Nissan Consult availability

[WesQ]

Is any else finding it difficult to find a Nissan/Infiniti shop that has a Consult test station? After the RH seat control stopped working on my 94 Q, I used the FSM to check bus connectors and to test power to the control unit, seat switch and motors. It appears to be a failed control unit or seat switch, but I could not determine which. So, I decided to take my Q to a shop to have it tested using a Consult. All Import (aka Jerry Tucker) said they don't have one anymore. So I went to an Infiniti dealer who said they had a Consult and would isolate the failed unit and perform a complete diagnostic check on the Q. Later Friday, when I checked my voice messages, I had a message from the Infiniti service rep who said their Consult did not work on my Q's LAN architecture. He said my 1994 Q has a old style architecture which their modern Consults cannot test. Is this right? Can the current Consults test the older 94 LANs?

Then it got better. The service rep said thier technition isolated the problem to a burnt out seat switch which costs $1250 to replace. But if this does not fix it, there may be more problems involving the BCM or seat control unit. Ouch!

[du1jec]

There are a bunch of q45 seat switches on ebay for about $50. You can maybe try one of those.

Good Luck.

[Infinitiguy19]

Ask the dealer if they have a Nissan Consult 1 or 2, either will work with your car.

If the dealership stopped caring about cars older than 2007 then they may only have a Nissan Consult 3. Or they just don't know and care enough to find out, Its usually the latter.

[WesQ]

The dealer said they had Consults I, II and IIIs. However, the service rep said they couldn't read my LAN data traffic. Perhaps my Consult port is bad; I will have to check that out. I suspect you are right Paul, and they might not have anyone trained to test an older Q. I got my Q out of hock and took du1jec's advice and ordered a replacement off ebay. Thank you both for your response.

I am concerned that it is going to get more difficult in the future to find a shop that can diagnose complex LAN problems. Has the price of the older Consult IIs come down to prices individuals can afford? Do you know of anyone who has looked at the Consult IIs knock-offs from China?

Thanks again for your help

[elwesso]

The LAN system is not that big of a deal, Ive traced problems pretty easily using the self diagnosis and a volt meter...

I dont think theres any instance where you "need" a consult.. They are nice tools to have, but a consult isnt this magical tool thats going to fix everything for you or tell you exactly what you need to do.