Hey guys, almost at the 60K mark, looking to get trans flush, diff service, maybe coolant flush.

I called the dealers around me and the Infinti dealers want $300 for the trans flush _alone_. Whaaaa? $120-$150 seems more than reasonable for this job.

What are you guys paying?

 

Not the stealership prices.... If anything go to a local Valvoline if you have one in your area. I payed 70.00.

 

are you AT or MT?

if you are AT, the most you should expect to pay for a full-service would be ~$120.

if you are MT it is much simpler so the most you should pay would be ~$70.

i had my MT serviced (drain & fill) recently. for a service including Pennzoil Synthetic (75W90 GL-4) i paid $60 CDN.

the diff fluid fill is similar to a MT service, should be around $80-$90 or so. there is a bit more labour involved to clean a few parts...

i had my diff serviced recently as well. full synthetic service $90 CDN.

your lesson here: do not go to stealership for these simple services if they are charging too much.

 

It would be reasonable for the dealer to charge as follows:

1hr @ their prevailing labor rate + the retail cost of 12qts of Nissan Matic-J + any state-mandated oil disposal fees + tax of course.

For my local dealer that would turn out to be $99 labor plus $120 fluid + misc = $220.99 + tax.

Before you get the flush done, make it perfectly clear to the service rep and make them print it on the work order, to ONLY USE GENUINE MATIC-J FLUID, nothing else, period.

Many shops lease their flushing equipment from a supplier, and the supplier sells them generic fluids to use which are much cheaper than the quart bottles of matic J. You are at the dealer to get their expertise and the genuine parts, that is what justifies a higher price. If you're going to pay the higher price, they damn well better deliver the higher quality service, higher quality labor, and higher quality materials (fluids, parts, etc).

If the dealer is going to use the cheaper so-called universal fluid, why pay their inflated prices---just go to a local trans shop or quick lube place and pay $99. If you decide to go the quick lube route, instead of using their universal fluid which may or may not meet specs, and instead of paying $12 a quart for the Nissan Matic-J, go to you local parts store and look for the Castrol Multi-Import Trans Fluid. The back label says it meets MaticJ standards. At Pep Boys its $4.85 / qt. Bring that to the quick lube place for them to use instead of the universal stuff.

 

Got mine done at the Nissan dealership. They charged $120

 

Damn 300!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I paid my uncle $20 bucks and it was ok

 

So I ended up a at a local independent place by my house and I spent $550 to get the rad flush, new belts, oil change, trans flush (12 qts matic-J) and differential serviced. The matic-J cost me $120 by itself, but I think it was the right call.

Anyway, they found a lot of metal shavings on the magnetized drain plug for the rear end. Is this normal wear and tear? My previous cars had a little bit of metal in the housing but not a lot.

 

I keep reading 12 QTs of fluid. The 5AT can only hold 10 7/8 QTs. You might want to make sure the tranny isn't overfilled which could lead to major failures.

According to the FSM, the process for changing the tranny fluid is as follows (it is rather confusing to read also)

1) Warm up the transmission fluid (drive for about 5-10 minutes in urban area).

2) Turn off engine.

3) Remove filler plug dipstick

4) Remove tranny drain plug and refill with new AT fluid. Make sure to add the same amount as removed.

- To replace the AT fluid (I thought that's what we did above ), pour in new fluid at the charge pipe and with the engine idling and at the same time, drain the old fluid from the radiator cooler return line.

- When the fluid is the same color as the new fluid going in, the replacement is complete. (this process will account for a 30-50% replacement of the fluid)

5) Idle enginge for 5 minutes.

6) Check fluid level. To do this correctly, the engine MUST be idling and the fluid warm. You must also REVERSE the dipstick so that the bolting bracket points to the passenger side.

7) If fluid is still dirty, repeat steps 2 through 5.


What is confusing to me is step 4. Hopefully I'm reading it right, but sounds like you first drain the tranny case. It's been my experience that this usually results in removal of about 40% of the fluid in an automatic (they don't mention this). Reinstall the plug (they don't mention this) and add the same amount as the fluid removed. Then to remove the radiator tranny cooler return line and add fluid until the fluid looks clean.

It sounds like a pretty elaborate process, but also appears to be the most effective way to remove most of the fluid from the tranny without putting it under pressure from an evac system which isn't recommended by most manufacturers. I guess I could see a dealership charging $100 for labor IF they're doing the correct process. I know a lube shop wouldn't do this though because is a different process compared to other autos.

 

Very normal. Most everyone that's replaced thier diff fluid has noticed the same thing.

 

Most flush machines hold 12 qts of fluid, so that's where the figure comes from. I was actually a qt. low after the flush. My fluid still looked pretty good so it hadn't broken down too bad

So I got all that done, just ordered new rotors and pads all the way around and have a pair of tires on the way from Tirerack, I just spent $1100 on the car and got no mods out of it I'll be good for another 60K though