Check this before your powertrain warranty is up!

[OCG35]

Originally Posted by cpezie

Lucky me. During this last week I've noticed that after a 10-20 mile trip once I put the car in park I hear a "knock, knock, knock" sound. To me it didn't really sound like what I would call an engine knock. When the car is put back in Drive or Reverse the knock goes away. Put it back in park and there goes the knock again.

So I dropped it off at the dealership this morning and received a call around 4pm stating that my oil was a little low and they are going to start the OC test. Which means every 1000 miles I have to bring my car in to have them check it. I think he mentioned that it will probably take about 3 or 4 1000 mile cycles before a decision is made.

Man, this sucks. Prior to purchasing this car I had a Toyota XRunner and never had an issue with it. I go out and buy a 30k vehicle and find myself at the mercy of the Stealership.

When I asked the service guy if it was covered by the warranty he stated it was but said something to the affect that the a Technical so and so would have to make the final decision. I will f**kin go the f**k off if they try and screw me.

Any advice on this. I'm pretty sure someone gave some in this thread but I read this tread a while back and don't feel much like reading through it again.
just b/c it's funny.

That’s a different issue… that thread can be found here:
Owners of VQ Oil Consumption (clink the link)

[cpezie]

Yes, I realized after posting that I posted in the wrong place.

Sorry

[Yosef]

Hi, quick question, If I installed exhaust and ztube/popcharger does that void my wrranty? I'm not having this problem but I my left speaker stopped working. And our car is still under warranty if its under 60K miles (2004 coupe)? thanks.

[Uda880]

Mods affecting Warranty Work: Technically, your warranty is not voided unless they (or rather, you) can prove that the mods weren't responsible for the problem.

Warranty Length: 4-year/60,000-mile Basic coverage depending on your original In-Service date. So if you bought it in late 2004 (Say, July), it will expire in late 2008 (July, 2008). Assuming you have under 60,000 miles.

I drive a 2005, original in-service date of July 2005, mine will expire July 2009 (This year).

[SteveZ]

To be clear, you have a bumper to bumper warranty and a powertrain warranty with different periods.

• 4 years/60k miles - this would have covered your speaker but the 4 years are up, it's unlikely to be covered. My BOSE HU failed and lost one channel, it was covered because it happened prior to the end of the 4 year period. I lost my driver's window motor and regulator, that was after 4 years and it was not covered ($560).

• 6 years/70k miles, Limited Powertrain, this should cover the oil in the spark plug hole should you run into this problem.

Recalls like the fuel hose one where the rear tank has to be dropped are covered regardless of time. I had a passenger airbag in my 1995 Altima replaced under warranty a few years ago due to a recall. Recalls are safety related usually and don't have time limits and transfer with owners, it depends.

Both are whichever comes first, lesser of the two. Btw with 5 years on my 2004, I've been getting calls to extend my warranty at my choice, don't know rates but I will be looking into it. I will hit 6 years well before 70k miles.

[Yosef]

Originally Posted by Uda880

Mods affecting Warranty Work: Technically, your warranty is not voided unless they (or rather, you) can prove that the mods weren't responsible for the problem.

Warranty Length: 4-year/60,000-mile Basic coverage depending on your original In-Service date. So if you bought it in late 2004 (Say, July), it will expire in late 2008 (July, 2008). Assuming you have under 60,000 miles.

I drive a 2005, original in-service date of July 2005, mine will expire July 2009 (This year).

Oh so it expired already. Damn. Well thanks.

[johnnytremain]

Hey guys, I'm a noob when it comes to cars so please bear with me.

Back in October 08 I took my 04 sedan in to a non-dealer shop for maintenance. The owner recommended changing my spark plugs. Mileage at the time was 47,751. When service was done, he showed me the old spark plugs and they looked similar to this picture but lighter and only about 3/4ths coated:



He did not mention if there was any oil pooling in the valves or whatnot. Is the pooling problem something he would have noticed and would have told me? Is the picture above indicative of this pooling problem?

I have almost 54k miles on the car now and my powertrain warranty expires in September 2011. Should I bring this to the dealer and show them the picture now or can I wait another year? I'm wary about the $150 diagnostic fee if they don't find anything wrong. The car seems to run fine otherwise.

I appreciate any advice!

[bythabay]

Originally Posted by johnnytremain

Hey guys, I'm a noob when it comes to cars so please bear with me.

Back in October 08 I took my 04 sedan in to a non-dealer shop for maintenance. The owner recommended changing my spark plugs. Mileage at the time was 47,751. When service was done, he showed me the old spark plugs and they looked similar to this picture but lighter and only about 3/4ths coated:



He did not mention if there was any oil pooling in the valves or whatnot. Is the pooling problem something he would have noticed and would have told me? Is the picture above indicative of this pooling problem?

I have almost 54k miles on the car now and my powertrain warranty expires in September 2011. Should I bring this to the dealer and show them the picture now or can I wait another year? I'm wary about the $150 diagnostic fee if they don't find anything wrong. The car seems to run fine otherwise.

I appreciate any advice!

Save yourself some time & money - DIY

[SteveZ]

Originally Posted by Yosef

Oh so it expired already. Damn. Well thanks.

Not the part of warranty that covers this issue w/oil in plug holes. That is 6Y/70k.

[SteveZ]

Originally Posted by johnnytremain

Hey guys, I'm a noob when it comes to cars so please bear with me.

Back in October 08 I took my 04 sedan in to a non-dealer shop for maintenance. The owner recommended changing my spark plugs. Mileage at the time was 47,751. When service was done, he showed me the old spark plugs and they looked similar to this picture but lighter and only about 3/4ths coated:



He did not mention if there was any oil pooling in the valves or whatnot. Is the pooling problem something he would have noticed and would have told me? Is the picture above indicative of this pooling problem?

I have almost 54k miles on the car now and my powertrain warranty expires in September 2011. Should I bring this to the dealer and show them the picture now or can I wait another year? I'm wary about the $150 diagnostic fee if they don't find anything wrong. The car seems to run fine otherwise.

I appreciate any advice!

That pic looks like someone poured oil on the plug threads. Representative? Not really. Unless the upper half had oil - maybe what you were seeing is the plug discoloration on the white part (insulator)?

The problem is with oil above the threads pooling in the valve cover where the plug upper half would be visible. See the beginning of this thread. Anyone changing the plugs should have noticed.

Check it yourself, otherwise you're wasting your money if it's not there.

[SteveZ]

Originally Posted by jakz0rz

To steveZ, my my car is an 03 with 26,000Km (15,500 miles) so it can happen sooner than you think. As someone stated earlier, it's just the deterioration of the plastic.

I agree, I was averaging time from what I have seen with other seals. It's not so much mileage as time and the conditions the car is operating under. Part of my cars' issues stem from having to deal with annual extreme subzero temperatures and long periods of very cold, very dry conditions in Winter. Then they get slammed in Summer with high temps and humidity, so the car operates in very hot weather. Since you're quoting km my guess is you are in Canada, eh?

In your case the age is more the determining issue than the miles, I am guessing. My car only had 21k miles on it after 3.5 years, then ended up with 15-20k a year until recently (54k now).

[uf20wop]

well i just checked all mine

2004 with 47000 miles

no oil at all

but damn it was a pain in the *** getting to some of those coils

[bocatrip]

I just got back from my Infiniti Dealership complaining to them about the smell of oil fumes. Sure enough, they found oil in #4 spark plug filler tube. 2004 with 33,000 miles. However, they told me that they will only be doing one side. Is this acceptable? We all know that it's only a matter of time for the other side to start leaking. I was also wondering if you guys were getting your plugs changed at the same time. I only have 33,000 miles so the plugs I'm sure are good if they don't have any oil on them. What about the dealership doing one side only? Thanks all.

[bythabay]

Originally Posted by bocatrip

I just got back from my Infiniti Dealership complaining to them about the smell of oil fumes. Sure enough, they found oil in #4 spark plug filler tube. 2004 with 33,000 miles. However, they told me that they will only be doing one side. Is this acceptable? We all know that it's only a matter of time for the other side to start leaking. I was also wondering if you guys were getting your plugs changed at the same time. I only have 33,000 miles so the plugs I'm sure are good if they don't have any oil on them. What about the dealership doing one side only? Thanks all.

Wait until your warranty is almost up, and have them do it again. Having the plugs replaced at 30k is a bit soon, however, given the time they have been in there, it might not be a bad idea. If the valve covers are at the point where they can be removed, replacing the spark plugs is extremely easy. My dealer did it for free when my valve covers were being replaced.

edit: check for leaks before the warranty is up, and only then have them repair it. If there is no problem, there's nothing to repair

[bocatrip]

Originally Posted by bythabay

Wait until your warranty is almost up, and have them do it again. Having the plugs replaced at 30k is a bit soon, however, given the time they have been in there, it might not be a bad idea. If the valve covers are at the point where they can be removed, replacing the spark plugs is extremely easy. My dealer did it for free when my valve covers were being replaced.

edit: check for leaks before the warranty is up, and only then have them repair it. If there is no problem, there's nothing to repair

Not only do I have 5 months left on my factory warranty, I also have an additional 3 years on the extended elite warranty. As you can see, I have tons of time for the valve covers to start leaking again. Unfortunately, I hate to have to go back twice for the same problem. Do you think calling consumer affairs about doing both valve cover gaskets will get me anywhere?