2006 m hvac controls updated to 2008+

[Damian820]

Hello fellow nico-ers, I recently purchased a 2006 infiniti M45 Sport. It is the wife's car and there is one issue I'm trying to tackle. She loves the car, as do I, but she really wanted a 2008 for the color of the interior lighting. So I'm swapping parts from a 2008 + to change the amber lights to white & blue. The cluster as you know was plug and play besides mileage stayed on the cluster from the donor car, luckily for me it was slightly less than mine. I also was able to swap the clock, radio preset buttons, and volume - tuning knobs, also plug and play. The part I'm having trouble with is the hvac / navigation control panel. At first I thought I got a defective part, but I'm a mechanic at a used car dealer and we just got a 2008 m35x so I was able to try my new panel in that car and it worked also tried the panel from that one in mine with same result as the one I bought from eBay. There was one way I was able to get it to work, but only by unplugging the original and plugging the new one in while the car was on or running. When I did it that way I had full use of all the buttons, but when I turn the car off and on it doesn't work again. So based on the fact that it works perfect when swapped while running I know there has to be a way to get it to work, I just haven't figured it out yet. I'm hoping someone here has more knowledge or possibly a solution to this or maybe by putting our heads together we can figure it out. If anyone has any information on this please let me know. Thank you in advance.

[Ilya]

I believe one of our members (Dean? RIP) had done this swap but it involved changing the LEDs inside the panel...there should be a HowTo in the FAQ thread.

Welcome to our forum!

[Larz]

The 2008 - 2010 has a different NAV system (embedded HD system - not DVD drive) so that could be the issue. Upon starting, your car might not be able to boot up the new NAV software. I have no clue why it would work if the car is already running though.

[steve_c]

Larz is correct.
I was surprised you said the buttons worked when you hooked up the NAV/HVAC unit.
Did you actually try to get into the NAV screen map using the buttons when you had the system running? Ditto with voice command for destination...does the 08 HD based unit actually work on an 06 based DVD chassis?

Not saying it cannot work, but it would be a pleasant surprise if it did, and all you had to figure out was a power on issue!

[LIBRILZ]

This is my biggest gripe aside from lack of a 7-speed auto is the orange interior lighting, nothing relaxing or sensual about it in the least. You can see that Nissan/Infiniti Agreed as they only used that color on cars for about 7-8 years total lol, by 08 all the cars (maxima, G35/37, M45, etc) had all switched to a much more relaxed and appealing interior lighting. Which is funny because Nissan and Infiniti has always been known to do good in those regards..oh well everyone messes up..

Yeah I say find a junkyard car from 08-10 and try to swap everything..I keep going back and forth on whether I want to do that myself but if I do it that is likely the route, or to piece it all together individually from eBay, but who knows..I also feel maybe it's not worth the effort and I'll just wait till I can get an M56 hopefully

Side note: Make sure your wife checks the oil level religiously! These cars burn oil! and That can lead to even bigger problems if you run out of oil!!! I have to check mine every 500 miles honestly, between my leaky valve cover and the natural design of the engine