O/T. how does it know?

Daughter has a 2113 Nissan with 93,000 miles.
Check Engine light came on.
Dealer said it "knew" a computer upgrade was available.
Dealer did the upgrade, check Engine light is off, daughter is $104 lighter.

How did it know an upgrade was available?

What would a free scan from Auto Zone told her?

Same reason I got a notice from the dealer that our 2013 Dodge had almost 5000 miles on the last oil change. Little gnomes give us away!

With her time travel machine I would think she could get it fixed for free. LOL ???? 2113 model car!!!!


Seriously, does the car have any OEM GPS equipment on it??? If it does then the car could have been contacted by the OEM manufacturer about updates. My wife's 2013 Impala has the OnStar stuff on it. It communicates with GM even when "turned off". You can not disable the system or the car will go into limp mode. I want to just rip the antenna out so it is "dead" but the car fellows tell me that would mess up the other systems on the car. GM has them integrated. I will not buy another car/truck with these type of systems on them. I can turn off my cell phone or remove the batteries. It is NO ones business where I am located at.

I think you should be more cautious when it come's to car dealers,they will say anything. Yes,an Auto Zone scan would tell you why light was on,and it had nothing to do with a program upgrade.

If vehicle has ON-STAR they keep tract of all that stuff .

On the other end of the scale is my 06 F-150. The odometer hasn't worked for years. I'm assuming there's a computer in there somewhere that knows what the mileage is, but it ain't talkin'.

What exactly did the $104 buy her? Why was this not covered under a warranty?

Just like a Thermos bottle - keeps hot things hot and cold things cold - how do it know?

Jcarroll it might have told someone something but most of those guys have no idea what it actually said. Gal came in 2 or 3 weeks ago to trade in a late model ford car, one of those clowns told her the motor was on its last legs she looked like a good kid. We ran the car on a pro diagonistic machine with someone who actually knew how to intreprent the data. A 23.46 part fixed her car.

Sounds like it was made with a deliberate defect.

This all fits in with my previous thread about "deal breakers" a couple of weeks ago. Big Brother is watching. Here is how some of it works:
Manufacturer wants to support the dealer network. They build in proprietary items to keep car owners coming back into the dealership. Computer updates could amount to emissions recalls or just a software update to eliminate a quirk that the car may develop somewhere farther down the line. Either way, it SHOULD be covered under warranty.
Systems like OnStar may be convenient for some, but they are intrusive and surrender control of your vehicle to a third party. At some point, this could come back to bite you.
Then there are the stories about hacking Jeeps. Through a WiFi connection, a third party can take control of your Jeep WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING IT!!!!!
So, I suggest that you take all of this into account when you go shopping for a vehicle. Just how much of your ownership rights do you want to give up to have those shiny new bells and whistles?? You as the consumer still have the greatest power of all in this - the power of the wallet! All you have to do is WALK AWAY from some of this intrusive technology. Manufacturers will get the idea.

I have to correct you on the Auto Zone thing.....
First, all they do is use a GENERIC code reader to read the codes in the system. They do NOT tell you what is wrong with your car. A code can only tell you which system is out of specification. Period. The rest is up to a knowledgeable technician to troubleshoot the circuit.
Example: A P0174 code will tell you that one bank of your engine is running too lean. It will NOT tell you if it is a broken or disconnected vacuum line is causing it or if it may need an intake manifold gasket or if it is an oxygen sensor going out of range.
EGR codes, mixture codes, and evaporative system codes only tell you that that particular system is not operating within the programmed parameters within the computer. The rest is up to you. Reading codes is a big help in diagnosing electronic systems, but you still need knowledge, training, and mechanical ability to FIX the problem.