replacing my ECU

ltullos

While i'm no fan of dealer service, the standard CEL code readers from Autozone or other places will only give generic diagnosis, while the Nissan CONSULT scans will give much more detailed info, including intermittent faults which are not accessible by any CEL readers.

If you have a serious problem like this, pay for Nissan diagnosis but demand a full printout of the results.

ChopsZ

Nearly any free phone app for a wifi/bluetooth OBDII reader will tell you any current and stored codes. From there, you can easily get into the ballpark if not pin-point the issue via those codes.

That also goes for anyone who runs any kind of laptop based flash tuner. I can pull codes (current and stored) via my EcuTek software. I'm sure UpRev has the same capability.

Heck, when I got my throttle bodies bored, the ECU needed to relearn the new cleaned and bored TB's. Either you have to take it to the dealer or apparently there's ways of doing this manually by turning the ignition on and off a bunch of times while stomping on the gas pedal and crossing your eyes while reaming your ear with your free hand... Instead, I decided to just browse around in my Ecutek software and found an option to allow the ECU to "auto-relearn" the TB's. It took only 5 seconds and worked like a charm.

My point is... You do NOT have to go to the dealer and get charged for them to use their CONSULT scanner on your car.

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ltullos

Sorry, but you are wrong about this. CONSULT scan will provide much more info than CEL scan because it performs diagnostic tests other than just reading stored faults.

I know this because I had intermittent problem with ABS computer which caused multiple faults and warning lights including speedometer failure, all traction control and ABS failure, and other faults. I have OBDLink and performed multiple scans which only reported P0500 fault (vehicle speed sensor). The CONSULT scan revealed faults on multiple systems and low voltage warnings which ultimately pointed to the ABS control unit failing such that it was creating shorts on CAN bus. Resetting system and clearing faults would temporarily work, but problem kept coming back and was only corrected by replacing the ABS control unit This was roughly $1500 item which was replaced under warranty.

My point is that it is not always necessary to pay for CONSULT scan, but CEL scans are sometimes worthless to help you pinpoint problem and every dealer is not trying to rip us off.

For the case reported where dealer found fault which saild OP needed to replace ECU and harness, it indicates to me that there is likely some component in the system which is pulling down the CAN bus. No CEL reader is ever going to pinpoint this, and even the CONSULT scan is likely to give multiple false faults.

I'm a retired semiconductor reliability & failure analysis engineering manager who worked on many automotive ICs, and have experience with this type problem. Bus faults can be very difficult to pinpoint because a component with marginal leakage can can produce intermittent transition faults which are dependent on many factors including the state of the other systems. CONSULT scan may not give the definitive answer either, but will give much more info to point in the right direction. And finally, I would insist that the dealer perform more than one scan - resetting systems and clearing codes in between successive scans in order to check the consistency of findings.