Neighbor's Maxima had a "computer board" burn out. Dealer wants $1500!!
 

So my neighbor has a 5th gen Maxima and says his "computer board" was burnt out and that he smelled smoke. Car would barely run and then quit running. So he has it towed to the dealership and they quoted $1500 for a new computer.

Is this even remotely possible? Are the ECU's actually frying in these things and if so, what would cause that or there's got to be a cheaper fix. I've worked on cars off and on for years and never heard of an ECU going totally bad. Maybe I'm wrong?

I know he's had a couple coils put on the car in the past but that's minor. Any insight on this one? Thanks!

(oh, where is the search function on this board?)

Yes the board can "burn out"... highly unlikely, but it is electronic and things do happen.... As for your search question, donate and get the simple search or read the stickies on how to Google the forum...

Should be able to pick up a used computer for around $200+ or -.

you search by using what ever topic u want to search for followed by "site:forums.maxima.org"

so if i want to search for "speakers for a 2001 Maxima" for example i would type "Speakers for 2001 Maxima SITE:FORUMS.MAXIMA.ORG"

or you can donate and just use the search function...

ECU should be covered by the 8/80K mile emission warranty. ECU is an emission compliance part.

I've had good luck with nissanparts.org / trademotion. Generally 1/2 the price, OEM and cheap shipping.

And no, computer burn up is definetly not a common thing to happen.

1999 Nissan Maxima
112000 Miles
Computer died after stopping to get gas.
It acted like a fuel issue, and I had just filled it.
I checked the fuel pump, replaced the fuel filter. No luck
I was getting spark.
Checked the fuses but they were good.
The fuel injectors were not firing.
Turned out the computer had fried. (smelled bad too)
Replaced the computer and it runs much better than it did before.

Never owned a Mitsubishi before huh? This is how all the ones in my family died...after 10+ years of good, solid, reliable service. Very common and very expensive problem. However, I have only heard of 1 case in a Maxima, and I think it was misdiagnosed at that. If the car is still under the 8/80k warranty, I say just have the work done. Otherwise, it might be worth the towing fee to get a second opinion.

Like VaporHead said this is not a common thing, but it can happen and it happened to me just a short while ago. I bought my 5.5 Gen new a few years ago in 2002. Last November my ECU died at about 82,000 miles. When it happened I got this strong burnt electrical wire smell coming from the area where the ECU is located. I took the car to the dealership and was told that the ECU was bad after they thoroughly examined the car and in addition they pulled a P0731 code. The ECU was in "Fail Safe Mode" which in my case I could drive the car, but I could not rev over 2500 rpms. I was just 2000 miles over the 80,000 miles Federal Emission Warranty. Nissan said if you are over 80,000 miles NO DEAL. New ECM cost about $700 plus $135 in labor and the dealer gave me a 6 months or 6000 miles warranty on the job. $1500 is a rip off. You could do two cars for that price. Go to another dealer.

well depending on your dealer that could be right. you should ask how much time they are charging you to install it--ecu from nissan run around 900 and they should only charge an hour to install it. i mean it takes like 25 mins to replace it--and they have to reprogram all your keys but that is it.

Redstone, was there any warning signs that you can recall prior to your ECU frying out? Was there any performance loss? I have an 03 merlot as well, so i feel your pain about being just a little out of warranty, tha suckz.

Zenjia there were no signs or anything indicating a possible problem with the car and everyting was fine up until that point. The day it happened I was pulling away from a traffic light and I got this smell like burnt wire or rubber. There was a 18 wheeler a little further ahead of me so I figured it was coming from the truck and thought perhaps the truck had blown a tire or something and since I was only about 2 miles from home so I was'nt driving too fast. The next day I confirmed the smell was definitely from my car and when I started driving the car began to stutter when I increased speed so I pulled over to investigate. I gave it a little rev and then some more and slowly watched the rpm's increase and noticed at exactly 2500 the power shuts off. I continued driving and tried this on the highway(very dangerous). At about 70mph or 2500 rpms on the highway all power is lost and it's like ending up in neutral. Floor it and nothing happens for about 10 seconds or so till the rpm's drop back below 2500 then it runs fine as normal. I eventally got it fixed, but it was pain to drive like that. The botom line is that the filed ECU disabled the check engine light on the dash, but there were still codes. The LED behind the CEL was tested by the dealer and was found to be good, but ECU failure caused a malfunction in the circuit system which was why the CEL was not functioning. They spent about 3 hours on the car just to be absolutely sure and concluded it was the ECU.I was just surprised the car was even driveable with the bad ECU.

This is a common problem
 

Read some of the other threads and you will see that this is a very common problem. For some reason the ECUs in these Maximas are very weak, but expensive. I have never had an ECU go bad before with any other car but the Nissan dealership told me that they see several of these a month. One Nissan parts dealer was bragging on another thread that he sells several of these a week. So, definately contact Nissan and complain, although they will tell you that they have never heard of this problem. We are all trying to get them to recall the ECUs or at least put a fuse in to keep the computer from burning up. This is very dangerous when it happens going down the road, like in your case.

hallrag5 complaining to Nissan is not going to get you anywhere. Like you said they will tell you there are no problems with the ECU's. It might take a few accidents from failed ECU's for them to even consider doing a recall on this. Perhaps when they begin to loose customers they will change they way they do business. I am sure there are a lot of people in general that visit these forums to see what current owners are saying about the cars especially if they are planning to purshase one. Now of course not everyone is going to agree with me because there might be a few people who have had good results dealing with Nissan Consumer Affairs Dept. In addition others might be just lucky if they have never had any major problems.

They are having accidents
 

Complain in writing and send it certified. It will cost just a few dollars and is well worth it to prove that Nissan had notice of the defective ECUs.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
 

If you really want to send a complaint call these guys at 1-888-327-4236 and report this problem. They are currently investigating this problem and the more complaints they get - the better they will investigate. I lodged my complaint this morning.

I have the same problem with my 01 Max ECU and...

I just spoke with Nissan Canada 1-800-387-0122 and they told me that my comments have been noted in the database and your vehicle is well outside warranty. In other words, GFY sir.

Call them, make your complaints known!!!

I want to confirm that no firm has filed a class action at this time.

way to edit your post and back track and everything you have said :thumbsup:

no, they are not investigating this.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=508305

Or the ORG can be like every other site on the f'ing planet, and allow to search simply by being registered...:sprint2:

I guess that's too much to ask for.