This problem is ridiculous. Happened for the first time this morning. Bought the car a month ago with 119k miles. Nissan seriously should have done a TSB on this. If replacing keys, antenna, and BCM doesn't solve it, it's a big problem that leads to extreme embarrassment and could lead to unnecessary towing and such. I have a barely used battery in the car, and it always holds a charge. One of the posts on here might be on to something about the Smart Control Entrance Unit...gonna try looking into that.

Edit: I have the Osiris tuner, so I asked UpRev to remove the NATS capability. 1 hr turn around time on a Saturday so they get an A+. This *should* solve the problem and NATS is a joke anyway. If someone wants to steal your car, they're going to load it up on a truck. I called up the dealer and the NATS antenna is $134. I also can't find a part number anywhere on the webs. I think I will only replace it if/when I sell the car.

 

So, I am not alone. Bought my 04 Enthusiast last week, it has failed to start 3 times. Not many attempts before it goes again. It happened once when I got the spare key made. Aftermarket head unit, not sure if that is the problem.

 

yup same here, been battling this problem for years now.

Car won't start on random days. sucks that theres no real fix for this

 

I'm having this issued after having my battery replaced.

 

You can start off with having the NATS antenna replaced. $134 and an hour of labor, I think. If someone could get a part number for the antenna, could probably find it cheaper, but then again, dealer probably won't install it.

 

I had this problem a couple of years ago. I understand the machinations of the key transmitter system, and I just wanted to take a look. I also wanted one of those switchblade keys so I ordered the key and holder, Pryed open the old key to remove the chip and noticed something The factory had used a rosin like substance to hold the chip in place. The rosin had in the beginning been clear, I’m sure but was now a dark amber. Since the megahertz frequency these systems typically use are sensitive to color, I decided to rebind the chip with E 6000. The problem went away, for like three years, I never had a problem. Then it happened again. I checked the chip in the key it had no change. This lets me know it is a compound problem. The little transmitter/ receiver is a base loaded type, placed in the right side of the dash. Base loading conotates a powered system, with a small transformer/ voltage multiplayer to power the signal transfer. I have surmised that the chip discoloration over time combined with the weakening of any such transformer would cause the key not to report.