I took my 07 g35s 6mt sedan with 47k miles in to the deal for an oil change and they recommended a few things: 1 - replace battery $159, 2 - adjust parking brake $65, 3 - replace rear differential fluid $130, 4 - replace transmission fluid $190

These prices seem outrageous! What have you paid for these services? Who did the work?

Is adjusting the parking brake easy to do myself? Any one have a write up?

thanks in advance!

 

1. I replaced battery myself with Costco Kirkland battery for $69. It has a better warranty than OEM and more CCA. I did it myself and it only took 15 minutes. Kirkland battery has 3 year free replacement and 7 years prorate.

2. Parking brake was adjusted for me free by a dealer when I asked during a routine replace transmission fluid (which was only $165 at my dealer.) Again, mine isn't 6MT so I'm not sure if the AT models are easier to adjust.

3. I had differential fluid and transfer case fluid changed on my 2007 Infiniti G35x for $162.

This was all done at the Infiniti dealer with the exception of the battery which I did myself.

 

Is your battery failing? or did they just measure that it wasn't putting out full CCAs like a new one would. If it's still starting the car ok, and you don't typically leave your headlights and/or stereo on with the engine off, then heck, just try checking your electrolyte level and top off with distilled water as necessary. My original battery is still chugging along just fine for me after almost 70K miles.

It is not difficult to change your own tranny and diff oil. Even if you need to buy a few tools, a jack or some ramps, you'd come out way ahead of that quote. Also, you can reuse the tools to DIY again next time saving even more. The fluids are relatively cheap too.

I don't imagine the parking brake is any biggie either, but then I haven't had to do it yet (after 70K miles). If you truly need it, you can download the factory service information directly (for free, after simpy registering) from here: http://x.infinitihelp.com/forum/local_links.php?catid=7

Good luck

 

The battery can't be so much money. I paid 89.99 at the nissan dealer with 5 year warranty on it. transmission fluid should not cost so much as well, go to Nissan dealer it will be much cheaper and they can't void your warranty. Crazy over priced prices.

 

They can't void your warranty if you do it yourself or at an independent shop either. As long as it's done right, with properly spec'd supplies, and fully documented, then you're golden as far as warranties go.

 

The prices you listed are the results of your going to the Infiniti "Stealership." You can go to Nissan and save 30% and there mechanics are better trained. (my opinion) You can go to most auto parts stores pay 1/2 what Infiniti quoted for the battery and they'll install for free. You could also find a reliable independent shop and save even more $$ getting your service done. (shop around)
Gary

 

I paid around $70 for the rear differential fluid change at a Nissan dealer. Also did the battery myself with a Costco battery for $60-70. Have you noticed any trouble starting or any other signs that your battery needs to be replaced?

I've found my local Infiniti dealer (a) has very high prices, and (b) recommends a lot of work that doesn't need to be done. I've had much better experiences getting service done at a Nissan dealer.

 

thankyou everyone! this helped a lot!

the car never has trouble starting. I'm going to take the car to the Nissan dealership for the next oil change and see what they think.

 

It continues to amaze me how much Infiniti, or any manufacturer really, charges for routine services on vehicles. $65 to adjust a parking brake???? lol. What does it take them, approximately five minutes if not less?? Wow.

 

I wouldn't wait too long, as you're in the middle of the winter. If you are worried about your battery, take it to Advance Auto or Autozone and they can check your battery for free and tell you how many CCA you have left in your battery.

 

Well, the difference is that you sometimes can get a nice loaner to drive while they do service and that they warranty their work and parts through Infiniti for another 12,000 miles. If you bring it to any other shop and something bad happens, well, then maybe you're SOL and you won't be able to get genuine parts and instead, get the third party brands that aren't as good.

 

You fell right into the trap my friend haha. If one can find a reputable mechanic (which I realize is difficult) with their own shop who runs their business with integrity (most people don't even know that that is anymore), then there is really NO reason to go to the dealer to get any work done, other than warranty work that must be done there. I would absolutely positively never go to an infiniti dealer to get work done on my car, and I would put it's mechanical reliability/condition up against any cars that have been taken to the dealer regularly.

Not bustin your chops...don't take it personally.

 

^ your right! Unless your rich and want to go to the dealers. I go to a local shop which is easier b/c they work nights and it is just better w/ the school schedule i have.

 

I rarely, if ever, use the dealership for anything besides warranty work. However, I will say that there is one aspect of having the dealer service that car that I appreciate and recognize that I am missing. WHen you have service tech who specialize in YOUR car; see them day in and day out, for all types of problems, receiving factory service updates and what not, there is a greater chance of them detecting something incidental that MIGHT have gone undetected had you taken your car to someone that is less familiar with that particular car. It's not a certainty. Lots of examples can be made to the contrary, but all things being equal, it is a consideration IMHO.

.02

 

I would say the techs at Infiniti has more experience with our cars since they work with Infiniti vehicles at all times. They probably see a lot more G35's than a non-Infiniti dealer. There are complicated problems that I feel only a specialized Infiniti Tech can solve.

I have gone to a regular mechanic to get my transmission fluid changed, and all they did was put some Getty generic transmission fluid into my car, not Matic J/S as what was required. As for oil changes, I obviously just go to a random shop and bring my own oil because I don't want to do my own oil changes during the winter time. For simple stuff (battery, regular oil changes) you definitely can go to a local mechanic for those services or do your own stuff. For more complicated stuff, I would much rather trust a dealer.

My local mechanic also does TB cleaning for only $35, which I find very cheap. I'm afraid though that they will do something wrong that could mess up my TB. They may disconnect the cable to the TB, which would cause a TB relearning reset procedure, or accidentally touch the butterfly, or screw it up somehow. At least with a dealer, I can have a peace of mind that if they screw up, they will replace the parts with a genuine OEM part free of charge. Throttle bodies don't come cheap.

Now this is the biggest difference between a local mechanic and an Infiniti dealer. The problem is that you get a lot more peace of mind going through a dealer (and of course, it depends on the dealer.)

My dealer recently spent over $3000 on my car, free of charge even when it was out of warranty because while they were fixing my car, they accidentally broke something and replaced everything with OEM parts. I wouldn't be able to say the same for other local mechanics if that same thing happened (which could happen to anyone here, regardless of how good mechanics are.) I would be happy to spend $50-100 extra for the insurance of something that could catastrophically happen.