Sorry to interrupt your lovely evening, or lunch hour, whichever... But I have got a little story (advice, maybe) to share...

Last week, I ended up having to take the car in for a minor repair.

Apparently, the ECM (Engine Control Module) had gone bad and was hard-coding some sort of code to the transmission control disengaging the overdrive gear. Which resulted in my car acting very strangely while I was on the Interstate. Twice, it happened, while I was driving back to North Dakota from my vacation back in Indiana and something very similar had occurred about 2-3 weeks prior to that. It would unlock the overdrive, making my car lurch and making the RPM in my car spike! That couldn't have been good when I was driving at 70-75 mph! As soon as it would occur, however, it would lock back in and ride fine.

Probably a longer story than you cared for, but anyway, the dealership diagnosed the problem to the ECM and replaced it last week for only a small diagnostic fee (it turned out to be only $50). The part and installation were, luckily, covered by a warranty that expires after 80,000 miles. So, good thing the car is only sitting around 74,000 miles... That saved me almost $600!

Anyhow, the reason I write about all this... My car is performing the best it has since the day I bought it! The car idles very low and is very quiet, and for the first time ever, it starts at the turn of the key! It's almost always taken two turns for it to start completely. I always thought it was just the make, as most people I have talked to over the years that have Nissan's, say their cars have pretty much performed in a similar fashion.

So, even if it's not supposed to have, the new ECM seems to have revived my car, in a lot of ways...

So, if you find your car under 80,000 miles and you want a relatively easy and affordable way to "tune" up your car some, have the ECM inspected and if needed, have it replaced.

Now, back to some Sunday night football... Go Eagles!