So I took my 2003 G35 into the Nissan service center to get an airbag light check out. The service agent called back and told me he figured the problem out, but my car was due for a 30,000 mile maintenance. I am trying to figure how much of this i can do myself to save money, and that's where i need your help. here is a copy of an email that has all the information about what needs done, as well as what the mechanic said. any advice you have would be appreciated!

*********************

Well, the mechanic called me today. He is a really nice guy and gave me no immediate reason to distrust him. I also mentioned i am an engineering student, so he knows he can't really pull a fast one on me. I'm going to look up everything on the list to see what DIY options there are.

Here is the rundown: he says the car needs regular, 30,000 mile maintenance as well as a tune-up. The airbag light and the interior (cabin) lights are both related to the BCM (body control module). Apparently it is slowing frying itself and needs to be replaced before it effects the ECM and fries it as well. The knocking noise is indeed from the blower fan. The serpentine belt needs to be adjusted, i guess it loosened up since it was replaced. here is a list of everything he mentioned with a little note and the price. I bolded the things that are urgent and need to be done by the dealer. everything else can either be done by another shop or done myself.

Tune-up
$420 Spark Plugs
$150 Fuel induction
(clean everything out before putting in new plugs. not necessary, but prolongs the life of new plugs)
$96 Fuel filter
(this is shot, but i can change it myself he said)

30,000 mile maintainance
(top to bottom is order of importance)
$219 Transmission fluid flush
(apparently this is pretty desperate, he said this was the only maintainance issue that actually concerned him)
$94 Differential flush
(can be done myself)
(the next three are done by a machine, so he didn't recommend i do them myself. i think i can handle the coolant though, but the machine probably cleans the interior of everything which i obviously can't do)
$134 Coolant flush
$94 brake flush
$114 power steering flush

MISC
$536 BCM (need this)
$55 serpentine belt adjustment
$350 blower fan replacement
(i can get this unit myself for around $150 and install it easily. i even saw some for as low as $80, but i don't know if they are good or not. this isn't critical anyways, and it can't hurt anything else so we can wait on it if need be)
----
$1972 total (minus blower fan)
$755 (only BCM and transmission)

 

That is highway robery. The Spark plugs only cost maybe $70 and that is for Iridium plugs which I'm sure they wouldn't bother using. A lot of this stuff you can do on your own without much issue. Like the tune up can be done at home. The other stuff I am not familiar with but sounds like BS as well.

Also those fluids they are telling you to flush, shouldn't even need to be touched at 30,000 miles. At least that is what my mechanic told me when I went to him for a second opinion before giving Infiniti $500 of my money.

 

What's the mileage on your car? What issues does the car have now? Do you have the service history of your car? Has the airbag recall been done yet?

There should be some more items listed on Infiniti 30K service menu, you might want to check them first. Also you can do a search here on 30K miles service and see what services other people have done.

 

Sorry, i was unclear. My car is at 103,000, and the maintenance is for every 30,000 miles. So i'm overdue for most of the fluid flushes.

I found out that my grandfather (the previous owner) did a coolant flush about 10 months ago, so i'm not going to worry about that. I am going to get the transmission flushed because the mechanic seemed really concerned about it (and i have no idea how to do that). all the other stuff i'm going to try and do myself.

any good tutorials floating around on changing the plugs? i've never done it before, and i hear its a bear on this car. what about power steering and brake fluid? can that be done in my garage?

 

Oh dang, yeah you definitely need maintenance. I believe for Infiniti at 100,000 miles is the recommended mileage to replace fluids so that doesn't seem odd. And that price doesn't seem to bad. My mom just went to our mechanic for her 100,000 mile service and was around $3k. But I would say do the tune up on your own. I don't know of any tutorials but I'm sure if you do a google search or use the search function on here you might find a few threads that could be useful.

 

brake flush
power steering flush

you got to be kidding me. Use the search function and start reading. Your an engineering student so dont get bent over at the stelaerrship

 

I wouldnt recomend the transmission fluid flush, def not at that mileage if its never been done or changed. It could do more damage to your transmission than leaving it alone. If you really want to change the transmission fluid I'd do drain & fills. Drain & refill the fluid in the pan every other oil change for about 3x and this should leave you with cleaner fluid. The drain & fills are pretty much DIY, there the same procedure as a oil change minus a filter. Refill with the amount that was drained using nissan matic-s fluid. As far as the rest of the list most of those you should be able to do yourself. Check out http://infinitihelp.com/diy/index.php theres some real helpful vids on there.

 

^Exactly. I wouldn't put too much faith in the service writer if he desperatly thinks you need a tranny flush with 103K miles and haven't had the tranny serviced ever.

$420 for spark plugs is absolutely insane. You can get the plugs for $60 if not less. It should take you about 2-3 hours if you take your time. Do a search, there's lots of DIY info.

 

there is a recall on the airbag plug on the bottom of the seat and that is free to get replaced

i got a letter in the mail about it about a year ago

 

For starters - you can do almost all of this yourself. Do not be so scared that you spend money unnecessarily. If you are willing to learn we can help and sometimes walk you through it all step by step.

Trans fluid: do a drain/fill every 30K and you will be fine. On the bottom of the transmission there is a drain plug. Its just like changing the oil in your car - remove this and let it drain til none comes out. Replace plug. There are lines that go to the front of the car from the transmission. They connect to the radiator for the stock trans cooler. If you remove both of these lines you should get an additional 1.5 quarts out. In total you will drain 6-6.5 quarts of the 11 quart capacity. Once you have drained, refill to the proper levels. Check fluid level after letting the car idle for at least 5 min so that its warm.

I could detail it out a little more w/ pics and stuff, but this should be sufficient for now. Ask if you have questions with anything else. Also, make sure to search because most everything has been asked and done before.

Power Steering: If you suction out the reservoir with a pump and fill completely w/ new fluid you will clean up everything with 2-3 applications. It is also very safe and almost impossible to hurt anything or screw it up as long as you fill it back up to the appopriate fluid level.

 

Thanks for all the advice here guys. I got the BCM replaced and now i'm starting to pick tools i need to buy to get the rest of the maintenance done. Let me know what you think of my choices!


Spark Plugs
, , and

Fuel filter (this confused me. service manual says it is a non-maintainable part. what does that mean?)






Oil Filter

edit*

Just want to defend myself here. I already had a good idea of what i wanted to try before i even posted here. I've done my research. I wanted to see if there would be any violent "NO"s shouted out about something. So far the only NO has been about letting the dealership take my money, which i agree with!

 

BTW - the fact that they told you to service/replace the fuel filter is evidence that they just want your money. The fuel filter is not serviceable and does not need to be done.

 

I am inclined to agree with you. However, in all fairness, it is a Nissan dealership. Maybe they are just clueless

General update, i had them flush the transmission and replace the BCM. I am going to purchase tools and whatnot to do the rest of it myself.

Also, to the people that say you never need to replace transmission fluid: that is ridiculous. the transmission is a gear box, transmission fluid is oil, oil needs to be replaced. period. there is no "special oil". that is ludicrous.

 

^^ yes and no.. oil only needs to be replaced if it is damaged (overheated), or is contaminated (moisture, soot, etc).. if you can avoid these things, the oil will be fine. However, most transmissions have breathers and filler tubes, so contamination is unaviodable. I think Ford made a few transmissions that were factory sealed and never required fluid changes.

 

well yeah, but that's the point. you replace oil because it becomes contaminated, and its unavoidable. eventually it has to be changed, like say, every 100,000 miles?