External door handle wont open door after cold weather - NTB09125

Particularly relevant during cold days/winter months - the Nissan Rogue 2009's door ... suddenly won't open the door when you pull on it. The door still opens from inside.

First, potential Good news: This can be a common, simple problem with Nissan Rogue doors after cold weathers - the cable that sits inside the external door mechanism, that unlocks the door when we pull on the door handle , may just have come out of its housing (ie its not broken, it just came loose). 

If we can work out this is what happened, fixing it just means taking the door apart enough  to get to the cable and putting it back into its  external housing inside the external handle bracket.

APPROACHES TO FIXING THIS SITUATION

First step - Do we still have coverage? There was a voluntary Nissan Recall. 

Check with your local Nissan service center if your car still has door handle coverage

If you still have coverage for your car, or if you're unsure - give Nissan a call or your service center a call and first check whether they will cover you for free with a recall if its a simple loose cable.

There used to be a Nissan rogue recall free of charge for this problem because it was a known manufacturing design flaw with the door release cable and handle housing of the Rogue. 

Here are details of the recall:

NTB09125 - CP 2008 - 2009 Rogue; Front Door Handles - Voluntary Service Campaign
In certain 2008 and 2009 Nissan Rogue vehicles, to assure customer satisfaction, Nissan is conducting a voluntary service campaign to install seals to the door latch assembly and apply special gr ease to the door cable ends to prevent freezing under certain conditions. See this bulletin for further details. 

Source: http://forums.nicoclub.com/new-door-handle-recall-t514407.html 

Step two - if we don't have Nissan coverage..

Out of pocket , covering this sort of a fix requires someone in a service center taking a look at my door innards. Based on what they find, I pay for inspection and labor, + any parts. With parts involved it can run upwards of 200 USD.

I also took the car to a local garage to see what they'd say. Turns out its such a small thing, theyd rather ask you to get a new OEM door handle and come back so they will replace it. For some dineros ofcourse.

Opening the door & figuring out if we really just have a loose cable: 

Here are steps on how to see whether our cable has come loose (and how we can fix it). I've listed the tools I used at the bottom of this post.

PS - Allocate at least ~ 2 hours for this if you're inexperienced like me

Removing the interior door panel

1. take off plastic cover over bolt in the interior door handle

2. Use a flat , thin wedge (I used a small flathead screwdriver) to pry up the edges of the window control unit on our driver-side door. Then we can pull the entire window control unit up:

3. We can see that there are some electronic cables attached to the window control box I just pulled out:

4. Turn off the car, and then use a small flathead screwdriver to release the plastic latch holding each of these electronic cables into the control box unit. Be gentle so We don't break the plastic tabs. Once its loose, we can just pull the electronic cables out and the window control box will become free. Set it aside for now

5. Now, use a similar flat wedge surface (I used a flat head screwdriver) to pry open the interior door grip/vertical handle plastic cover. Start from the bottom and work our way around - and then we can just pull it off easily

6. Now we will see two bolts exposed inside this handle. Unscrew them. Heres the top screw (you'll need a ratchet to reach the depth here its deeply recessed)

 7. Here's the bottom screw.

8. Now, using something flat and wedgey, pry open the interior plastic cover of the door all around the edges of the door. You'll feel pins releasing one by one.  Then, just lift the entire cover up along your window, and then away. Once your interior panel comes off, this is what it looks like on the inside. Notice that there are two cables still attaching the plastic panel we just removed to the door frame.

9. These two cables are in fact the cables that pull on the locking mechanism when you use the interior door handle to open the door.

Try it - pull on the interior door handle while watching how the cables move. You'll see that the cables move back and forth and its pretty interesting!

Now - detach the cables.

first - pull up on the white plastic housings per cable. That will release the cables from the enclosure

second - move the cables back and forth individually until you have room to move the cable ball or t-shape out of the door handle structure. That basically frees the cables.
Here's a closeup:

10. And here it is, after the interior panel is detached and moved away - a view of the inside panel of the Nissan Rogue.

Next ...our goal will be to remove the window and figure out whether the external door handle cable has in fact come loose or not. 

Notice the two large holes on the interior door panel cover on either side in the picture below (I have removed the plastic paper cover from these). These are what will give you access to the window-holding bolts.

11. Remove the window 

First - reattach your window control box to the electronic cables we had removed ( scroll up to Step 3 to recall how you detached them ... same picture below)

Second - put the key into the car ignition and turn it ON (but you dont have to actually turn on the engine, just enough until you see the car electronics turn on)

Third - use the driver side window button on the window power box  to move the window down until you can see two bolts aligned in the middle of the two holes I pointed out earlier.

Fourth - carefully remove the two window bolts (I used a magnetic pen to pull them out on the last few unscrew turns). Here's what it looks like after you remove the window bolts:

Fifth - Remove the window.

I didnt have enough free hands for a picture of this - but if you just tilt the window forward and down until it feels lose and then pull the window up using both hands from the outside of the door. It will slide out. Place it away carefully.

Sixth - Detach the electrical cable from the window control box and set it aside again. Heres the old picture again:



Finally - lets check whether the locking cable just came loose outside of its housing

At this point in time since the window is out we basically have a clear view into the interior of the door. We can use this perspective to pull on the external door handle while looking inside to see whether the external door handle cable has popped out / come loose.

Here's what mine looked like. My cable had just come loose - and so this helped me decide to move forward to try and fix it on my own. The arrows below point to the housing for the cable/ball end that we can see has come loose and popped outside of its housing.

Looking down into the door after the window is out, while pulling on external door handle to check the door cable situation

13. If we found a loose cable, then Great! we have a loose cable. Lets put it back in.

Otherwise ... we may have to just give in and head to a service center as its likely a broken cable.

14. Remove the second interior door panel - remove the electrical cable attachments 

Using a pry tool, remove the plastic tabs holding in the electrical cable in the picture below to the remaining interior door panel. There are two fixtures on the panel:

fixture one  - use pry tool to pull this out (im pointing to it using a screwdriver)

Fixture two - use pry tool to pull this out as well

 Finally - use a small flathead screwdriver to remove the electrical cable from the window motor (same as you did for the window power box, just smaller):

15. Remove the second interior panel 

First - Remove all the bolts around the edges (do not remove any of the interior bolts - they hold the window rails and you have no reason to detach them)


Second - You'll notice the panels feed through a rubber or plastic housing. You can simply pull the housing backwards and it will come loose and out of the interior panel hole.

16. Remove the second interior door panel - you'll notice the window "regulator" and rails on the other side that we did not detach. Set aside carefully.

17.  Almost there! Detach the inside door - handle bracket. Here's a first look after we have removed that second interior door panel. You can see the interior door handle bracket (and the locking cable that runs into it).

This picture pretty much shows what we'll be working with to loosen the door handle bracket and put the cable back in place (Ive already taken out the external door handle so you can see a hole where the external door handle used to be)

Things that hold the door handle bracket in place:

A) release bolt on the edge of the car door

B) internal locking rod ( with a yellow quick-release tab at the bottom that will let you pull the rod out from its bottom enclosure). This Rod is connected to the external door lock cylinder

C) external door handle

We will need to deal with each of those things in order to detach the bracket and put the cable back in place.

18. Remove the release bolt on the edge of the car door

Look at the edge of your car door where the external door lock is. You'll see a cover on the edge. Take this off to expose the release bolt:






Then, using a star-shaped screw driver (I didnt have one, I used a small flathead screwdriver), loosen this screw.

It will not come all the way out, it is made that way- just turn it enough to loosen it.

Now - you should be able to release the locking rod, and then pull out the external door handle

19. Release the bottom of the locking rod

Look back to the picture in step 17 - pull the yellow tab torwards you it will snap and rotate, releasing the rod. Then pull the bottom of the rod out of the hole its in. You've essentially freed the external door handle's locking piece

20. Pull out the external door handle

This was a bit of  trial and error for me - what you'll need to do is

a) . Pull out the external door lock (it should be loose now).

Here's the exterior door lock with the locking rod attached ( the bottom is where I detached the yellow plastic before I pulled the rod out ).




b). Slide back the external door handle and then pull it out at an angle (rear first).

c) You'll see some rubber gaskets around the edge of where the door handle parts go into the car metal frame ( its basically a piece of  removable rubber outline between the door handle and the door handle hole). Take those and set them aside carefully - you'll need to put them back in before reattaching the handle.

21. Detach the interior door handle bracket

Once the bracket is detached, you'll quickly see that the cable is loose. Here's the loose cable!

22. Put the loose cable back into the bracket!

Thread the cable ball  and cable back into its slot, then lock in the white plastic housing into its slot. This is exactly similar to the interior door handle cable we loosened earlier in Step 9

22. Reverse all your steps and put the door back together

Only caveat here is...put back external handle through door frame - make sure you test pull the door handle to check that the locking rod moves!

After that - my external door handle now works like before.

 Tools I used ( I don't endorse these products and I don't get paid to advertise these - this is simply what I ordered on amazon to help save you some time):

1/4 ratchet with an extension (to be able to get to deep areas) - https://www.amazon.com/Hiltex-03037-Ratchet-Reversible-Direction/dp/B002GQ98HC

small magnetic pencil/rod to hold deep/loose bolts  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DINDG

small flathead screwdriver to loosen electric cables from sockets ( maybe just get a variety-size set ? )

pry-plastic to remove pins  - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002SRCMO

Total spend: ~ $20

Conclusion:

I was lucky in that my issue was a common occuring loose cable - so as far as fixes go this wasnt really very complicated one. However having done this for myself,  I was able to learn how to take the door apart and demystify car maintenance - and now I am wondering whether some other small upgrades and fixes might be within my reach.

I hope you find this useful if you're in the same situation I was in - and if you need any pointers Ive come across in my experience leave a comment I will respond if I can.

Low tire pressure indicator kept coming on - but it then disappeared after this !

If you all have been following this blog at all or read the initial post about the TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring Sensor) you'll know how frustrated i felt that when I filled the tires to the recommended 33 PSI, and drove above 20 MPH , the TPMS light still didn't turn off on the Nissan Rogue 2009.

Additionally, I also noticed across the web how a lot of people mentioned replacing the TPMS as an option. At that time I didn't feel that it was worth the hassle to order the factory-original parts and pay for labor cost to replace one or more of the TPMS monitors (one per wheel).


Well recently I decided to get a general inspection done at the Nissan Service center, and as part of the process they apparently reset the "clock" on the onboard computer after diagnostic-pass. When I got the car back, to my big surprise the TMPS warning light was off...and stayed off!!

Turns out that the service center mechanic while doing his 25  point inspection, filled up the tires to about 37 PSI, and reset the clock (which I have done myself before). And BOOM, no TPMS low tire sensor light. ever.


Whod'a thunk?

Lemme tell ya, having no lights on in the dash sure is a thing of beaty :-)

VDC OFF and SLIP lights on - installing a new steering angle sensor (part 47945-JD00A)

Well my friends, someone here no longer sees the VDC OFF and SLIP ON lights after ignition. Steering angle sensor is now replaced successfully!

Here's the sensor box from factory. it cost somewhere between 2~300.

Opening the box, we find the sensor part. As you can see, it pretty much aligns with the steering portion, indicating that the steering wheel has to be removed in order to install this piece

One one side we can see theres the port for an interface wire, which probably connects to power + central computer unit of the car, feeding information to the VDC unit like steering rate of turn, direction, etc.

The whole installation can be done by one person in around 45 minutes. Unfortunately, couldn't stick around to take pictures of the installation, but what can you do, can't have it all I suppose.


The good news is ... right after the install was done, and the sensor reprogrammed with the centered steering wheel (same idea as zeroing a weighted scale), the problem was solved.

Now after ignition and wheel turn, the VDC startup sequence no longer detects an error from the wheel angle sensor and it no longer shuts down the VDC /ABS.

The mechanic did mention that in some very rare cases if the problem still persisted, it might be because the wheel was misaligned and therefore the wheel alignment would be necessary. Clearly not required in this case. But still sharing that tidbit in case it helps you.

I found this whole experience very interesting although slightly costly, if you have any questions let me know Id be happy to help if i can.

Time to take some highway ramps at high speed :-)

VDC OFF and SLIP lights on - using the Nissan Service center diagnostic to determine root cause

Good news and bad news!

GOOD NEWS:

 the reason why the VDC OFF and SLIP ON lights are coming on...are for what i suspected it to be (check out the last article to see a list of possible suspects I tried to eliminate, your case might be something simpler like one of the  brake lights is out... )

BAD NEWS

 being right meant I had to fork over some cash to get the system diagnosedby the Nissan Service center . Here is that tool that the mechanic used. Doesn't look much different from a regular reader, except it could read codes that my OBDII reader couldnt. Whats surprising is that according to Nissan tech manuals, the OBCII should have been able to read the code C1143 (steering angle sensor circuit is open), but for whatever reason, mine failed to find any problems. Anyways heres an image of the tool the guy used:

I wonder whether I should upgrade the software Im using with my OBDII interface cable. Could be that. I'll look into this more later.


RECAP - The SYMPTOMS:

1) Ignition on
2) Turn steering wheel
3) VDC system disengages with a whirring noise
4) the VDC OFF and SLIP ON lights come on simultaneously.

So turns out... it was a STEERING ANGLE SENSOR issue after all. For whatever reason (maybe misfiring, maybe worn out, maybe ... whatever) this sensor is not working, its located (as the name implies) by the steering wheel, and reads when the steering wheel is turned, what rate is the turn, etc. Essentially, this feeds information to the VDC system to control individual wheel braking to bring vehicle under control when wheelspin or slip is detected. Normally the chances of this happening are higher when the road is slippery (rain, ice) and you are applying quick acceleration with a turn (changing lanes high speed, accelerating onto highway off of ramp).

As I mentioned earlier, Ive been driving carefully to avoid these two conditions, but after a while you want to just drive without paying so much attention, so Ive decided to get this fixed.

THE FIX - THE CO$T

I have to get the part ordered from the Service center. Here's a picture of the part number if you want to look up the price and availability for yourself. Thats $ right there.

Then , Ive got to pay for installation labor - which requires some form of steering wheel dismantling. Another bunch of $ there.

Finally, with a new sensor install, I'm going to need a wheel alignment.The service center will charge another bunch of $ there. Looks like i didn't need a wheel alignment after all

SAVING MONEY:

1. Find someone with access to or get yourself access to a Consult III tool, or some software thats not crap for OBDII code reads -  this will help you determine the real problem without forking money over for diagnostic to the service center 
2. See if you can find the sensor part cheaper . I havent figured out how to do this yet
3. Find someone who can do sensor installs cheaper - i may have found someone to help me with this KA CHING
4. Learn to do wheel alignments or find someone who can do this cheaper - its really just a matter of connecting the tool and aligning the wheel straight and reprogramming. How sad is that? Don't need this after all.. at least not for this job.

I'll report back once these upgrades are complete.

Technical bulletin - VDC OFF and SLIP lights come on after ignition

Came across a 2010 bulletin that describes the VDC OFF and SLIP light diagnosis process. This sheds some more light on the process of diagnosing  at the dealership once they use the Consult III and pull the ECU codes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reference: NTB10-145
Date: December 15, 2010
ABS / VDC CAN DIAGNOSIS INFORMATION
APPLIED VEHICLES: All 2005-2011 Nissan vehicles with ABS and/or VDC
SERVICE INFORMATION
When diagnosing a vehicle with an ABS or VDC / SLIP warning light on with DTCs stored in the ABS / VDC actuator control unit, perform DTC diagnosis first.

^

Do not replace the ABS / VDC actuator control unit without being supported by the DTC diagnosis. ^ Do not erase DTCs before performing DTC diagnosis. ^ Always fully diagnose before performing any repairs. When DTC U1000 (CAN COMM CIRCUIT) is the only DTC stored in the ABS / VDC actuator control unit, use the REPAIR FLOW CHART below. This will assist in proper diagnosis results and repairs in addition to using diagnostic information in the Electronic Service Manual (ESM). --------------------------------------------

So, where does that us? Well two things:

1) If its a serious issue, the dealership will want to replace the "VDC actuator control unit".  Average cost - somewhere from $1000 - $2000.

2) if I can get my hands on a coy of the ESM (ELectronic Service Manual) I can double check that the dealership isnt' BS'ing me on the fix (i have had this happen to me before when I had the minor evap leak, that the mechanic gave me a bunch of tests that were designed to punish my wallet. Plus, knowledge never hurts!)

VDC OFF and SLIP lights come on simultaneously on ignition

Following on from the previous post, here is an exact description of the symptom:

Symptoms:
____________________________________________________

1) ignition on
2) switch to a non-park gear (in my case, REVERSE)
3) let go of brake , car starts moving slowly
4) there is a whirring sound from the engine compartment, and then ....
4) the the VDC OFF and SLIP lights both came on simultaneously


Here are the two lights in concern, that come on together on the dash:

Do I need to panic?
____________________________________________________
The car will remain driveable. So theres no need for immediate panic, ...

UNLESS you're driving in curvy rainy or snowy conditions. The VDC is "designed to help correct power from the engines and wheel braking to help your car go in the direction that you're steering it". In other words, it helps keep the car in your control. Most of the time with dry roads and if you play it at safe speeds, driving conservatively and without high speed turns or sudden changes in direction, you're safe.

Diagnosis:
____________________________________________________

Let's see what the Nissan rogue manual has to say about this symptom:

"When the VDC off indicator light and slip indicator light illuminate with the VDC system turned on, this light alerts the driver to the fact that the VDC system's fail-safe mode is operating"

 That doesn't sound good! Ok but what about that whirring sound right before the light came on? Lets take a second look at the manual:

"The computer has a built-in diagnostic feature that tests the system each time you start the engine and move the vehicle forward or in reverse at a slow speed. When the self-test occurs, you may hear a “clunk” noise and/or feela pulsation in the brake pedal. This is normal and is not an indication of a malfunction."



There we go, my Nissan Rogue is experiencing a diagnostic failure or fault on ignition and initial movement, and is shutting down the VDC (the whirring sound) and signalling to me that i need to get the VDC or its components checked (the SLIP and VDC OFF lights together).



The Fix:
____________________________________________________

The bad news first: I haven't found and fixed the problem yet.
The good news: Theres lots of possibilities which look like cheap fixes that might be wrong, and I have not taken the car to a Nissan dealership yet where they have the tools to figure out exactly what is causing the VDC test to fail. I am leaving that as the last option.

 What are some things people have done to fix this without pulling out diagnostic codes from the Rogue?

Ok let's take a look at what people out there have had success with in fixing this problem, which I have tried in succession to try and eliminate some simple possibilities:

1) Brake fluid is low:

The number one reason people seem to experience the VDC OFF and SLIP lights together is when their brake fluid levels are low. Hey wait a minute, I had this before! In that situation, top off the brake fluid to the MAX level, and then try your ignition and move the car again.

If this solved your problem, you should think about why your brake fluid was low. The brake reservoir and fluid system is self-contained, theres no place for the brake fluid to run off or get "used up". So if the brake fluid is low, this means that some of it went somewhere it wasnt supposed to.  Possibilites are:

-Theres a leak in the brake fluid system. Press down fully on your brake when parked, and then examine the bottom of the car to see if you've "sprung a leak". Could be that something somewhere is perforated or needs repair where the brake fluid is leaking.
I checked the Rogue, there were no leaks.. so...

OR
-Brake pads or rotors are worn out. Turns out with worn out brakes, the brake piston which is fluid driven will move to compensate. This physically creates more space for the brake to fill up, which means you would see a lower level at the brake reservoir. You should probably have your brakes checked and replaced.

SINCE my brake fluid was low, I had my brakes checked out, turns out my rear brake pads and rotors were shot. I had both replaced.... but... still no luck with the VDC OFF and SLIP lights.


2) Problem with electrical circuitry - ie the Brake Lights in the back:

If your brake light is out or the circuitry is messed up and its malfunctioning, you should get that looked at, and the switch cleaned. I don't have this issue.


3) Sensors that feed the VDC self diagnostic are worn out / not connected well / cannot do their job right :

Unfortunately, theres no easy way to detect this one myself.



 What stuff would the Nissan dealership do / can I just take it to some other mechanic?:

There is one basic problem with this VDC OFF and SLIP dignostic failure light condition - you can't pull VDC error codes out yourself using the generic scanners available on the market! You need a Nissan tool called the Consult III, along with (maybe) a proprietary connector, that can read the Nissan-custom codes off of the ECU (engine control unit), as this is specific to Nissan technology (VDC).

This was news to me, because I used to think you could pull all error codes! Because you don't expect any better, let me just confirm what you're already thinking - this tool is too expensive for the average joe, and the easiest place to get to this tool is ... at a Nissan dealership.

Let's say you go to a dealership and find out whats going on with the VDC during diagnostic failure. Theres one of two possible scenarios from this point onwards:

1) A sensor reading shows a problem. 

This might be alright, maybe its the sensor itself thats screwed up, in which case either a fix or a replacment might get you back on your feet and out the door....

2) Failure somewhere else within the VDC system

I will update this blog if I find out more about this. But at this point you're probably looking at an expensive repair.   

What makes this issue worse is that if you were to go to an unreliable mechanic, you might run into a PARTS CHANGER ie a mechanic whose first go-to is to recommend guesswork replacement and labor, instead of enough diagnostic to figure out exactly what the problem is. This is why I'm trying to avoid this option as long as I can, I simply don't know of any reliable mechanic worth his salt here yet.
 

... this will be continued once I head over to some place that has a Nissan Consult scanner. I'll keep you posted if I end up having to go directly to a Nissan dealer or elsewhere! Feel free to post comments if youve had this issue and have found a way to read the codes off.

Low Brake fluid level in the Brake Fluid Reservoir

Theres no such thing as a free meal. Well If you wondered why this blog didnt have any updates, don't worry  - Im about to start making more entries - which in my case is not necessarily a good thing !

I noticed the other day that my brake fluid level was a little on the low end in the reservoir.  There are  MAX and MIN lines in the brake fluid reservoir, , so if you see the fluid hitting the MIN line, its recommended that you top it off. Here's what the reservoir looks like (not my own picture)

Now brake fluid is toxic, so its recommended that you wear gloves or something protective when handling the fluid. For Nissan Rogue, you should grab a DOT-3 heavy duty brake fluid. I bought a "Nissan genuine" DOT -3 heavy duty brake fluid off of amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AKYOOTO/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Now here's where I state something that I still don't understand. The car engine compartment is a deep area. You can drop things in it and its hard to retrieve it because its compact and filled with tubes and other mechanical parts. So why don't car manufacturers create caps which lanyards that attach to the containers they fit on?

Anyways i guess you can see where this is going. I took the cap off, filled up the brak fluid to the MAX line, and i was handling the cap with a heavy glove (i dont have any decent ones)...and BAM. the cap fell right into the engine compartment.

Now have a look at this picture. Does it seem like someone with large forearms could get their hand through to the bottom of that and pick up a small cap?

So i fiddled around with a hanger for a bit, failed, and then i stuck my hand down behind the brake reservoir (located top right in this picture in white)...and somehow pulled out the cap. I was sweatin bullets there for a bit though, cos for a second i thought i wouldnt be able to drive around at all!

So that was that, my brake refilling experience. Lessons:

1) get a good glove
2) Get Nissan DOT-3 heavy duty brake fluid or something similar
3) Try not to drop the reservoir cap cos picking it back up is a real pain in the ass
4) makes me feel iffy about the other caps and whether i should get something to tie those down so even if i take them off, they'll just hang and wont drop down.

So then I started the engine to see how we were doing .. all seemed fine. Then i put the car into Reverse and lifted my foot off the brake.. ...and lo and behold... the damn VDC OFF and SLIP lights came on:

Another blog post about that issue.

Update 3 - Service engine soon light

Howdy folks - Fell off the wagon for a bit but Im back. I figure I'll share how this was addressed at the end, perhaps it will help a few others with a similar issue.

Turns out the best way to solve this problem ... is to drive around and do nothing about it for 2-3 months! Sounds like I was being lazy I know.  But rest assured, after having visited a couple of different mechanics to consult them on this minor evap emissions leak issue (P0456) , I decided that between the crap they were feeding me (about a full emissions smoke test and possibly finding other issue as well as the cost for the full test etc) and how clearly the issue is not supposed to affect driveability, I figured i didnt have much to lose by waiting it out for a bit to see what happened.

I had this issue last during cooler temperatures (late 2011). Earlier this year, the Check Engine light suddenly disappeared. I rechecked onboard readings using the Scantool and my laptop, and all looked good. it did detect an EVAP minor emissions alert that had not been cleared. That told me that an inspection check might not pass.

Here the Scantool presents a handy utility to erase your error codes. Note that this is different from resetting the ECU. A good quote i found online to describe what erasing error codes really mean is that you are instructing the car to "forget that failure happened and turn off the check engine light". Should the problem persist, the check engine light will reappear after this procedure. the ECU on the other hand observes unique patterns for each car and resetting that might cause it to go back to factory defaults and relearn your cars behavior. Since I am a believer in taking smaller steps before larger ones just to minimize how many things I possibly screw up, I decided erasing error codes and waiting for the light to come back on would be better strategy to make sure it was a real problem showing up.

Anyways, long and short of it is, I erased the error codes, waited a few months to see if the light came back on (it didnt), took it to inspection, and now im good for another year.

moral of the story: if the driveability is not affected directly, you might want to hold on for a bit before taking drastic measures to get an issue fixed. Instead, try smaller actions that might demonstrate whether the issue is recurring or a one time occurrence.

Update 2 - Service engine soon light

Before I delve into how this problem went away, thought id give a quick update on how my trip to the mechanic(s) have gone.

One thing is for sure, mechanics do NOT like hapless customers showing up with Nissan NTBs in hand. It kind of screws with their worldview where you come in, they give you a rundown on all thats wrong with your car and needs a fixin, and you just swallow your pride and submit.

This one guy i went to went as far as asking me where the hell i got the NTB from, and he looked real concerned, he then gave me whole spiel about how although its great theres an NTB which i think specifically solves my specific error code problem with clear directions and workflows from Nissan itself, since he was really experienced hed prefer to run through his battery of tests including the smoke machine etc etc and there was 'a lot of other diagnostics he would have to run' so 'why dont i drop off the car over a couple of days he would check it out'.

I dont know, but sounded a lot like a union guy. not the good kind either.

I hate to rag on the mechanic, im sure some of what he said was legit, but i dont enjoy the feeling when someone gets defensive and will just go into some sort of vague response mode. The fact is, i respect a mechanics ability and trust it more than i do mine - Id even prefer a mechanic to do what i could do, but with his expert hands. But dont BS me.