wife, no small shop is going to spend a couple grand on a consult tool that they won't use everyday. Other brands may have their own scan tools too, I have no idea as I haven't owned any other new cars/trucks long enough to have had to find out. Edited February 1, 2014 by ahardb0dy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Subaru has one called Subaru Select Monitor, or SSM. It's a modified version of a standard OBD2 protocol, so any regular scanner works, but having an SSM you get more details out of it. Sounds like this particular Nissan was a lemon. It happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 guess so, probably could have been easy to fix if the two dealers I went to wanted to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5523Pathfinder Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Yes, every manufacturer has it's own ECM "logic" and a scan tool that is compatible with it. A few share similar tools, but have different software. Aftermarket scan tools can cost just as much as a factory tool, but still won't have all the information and capabilities as the factory tool. Add to that a lot of stuff is proprietary and won't make it out to the general public. I for one never try to stick it to any customer, even when they are jerks. Another mechanic on this board feels the same way. I am sorry you had a bad experience at the dealers, I can not do anything about that. Plenty of aftermarket shops rip people off too. You are paying a premium at the dealer and they should diagnose it and show you why and what needs to be replaced. If you don't feel like that was done, take it up with the service manager or general manager. A good tech will have documentation on what he feels needs to be replaced and why. They should be able to show you all that, or at least talk to the technician one-on-one. I have said it over and over again, no matter where you go, get to know the tech so you can feel comfortable with him and trust him. Plugging in a scan tool does not tell you how to fix the car or tell you what's broken. Diagnosis needs to be performed. All the components need to be tested individually to see if they have actually failed, then replaced as needed. It is possible they may share power or ground. Again, things need to be diagnosed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5523Pathfinder Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Factory scan tool that I know of--- Nissan/ Infiniti- Consult, Consult 2, 3 and 3+ Ford/Lincoln/mercury/sometimes Mazda- STAR, IDS Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep- DRB 1, 2 Suzuki- DRB Chevy/Gmc/ect- TECH 1, 2 Toyota/Lexus- Techstream 1-2 Each do something different. I personally have a mid level scan tool from Matco that gives me way more info than a generic tool. We also have a Snap-on SOLUS gen 2 that does even more, but again, not everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Don't forget the Volkswagen VAG-COM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karmann Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 What is the cutoff year on this? I'm really interested in trying to get atleast up to an 03 QX4 or R50, maybe sell the Altima and get the little Missus into a luxury 4x4 suv. I'm really kinda nervous to let go of my Altima though because it's been such a great car for ever. The issues experienced here really haven't been experienced by r50 owners on here. They are extmely reliable, and it's very rare to have computer issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) Well that's my whole point, from what you have said if the ECU is determined to be bad, fine replace it, but how do you know the BCM and the immobilizer unit need to be replaced as well if you can't get anything from the ECU? I asked the first dealer if they got any codes and he said no because I disconnected the battery, I don;t know if the codes are erased by disconnecting the battery or not maybe you can tell me, but with the battery re-connected and if you try to start the car, shouldn't it throw a code if something is wrong? The first dealer told us they need to replace the ECU, BCM and immobilizer unit, I don't think they really checked anything, When I got the car back home I started checking things and found the blown fuse under the hood for the ECCS, I would think they would have found that if they had done anything. I had a locksmith here two times to try to program what ever it is they program and both times he was able to get into the BCM to get the code he needed to program the key, if the ECU was shot could he still get into the BCM? The first dealer even tried to blame the locksmith for causing the problem !! I also borrowed a scan tool from my neighbor, was a Mac scanner, and I was able to get the Vin number and some other info, and even run some tests, so is the ECU shot where the dealer can't get anything (supposedly) but I could with the scan tool? It all makes me think the first dealer didn't do anything, and I never got any paper work indicating what they found, the second dealer after I argued the car having no compression and after I told him how I have owned Nissan's all my life and am not someone off the street that doesn't know anything, told me I didn't owe them for the diagnostic, was supposed to be $100, and he changed his story after I questioned him about it, first it was all 4 cylinders had no compression and the top of the engine is not turning when you try to start the car, I asked how they knew the top of the engine wasn't turning and he said they looked thru the oil fill hole. Than the guy changed his story to " I'm just going by what the tech wrote and it could have been one cylinder had no compression" That's funny because when I got the car back and had it at my buddies shop, we did the same thing and could see the cam turning !! I don't know, I'm not a tech, I don;t have access to the specialty Nissan tools and don't know anyone that works at a dealer personally that I trust. If they sell the car at auction and someone can figure it out for cheap good for them, we are done with it now, thanks for all your replies. Edited February 1, 2014 by ahardb0dy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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