When I purchased a 2004 Titan, I had a good relationship with a technician at the dealership. He was kind enough to cut a “regular” non-chip key for me in case I locked my keys in the cab. He told me never to mix the key up and put in the ignition because it didn’t have a chip. He said if you put a non-chip key in the ignition, it would disable the ECM, and the ECM would have to be replaced.
Maybe drilling the key destroyed the chip, necessitating a new ECM? As to why they can’t get the new ECM and new keys communicating, I’d have to agree that it sounds like incompetence.
My understanding is that putting a non-chipped key into the ignition engages the security system (in this case NATS, meaning it doesn’t activate the fuel pump).
I’m sure you’re right. I was just going by what the tech said to me 13 years ago. And now that I think about it, he may not even have been a technician. Maybe a service writer or parts person.
I will say that what he told me scared me. When I got home, I broke the non-chip key and tossed it, as I was afraid at some point someone in my household would try and use that key!
I presume they do that to help prevent auto theft. If there’s no way to re-program the ECM when it detects a problem with the key, and the ECM has to be replaced, no thief is gonna bother with doing all that. The problem is that the owner may not want to be bothered further with it either. It seems like the manufacturer requiring a new ECM for a simple key problem is going a bit overboard. If replacement ECMS were always readily available and inexpensive to replace it might make sense. But they aren’t.
NATS will disable the engine with non-chip key, this is what it was designed to do
in result, you will see red “key” on your dash indicating NATS engaged
still, NATS has a very simple reset procedure, so ECM replacement is not needed to reset it
from what I recall, you are supposed to get your good key in, turn it on (but not crank), wait a second, turn it off, remove key: red key indicator will turn off at this point and you can start normally… something like this, I do not recall details, very intuitive and this is pretty much what you would do naturally
I do have a no-chip key, was using it in ignition switch to simulate some situations with remote entry/start system I was installing, and I was able to get car into NATS-locked state and back safely, no ECM replacement
update:
another thing I remembered on this topic. if you NATS started to FLASH that indicator when engine runs, it means it will allow you to operate, but only for few more start/stop cycles and it indicated malfunction. at this point you are supposed to drive your car to dealer ASAP as NATS can have it into “permanent lock” of some sort, where deeper NATS reprogramming is required.
I’ve pretty much learned about this on Nissan forums, did not see it myself (god bless never to see it)
nissanhelp.com is a good site to ask your question and get help
When my 98 Camry needed a newly made key I avoided the dealership and hunted up a good independent key shop in town. There was a young man who ‘specialized’ in making a key not on the computer model and it works great. Just $3.00.
If you are willing to try once more, go to walmart for a chip key. I have had problems with dealer keys in the past. I think they deliberately don’t get the key right so they can charged you and charge you. I have never had a problem with Walmart chipped keys. Good luck!
Walmart would be able to clone a working key (only for older models), but if OP has no key at the moment, they would have nothing to copy transponder data from
Update to all involved. I bit the bullet and paid what I owed the dealership and gave it the ol college try with a locksmith. He got the key programmed in 10 minutes and I was on my way. Said it threw him for a loop because the BCM was reset BUT that anyone who knew what they were doing should have easily been able to do it. Just feel completley cheated by the dealership but I’m glad I have my car back- spent 500 bucks in the process (100 at the locksmith, 400 at the dealer).
Good for you OP, glad you got that stubborn key problem resolved. Sorry you had so much trouble w/your local Nissan dealership. I’ve had pretty good luck with the Nissan Dealership here. I don’t own a Nissan myself, but sometimes I use the local Nissan dealership parts department to buy generic stuff like auto light bulbs, They are pretty accommodating, very helpful as long as they aren’t super busy, and their prices are often better than the parts stores.
You might show the dealer General Manager your repair invoice and politely point out that you know they had expense’s but could he make a partial goodwill refund of some sort.
It can be frustrating at times using factory scan tools with old programming that becomes corrupt or doesn’t allow a process to be completed for unknown reasons.
I didn’t see where the OP revealed how old the vehicle is but typically it is not cost effective for a technician to purchase the aftermarket equipment that the locksmiths use to program only one key each year.
For many years we could not program a replacement key to a Toyota product if the master key was lost. Two years ago Toyota approved the aftermarket method and equipment to clear the data in the PCM to accept a new key, locksmiths had been doing this for years but we had to replace the PCM if the master key was lost. Toyota paid for most of those PCMs.
