Hi there,
Last Sunday my 2001 Maxima SE (manual transmission, 29000 miles) turned on its "Service Engine Soon" light. I went to autozone to get the code read and it came out as P0420. Unfortunately I didn't remember to ask autozone to leave the codes and thus they reset the code. Since then I have driven the car about 80 miles and the light has not come on yet.
This morning I called the dealer and told them about the code and the TSB (NTB00-070a) and asked if they could update the ECM program. They said:
1. If the car actually needed the update, the "Service Engine Soon" light would come back on immediately after the reset.
2. Since my car is past the 3 year B-T-B warranty (it is 3.5 years old) I would have to pay for it. The TSB would not be covered under the emissions warranty and that the emissions warranty only really applies to CA (I'm on CO).

Are the two points above true? At this point I'm thinking of just waiting till the light comes back on. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

If your car is a Cali-spec and you have under 80k miles (which you do) then the dealer is OBLIGATED to have to fix this problem per the govt mandated 8yr/80k mile emissions warranty (you will find this warranty in your owners manual). The code will pop back up in just a couple of days and when it does, walk into the dealership with the TSB in hand and your warranty booklet if you have to and tell them to fix it. I just went through this exact same situation and Bob Moore Nissan here in Norman gave me no hassle about it. They said the ECM reprogram didn't do anything so they ordered and installed a brand new cat for free.

 

My car had the code since 55k miles and I didn't do a thing about it which I regret now.. but since winter(cold weather) showed here in Florida the SES went away and haven't come back............maybe the Cat fixed itself j/k....