ECM Fried back in 2011

[guess it begins with R and ends with n]

Bought the 01 Max in 2010. Had Pre-cat/floor cat replaced under warranty. Six months later (P0138) two O2 sensors, thermostat housing/gasket/antifreeze, exhaust gasket replaced at Bridgestone. $1028. Three weeks later ECM/IACV fried. $2000 at Nissan Sales/service center.

My question:

NTB advises a reprogram after removal replacement of two O2 sensors. Bridgestone skipped it. Could the damage to the ECM be caused by missed repair step?
I’ve been advised no by Nissan and informed that not reprogramming wouldn’t have caused any physical damage. The Bulletin even emphasizes on an air flow meter which would relate to the IACV motor.

Topic

[Its me]

It appears there there is a technical service bulletin (TSB) out there about this, but I don’t think not having it flashed would cause your ECM to go bad…

Karl

ECOl -005B

ThReferenc;TBOl~Ol6B

Date:

September 15 2001

2000-2001 MAXIMA MIL “ON” WITH REAR 02 SENSOR DTC

P01 38-POl 40 OR P01 58-POl 60

ATTENTION: This bulletin amends the Service Procedure

and Claims Information section of NTBO1-016A.
^ If this bulletin applies, you must replace the incident bank(s) rear oxygen sensor(s) as indicated by the DTC on the CONSULT-Il self-diagnosis printout and the vehicle’s Emissions Certification Label.

Reprogramming of the vehicle’s ECM to the New ECM Data PIN may also be needed to help prevent incidents from reoccurring (this revision contains ECM data which has been improved over the previously published ECM data).
^ The Claims Information section has been revised to include new claims information for single sensor replacement versus replacement of both sensors.

Please discard all paper copies of NTBO1~O16A.

APPLIED VEHICLES:
2000-2001 Maxima (A33)

SERVICE INFORMATION

If an Applied 2000 or 2001 Maxima has a MIL ilOnil and any of the following DTCs stored in the ECM:
^ P0138 (Bank 1) H02S2 (Rear) (Max Voltage Monitoring)

^ P0139 (Bank 1) H02S2 (Rear) (Response Monitoring)

^ P0140 (Bank 1) H02S2 (Rear) (High Voltage)

^ P0158 (Bank 2) H02S2 (Rear) (Max Voltage Monitoring)

^ P0159 (Bank 2) H02S2 (Rear) (Response Monitoring)

^ P0160 (Bank 2) H02S2 (Rear) (High Voltage)

there are two repair actions required to resolve this incident:
1. Replace the incident bank(s) rear oxygen sensor(s) as indicated by the DTC on the

CONSULT-Il self-diagnosis printout and the vehicle’s Emissions Certification Label to correct the condition.
2. Reprogram of the vehicle’s ECM to the New ECM Data P/N to help prevent incidents from reoccurring.

Use the diagnosis/repair flow chart on page 2 and appropriate Service Procedure steps provided in this bulletin to diagnose and repair this incident, if it should occur.

These are the ONLY approved repair procedures for this incident. If the vehicle falls within this bulletin range, a claim to Nissan for the repair of this incident may be denied if the

repairs are not performed exactly as outlined in this bulletin.

SERVICE PROCEDURE

Emissions Certification

Determine the vehicle’s Emissions Certification (California or Federal):
1. All 2001 Maxima vehicles have Cajifomia emissions certification.

2. For 2000 Maxima vehicles, you need to determine if the vehicle is certified for California or Federal emissions. Check the Emissions Certification Label on the underside of the engine hood to verify if the certificate is for Califomia emissions (see Figure 1). If there is no mention of California on the label, the vehicle is certified for Federal emissions.

3. Perform Rear Oxygen Sensor Replacement, below, Rear Oxygen Sensor Replacement:

1. Determine which DTC code is stored in the vehicle’s ECM by performing CONSULT-Il self-diagnosis. See Figure 2 for an example of the CONSULT-Il self-diagnosis printout.

2. Replace the incident bank(s) rear oxygen sensor(s) as indicated by the DTC on the CONSULT-li selt-diagnosis printout and the vehicle’s Emissions Certification Label (see the Parts Information chart, page 7 fbr correct part numbers).

2. Proceed to ECM Part Number Identification And Update, below,

ECM Part Number Identification and Update
3. Perform ECM reprogramming to update the ECM data to the new P/N. ASIST users refer to Attachment A in the print copy of this bulletin.

[guess it begins with R and ends with n]

That’s it, it applies to ECM P/N 5Y010 standard air flow meter. Now it’s 5Y016RE. the other one was fried.

Nissan said it was the electronic engine mounts shorted ECM/IACV circuit.

I want to put it behind me and move on from it but I can’t seem to understand how the motor mount sensor shorted the IACV out. P0505.

[Its me]

I thought only Infiniti had those electronic mounts… lol… well I suppose that reveals my ignorance of the Nissan line. Hence why I am not NissanKarl… 🙂

The only way I figure it is that theoretically the IAC reports it’s position in 0 to 5v back to the ECM and the voltage from the mounts may have got back to the ECU on that circuit.. how… well that would be interesting to know… perhaps a software issue somewhere, perhaps 12v leaking from the mounts in some way…but that is just a guess.

Karl

[guess it begins with R and ends with n]

I haven’t accused anyone over 5 years. I just don’t have enough evidence that this damage was caused by Bridgestone.

I probably never will but I did read that reprogramming fixes bugs that develop into symptoms.

It’s a lot like the higher end 2001 Toyota/Lexus.

It’s not a flash it’s a Server/Host connect update/reprogram.

[guess it begins with R and ends with n]

Has any of the Techs seen this IACV/ECM issue on these Japanese vehicles?

Apparently there is a coolant bypass from the water outlet into the throttle body to regulate the IACV temperature.

It’s logical that the seal breaks then leaks coolant into the IACV damaging the ECM/IACV all at once.

It’s a HUGE warning to all. You may be put into a Japanese car one day and will have this P0505 issue. This is the worse code besides the P0605 in the 01 Max.

[guess it begins with R and ends with n]

Got it , After the O2 sensors, the update was for the IACV driver. They skipped it then three weeks later the driver blew out taking the sensor with it.

I went to Nissan they tried to lie to me to cover up what Bridgestone didn’t do. I’ve been asking them and I get that there is just NO and I mean NO way not updating the drivers would cause physical damage to the ECM.

Here you see, Make sure you get that reprogram/update that is published for your car. It could be a driver update!

I went through so many things it could’ve been.

[Author]

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