P0420 - I'm pissed
 

I went to the stealership to get my P0420 code taken care of. I brought the printed out TSB along. (I have 101k miles, so I'm out of warranty)

They took the car in for 10 minutes, servicce manager comes out and says it will be $170 to get this taken care of.
I said, I've never heard of anyone charging more than 1 hours of labor for this, which is $85 (their rate).
He said, no, this is normal.
I say, I'll drive it like this, thanks, no biggie, I know how to reset the light and can pull my codes for free at Autozone if needs to be.
He says, I now have to go to cashier and pay $91.
I was mad, so I paid and left. Told him, it's the last time I am at their dealership.

I should get a job there. $91 for 10 minutes. That's pretty good.

If he didn't get your consent to charge a diagnostic fee prior to looking at your car you are not responsible for paying a diagnostic fee. It's illegal.

Talk to the general manager; explain your situation, and ask for a refund, and maybe some free oil change coupons or car washes.

consent
 

I've yet to see a dealership that would look at a car without first writing up a ticket, and second getting you to sign the estimate section. Hope for you that there is one dealer out there.

Ohh man! why didn't u pay for the rest 80 bucks to fix that problem? it will reprogram the ECM. i had that problem a year ago too,i paid $170 to the dealer to fix that and the code never come back!
http://www.nissanhelp.com/ownership/.../ntb00-070.htm

$170 for an ECM flash?

you should have spoken to the service manager.

ECM update is .7hr, thats a CP time. the most you should have been charged is 1hr labor. the diag charge should be applied towards the repair.

next time just ask for a reprogram at .7hr

I would keep an eye on that P0140 code. I ignored it for about 8 months and I believe my ECU kicked out a P0505 code. I did not feel anything different about the car and all of a sudden the stench of burned electronics and a fried ECU. Got the codes checked and of course a P0140 and P0505, I am not certain it is a good idea to ignore the SES light, I think that is what got me. My IACV leaked water and shorted the connector which in turn shorted a section of my ECU. Just my thoughts.

p0140 and 0505 are unrelated. i see what youre saying, however. if the light wasnt on, you'd have caught the IACV issue earlier, possibly saving the ECM.

P0420 Code
 

I get this code all of the time. The first time I got it the dealer said that he had "reset" the computer & charged me $80. 2 months later when it came back I simply bought a reader at Autozone.

I just clear the code now.

It comes back about every 3 or 4 weeks.

Sometimes it comes back after 200 miles, other times I go 1,000's of miles without seeing it.