metal rivets, or those plastic things you are supposed to really yank on to remove?

It's just a big piece of plastic and where people have pictures of screws there is just plastic.

TW: I appreciate very much you taking the time to respond in full. I will be using some of the suggestions when I take the car in for a second opinion.

Pay no attention to the men behind the curtain!

Only 1996 cars were required to have OBD. The connector must be located within three feet of the driver and must not require any tools to be revealed.

Only later model 1995 cars had it. If the Maxima was built in early 1995, it may not have that connector.

However, most cars had other means of reading code. For example, some had an LED on a computer located under the driver's seat or beneath the front passenger's feet.

Yeah, when I talk about the plastic thingie that blocks my access to the OBD jumper, I'm talking about getting to the super-secret back door access to reading the code.

Here's the post with the picture I took of it

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pro...ca0001_300.jpg

tack puller avial at home despo/lowes ...those look like throw away clips. they'll have to be replaced after you yank them. look for them at pep boys.

http://www.eurotruck-importers.com/i...9000929051.jpg

http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.p...stant-download

$8.95 to download a repair manual

also, i have a friend that has a code reader if you wanna borrow it.

So, I had another place look at it. They are telling me that it IS the computer, so they are ordering me a re-manufactured one, with the same warranty, at half the cost.

(shakes head and sighs)

a remanufactured PCM?

yes. I was told it had the same warranty, and it is a 9 year old car, after all. Do you not think that's a good idea? My other alternative is to return to the dealer for a new PCM at twice the cost.

Wait, isn't the PCM part of the emissions control system? Any part of that system is under warranty, for 80,000 miles, by federal law.

I just never heard of a re-manufactured computer before.

the emissions warranty is 8 yr or 80K whichever comes first, and only for these components: