...came on today when I was driving home from work. I did a search and it seems like there have been alot of people in the past month who have had the SES light come on. I only have 34,000 miles on the car and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it. I am going to take it the dealer to see what happens. Everything should be on warrenty since I don't have any major mods done. Hopefully they don't try blaming it on my 350Z dead pedal.

 

i would say most likely an O2 sensor unless the gas cap was loose. give us an update when you find out what it was and if they blame the pedal for the failure, haha.

 

Thank goodness it came on before the warranty ran out. I had an ignition coil go out a couple of weeks after my warranty ran out

 

Well I took the Maxima in today to see what was wrong with it. They had to hook it up to the diagonstic machine to pull the codeas I knew they would. They found a code of P0420 (Electronic control unit loosing calibration). The recommended fix was to reprogram the ECU.
With this said Nissan recalibrated the ECU unit and cleared the code. Needless to say they charged me $75.00 to pull the code before they could do anything and this wasn't covered under warrenty because they didn't have to replace any defective parts so they say. My complaint about paying is because if the ECU didn't loose it's memory then I wouldn't have had this problem. Let me know what everyone thinks. Should I have been asked to pay for the code retrival and do you think it is covered? Also, is there a TSB out for the reprogramming to be done??

 

i swear i have seen that code before and it was either an o2 code or catalytic converter. maybe someone else who has had that code can shine some light on it. what year max is it by the way?

 

You should have been charged nothing. There WAS a repair- your ECU needed to be reset. Your SES light was on for chrissake.

I got an SES a couple of weeks back. I unplugged the negative battery terminal overnight and in the morning the SES was gone.

 

thats a good argument but they would only say that the repair can only be done with a consult 2, same thing that pulls the code so you can consider it a diagnostic charge or repair charge.

 

Same thing happened to me at 40K. They didn't charge me anything to reprogram the computer module. I guess it varies from dealer to dealer. I'd find another dealer in the future if there's one nearby.

Does anyone know whether Infinity will service our Maximas? I've heard that they have the best service rating of all.

 

Thanks for the replies. I just did a search to find out if there was a TSB and this is what I found.

Make: NISSAN
Model: MAXIMA
Year: 2000
Service Bulletin Number: NTB00070A
Summary Description:
SOME VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT A MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP ON WITH DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE P0420 (THREE WAY CATALYST FUNCTION) STORED IN THE ECM. *TT

Does anyone have the TSB bulletin mentioned. It sounds like it should have been fixed by this TSB. By the way I have a 2000 SE.

 

i knew that i had heard of that code before. if its an emissions part, then it should have been covered under an 80k mile emissions warranty. i would not call but go by the dealer as soon as you can with just the tsb number and asked if that was the code why it was not at least covered under the 36k warranty if not the emissions warranty.

 

The dealers love to charge for needless repairs. It's a multi-million dollar all profit business. And reason 3 or 4 why they can sell cars for less than invoice.

 

My SES light came on last week at 46K. I went to AutoZone (free) and got P0135 (02 sensor, bank 1, malfunction). Pulled the positive cable out for a minute, plugged it back in and the SES light is gone for now.

I even thought about buying an ODBII scanner, if it doesn't cost a fortune, since we wouldn't know when autozone are gonna change their mind and charge us $80 per visit. Well that's what they're doing in CA.

I found this link about SES codes for nissan + others. It might help

http://www.troublecodes.net/Nissan/95ams96-00.shtml#95max

 

I got 37k on my 200 SE 5sp. Light came on and yes they updated
my ECU (no charge).Light came back on a week later..what the f*@#!
I took it back and was told the cd that they have didnet have the
lateest ECU rev. They reprogramed the ECU again ..its been 2 days,so far so good..

Aparently Microsoft made the ECU program for our cars..So
look out for ECU patches and upgrades quarterly...

 

Be careful. You may not have the problem fixed yet. Wait a few weeks before you can consider the problem fixed. My dealer did the same thing to me but my SES came on at 70k. My P0420 code turned out to be a faulty catalytic converter which interestingly enough my dealer originally said it need an ECU reprogramming. Sound familiar? Dealers are like people, you never know which ones will rip you off and which ones are legit. I'm currently fighting with the dealership and Nissan1. I checked my owners manual and it specifically says that the ECU and CAT are covered under the FED/CAL 80K/8yr emissions warranty. I've sent a letter to the appropriate organizations and am awaiting any results. Wish me luck. Nissan is really denying any responsibility for their error. Good luck with yours.

 

Let us know the outcome and fight till you drop!
Good luck!!

 

Goodluck with your fight against Nissan. I am probably going to call Nissan1 today, since talking to the dealer is like talking to the wall. I'll have to mention to them about the 80k ECU coverage. I tried to find the TSB for the ECU reprogramming but have yet to find it anywhere.

 

Your situation sounds exactly like what I am going through now with my dealer now. He called me and stated I needed my ECU reprogrammed. When I arrived and they checked it out they said I had the newest Rev. And that I need the Front Pipe (pre-cat). And this was not covered. After complaining for a while they suddenly found a new Rev. They updated it and the light is off. But, I am certain it will come back on (tomorrow makes a week since update). Dealers will burn you any chance they get.

If they light goes back on the REAL WAR will begin!!!!

Keep me posted on your outcome!

 

My SES light has own3d me for months. I had the dealer pull the codes (hook up) and he said I had like 20 codes on there. He cleared them all but a few days later the 02 sensor code came back. Oh well. It is just an annoying little light.

 

I also have the p0420 and took it to the dealer and said that they would replace my cat. They ordered the part and said it was on back-order. It has been over 2 months now and they finally got the part. Im getting it replaced this thursday. Finally that annoying light will be gone.. i had that light for about 4 months now...

 

they didnt mention reprogramming, they just said they needed to replace the cat.. well no cash from my pocket so.. it's all good.

 

naerok, My dealer is probably trying to make me buy the new pre-cat then they'll realize it's the cat and replace it for free. After I spend the 900 dollars on the pre-cat.

 

I had a p0420 and I went to the dealer within the warranty period and was put of. Both for that SES code and a squeeking window. Needless to say I am out of warranty and out of luck. Forget about dealers they will rip off there own mothers and Nissan1 is a joke. They repeatedly told me unless I use the dealer regularly for service or have bought several cars there- they will not help me out. They "GIVE PREFERENCE" to regular $$$ customers. What a joke. I calmly explained that I spent 30k on my anniv. max 24 months ago and where is the loyalty to the customer. They basically said I was a few miles over 36k and out of luck. FYI, if a reflash doesnt fix the p0420 you need a cat., which if it is a CA. emmisions vehicle is covered under 8/80. Reflashes are not technically covered unless they replace the part. I argued they did replace the intellectual property within- they again told me to go scratch. If this is the type of service standard that Nissan allows to go on, as much as I hate to admit it, I will not buy another Nissan. I had a ford mustang for 10 years without a problem. My milage sucks 21mph in mixed driving and it has had problems. GO NISSAN! Oh yeah to the guy that got a code from autozone, don't be quick to replace an 02 sensor because the diagnostic says so- I did bank 1 sensor 1 and it came on again a week later. Needed a reflash $75.00. Now I'm waiting for my coils to go.

 

Maybe you can get reinbursed...most likely not.

All i can say is NISSAN service is muy mal, but i hear that infiniti's service is great..

 

Si, si muy mal. Infiniti is the same comapany but I guess they have higher standards. I would insist on the 8/80. Nissan1 told me it IS covered if you have CA emmisions. Don't listent to the dealser call 800nissan1 if your within 80k they will run your vin and call the dealer and make him cover it if again you have the typical ca emmisions set up on the car. It will also say so under the hood on the tag located in the back area. Just look for anything that says CA and your covered...it's muy facil' LOL I lived in Miami what can I say. Good luck mi amigo.... Latina mujeres son muy caliente...