NHTSA Complaint #10206157 — 2002 NISSAN SENTRA

MY CAR STALLED OUT ON ROAD TWICE. THE MIL CAME ON; ECM FAILED. NISSAN OF UNION CITY, GA, DIAGNOSED ECM FAILURE; SAID NEEDED REPLACEMENT. I THEN FOUND THERE IS A RECALL CONCERNING "SULFUR" THAT COULD CAUSE CORROSION OF ECM; NISSAN NEVER NOTIFIED ME OF SUCH. THEY TOLD ME THEY'D PERFORM THE FOAM AND CRANK SENSOR RECALLS; THEY DIDN'T AS FOUND OUT LATER. ADVISOR TOLD ME THAT THE ECM REPLACEMENT WOULD BE COVERED IF THERE WAS BURNING OR MELTING OF THE FOAM AROUND ECM. I ARGUED THAT "BURNING OR MELTING" IS NOT REQUIRED FOR ECM FAILURE SINCE RECALL STATED FAILURES WERE CAUSED BY FOAM RELEASING SULFUR GAS DURING CURING. I CONTACTED NISSAN NA AND TOLD THEM MY ARGUMENT THAT NISSAN SHOULD COVER THE ECM COST SINCE THEY NEVER NOTIFIED ME OF THE RECALL AND THAT THE DEALERS EXPLANATION FOR ECM FAILURE DIDN'T MAKE SENSE ACCORDING TO RECALL. IF THE ECM'S FAIL DUE TO SULFUR OUT GASSING DURING CURING, HE CANNOT HE SAY FAILURE OF THE ECM WAS NOT DUE TO THE RECALL DUE TO LACK OF BURNING OR MELTING OF THE FOAM. AFTER MUCH DELAY, NISSAN NA FINALLY TOLD ME ABOUT 16 DAYS LATER THAT THEY WERE NOT GOING TO COVER COST OF ECM REPLACEMENT BECAUSE DEALER SAID THE ECM FAILURE WAS DUE TO AGE AND MILEAGE. THIS IS NOT LOGICAL. I REPLACED ECM. WHEN I TOOK APART MY ECM BOX, I NOTICED THEY ONLY TOOK THE FOAM FROM ABOVE THE ECM AND NOT FOAM BELOW ECM AND VIDEO TAPED. RECALL CALLS FOR TAKING OUT BOTH FOAMS FROM ECM BOX. IT'S OBVIOUS THEY NEVER TOOK OUT ECM TO INSPECT TO SAY "THERE IS NO BURNING OR MELTING". THEY FAILED TO PROPERLY PERFORM THE RECALL. I CONTACTED NISSAN NA ABOUT THIS FAILURE, BUT THEY SAID MY CASE WAS CLOSED. JUST TODAY, MY CAR STALLED OUT AGAIN AFTER NEW ECM, AND IT HAD AN ERROR CODE FOR A CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR MALFUNCTION. THEY CLAIM TO HAVE PERFORMED THE CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR RECALL. BUT CRANKSHAFT SENSOR IN MY CAR LOOKS AS OLD AS CAR. I BELIEVE THEY DIDN'T PERFORM THAT RECALL AS WELL. I THINK NISSAN IS USING FOAM RECALL TO COVER UP BAD ECM'S FROM 2000-2003 AND MAKE MONEY. *JB