Question about the Versa's ECU

[Samyo]

So this morning I was on the way home, going down a road notorious as a speed trap. I figure I will be safe if I put it on cruise, 50mph at 5mph over the speed limit which was 45mph, moving with traffic, but not enough to warrant a ticket. There he is, motorcycle officer driving in the other lane, no worries, I'm not even going 7mph over the speed limit. Blue lights. He comes up to me, let's me know very fast that I was going 63 in a 45!! I know nothing is wrong with my Versa. I want to fight this but I know I don't have a chance in hell winning this without any proof! I've read in my Versa manual a long time back that there is a computer in the Versa that records RPMs, speeds and things of that nature. Anyway you think I could get the dealership to get a hold of some of that data to fight this ticket? What bothers me the most is that the officer wrote the ticket down to 59 in a 45. If I was really going 18 over I would deserve the entire ticket. I'm not one that believes in causing problems but I really wasn't speeding. Let me know if you guys have any input.. If I can't get any ECU data, I'll just pay it, me saying I didn't do it carries no weight.

[iluvmyVersa08]

Wow that sucks. I honestly do not know how to get that data or if you can. Just try phoning your local dealership and asking them. I find that the US has a lot more speed traps than where I live in Canada. I make sure to never even go 5 mph over the US posted speed limit. Even our professors have warned us about this. We are used to going 20kmph over the limit on our highway w/out worrying much.

[AG]

Samyo As far as I know there is really no way to get that info. On some cars the recordings are kept for a small amount of time (including all warnings, seatbelts, etc. BMWs can even send that info to dealerships through BMW Assist). In your case you should have taken a cell phone and started recording. And for better court case could have asked the officer to see the radar. If he refuses, ask as much info as possible, so you would have something to base your case on.

iluvmyVersa08

We are used to going 20kmph over the limit on our highway w/out worrying much.

Don't know about you guys in Hamilton, but in Toronto you can get a ticket for 20 over on the highway. Not likely, but quite possible. And now police is almost everywhere.

[Samyo]

Yeah I got in touch with a few dealerships in the area and they said that something like that would not be possible. It just really bugs me, if I over heard someone saying that they were on cruise control 5mph over the speed limit and got hit with 18 over, I would not even believe them. I guess these things do happen. I have a GPS, and my speed has also matched the speed indicated on the speedo.The officer checked his radar gun, but who knows? Would he ever admit that his gun wasn't working? I didn't think so either.

[Brad17w]

This is what i would do if I were you. Call the police department and talk to someone in charge over the traffic division. Very nicelly ( this is key) tell them your story and ask when the last time the gun was check for accuracy. I have heard stories that if they test teh gun and it is off they have to throw out all the tickets since it was last checked. It never hurts to ask an dremeber be as nice as possible. Who knows you might get anice cop that will go the extra milea nd check it for you. If what you say is true then it sounds like the gun is way off and chould not be to hard to prove in a test.

[alonsorules8]

another way to fight the ticket is to have your dealership run a test on you speedometer to check for accuracy. If your speedo is off you can get out of the ticket that way or if it is accurate you can give the judge the test results to prove your case.

[retiredtexan]

Just a thought.

I check and verify my speedometer reading using a GPS navigator. Mine is a Magellan and shows speed on the basic navigation map. It shows my 2001 Honda Accord reads high by 2 mph at 65 mph and 1 mph high at 45 mph. You can't get any better speedometer calibration instrument than that.

This methodology takes all the guess work out of the cars variables, such as tire tread, road, auto electronics.

Ron

[superskunk]

im gonna call BS on this one, maybe he picked up a wrong reading.... you got screwed bad.... good luck fighting this one....

[Francesco]

Because of a similar incident to yours (warning ticket) when a local yokel accused me of doing 62 when my car was at 45 mph on cruise control, I have installed Davis Carchips in all of my cars. This is a data logger that plugs into the OBD2 port and records speed and 3 other parameters of choice. If I ever get stopped again I will bring my car to an independent garage and have them download the data so I can make my case that the officer speed was a result of him accelerating fast to get behind me. This is the only solution that I can see when it is his word against mine.

Frank2009 Versa sedan MT-6 with 3150 mi

[Samyo]

That Davis Car Chip is just what I needed. I really can't believe it happened. I saw the cop, smiled because I was only going 5 over the limit and i'm hit with blue lights before he even finishes passing me. I'm not sure if the radar gun was erroneous or if they have some way to manipulate it, like saving speeds from previous cars. I just feel beat! I had him check the calibration, but he wouldn't come back telling me he was wrong, apoligizing, that his accuracy was off and he would be going to the shop! I guess I'll just take the hit on this one, 80 bucks down the drain but no points on my license, so insurance won't be affected. I believe I will invest in one of those chips, it would could serve myriad purposes for me it seems. It would hold up as evidence in a court against a ticket, or reckless driving, or if I was involved in a wreck. As a 19 year-old, I guess I'm starting to see I have to watch out for myself.

Modified by Samyo at 6:43 PM 6/2/2009
Modified by Samyo at 6:50 PM 6/2/2009