Printer Friendly Forum Posts - altima remote start failure

So in my 08 altima with push start and intellikey I had a viper 791xv installed with remote start. The first shop got the alarm working fine but the remote start caused my factory keys to unprogram themselves and had to take it to the dealership to get reprogrammed. I brought it to another place that had actually done one of these cars before and the exact same thing happened. I am using an xk07 bypass. Anyone have any idea what could cause this to happen?

right now my car is at the nissan dealership. The car does not start. The car will not recognize the intellikey. They are saying it could be very expensive just to diagnose. Anyone run into this problem before doing a remote start that knows what could cause it? Please give me some advice or send me a pm with any info that might be able to help.

I've never used an xk07. My suggestion would be to use a DLPK bypass. It's likely something very simple that htey did wrong but the dealership will try to get every penn out of you/the shop that did it. Where did you get it done?

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A DMM is a beautiful thing.

MECP Advanced Installer Certified.

at an alarm shop in delray florida. Should I have to pay anything to get this fixed? I brought my car to this shop working, am I wrong in assuming I should get it back working?

The XK07 is the worst bypass there possibly is for that car---it doesn't even let you do takeover. The fact that this shop is using an XK07 is alerady one point against them.

Anyway, should you have to pay out of pocket? We're installers, not lawyers, but I'd want to say, of course not.

The car's under warranty, right? And the shop hopefully takes care of their own mistakes, if they're good.

The one thing I would say, is to give this shop a fair chance at troubleshooting and resolving the problem.

Call the install shop right away, talk with the manager or owner, and simply tell them the truth---the car broke down, it's at the dealer, won't start, and they think it's related to the remote starter.

A good shop will get in touch with the dealer directly, talk with them, maybe even go there and look at the car----basically do whatever it takes to figure out whether the problem lies with the car or the installation.

A bad shop will be arrogant, tell you they're perfect and there's no way it's their fault, and that the Nissan dealer's being a jerk. Then maybe you'll have to sue them or something.

If you pay out-of-pocket for ANY repairs at the Nissan dealership, get everything in writing, with detailed explanations of everything, and pay with a credit card for an extra measure of protection.

You can't expect the shop owner to pay a repair bill, or to win in court, if the receipt just says "car damaged by remote starter." Insist on a receipt that lists exactly what happened and why.

P.P.S. You did say it's an 08, right? Because there was a recall for the 2007 Altimas erasing keys if you had them too close to a Mobil SpeedPass or cellular phone.

yes the car is under warranty. The tech at nissan looking at it told me this wont be covered because someone installed the remote starter. I did not even bring the car to the dealership, the shop installing it brought it there thinking they just needed the keys reprogrammed. I have a speedpass on my windshield above my rear view mirror, i don;t think that is close enough to erase it. I havent been able to speak to the shop owner. Yesterday it was just an installer and a girl working the phone there and just said everything they did was correct. The dealership is trying to contact the shop owner, hopefully they will be able to tomarow since it is monday and his shop will be open.

Look up the magnusson moss ferguson act. Print it and show it to the dealer. They can't just not cover it under warranty unless they in writing can prove the remote start caused that issue to happen. Bring up the recall as well to them.

That's like voiding the warranty for changing the rims on the car. Unless they can PROVE the remote start caused it, they have to cover it under warranty.

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A DMM is a beautiful thing.

MECP Advanced Installer Certified.

Just a commect on zerepdivad's point of voiding warranty for changing rims, locally, some car firms void warranty on vehicles for having larger rims than they specify to you installed on the vehicle you purchase, claiming, it places excessive strain on the engine! posted_image

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COMMIT YOUR WAY TO JEHOVAH AND HE WILL ACT IN YOUR BEHALF. PSALMS 37:5

^ yeah they'll do and say anything to get out of doing warranty repairs.

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A DMM is a beautiful thing.

MECP Advanced Installer Certified.

Again, I'm not a lawyer, but it's common sense.

If there's something that's really wrong with the car, of course the dealer can't refuse to fix it just because you have a remote starter.

On the other hand, if the remote starter (or its incorrect installation) caused the problem, naturally the car's warranty wouldn't cover that.

If the shop brought the car to the dealership for whatever reason, let/MAKE them deal with the problem.

You might want to keep in touch with the Nissan dealer just to stay informed, but leave it at that.

If I'm not mistaken, if I'm understanding you correctly:

1. You had a remote starter installed.

2. The car had some kind of problem while at the install shop; said install shop brought car to Nissan dealer to be repaired.

3. At this point, don't forget that you're the customer of the install shop........and the install shop is the customer of tne Nissan dealer, as he's the one who chose to bring the car there.

4. If I were you, I wouldn't get involved with the Nissan dealer at all at this point, except maybe just as a curiosity to see when they'll be finished with your car.

5. It would seem that your car is still under the control of the install shop. My approach to this would be to contact the shop's owner or manager, asking when your car will be running and available to be picked up.

P.S. You didn't answer the question if your car is a 2008 for sure, or possibly a model year 2007. I'm pretty sure the Intelligent Key recall was for 2007 only.

1. I had a remote start install attempted, and the guy never came back to finish and took my money. I than brought my car to this shop, told them what had happened and they looked at it and said it was wired wrong so they removed it all and started from scratch. The car worked fine when I brought it to them.

The install shop wants to take no responsibility for it saying that it was the way the previous installer installed it that caused this, which I am not buying because it worked fine for weeks before I brought it to them. and yes it is an 08.

as chris said i know nissan had an issue with the 07's deleting the keys when too close to cell phones and speedpasses and such, but i was under the impression they had that resolved for 08,i use i datalink bypasses and dont know what they could have done to delete keys unless its an early 08 that mabe still had the same issue as the 07's, i would expect the shop to know about this and have mentioned it to the dealer, but it sounds like quite a mess, i too recommend getting in touch with the shop owner explaining that the car worked fine for weeks before bringing it to their shop and when can you expect to get it back in working order. i would at this point have them remove remote starter and not pay for it, and after getting car fixed investigate shops around there about getting one done, maybe even ask the nissan dealer which shop they use*( since you would know that they at least have experience with the car

)

Wow, I'm sorry to hear all that, especially now that I understand correctly...sucks all around.

Installer A is incapable of completing the install, and also somehow causes the car to lose key programming.

Installer B encounters same problem, and is not blaming installer A.

I have no idea. Other than the recall on the 2007s, I've never heard of installers making these cars drop keys. I've seen many installers make many screwups on these cars, but never dropping keys.

I'm highly suspicious of Installer B, because if they had any level of experience with these cars, they'd never be using an XK07---it doesn't allow takeover after remote start, the manufacturer refuses to acknowledge or fix it, and if installer B had done at least one of these cars already, he'd have stopped using this defective product by now.

We can't hope to give you accurate legal advice on this forum, but I advise that you document EVERYTHING, every phone call or other communication with the install shop and the Nissan dealer. If you pay for any repairs to the car, get and save all receipts. Insists that the dealer carefully spell out all details on the repair order. If you feel that the problem is Installer B's fault, consider pursuing him in small claims court.

P.S. Where do you live? There are several installers on this forum who are familiar with your car. It's a more complex, more time-consuming install than a regular car, but it's definitely doable (without damaging the car) if done correctly by a competent installer.

so I had my car towed out of the dealership to a friend of mines shop. He is a mechanic and trust him 200% with my car. He will be looking at it tomarow to see if he can just repair the harness rather than replacing the entire thing (which would cost 1500$). Once this all gets resolved I will most likely take a wiz on the xk07 and never even think about getting a remote start again. btw I am in south florida for winter break now but go to school in orlando FL.

There's likely not a lot to repair. If anything maybe a cut starter wire. ALl your mechanic friend will likely do is simply unhook hte unit and tape up the stripped away wires. As far as programming the keys i'm pretty sure the dealer has to do that.*most times*

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A DMM is a beautiful thing.

MECP Advanced Installer Certified.

its not just a starter wire. the car does not communicate with my key at all. doesnt unlock doors, doesnt start car, doesnt pop trunk....nothing.

i heard from the shop my car is at and they diagnosed the problem. They said behind the dash there were a total of 85 wires that had been cut and will have to rebuild the wiring harness. total of 600$. alot better than the 1500 for parts the dealership wanted + 10 hrs labor

Hmm. 85 wires cut for a remote start installation..... does not quite add up honestly. Not even close.

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A DMM is a beautiful thing.

MECP Advanced Installer Certified.

Not defending the installers in question here at all but 85 cut wires is VERY unlikely for a remote start install. hell 5 cut wires is VERY unlikely even. Only times you ever CUT wires is when you do starter kill, or when you need to relay isolate something like parking lights, or locks or something of that nature.

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A DMM is a beautiful thing.

MECP Advanced Installer Certified.

first of all, ive done a few of those cars and done so without a problem. there is a lot of work done at the bcm which is a pain, and at the fuse, relay center under the hood. the product i would strongly suggest to stay away from is dei, ive had nothing but problems with those, try to use a place that uses fortin or idata link bypasses, and personally i like ultrastart brand modules,

whatever shop installed any of the stuff should be responsible for any problems on the car caused by poor installation. i would be having a talk with them about any repair bills.

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possibilities are limitless. if you can think it you can do it.

I would say something smells really bad here and you need to find yourself a reputable straight up shop.

I think everybodys trying to get into your back pocket.

robertsc wrote:

I would say something smells really bad here and you need to find yourself a reputable straight up shop.

I think everybodys trying to get into your back pocket.

I totally agree. This mechanic that you trust 200% is not helping you. Hopefully someone on here is in your area and can help you out. I would not trust the mechanic who told you anything about 85 wires being cut and a $600 dollar repair.

unless one of the installations was a real hack and during the course of stripping open the wires they cut them, but hell there arent even 85 wires hooked into in that car, i would recommend a reputable installer get involved and look at it with your reputable mechanic to verify this issue, and if the keys deleted themselves and do not work , i believe a nissan dealer has to recode them thru their nissan computer i have not heard of any mechanical garage having nissans computer access to accomplish this

I'm interested to see these 85 cut wires. Care to have them take a picture? ANd identify what wires they were, and what they controlled?

Definitely sounds like you're being taken for a ride by your mechanic that you trust. There's no way 85 wires would just be cut. Unless of course they, or the dealer did it haha.

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A DMM is a beautiful thing.

MECP Advanced Installer Certified.

Chris is on point the xk07 is the worst module for this car as I am sure you know by now.

I find it very fishy having done many of these cars without issue that they would have cut 85 wires @ the bcm? I would have to say your trusted mechanic can't be trusted to much especially at $600 dollars.

I have one questions can he guarantee after all "85" wires are repaired this is the problem at all?

Yeah, 85 wires sounds like a LOT!

If my math is right (I'm counting on my fingers here!), when I do those cars, I make connections to a total of 12 factory wires at the BCM (body control module) behind the instrument cluster, and 4 wires at the IPDM (fuse box) under the hood.

Many installers connect their parking lights and brake wires at locations other than the BCM....in that case they'd make even fewer connections than I do.

I could see any installer (even a really great installer) making a couple of incorrect connections, then realizing his mistake, disconnecting them from the wrong wire in the car, and then reconnecting them to the correct one.

But there's no way, even with mistakes, it could all add up to 85 wires!

If this mechanic doesn't really know what kind of can of worms he's opening, doesn't know what surprises lay ahead, isn't making any money selling you parts (like he would with, say, brakes or a fuel pump).........I would say that $600 seems a little high, but actually not that crazy. He's certainly not inexpensive, but I don't know if he's too far out of line.

P.S. If you're curious to see what is involved in installing a remote starter in your car using an XK07, the install guide is here:

https://xpressdownload.com/getdocument.aspx?documentid=690

As you can see, there are more connections than a remote starter in a regular car, but not that many more.

P.P.S. I don't like the XK07 only because it doesn't allow takeover after remote start, and because the manufacturer has inexcusably refused to correct or even acknowledge this problem.

However, when properly installed, the XK07 will allow the car to remote start and run just fine, without dropping keys or other issues.

In your case, I only point to the choice of the XK07 as a sign that your installer(s) have little to no experience with your car.

However, the XK07 is not what damaged your car.

my car still isnt working, they have the harness rebuilt and removed my remote start and my viper alarm. Right now the problem is the BCM and ECM are not communicating together.

Not surprised. Take it somewhere that know's what they're doing. Maybe there's a couple hundred more cut wires in there somewhere....

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A DMM is a beautiful thing.

MECP Advanced Installer Certified.

no man, u should not have to pay anything, any shop that does work on your car should be able to do the work they promise, if they mess up they have to pay, i own a company and anything that i do wrong i need to cover it. that is why i carry insurance, a lot of shop dont play by the rules unfortuantelly but this guys need to fork up the money, even if u take it to the dealership they might not cover it under warranty due to being something electrical, but hey u might get lucky who knows, good luck.

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rocker

So what your saying is your IPDM is not communicating? Also what you are saying is your BCM is not communicating? The IPDM will control start feature. BCM will control security and door locks. With this install was any modifications at the IPDM done? Relay install? I had an infinity with no door locks and start feature and it turned out the IPDM was shot. I pulled it and took it to an electric analyst to see if the board or any component were burnt. None found, only thing that could be concluded was the memory was wiped. So i swapped the module to another infinity and it showed the same symptons. No start, no door locks. I was certain I could make it start with a new IPDM. So I got a new one programmed and boom it fired. Still no door locks and security. Found no regulation of the BCM (5v). Bcm was then installed and all functions were good now. So after all this what was the point?

A can line was hit. With 12 volts. The truth came out. I agree with all the other people here. Something is real fishy. With installers and mechanics. Whats really going on?

So with key off engine off with dvom (ohm setting) what do pins 6 and 14 if the OBDII connector read? Termination circuit resistance.

So I called the shop that originally installed this alarm and failed at the remote start and told them about the situation. The installer told me he had wired up a relay that he thinks someone removed that was hooked up as follows (btw this is how he wrote it to me in an email)

PIN 85 GETS GROUNDED....,PIN 86 GETS POWER OFF THE KEY WITH IGNITION ON, START, AND RUN... 87A GOES NOWHERE 30 GOES TO POWER 12VOLTS THROUGH A 30 AMP FUSE...87 WILL POWER UP ONE SIDE OF THE UNDERHOOD FUSEBOX. I THINK THERE WAS A FEED WIRE TO THAT SIDE OF THE FUSEBOX THAT IS DEAD AND REQUIRES POWERYOU WILL BACKFEED THAT TO ALLOW THE CAR TO START

so does anyone think this is what is keeping my car from starting? I guess I will find out monday when my mechanic's shop opens.

I'm sure that fuses were checked at some point? If this is true how will you or your mechanic know what wire to power up?

"I THINK THERE WAS A FEED WIRE TO THAT SIDE OF THE FUSEBOX THAT IS DEAD AND REQUIRES POWERYOU WILL BACKFEED THAT TO ALLOW THE CAR TO START"

Where is "that side of the fuse box"?
If you have this email I would save it for your lawsuit. It proves that the original installer did something to make the car not start with the key and had to alter the car.

I don't think a mechanic would know to do any of this. This is not how the car is supposed to be wired up and it was also wired in such a way that only the original installer would know to do this.

Hmm, and he types in all caps too. How nice.

Anyway, go to any of the bypass manufacturers' sites as linked previously, and take a look at the install guides for your car.

The installer is to connect terminals 30, 87, 86, and 85 to four corresponding wires in the underhood fuse box (IPDM), as shown in the diagram.

Your first installer's email could have been written a little bit more clearly, but it sounds like he simply tried to connect the underhood relay as it's suppposed to be.

Whether he connected it correctly or incorrectly would have to be checked.

I would open the underhood fuse box, and check every wire there for signs of being probed, cut, stripped, re-taped, et cetera. Try to get an idea if the installer(s) were connecting to the correct wires or not.

The relay is there only to allow the remote starter to engage the car's starter motor to crank the engine.

If properly installed, the relay should have no funcion or effect on starting the car with the key.

Also, again, if everything were properly installed, removing the relay should/would only cause the remote starter not to crank the engine....the car would still run and drive fine with the key even if you unplugged the relay and threw it away.

the fuse box was shorted out and needed to be replaced.

how do you short out a FUSE box? a FUSE box. was it not FUSED haha

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A DMM is a beautiful thing.

MECP Advanced Installer Certified.

i didnt short it out, the original installer of this whole thing shorted it out and hid it from me.

Hope they are picking the tab for repairs and for the 2nd shops time invovled also.

I think this shop is going out of business actually :(. I plan on going to small claims but if they are bankrupt I will not collect anything.

got my car back and running again. was only out 300$ for the fusebox and labor.

What about the 85 cut wires?

^ haha this whole thread was hilarious.

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A DMM is a beautiful thing.

MECP Advanced Installer Certified.

why is this thread so funny? because a shop who claimed they were professionals screwed my car up?

well the part where your car was damaged in the process isnt.

whats funny is shorting out a fuse box, the shop used an xpresskit xk07 which is horrible for a car like this, the over exageration of 85 cut wires, the yelling email response that made NO sense at all, and just seeing others reply. some being useful and some not so useful.

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Ted
2nd Year Tier 1 Medical School
Still installing as a hobby...pays for groceries
Compustar Expert

while a much more involved install than a usual remote start, id like to know how they shorted out a fuse box? i mean its a fusebox, it has fuses to protect every circuit what the hell could they have done to short it out that didnt just blow a fuse? also what about the so called "mechanic" that found 85 cut wires? i mean theres not 85 wires hooked to, what did they do cut every wire in the process of testing them? and who fixed all these wires? how did they have 85 cut wires, short out the fusebox yet not damage the bcm? sounds awful fishy on everyones part with this car, sorry to hear of your problems, but happy you got it solved now if you could just get reimbursed for your expenses by either the shop that caused the problem, or maybe even get your money back from the mechanic who found 85 cut wires yet didnt fix the car

We have done a couple of Nissan Altimas with the IM-07, which is the sister piece from the XK-07 and we never had a problem. Make sure you have it flashed with the latest firmware. There are two basic types of bypass STYLES. The first one will insert an extra key code into the BCM or Antitheft computer in the car. The second style just COPIES one from the original keycode. I believe the IM-07 / XK-07 copies the current keycode and should not affect the other entries under normal circumstances. The last one we did literally took one hour or less to install but the trick is to follow the instructions exactly!

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thetopinstaller

zerepdavid is correct in what he said about warranty issues and blaming the remote start install. Unless they can prove with documentation and phyical evidence beyond a shadow of a doubt that the install cased the problem they must fix it under warranty. I have a dovcument and article and a 1-800 number from the FTC (federal trade commision) about this issue . If you would like a copy please email me because I have yet to figure out how to post documents

P.S. Whenever I ran into this problem all I do is show the dealer this article and they never give me a problem AGAIN!!

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thetopinstaller

well they easily could have voided the warranty on this install. my car was in their service area with the dash open and tehre were TONS of wires . many going into the bcm, many going into the fuse box under the hood. If they even took the fuse box out u could tell it had been cracked opened and glued shut.

shortys9 wrote:

well they easily could have voided the warranty on this install. my car was in their service area with the dash open and tehre were TONS of wires . many going into the bcm, many going into the fuse box under the hood. If they even took the fuse box out u could tell it had been cracked opened and glued shut.

... posted_image ...(speech-less...word-less) tons=85?

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M.E.C.P & First-Class
Go slow and drink lots of water...Procrastinators' Unite...Tomorrow!

It doesn't really matter what we say to this guy, it's obviously way over his head if he believes some back alley "mechanic" that 85 wires were cut in his dash for a remote start system. The guy who "diagnosed" this should stick to changing tie rods, and knocking out dents.

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A DMM is a beautiful thing.

MECP Advanced Installer Certified.

its not like he was ripping me off saying 85 wires. he still only charged me 300ish total. 150 for the replacement fusebox from the dealership and 150 for labor which is extremely generous considering they had my car for 3 weeks.

Looks like he was setting you up for a rip-off...You said you trusted this guy 200% and he obviously LIED and said 85 wires were cut...Where was that going to lead...? He is now a proven liar and i would never,ever take anything back to him unless it was a part you know is bad and need replaced...not diagnostic work...! That is the point i think most are referring to...!

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M.E.C.P & First-Class
Go slow and drink lots of water...Procrastinators' Unite...Tomorrow!

shortys9 wrote:

its not like he was ripping me off saying 85 wires. he still only charged me 300ish total. 150 for the replacement fusebox from the dealership and 150 for labor which is extremely generous considering they had my car for 3 weeks.

Not trying to give you a hard time, but what happened to the $600 originally quoted for repairing the wiring? Did you take any pics of all of this? That still seems odd to me considering you said the car drove fine for what a week or so without issues, then it all went south after dropping it off at the 2nd shop. If that many wires were cut, there had to be something in the car that immediately stopped working and should've caught your attention right after leaving the first shop. This thread really isn't adding up to me.

Sorry, just realized how old this was....