# Where is the ECU, and how to remove?



## Djalaal (Aug 19, 2015)

I want to send my ecu for reflash. But I haven't got a clue where it is, and how to get to it. Can anyone help me? It would be great to know what kind of tools I need to...


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Its to the right of your glove box, assuming your car is left hand drive. If memory serves you remove the glove box, and lower dash, and requires torx screwdriver, I think there is also a bolt or two. You just need to start dismantling. There is a good thread on replacing the blower motor bearings that has pictures that may help. Otherwise get the factory service manual and let it be your guide. 
But if I may, don't get sucked in by the hype of dramatic performance gains. You are better off spending money on maintenance and tires. You are risking your ecu, and not to mention greater wear tear on pretty much everything from engine to brakes. But that is only my opinion. Good luck whatever you do.


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## Djalaal (Aug 19, 2015)

I'm new to all this stuff, so please bear with me.

I assume that with "car is left hand drive" you mean that I'm driving on the left lane (steering wheel is on the right)? Because that is true. So you mean is close to the center of the car (under the radio)?

By the way, why would I need to have a look at replacing blower motor bearings? And perhaps could you link me to it?

Also, about the reflashing. I'm not looking for performance gains like max torque or max power. I'm looking for better throttle response only. I've just bought this car (X-Trail 2005 2.5L VTC) second hand, and coming from a manual car, I am quite unhappy with the sometimes non-existent response when I want to accelerate mid-speed (40-80 kph). It's my first time driving auto, but I don't know what happened to the car, so I wanna try tuning it. Even considering this, would you still say it's just a hype and won't change much?


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Cars in England and Japan are right hand drive, in most of the rest of the world cars are left hand drive. When sitting in the car facing forward steering wheel is on left side. 
The blower motor thread, shows pictures of dash dissassembled, and could be useful as it shows the ecu and how to dismantle. You have to remove it before you can get the blower motor housing out of your dash, but that is another matter.

I have 2006 2.5 auto and the throttle response has always been very good and has excellent acceleration between 50 and 120 km/h. You need to bring your car to a mechanic and get a real inspection done. Odds are the ecu reflash will just make things worse. You may have a fuel injector problem, engine or tranny problem or even bad exhaust problem, but for sure something is not right.


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## Djalaal (Aug 19, 2015)

I might be new to most of this, but I'm pretty sure that cars that drive on the left side have the steering wheel (& driver seat) on the right (when sitting in it). Anyway, I'll have a look at that thread, and that should show me exactly where it is. Thanks.

The car's previous owner has always serviced the car at the same Nissan dealer I'm bringing it to right now. And right after buying the car 2 weeks ago, I did a full inspection at the dealer. Besides some mechanical parts (suspension and wheel bearings) needing replacement, they said the car was in excellent condition, especially the engine. :/
It accelerates fine when going from 0-100 kph flooring the pedal. It's also fine in overtaking when going slow, and even when going fast (90+ kph) IF you turn off overdrive. But trying to overtake a car when going mid-speed, it barely accelerates. What gives right?

How about dyno tuning then? You think that's a better option? At least it's car specific.

EDIT. Never mind, I'm going off topic. I'll post a new thread about this perhaps.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

If you want to question me on something so basic as side of steering on left hand drive go for it. You will learn that you are making an error in reasoning. Hint its not the side of road you drive on, its the side from inside looking forward. Hence if you drive on right side of road your steering wheel or drivers seat is on the left. Likewise if you need to replace your passengers side strut, you need to order the right side part.
Also, your car is not performing normally. There is a problem to be identified and flash tuning will not fix that. You are better off just resetting the ecu by disconnecting the negative battery cable for 10 minutes, and seeing what that does. Frankly I think you now know one of the reasons the car was traded in. You need to describe the problem specifically to the mechanic, and I would try and find a good garage that specializes in Japanese vehicles and avoid the dealer. Meanwhile you should try and research your actual problem more, rather than hoping for a miracle fix.
Makes no sense to me that you can floor it and accelerate from 0 to 100, but that when you floor it going 50 it doesn't accelerate. What happens to your engine revs when doing this? Has your transmission ever been serviced? When was the fluid changed?


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

seeing you only bought it two weeks ago, hopefully you have the usual 30 day guaranty. Try and insist that the dealer fix it.


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## Djalaal (Aug 19, 2015)

Thanks for the insight. I'll reset the ECU first, then if the problem persists, i'll have a mechanic look at it specifically for this issue.

And about the steering... Aren't we saying the same thing now? I said when you drive left side, driver seat (looking forward) is on the right. You said when you drive right, driver seat is on the left... Same thing??? Both imply the driver's seat is opposite the side of the road you drive on.
What got me confused was your second post, in which I thought (past tense!) you said cars that drive on the left have their driver seat on the left....

Btw, my driver seat is on the right.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Djalaal, look just stand behind your x trail. Look at your drivers side and which hand its on. Left hand drive is standard in most of the world. And the passenger side is the right hand side. If you are in England or Japan its the reverse.
By the way resetting ECU is not fixing anything, if it masks the problem it will come back. If its true you only bought two weeks ago, bring it back and raise hell. Its a seriously potentially dangerous problem if you need to accelerate or pass anybody.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Djalaal what country are you in
List of left- & right-driving countries - World Standards


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## Djalaal (Aug 19, 2015)

So contact mechanic first, before ECU reset?

Malaysia. I've seen that page already. Like I said, I drive on the left, with my steering on the right.
I hope I'm not annoying you here, but if we're still discussing this, I guess we aren't on the same page like I thought we were?


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

OK. We drive on opposite sides. Confusion was due to me trying to tell you where ECU was. In mine its behind dash right hand side where passenger sits. Because yours has steering on the other side, I suspect your ECU is on the left hand side in mirror image to mine. Out of curiousity which side is your fuse box inside the cabin? Is it below the steering wheel (left side on mine), or is it on your passenger side? I am curious how they are assembled differently.
And yes, see your mechanic or the dealer you bought it from. Maybe somebody else has had a similar problem and can let us know what it was. All I can tell you for sure, is that your acceleration problem is not normal. You may have a problem with the pedal and its electronics, could be transmission related, could be fuel or combustion problem. Good luck with it.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Last thought, if you really want to try something yourself, and what is happening is your engine is hesitating, maybe you could try cleaning your MAF sensor, assuming your air filter is good, and see if that helps. You could also change spark plugs or 02 sensors, but it can get expensive blindly replacing parts. That said if the car is past a certain age and mileage and these have never been changed, it would be good maintenance to replace them.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Read this. Its a pretty good overview of some of the potential issues
What Makes a Car Hesitate When Accelerating? | eHow


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## Djalaal (Aug 19, 2015)

Glad to finally be on the same page. Thanks for the loads of good info.

The fuse box is on the right side of my steering wheel, the side closest to driver's window. So it looks like it's a mirror indeed. Perhaps then a less confusing way to tell people where stuff is, is to mention whether it's closer to the driver or passenger window (or door)? So it seems that the ECU should be close to the passenger door, correct?


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Less confusing to say closer to passenger door? Only in cases where things are an exact mirror image. Anyway the important thing is to know which side is right and which is left when it comes to ordering parts that are side specific, and that never changes irregardless of what side the steering wheel is on. Probably lesss than 10% of the cars on the planet have the same set up as yours. Example, the left hand control arm you had installed went on the left side (for me driver's side, for you passenger side, but either way left side of vehicle. ( control arms are side specific)
Sounds like you should get the service manual in case you ever want to do some work on your x trail.


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## Djalaal (Aug 19, 2015)

quadraria10, could you tell me your opinion?

I've tested the car a little again the other day to figure out what exactly is causing the "hesitation". It _seems_ the problem is much simpler than misfire or the like. When overtaking at mid-speeds, the car barely shifts down. Like from 2k rpm to 2.5k rpm. Even when flooring it it shifts down max to 3k rpm. Given that the car's max torque lies in the 4k rpm range, and max power even higher, I'm guessing this is the problem? It shifts a lot better in other speed ranges. Do you experience something different with your X-trail?


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Maybe your torque converter is locking up and slow to disengage. But I have really no idea. The X trail has lots of low end torque which the engine uses at low rpms. Its rare I am over 3000. The X trail shares a number of features with sportcars, but its not really its nature. Maybe try and find someone you know who has one like yours and see how it drives. Maybe someone else can chime in here to help you out.


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## otomodo (May 23, 2008)

Does it accelerate like this? http://1drv.ms/1UhuI11


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

That does seem weird Otomodo. Did you find out the cause?


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## otomodo (May 23, 2008)

quadraria10 said:


> That does seem weird Otomodo. Did you find out the cause?


What s weird? It seems normal to me!
He said the rpm s aren t going up that much.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

It seems weird that you are increasing revs up to + 4,000 and you basically weren't accelerating and it didn't seem like the transmission was gearing down.
I guess I will have to see if I can replicate with mine, but it didn't jibe with what I have experienced. Were you going uphill with load?


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## otomodo (May 23, 2008)

There s one gear left,it s normal that the revolutions go until redline before shifting (flooring).


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Maybe its just watching what seems so familiar but without the actual speed sensation or feel of the car. Guess I rarely floor it from 50 or 60 km. When I do I am usually going 120 and in passing mode.


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## otomodo (May 23, 2008)

On a 1.6 km strech road,from dead stop, i had this numbers http://1drv.ms/1hly06G and then ran out o road to do top speed.
I ve locked 4wd and then floor it.


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