Hi, I just purchased my Infiniti end of August and was looking at the maintenance schedule for the car. The first schedule they say is 3 months or 3750 miles. For me, this car is only driven on the weekends and I think I'll barely hit 1000 miles in those 3 months. Does it make sense for me to go with their schedule since I drive it only on the weekends? Also, since its a brand new car, do you recommend getting it serviced by Infiniti for at least the first year or go anywhere that's cheap?

 

Personally I'd go at 3750 miles.

I take my car to the dealership for oil changes. I've had an alternate shop that specialists in Nissan & Infiniti handle the more intensive services. Not sure if its the best advice but it's what I do and it's worked out well so far.

 

Any new vehicle I have bought over the last 10 years, bikes and cars, I have done my first oil change at 25 - 50 Miles. You would be surprised at the amount of crap you find in there from metal filings that look like small finger nail clippings, to pieces of what look like edges of gaskets, etc.

 

I would say just go by the schedule based on mileage. Where you have the service done is up to you completely and don't forget that Nissan dealerships can service our cars as well - they just can't do warranty work.

Congrats on the new car BTW

 

What type of oil do they use...synthetic? And what does it usually cost you? Thanks!

 

I pay about 40 or 50 bucks each time I bring the car in. They do all their standard inspections and top-offs, and wash the car (although I always tell them not to since they do a poor job). I believe you can request synthetic but to date I've only had them do whatever they use standard. I should know these things but regretfully I don't.

 

First, congrats on your purchase.. I have a G35X Sport too.. Loving the paddle shifter. Would have preferred a stick but the wife wouldn't be able to drive it and she objected to stick..

To answer your question, if it was me, I'd change it out after 2000 miles and go with synthetic and change it every 6 months or 7500 miles whichever comes first. Plan on having the dealer put in Nissan ATF, coolant, and fluid for the transfer case as per recommended, just to create a good relationship with them. That might change though as changing coolant is pretty easy, ATF is a little involved.... Haven't looked carefully to see how to change the transfer case fluid.

I'm a DIY'er so I do my own oil changes, with Mobil1 for now since I have 7 quarts of that stuff still sitting in my garage. I'm going to German Castrol 0w-30 (bought 42 quarts of that stuff this past week!) Also, plan on going with Amsoil gear oil in the front and rear differential.

 

Hey geronimomoe, thanks for the post! Yeah the paddle shifters are sick, although I am trying not to use them as the car only has 100 miles and I am trying to break it in (which btw if you have any tips on that, it would be extremely helpful!) If I go with 2000 miles, the way I currently drive this car, it may be 4-5 months before I take it in for the oil change. That other stuff you mentioned, "Nissan ATF, coolant, and fluid for the transfer case" is that common for the first oil change as I did not see that in the maintenance book? Also, do you know what type of oil they put? To be honest with you, this is my first car that I truly own, the others were my parents, so I am a bit naive on all these things. Appreciate all the help!

 

Actually, IMHO it's not a bad idea to use the paddle shifters, especially during the break-in period. The paddle shifters will allow you to vary your engine speed when you upshift (when accelerating) and downshift (when accelerating or decelerating), putting loads on the components of your transmission and engine under many different speeds and conditions. In the past and most likely in your car's owners manual, it says to keep it below a certain speed and not to drive at a constant speed for a long time... So guess what, using the paddle shifters will do that, especially in traffic or just driving around town..

Leave the oil in there for 2000 miles... If it takes up to 6 months, I'd change it then. I personally would not leave oil in there for more than 6 months, especially since you're under warranty.. After that, I'd go with 7500 miles/6 months which ever comes first, using a synthetic oil.

I'd just use the Nissan coolant and the owner's manual states specifically that using non-Nissan ATF could affect the transmission operation and void the warranty, or something along those lines.. Need to take a good look at the manual. Same thing with the transfer case. So, I'd stick with Nissan fluids. Just a FYI, I was considering Amsoil ATF but decided against it...

As for changing the ATF and tranfer case fluid, I may be a little more aggressive and change them every 2 years. I need to look specifically at the manual to see what the change intervals are.. (It's been a long day)

For the front/rear diff, as I said, I'll go to Amsoil synthetic 80w-90 gear lube, probably after 2 years.. I'm contemplating doing it after 1 year...

As I said, I plan on going with German Castrol 0w-30.. Check out www.bobistheoilguy.com for further info on motor oil....

 

I know this probably isn't going to be the most common response you will see, but for me I use the Schedule 2 maintenance (every 7500 miles) with regular oil. I take it to the dealer for all the regular 7500 maintenance intervals (minor/intermediate/major). I did this with my old 2003 G35 that I just traded in. I put about 17000-18000 miles on that car per year and that usually worked out to 2-3 times a year I would take it in for maintenance. The car never had a mechanical problem and it still ran as good at 103,000 miles (when I traded it in for my 08 G35x) as it did the day I drove it off the lot in 2002. It was probably good for another 100k miles. One thing I should clarify is that at least 90% of those 103,000 miles were highway miles. And they are truly highway miles because I rarely drive in rush hour traffic. I live in a more rural suburban area without a lot of traffic lights and I drive 30 miles to work each way (28 miles are highway).

 

You're right. For some reason, people just LOVE changing their oil at earlier intervals. 3000 mile oil changes made sense for me when I had a 500 hp twin turbo 300ZX. But now, with basically a stock G35, I plan on sticking w/ 7500 mile schedule 2 intervals as well (though w/ synthetic oil).

I changed my oil at 7500 mile intervals on my 11 yr old 130K+ mile Infiniti G20t and that car ran perfectly up until a drunk driver totaled it while parked.

 

I'm simply following the manufacturer's owners manual. They know more about how to properly maintain the car then I do. Schedule 1 says for stop and go and/or extreme conditions (I don't remember the exact wording). Schedule 2 says if your driving conditions don't fall under the Schedule 1 definition then use Schedule 2. So, that's what I did with my 03 G and that's what I'll do with my 08 G. The only caveat is that I "may" take it in for it's first oil change at 3750 since I have a free oil change coupon from my dealer for that service (although I'm sure they'd honor it at 7500 instead). So, I may do an oil change at 3750 and 7500 and then follow Schedule 2 after that. I also "might" use synthetic after the first few oil changes but I haven't decided yet.

BTW, that sucks about your G20t. Stupid drunk drivers! I hate people that are so irresponsible that they put other people in danger.