2008 journey sedan (no options, no sunroof) just hit 60K miles. Factory warranty has expired but have 6 more months on extended warranty (which I paid $1250 for at purchase with $100 deductible). Have had no warranty repairs to date (just courtesy rotor resurfacing and throttle body cleaning).

I'm considering going to either an independent mechanic (T3 in Atlanta area) or going to dealer to pay for 1 or 2 hour inspection to identify potential warranty items. At this mileage are there any trouble spots to watch for?

I need front brakes now for the first time (not warranty, of course) but otherwise nothing seems to be wrong (and I'm one to notice things).

Are scratches around the door grabs covered by the warranty?

 

YES, YES, YES, you absolutely want to make sure you have your oil pressure measured!

https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-sed...ml#post6945877

https://g35driver.com/forums/v36-diy...-pressure.html


Long story short, it saved me many thousands of dollars in repair costs that would never even have known about until it was too late.

 

Sounds like you had the same warranty I had. Aftermarket with 100 deductible. I'm not sure if the sedans have the same problem but you should see if your subframe bushing is leaking. I know that can be expensive down the road.

 

^^ Funny you should mention that duke.

Three months before my warranty ended, I also had my leaky CSC replaced (meant dropping tranny => $$$), and in that process they further discovered that the hydraulic diff mount which is incorporated into the rear suspension subframe was all blown/leaked out. That repair requires the replacement of the entire rear subframe, which pretty much means dropping the entire rear suspension/axles/diff/driveshaft/ etc. HUGE JOB.

Since all these repairs were ultimately covered by warranty, they never showed me an itemized cost breakdown, but all totaled between that and the rear timing cover gasket repair issues, I figure my Elite paid out well over $6K. On the one hand, that makes me glad I had it, but on the other it disgusts me that my G required that much in repairs after the regular factory warranty ended.

Plus, this doesn't even take into account the entire 6spd transmission replacement cost that was done at 45K miles under factory warranty. The real kicker is that this car only has 85K miles on it, has had flawless maintenance since I bought it new, and though being well used, it has never been abused.

Seriously though Greg, you need to know that ALL of these V36 chassis cars are susceptible to the insidious oil gallery gasket leakage issues which are so costly to repair. Until it fails completely, there is virtually no way to detect it without doing an an oil pressure measurement.


.

 

Yeh, my car has that bad gasket on the subframe. It was not discovered until after my aftermarket warranty was expired. I took my car to Nissan, since they are less than a mile away, and the mechanic laughed and said I was the third G35 to come in for the same problem in two months. He showed me the repair part and it was a whole huge metal subframe. He pointed at the stupid gasket and told me that was the whole problem. I still have not gotten it fixed but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Cool, thanks for the info! I might just make an appointment with the dealer to get the subframe and gasket checked. I guess they don't mind getting the warranty work.

Are there any key symptoms of each in everyday driving? The engine has run slightly rough on a few occasions but usually clears up in a few minutes -- could that be low oil pressure on startup? I use valvoline full synthetic 5W-30 since 2nd oil change, don't think that would have an impact.

 

With Infiniti your main concern at 60K miles should be oil consumption or OC! Are you checking your oil level between changes? Have your mechanic do a compression test, that will show the health of those piston rings. I haven't reached 60K miles yet and I've been out of my extended warranty for 20K miles...Gary

 

I have the same model G. There are no oil consumption w/ our engine. I have the elite warranty now and only really change 2 things on it but nothing on the engine. I went in for the quote on renewing my warranty and the price has double and i see no reason to renew. Unless the HR motor is having other problems that others are not sharing.

 

With my car, there were no symptoms of the low oil pressure whatsoever. The only way it was detectable was by measurement, but then the gasket had only just started to blow out. Given more time, it would have undoubtedly developed into the classic full blown valve timing fault code symptoms.

As for the diff mount in the rear subframe, it is not just a gasket per se, it is more like a hydraulic motor mount, except that it's built right into the subframe. Once the fluid leaks out, the diff is no longer suspended properly, allowing misalignment, vibration, etc.. I could not feel it when mine went, but it had apparently only done so shortly before I was in for the service.The tech showed me where the stain from rust colored hydraulic fluid was still evident all around the mount.



Gary (again), this is a 2nd gen thread with an HR motor, so there are no OC issues with these to speak of.

 

That's for sure. Look like he has to read more into detail before commenting. Lol

 

treach, I'm assuming you mean the diff mount bushing and not the CSC (i.e. concentric slave cylinder for the clutch) since relatively few owners have the 6MT tranny. So in that case, yes, it is a potential experience for any V36 sedan owner, regardless of transmission type, since they all share the same diff mounting. I actually don't know how prevalent it is though. I just thought it interesting that duke had mentioned it just then.

It is a funny thing that, as unwarranted as all the repair receipts clearly show it to be, I still regard my car as having been reliable in general, and I actually look forward to many more miles on it since it is now pretty much on "the other side" of all the worst that seems to happen with them. I sure am glad for that Elite warranty though; cost me $1492 for a 7yr/100K mile/$100 deduct. plan, yet it paid out well over $6K in the end. Not bad! (but also not good )

If I were to get rid of it, the potential cars that are rear-wheel drive, manual transmission, sporty, semi luxurious, visually appealing, and reasonably priced are few and far between. I highly doubt I'd find one with better all around value than what I'm driving right now, SO . . . as much as it pisses me off that my Infiniti has had so much go wrong with it, I will just keep on driving it. However, I won't be purchasing another Infiniti product when I'm done with this one.

 

Will the dealer do an oil pressure test when I don't have any symptoms or a CEL? If not, I can go to an independent mechanic (but will pay an hourly rate for inspection).

I have never added oil between changes and barely check it once or twice between changes -- it never drops. No visible oil leaks from quick check under the car (without removing belly pan) -- but evidently this is an internal oil leak.

For the differential mount bushing, is this visible on a lift?

 

comments within

 

I wish we can sign a petition to Infiniti about making this issue a recall

 

My last car was a '92 Q45, the 90-93 Q's had a problem with the timing chain guides breaking well after the warranty ran out (in most cases). The original guides were plastic and the updated parts were metal. If they broke the repair was very costly, but Infiniti never offered to help.

Basically, if there's a design defect that only shows up out of warranty, Infiniti won't care. You could probably say the same for other manufacturers too.