I recently had the pesky F16 code after a good rain and dried all the connections to no avail. When checking the on board monitor for the VCM, I noticed the VCM was receiving the fwd and rev signal from the directional switch but neutral was always on when it should switch to off when selecting a direction. I checked the wiring in the left footwell relay box and just as I figured, 3 wires were corroded and broken at the connector. The dirt that gets packed in there, when wet holds a lot of moisture which corroded the wires. Check the wiring in the left footwell before you go out and purchase a VCM.
I replaced the connector with one salvaged from a previous harness replacement.

Hi I know this is a old post but looking for help on something similar, I have a Nissan U1D2A20LQ with error code F16. Shift lever was playing up, play in lever so I replaced for new unit. Fitted to truck and have same outcome. Nothing I have done has made a difference, It's a multi truck site so have the luxury of swapping bits, I have checked fuses, wiring etc cleaned out multi plugs etc. Changed dash display & had a brand new ecm in stock fitted to truck still no change. Started it up this morning and it went into forward drive then tried reverse then cut out again, no drive
Any help would be appreciated, pretty sure truck was left outside. We've had cold weather and snow recently in the UK so not sure how long it was left in the weather conditions

I know this is almost a year old, but for anyone else having issue, I removed floor plate and cleaned out both connectors going to transmission forward and Reverse solenoids, plugged em back in nice and tight and all was good again! Good luck.

Thanks Buttscratcher! I'll do that as well.

Thanks Swoop! I was figuring it was some kind of weird back feed of the signal. No book or schematic to reference had me scratching my head.

Clean your connections on your vcm with electric cleaner and coat with dielectric grease. Most common cause is moisture in connections.

error code F16 is a directional switch error
the vcm is seeing multiple input signals from the directional switch
mitsubitshi sent out a service gram about this error code

remove and check the directional switch continuity between fwd, rev, and neutral and make sure all signals are clean and no cross signals between each mode selected.
If the directional switches show any abnormality then replace the switch.
If there is NO abnormality then check the wiring and repair as needed.
Now the service gram does say that if there a bad signal to replace the meter panel but i am assuming that if the directional switch and wiring both check ok then replace the meter panel.
Then it goes on to say if the meter panel does not repair the error then to replace the VCM.

The reason you are seeing that difference when the seat belt is buckled and unbuckled is because it is tied into the VCM and the signal result changes as you turn on and off the seat belt signal which effects how the unit interacts with the drive system.