mechanic said my immobilizer is messed up and thats y my car won't start???
 

okkk so my car died this weekend and wouldn't start. i had it towed to my dads mechanic and he said that my immobilizer got messed up and the car won't start with the key.... he asked me to bring my second key in... but thinks that the dealership needs to reset something. wat the hell is goin on... y would it randomly do that.... he said there is signal from all sensors but injectors won't fire. anyone got any idea how it could randomly get messed and how to fix it... or i gotta go to the dealer??? urgent help plz i gotta go there tmrw morning

is it cranking or what ? Or is it cranking and not turning over. If its not cranking at all its probably the ignition switch.

those immobilizer do mess up ignition switches, had that problem a while ago.

The 99 immobilizer system has been known to "mess up" and loose it's programming.
Nissan is the only place to get the car reprogrammed so it starts again.

yea it cranks. when i was trying to start it would start and die right away. after a couple of times it wouldn't start at all but would still crank fine.

did you try the second key? if that one doesnt work either, my guess is its not the immobilizer...

Woa woa if it started and died it is not the imobilizer system, it isn't suppose to start at all, I know this from experece because we were messing with my friends car and it would not start without the key.

When the cars immobilizer looses it's programming, NO key will start the car until it's reprogrammed. That includes your spare (2nd) key.

Bring both keys to the dealer to have them reprogrammed to your cars security system.

This exact thing happened to me about a month ago, your immobilizer is messed up and you have to go to the Nissan dealership to get the keys reprogrammed. It costs about $85 to reprogram both keys. It messed up because someone tried to put a different key in the ignition or you somehow messed up the chip inside the keys. (99 Maximas have computer chips inside the keys)

ok wait so if the car started at first and died right away a couple of times and then didn't start at all its the immobilizer? cuz it cranks fine but for some reason won't start... wat else could be causing that?

It is the immobolizer, for sure. That happened to me also, I started the car and it started but died after like 3 seconds. Then it just cranks whenever I try to start it, took it to the dealship, paid $85 to get it fixed, now I am happy with my working car. You should try that and not waste anymore time trying to figure out what's wrong.

in many cases it's the key that loses the programing, the dealer must retrive the code from the ignition and reprogram the keys to match, just like if you lost your keys and need replacements. some locksmiths also have the tool because many newer cars have coded keys also....not tryin to say the immobilizer it self isn't bad, but it's more commonly the key...

when my immobilizer died i got the car to work the first time....then it wouldnt start. BTW my key was what was messed up...i droped it hard and for some reason it deprogramed...

There is a lot of mis-information about the immobilizer system on the Max.

The keys are not programmed, they are not able to lose their program because they never had it. The chip has been known to fall out of the key and be lost, but that is another matter entirely.

The CAR is programmed to recognize the KEYS used in the programming process. Sure, the system can malfunction like anything else. But the key does not become unprogrammed, deprogrammed or anything like that.

Thats not what the dealer told me.....and why would my car stop starting RIGHT after i droped my key very hard on the floor(theyw ere actually thrown)....the key itself did not break becuase i went to the dealer and had it re programed....and also if the car is made to recognize a particular key how can we have doubles of our keys, that would mean that the car would have to be able to read more than one key.....jim not dimissing what you said its ust that it makes more sense to me that the key is programmed not the car.

I never knew that from 99 on Maximas had chips in the keys...the things you learn on the org are endless.

ahhh...the joys of owning a '95......:)


I guess you learn something new every day...

When I got a new set of keys at the dealership they didn't program the immobilizer right and mine did the same thing...it would start then die right away. Sounds like the immobilizer to me.

well the car is at the dealer rite now so i'll know tmrw morning wat the deal is... i'll let u guys know thanx for the info

It is possible to break anything, including a key with a chip inside.

I once threw my remote at the wall, and it no longer opens or closes the locks on my car. But the other remote that I have still works. The car did not deprogram.

But I'm telling you, a car with an immobilizer system is programmed to accept the KEY, not the other way around. And yes, the car can accept up to 5 different keys as long as they are all inserted into the ignition switch during the programming process.

but i didnt break it, it fell it didnt work. They took the SAME key and made it work.

btw...some gm cars with the pass key system (immobilizer/chip system) will not start after to many attempts. goes into "safe mode" you have to wait to try again...not sure if nissans do this also????

Yes, they do.

well the car is at the dealership and they called and said that they need more time to see wats wrong... they don't know yet they said its not the keys so lets see how good this gets

i have a question... i've read other threads and it seems that some ppl have had their ecu fry and thats y the car cranks but does not turn over.... is it possible that my ecu got fried or messed up somehow??? what other signs would there be if the ecu was fried since i'm getting signal from all the sensors... i need to know asap so i can order an ecu from somewhere and so that the dealership doesn't tell me they are gonna order me one for like $900 or however much they charge for them. helpppp