One-Touch Lane Change Signal on Nissan Patrol Y62 and Infiniti QX56

Changing lanes with a regular turn signal is clunky: you push the stalk all the way until it locks, then flip it back yourself. Forget, and you’re blinking down the highway long after you’ve merged. Plenty of cars fix this with a one-touch lane change signal. The Nissan Patrol Y62 and Infiniti QX56 have it too — it’s just usually switched off in the body control unit (BCM).

This guide shows how to turn it on from your phone with an ELM327 adapter and the Canfiti app, which vehicles it’s been confirmed on, and what to do if the app won’t talk to your adapter.

How the one-touch signal works

Push the stalk lightly — not to the detent, just to the first click — and let go. The signal flashes three times and cancels on its own. No returning the stalk, no forgotten blinker. Push it all the way and it works the way it always has.

You’ll see it called a lane change signal, one-touch turn signal, 3-flash signal, or comfort blinker. In Canfiti it’s labeled “Lane change turn multiflash signal” and lives on the “Body control unit” screen.

Older Nissans had this feature too. The BCM in Nissan and Infiniti vehicles from the same years is largely the same hardware — what differs is the firmware version and which settings it exposes. So the option may well show up on models that aren’t on the list below yet.

Where it’s been confirmed

Nobody has reported this particular feature failing. That said, one second-gen FX owner could connect to the car but couldn’t change anything on the “Body control unit” screen, and the cause is still unknown. On other CAN-bus Nissan and Infiniti models it may work — connect and see if the switch is there. US owners of the Y62-based Nissan Armada: no reports yet, so you’d be the first.

More about these vehicles: Infiniti QX80 / QX56 Z62 and Nissan Patrol Y62. If it works on your model, drop a note in the DRIVE2 discussion so the compatibility list keeps growing.

Before you start

• An ELM327 adapter. iPhones work with BLE and Wi-Fi adapters; Bluetooth Classic works on Android only. See the ELM327 adapters page for picks.
• Canfiti 0.6.0 or later. Earlier versions don’t have this setting. Just grab the latest — 0.6.1 made adapter connections more reliable.
• Ignition on. The BCM won’t respond with the ignition off.

Step by step

1. Plug the adapter into the OBD2 port under the dash on the driver’s side and turn the ignition on.
2. Open Canfiti. On the home screen, tap “Connect” on the “OBD2 Device” card.
3. On the “Scanning devices” screen, pick your adapter. Bluetooth adapters show up with a MAC address and signal strength. A Wi-Fi adapter only appears once your phone is on its network — give it 10–20 seconds.
4. Once connected, the card reads “Connected to …” along with the adapter version and system voltage. The first time you connect, the app shows a disclaimer you need to accept.
5. Tap the BCM card (“Body control unit”). The app opens a diagnostic session and reads the unit’s settings.
6. Find “Lane change turn multiflash signal” — it’s the second row from the top. Flip it to ON.
7. Wait for the progress indicator to disappear. That’s it — the setting is stored in the unit.

How to tell it worked

In the app. The switch reads ON and the icon next to it turns yellow. To be sure, back out of the screen and open it again — the app re-reads the values from the unit. If it still says ON, the setting stuck.

In the vehicle. Nudge the stalk to the first click and let go. Three flashes, then off. Check both directions.

Troubleshooting

The app can’t see the adapter or drops the connection

This is the most common snag, and it usually has nothing to do with the vehicle.

• The adapter is busy. Another app on the same phone (Car Scanner, for example) or a second phone may be holding the connection. Close them completely. Occasionally someone nearby has latched onto your OBD adapter.
• Outdated app. Before the update, a Patrol Y62 owner rarely saw the adapter in the list, and when he did, the connection dropped instantly — even though other apps connected right away. On a second phone it worked after about six tries. Version 0.6.1 improved adapter handling, and another owner found that an adapter that had never connected before started working after the update.
• iPhone plus Bluetooth Classic. That combination doesn’t work. Use a BLE or Wi-Fi adapter.
• Wi-Fi adapters. Join the adapter’s network first, then open “Scanning devices”. If a VPN is on, turn it off.

“The unit is not responding”

That’s what the app shows when the BCM stays silent. Make sure the ignition is on and tap “Retry”. Also check the “ECU part number” at the bottom of the screen: one Patrol owner saw a short “1Z” instead of a full number like “1LA0ASB”. A truncated reply like that usually points to the adapter, so try a different one.

The switch won’t stick or you get an error

If you see “Error” with a message that the operation was interrupted, check the adapter connection and try again. If nothing on the screen can be changed at all — like that second-gen FX — post your model, year, and ECU part number in the discussion. That helps figure out whether your BCM supports these settings.

How to switch back

Open “Body control unit” and flip “Lane change turn multiflash signal” to OFF. That’s all — the change is fully reversible and leaves no trace in the wiring.

More on the same screen

• Daytime running lights from fog lamps or low beams.
• Turning off the headlamp washers so they don’t break on ice in winter.
• Rain sensor and wiper modes.

The full list of settings is on the hidden BCM settings page.