Dealership woes
 

You may recall I posted on here a couple weeks ago asking for some advice on issues I was having with my 350Z. Well, I got those issues resolved (replaced the MAFS and cleaned some other components) and a couple days later, the CEL came on--P0570, which is too much air. Did some research, found some fixes, yada yada. Light wouldn't clear (read the dealer might have to do it with their special tool), but more disconcerting was that my gas mileage had gone down considerably. So, I decided to take it into Nissan and have them run a diagnostics check and tell me what's up.

Did that yesterday. Took half the day off work, dropped the car off at the dealer, they told me it'd be about an hour so I decided to stick around. Hour and a half later, they come tell me they've killed my computer. Apparently, Nissan had a software update that got pushed via bulletin a few years back and they decided to flash it to my ECM. Got 90% of the way through the program, and then completely erased EVERYTHING from my ECM--it's dead in the water. To make this long story shorter, Nissan (corporate, not local) is paying to have the ECM replaced ($900) but it won't be in until tomorrow. And then they have to run the diagnostics checks I paid for that they haven't even started, yet...

So, take the car in expecting to "lose" an hour of my time to figure out exactly what is up with my car so I can fix it myself (or just have the dealer clear the light)...and end up without the car for 2.5 days.

Bright side is I'm getting a brand new ECM for free...

Did they at least give you a loaner since they crippled your car?

imho, if they did that to my TDI I would be livid. I asked for a diag, not an update.

That sucks.

Possible bright side is your initial problem was due to a failing ECM.

Kinda what I was thinking/hoping, SM.

And no, they did not give--or even offer--me a loaner. I thought that a bit disappointing, but not at all unexpected. I live in a small "city." This particular dealership is Nissan, but the same guy owns Honda, KIA/Hyundai, Ford, Chevy...all in this town. Customer service is lacking. Was talking to my buddy today and told him if they were a GOOD company, they wouldn't even charge me for the diag check. You know, "Hey, sorry we screwed up and you've been without your car for a couple days. The diag check is on us this time." That thought won't even cross their mind, though. This is the 2nd time my car has seen the dealer. The first was for a fuel pump recall and they didn't put my exhaust back on completely...

They did give me a ride home, at least. I have other cars, so being short 1 car for a couple days really isn't a big deal.

I feel ya. I was annoyed at first, but it's done. And they're doing the right thing by taking care of it, so there's not too much to be pissed about.

Hope you get a reach around and a happy ending.

Did you authorize the ECM update? They're not supposed to perform any 'work' without your approval. Diagnosis is different than work.

Moral: Never ever go into a car repair thinking you will only lose 1 hour of your time.

Actually a free detail would be more appropriate. :rolleyes:

Don't wait for them to offer you something. Tell them what would be satisfactory to you for what has transpired. Be reasonable.

Updating modules is often done automatically when the factory diagnostic computer is hooked up.
If you have a running issue or a stubborn CEL that is the first thing that gets done since updates often address a lot of these kinds of issues. Your personal computer gets updates, your car is the same issue.
You were also told the time frame is one hour but did they tell you that hour would start at time X?
They should have offered you a loaner since through no fault of your own you are down a car, I would mention that little nugget to Nissan, not the dealer.
I find most dealer bashing seems to come from folks who have never made a living from the other side of the shop doors and don't have a total idea of the restraints placed upon the folks doing the work by the manufacturers. The dealer really has nothing to do with the shops and sales depts. everybody likes to bash on.

Glad to hear they are replacing the ECU, but have they said they will be replacing the IPDM as well?

Thanks for clearing that up Rick. I hear it all the time. I have a car in here right now,( BMW), and the customer is just tearing up the last guy who worked on it. Claiming everything that is wrong with their 240k mile car was caused by him installing a blower motor. I can find nothing wrong with any of the work he has done. People just love to pile on mechanics, but the reality is that this job is a total pia sometimes, and there are far more things that can go wrong than can go right.
All you need to happen when you are flashing , is to have a power surge, a blip in your wifi or internet connection, or god forbid, make a mistake, or trip over the power cord or something, and blamo, out , done.
Its not like the guys are sitting in the shop drinking beer trying to figure out a way to screw you, we are usually busting our asses trying to figure out how to make your car run right again.
I do zero work for customers who have to wait now, far too many times in my life , I have been standing here at 5:30 with a car dis assembled, no parts, and a customer in my office with no ride home mad at me
.

Seems like it's inconvenient, and that's about all.

Imagine for a moment that you tried to update the ECM at home, and it fried.

Be happy!

Imagine for a moment that you did your due diligence, asked for one service to be performed, and they whacked your ECM by doing a service you didn't ask for. I'd be pissed.

It's the IPDM, and the Nissan dealer should know WTF is going on.

Wow. The fire starters in this thread mostly exemplify the kind of customers I try to avoid whenever possible.

Fred and Rick nailed it. Mechanics are the lightening rods for blame of seemingly every single problem a car will have during it's service life. I wish some manufacturer's, or SAE engineers would take over explaining these part failures to the cars' owners so I don't have to. Their designs weren't my idea anyway. :rolleyes:

I just shed a customer that threatened a BBB complaint because his GX470's rear brakes only lasted 30k miles. The 22' Malibu Wakesetter they tow is not a contributing factor, according to them. I gave them parts from Lexus at cost, and all the labor for free just so I could escape the situation relatively unscathed. Even though nothing I could have done would have made the brakes last any longer, short of removing their trailer hitch, I had to take a hit, do free work, and listen to some sht talk to protect my business from this client's quest for supposed restitution.

I see that you started this post yesterday at 2:52 pm- what is the updated status as of now?

I want to point out that I did not bash the techs at all...

Update status: short story--car's working, Nissan paid for the ECM + labor. Dealership didn't charge me for diagnostic check. As of now, I'm happy with them. Fried my computer, kept my car for 2.5 days, but took care of me.

Have an error code of P0300 still--random misfire (which is the code that started my hunt a few months ago...). They say it's the spark plugs, and they'll replace them for $250 (1.5 hours labor = 146, plugs = 101). I say thanks, I'll handle it, but feel it's odd since I just replaced the plugs not long ago. Head to Autozone, and buy OEM Double Platinum plugs for a grand total of $31. Get home, put the plugs in (and repalce the Cam position sensors that came in the mail), and see that the plugs I had previously put in were Platinum as opposed to Double Platinum: hmm...that may have been a problem.

Anywho, car's working great; I'm happy. Also, I haven't seen any talk of IPDM issues with the 350Z...

Rick,
I'm with you until that statement. I'm not sure what you mean by it. I interpret it to mean that the dealer (management) can't do anything to make a customer satisfied if the shop or sales department messes up. Is that what you mean?