I'd like to get some input on what items in the 60K service are worth doing (I have an extended warranty that's still active). The list below is from the Schedule 1 and 2 list.

I've done all of the non-inspection items, but I want to make sure than none of these inspection items are really needed. I live in a warm climate and my driving is mostly city.

❏ Replace engine oil and filter - DONE
❏ Replace climate controlled seat filter - N/A (I have a G35 Sedan)
❏ Replace engine air filter - DONE
❏ Replace in-cabin microfilter - DONE
❏ Rotate tires - DONE
❏ Inspect the following:
__ Automatic transmission fluid 1
__ Axle & suspension parts
__ Brake lines & cables
__ Brake calipers, pads, rotors
__ Brake light and cruise control switches 2
__ Differential oil1
__ Drive shaft boots (4WD/AWD)
__ Exhaust system
__ Front suspension ball joints
__ Fuel lines/connections
__ Fuel tank vapor vent system hoses
__ Propeller shaft (4WD/AWD)
__ Steering gear and linkage
__ Steering linkage ball joints
__ Manual transmission oil1
__ Transfer case oil (4WD/AWD)1

 

If you have an extended warranty you might have to havethe inspection done to keep it valid.keep.all your receipts for oil changes! I let the dealer do mine to keep the warranty valid.read your contract for warranty.They will deny any repairs if you can't prove it was done!

 

I thought that that might be the case. I've had the dealer doing all of the oil changes and I'm religious about keeping my receipts.

I hate to pay for inspections like this, but it's probably worth it since they could argue against repairs under the extended warranty if there was some relationship.

 

If you're able to DIY, I'd suggest adding oil/fluid changes for the tranny, diff, transfer case (if X), PS fluid, and engine coolant, as well as a brake fluid flush and top off of the battery fluid.

I have never had any issues with them requiring any inspections. So long as you keep your records and receipts in order, an inspection is not required. I just keep a running log of all my maintenance (in back of the Service booklet that came with the Owner Manual set) which includes the date, mileage, and services performed, plus receipt copies of everything required for each service performed. That is all that is stipulated to maintain your warranty, extended or not. Unless there has been a lapse where you cannot show credible proof of maintenance, or it looks like services were obviously NOT done (i.e. massive amounts of engine sludge buildup), then skip the inspections and save your money for actual maintenance.

.02

 

I called a shop that specializes in Japanese vehicles (not a dealership).

I asked for a quote to change the AT and Differential fluids and they told me that they don't recommend that at 60K. They actually indicated that they try to avoid opening up the systems if at all possible.

Hard to get a straight answer on this, but are these essential 60K maintenance items?

 

Well, not exactly. Looking at the maintenance schedules, you can see that they are both included in the 'optional' Premium" schedule, but not in the "1" and "2" schedules, so technically, they are not required UNLESS an inspection shows them to need it.

There are differing schools of thought on the AT fluid issue, but every dealership I have ever discussed it with agreed that, short of any extraneous circumstances, doing a routine 'refresh' (simply drain and refill of the oil pan => 4 quarts approx) every 30K miles is perfectly fine. Truth be told, it it usually just such a 'refresh' , and not a full replacement of all 12 quarts or so, that is done by dealerships. The school of thought is to keep a fairly refreshed and healthy/balanced fluid mix in the tranny (not too old, not too new), as opposed to letting it age to the point that it NEEDS outright replacement. Plus, this is usually cheaper to do than a full replacement.

Putting the complete replacement of new fluid into an older, high mileage AT which has not had its fluid routinely refreshed, is where you tend to run into issues, as the tranny becomes somewhat 'conditioned' to running the old stuff. For this reason, IMHO it's best to just keep the fluid refreshed routinely, because once you hit 150K miles, you'd rather have a tranny that was refreshed 4 or 5 times already that one that was never touched, even though the untouched one may still be working.

As for the differential, unless you are towing or tracking the car, it is not mandatory, but there are absolutely no issues with doing it early. I do mine every 30K, there's absolutely nothing sacred about 'opening up the system' on your differential.

All this being said, since you were concerned about maintaining the car to a level that would preserve your EX-warranty, then I'd say just do it. That independent shop may have been trying to steer you away from any non-mandatory items, which is a good thing, but there is peace of mind in knowing your maintenance is beyond reproach.

(Ironically, if you maintain your car to that extent, you may never need the warranty on the first place. )

 

We recommend trans flush at 30-40,000 miles, we change differential oil and coolant at 60,000 miles

 

Just to be clear, when you say "flush", does that mean your dealership replaces all 11quarts (+ cooler) of the fluid in the system, or just do the pan drain and fill?

If it's the full replacement, I'm curious what method you use. Do you guys hook up a service machine, or just just open one of the the cooler lines and poor replacement in as you're draining out the old fluid from the open line, or some other method?

 

Yes we hook into one of the cooler lines at the radiator and the machine hooks to the the fitting on the radiator and it works off of the pump pressure in the transmission to push the old fluid out as the new fluid goes in. If you drain and refill, you are just throwing money away when you figure you are mixing 5 qts of new fluid with say 8-9 qts of old fluid. I know there are alot of theories out there about doing this,however it is a waste in all reality. We actually put 16 qts of fluid in the machine so that we make sure that all of the old fluid is pushed out and is nice and bright red once the flush is completed.

 

^u guys never got the Nissan notice NOT to do a flush?

 

LOL, yeah it sure would be nice if the dealerships would ever reach a consensus on this.

 

its amazing the lack of structure and communication between corporate and the dealerships

 

For the record, every time I take my car to the dealership they inspect every part listed on your checklist anyways. Why wouldn't they? It's an opportunity for them to make money if something needs repair/replacement.

Take your car in for an oil change. A multi-point inspection is standard.

 

We have been flushing them for the 9 years that I have been here and never had an issue. Nissan also says that the new blue coolant is good for 105,000 miles but they still want it changed at 60,000. They also say that our plugs are good for 105,000 miles but why do they recommend changing them on the IPL at 60,000? I guess the 18 extra horsepower is just burning them up...lol. Now I wouldn't recommend a flush on a car that has 150,000 miles on it and never had a flush performed before. There is a lot of gray area there that a lot of people don't see. What happens on the Nissan side is a whole different ballgame because most of their cars stay broken due to most all of their cars are built and assembled in America with the exception of a few models. All of our cars and engines are built and assembled in Japan except the JX35. They see a lot of problems that we don't see on our side.

 

Ima guess that's part of the reason they came out wit "premium" maintenance only recently in 2007ish? To make extra money on the service n to give it that extra care whether its actually needed or not. Bc as far as I kno the g35's before 2007 doesn't have this premium schedule.