I just bought my G a few days ago and this is the first car Ive had that was under warranty (previous car was a 93 Accord *gag*)

Im confused on what the dealer doles out for free and what they charge for

I really dont need to take my car in and have them charge me to change the oil and filter, I can get that done myself for cheaper



In other words, I really only want to take the car in if I know the service is going to be free

Whats the general consensus on this?

 

yes htey do charge for oil change

 

The only reason service would be free for any car under warranty is if were a warranty issue. All other service, unless it was something complementary, will cost you.

 

If I dont take it in for oil changes, tranny fluid changes, spark plug changes, diff changes, etc (all the easy stuff) will that still maintain my parts warranty?

I heard that if you dont get all that stuff done by the dealer then they can discontinue your warranty (so pretty much youre trapped into the dealers service charges)

 

Thats bs, I have it all done elsewhere, of course because it costs much less, unless it is not done correctly and the mistake caused the problem. It always better to have someone who knows the car work on it. Try a performance shop.

 

Nah, they can't do that... If you read the scheduled service guide/owners manual that came with the car. It clearly says that it is RECOMMENDED to use the Infiniti dealer for service and maintenence. "Recommended" has different legal meaning than "Required"

To further add to the "Grey" area, let me throw in my two cents:

Of course I think you should perform regular maintenence... But from a technical perspective:

It says that your warranty may be voided if you don't perform scheduled maintenence. It says refer to owners manual and warranty guide for details.

Owners manual says to refer to the scheduled service guide, to determine required and recommended maintenence. The warranty guide talks about failure to follow the service guide.

The service guide says it is recommended to follow one of the service schedules. It describes inspection, and says to replace faulty parts immediately. However, the entire service guide is prefixed with a paragraph that states the service guide is the factory RECOMMENDED minimal requirements.

Any competent lawyer should be able to keep your warranty from getting voided. Granted I'm not a lawyer, but I'm speaking from experience, because I deal with international standards for a living, and our lawyers always articulate to us about the legal meanings/ramifications of the words, "Required, Recommended, Should, Must, Shall" etc.

Acura already tried to void the warranty on my wife's TL because we "failed" to flush the transmission fluid, and that it smelt burned. They backed off that claim when I pointed some of these same things out. (We were way under what the recommended mileage for flushing anyways). Needless to say, Acura is replacing our tranny as we speak, and is footing the bill.

But like I said, you should still do preventative maintenence, to save everyone time/hassles.

 

One thing have been able to get for free is brakes under warranty. The G has great brakes but is notorius for brake wear and the dealer will replace them for the first 35,000 miles...free

 

Cool free brakes!!! I agree, you can do it all yourself and that is cool. The manufacturer can not void it because you did it yourself. I used to work for SLC (Specialty Lubrications Corp) and we did automotive oil research. It is a very easy test the dealer can have done to see how long you ran the oil before changing it. They can also tell by the metal wear about how long the lubrication was in there. It's a simple mathmatical formula if you are a God in calc.

I always change mine myself in all my vehicles because I know it is being done right. I also change early. If the tranny is suggested 30K I change at 25K. And yes, even with synthetic oils. Sorry I am just a little picky since I have seen what oil breakdown can do to metal.

 

Thanks for the input guys

My only concern is that because Im doing it myself I have no record it was done to show the dealer if they start making acusations

Im at 25,5 and I really think the tranny fluid should be changed; shifting seems like it could be improved with a change

 

Well Im a little confused now. We were just at the dealership this morning, still trying to decide if I want the sport suspension package or not. Sales guy said that "2 years ALL regularly scheduled maintenance is covered. Oil/Filter etc."
Asked the same question, worded differently...still "1st 2 years ...ALL regularly scheduled maintenance is covered"

 

Good idea. I would use either AmsOil if you can find the EXPENSIVE stuff or Red Line. These are some of the best out there and really improve shifting especially in a race environment. Just my 2 pennies.

 

Also, just save your receipts.

 

https://g35driver.com/forums/drivetrain/35247-rear-differential-oil-changed-must-do-read.html

Im confused once again
In that thread its stated that if you use non OEM fluids that Nissan will void your warranty (what bullsht!!)
So do I have to buy the Nissan fluids?

 

Don't confuse a recepit for parts/oil/etc. with LEGAL proof that the work was actually done. You would be surprised at how people scramble for any receipt for anything to try to prove the work was done.

Make sure all work done at a shop with the VIN and odometer reading and date and a VALID employee signature.

Always happens when people exceed the 3,750 mile oil change interval and something happens to engine during warranty .........find the car has a garbage oil filter and varnish inside from too long an interval.

The dealer has nothing to do with warranty [between you and Nissan]. The dealer shop is just a shop that has a special relationship with factory and as such has a duty to report what it finds to factory. The Nissan/Infiniti zone employees make the decision what they will pay for with advice from dealer service manager.

Not understanding this leaves you wide open.

The dealer knows what Infinti usually pays for from history, so if they deny warranty it just means Nissan doesn't usually pay without your intervention.

All warranty parts are returned to factory for examination by engineers unless a common known problem. The zone guy may come look sign off and they are trashed or select things to send back for examination.

The dealer shops are charged back constantly for doing unwarranty things under warranty.

The main problem is the discount that Nissan gets based on volume vs. customer paid hours.........techs don't like to work cheaper for Nissan vs customer paid and many times the dealership gets no profit on parts as they are just replaced by Nissan....depends on mass campaign vs single problems.