05 G35 - Bad ECM? I'm out of ideas - Please help.
 

My car 05 G35 5AT 96k miles which has been super reliable for years has recently run into a string of bad luck.

Early 2018 it died on me and it was the crank sensor. I had it replaced and it ran fine until November 2018.

I was driving and the car died on me (VDC, SES, all that jazz) wouldn't turn on had it towed and ended up replacing the fuel pump. A week later it died on me again and ended up replacing both cam sensors and belts. Last Saturday it died on me again (one crank doesn't turn on all lights in dashboard on) and now the mechanic is saying its a bad ECM and wants $2600 to replace it.

I'm going to have it towed to another local mechanic because I can't see putting that much money into this car anymore. Anyone have any ideas? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: I apologize I posted this in the wrong thread. Can I mod move it for me please?

Used ones go for about $100. Get a factory service manual and learn how to work on cars or get used to shelling out big bucks.

I wish I could work on the car but my physical handicap prevents me from doing so.

When I try to turn the car on it cranks once and all the lights come on (as normal) but after the once crank nothing happens.

Sorru to hear that. My apologies.

Not a problem, don't worry about it :)

I apologize if this comes out wrong, but I'm not sure what kind of handicaps you might have. Are you unable to do the wrenching? The only reason I ask is that if you can at least buy a decent scan tool for your car and hook it up to the OBD2 port in your car. Then you can at least try to narrow down the issue yourself or get an idea WHAT might be wrong. Then when you bring it to the dealer or mechanic there could be less of a chance of them taking advantage of you. Your mentioning of the VDC, SLIP, and other lights coming on and them replacing the fuel pump seems kind of suspect to me, since the car died a week later. I'm not saying they ripped you off, but usually a bad fuel pump just won't fire the car up and I've never seen a light come on due to a fuel pump.

Does the RPM needle move when you crank the engine? Do you know what kind of sensors were used when they were replaced? I'd ask the mechanic what codes were present that makes him think the ECM is bad? I'm imagining he sees a U1000 and just says the ECU is bad you need a new one.

Not a problem, I was injured in Iraq and have lost some fine motor skills in my hands which makes using tools difficult. I'm mostly use speech to text to type etc.

When I crank the engine the RPM meter does not move. All the parts they used were OEM parts from the dealership. I asked him to text me the code but I have not received it yet. He is saying its the ECM not the ECU. I'm sorry I'm a complete noob when it comes to automobile repair. I am going to take it to a different mechanic on Saturday to see what they can diagnose.

Man, sorry to hear that. As a fellow vet (Ch/Air Force) you have my thanks. ECM/ECU is inter changeable no crank signal could be the computer, another faulty crank sensor, low battery, a few other things.

I would have it towed to another shop for a diagnostic. If it is the ECM it's going to end up at the Nissan dealership one way or another because they have the Consult-II diagnostic tool needed to set up the new/used ECM.

You DEFINITELY need to find a shop that will install a used ECM though, you can pick them up on Ebay for $150 and it's only 1 hour to install and do the setup.

You disconnect the battery.

Remove the passenger footwell kick panel

Unplug and unbolt the existing ECM.

Installation is the reverse.

Go through the setup procedure in Consult-II to match it to the BCM and set up customer keys.

Then End.

I have no clue where all their cost is coming from but you need to start getting into the habit of asking for itemized billing, if they're trying to charge you 10 hours labor for a 90 minute job you need to RUN AWAY.

This is exactly what I will do - I'll wait for the new shop to call me back with their diagnosis.

Small Update

I've been very busy at work with year end was unable to take the car to the new shop till earlier today. Crazy thing is I called the tow truck and was ready to put it on but something made me want to just try to crank the car one time and guess what!

It turned on! I drove it for a few minutes and told the tow truck driver to follow me to the new shop and the car made it all the way there (12 miles including parts highway) with no issues! When I arrived at the shop I didn't turn it off and left it running in the lot. The mechanic took a quick look at it and said he would see if it would turn on again...and unfortunately we couldn't get it on after that lol. He doesn't believe its the computer and agreed that if it was, it would be best to get a used one and he has all the tools to setup the key etc.

Hopefully he has an update for me soon.

So I dont have much to add except my 03 coupe decided that the speedometer, vdc, check engine light all came on when I went to start car. Drove it 1 block, was not running correctly, parked it, had it towed, mechanic could not find 1 code or issue the next day, he kept the car a week, drove it twice a day, could not get it to do it again. Not brake issue, not CPS, maybe computer is just unhappy? Either way I'd love to hear if you find a resolution, and thank you for your service.