The BLUF (bottom line up front):
Support non-pirated access to invaluable Nissan FSMs—the official Factory Service Manuals used by Nissan mechanics—is generously provided freely by NICO, with consent by Nissan, for numerous Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun models and years (but not yet 2017-up) by visiting:
For the FSMs not posted at NICO, you can buy them directly from Nissan at https://www.nissan-techinfo.com.
My initial response on this topic was to encourage members to use FSMs that NICO provides freely. Some owners know they exist, but many do not. Other sites that publish them are likely pirating them.
Put another way: if you're accessing those guides at those sites, you're possibly contributing to a piracy problem that may (again) cause Nissan owners to lose access to them, and possibly permanently. Please, don't use them. Nissan previously blocked NICO from publishing FSMs back in 2018, and it rippled to every Nissan forum community...except maybe those Leaf owners, because I think we can agree those guys aren't working on their cars...am I right? Fortunately, things got sorted out. I rely on FSMs for repairs and project research regularly, so I'm a full advocate of NICO's efforts to keep these available.
...
The following is mainly in reply to
@bajasam. No intentions to stir the pot, but I disagree with his replies.
Yeah! Nissan fixed that problem all right, they totally quit making service manuals for the public. 2016 is the last MY that has a publicly viewable FSM. They don't want YOU fixing your own vehicle and are not going to help you in any way. They are trying to force you to use a professional mechanic. Thanks Nissan
Wholly Shite, what a rant. I do use the 2016(last year nissan issued) for my 2017. But tell me what do the guys who have purchased a 2020-2022 W/3.8 9speed do for tech data. Please use your genius like insight for their benefit as nissan is leaving them out in the cold with nothing but the dealer network for Maint data.
You say "rant," but then you put out speculative statements and complaints that not enough free Nissan FSMs exist, and then blame Nissan for it. You've sidetracked this conversation because you don't have access to the FSM for your truck and are using new owners as victims. You've asked for my response, so I'll give it.
Neither Nissan nor NICO owe you, or anyone, access to FSMs. Nissan and NICO are not affiliated.
FSMs are Nissan's proprietary information intended to be used by Nissan mechanics at Nissan dealerships, or related professionals; they are not intended for everyday Nissan owners. Crappy Chilton/Haynes manuals are intended for everyday Nissan owners. You're missing the point that NICO is providing all of us an incredible resource for free. Take advantage if you can, improvise if you can't.
You are complaining because NICO has not published MY17+ FSMs, ignoring that they provide FSMs for Datsun, Nissan, and Infiniti vehicles from the prior 50+ years. Granted, it's not a complete catalog, but it's amazingly comprehensive. Where have you seen a similar site? Have you noticed that many older FSMs were scanned in? Imagine the effort required to obtain and scan a genuine Nissan FSM for an early 1960's Datsun 320 Pickup (which they have). It takes time and effort to legitimately acquire that data, as well as host it, even if newer FSMs are already in digital format. It's also plausible that Nissan doesn't want NICO to buy new FSMs and then immediately dump it on the internet for free, and perhaps that's an arrangement they've agreed upon.
Let's be clear: NICO publishes FSMS for FREE. Nissan SELLS FSMs from MY89 through MY21 as of today.
Obviously, the context of this thread is free FSMs at NICO vs. questionable sites. As I mentioned earlier, some manufacturers offer pay-for-access manuals. Nissan is one of them. Through their technical website (
https://www.nissan-techinfo.com) you can buy a digital copy of a 2017 or 2021 Frontier FSM for $210/ea, or one of several subscription options, whether for one day ($20) or one year ($720) for access to every FSM and tech bulletin they have since 1989. Clearly, since Nissan provides fee-based access, it's likely why NICO doesn't (or can't) immediately post newer FSMs.
Does Nissan and/or NICO owe FSMs to new owners so they can immediately start tampering with their complex 3.8L engines and 9-speed transmissions, and then should Nissan still honor a warranty after repairs have been performed by a non-certified "Nissan" tech? Of course not. You're also assuming that owners
need repair instructions, specifications, and diagnostic procedures for a new truck...but worse: you're suggesting they're entitled to it. I disagree with that. Somewhat besides the point here, but a new truck should only require regular maintenance and will have issues covered by a warranty. There's little reason to repair or diagnose your truck while it's still under warranty.
As genius-elect by the Committee-of-bajasam, my first official insight is that
Nissan is not mistreating their newest owners by
NICO not publishing newer FSMs for them, and Nissan insists that owners bring their cars and trucks back to them for all service issues on vehicles
because they're the experts. My "rant" was to convince you that all manufactures behave this way and have designed vehicles in a manner so that shadetree mechanics can't always repair them (and I hate those manufacturers for it), and even if there is an enthusiast channels to provide FSMs (legitimately or not, free or not), they may not even help much unless you have access to specialty equipment. It may have seemed long-winded, but I wanted to be clear this isn't isolated behavior, at least not based on my experience (whatever that's worth here).
My second official insight is that new owners who want an FSM that NICO hasn't publish should pony-up and buy the FSM or a subscription directly from Nissan.
