So I went to the stealership for an oil change, since its snowing out and cold as hell here... I already knew what to expect from them.

sure enough here is what the guy tells me:

1. "in cabin air filer and engine air filters are dirty" I already replaced all of these few thousand miles ago. nice try.

2. "Tranny fluid is dirty" no **** Sherlock... its got 50k miles on it. Ill do a drain and fill.

3. "Brake fluid is dirty" I look for the color every time visually to see if it needs attention. it was flushed 30k miles ago and while moisture can get in over time, its still way too early to replace, no need to replace.

4. "Fuel system needs cleaning" **** off, ill buy some techron and save my self the 80 bucks.



however, this last one sort of piqued my interest:

5. Power steering rack is leaking, needs replacement. its 1700 bucks, but 900 with an aftermarket part". immediately said NO, since I don't believe anything these guys say and have no noticed any leaks before. However, if the leak is minor and gets caught in the undercarriage I wont necessary see it on the ground....

so it brings me to here..... can someone please let me know with pics if possible WHERE the powersteering rack is, so I can check for myself to make sure these morons weren't trying to screw me? I have ramps and all that so I can look on my own without having to pay 1700+ for a job at a **** dealer looking to screw me. The car has 112k miles on it, and while its no spring chicken, I always keep an eye on my car and I don't buy any of this crap they are saying.

Thanks guys.

 

steering racks don't usually leak severely. Te seals on cylinders do wear out and they do let some oil fumes by. Which is usually visible by oil residue on the rack.
Mine has been on the car for past 204k. Even though it's leaking, it's not critical

http://infinitihelp.com/diy/gcoupe/p..._procedure.php

 

That fuel system cleaning is definitely a scam, I asked an Infiniti technician once how do they even clean the rail and they said they don't or even offer the service. I usually buy some BG44K. Some dealers will use that also and offer it as their fuel service cleaning.

Rack is in between the firewall end to end of the two tires. Look around where the inner tie rod goes in. Like Joker said they don't usually go bad and you can drive on them for awhile before replacement. I have an 04 Audi with a pretty big steering rack that I will replace eventually when I have to.

You can also stick a pin or try moving the inner tie rod rubber accordion looking boot. A lot of times the fluid will get trapped in there if it's leaking. That is what happened with my Audi when I replaced the tie rods.

Just check the fluid and if it gets whiny or hard to steer then look at fixing it if need be. I'd be leery of using that stop leak stuff also, I have been debating for months about putting that in my Audi, since it swells everything it could jam up the hoses, pump, etc...

 

Don't ever use the stop leak stuff.

 

My steering rack was replaced under Infiniti Elite warranty at about 80-85K miles due to leaking.

 

This is almost exactly what happened to me when I brought my new-to-me G35x to the dealership. I came in for a 4 wheel alignment and they came back with all of the same things you listed plus that my belts needed to be replaced.

Meanwhile...all of those items had just been done (some of them had just be done at a different Infiniti dealership about 20 miles away, so it was logged in the system!)

And they also pointed out a slight leak in my rack - and said I needed to replace it. I told them to get bent and never went back. I marked the PS reservoir and now almost a year later - it is down about an ounce of fluid...maybe.

Monitor the fluid level and move on with your life...and don't go back to that dealership (and/or call the service manager to complain about it).

 

These idiots have no idea what condition my in cabin air filter is in, they have to disassemble the entire glove compartment to get to it, and they sure as hell didn't. If they did, they would have known it was new.

I was thinking I'll just fill the reservoir and monitor the leak... and you guys confirmed it. I'll do that and save my self the 2k these these morons quoted. Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

Mine started leaking.. it looks like this. I'm monitoring it but don't see a change in the power steering fluid level on the reservoir so it seem to be a very small leak.

 

Right...I actually pointed this out and their excuse was "well, based on the car's age/mileage - we always recommend that." And I was like "so why flag that without talking to me first?...how are you building a trusting relationship with a new customer by doing this?" and they just shrugged their shoulder. I just walked right out.

BTW, my leak looks similar to the photo that takeapieandrun posted.

 

I've never experienced your dealer experience at my local NJ Infiniti dealer.
I'm on my second Infiniti that I purchased from the same NJ Infiniti dealer.
On my previous 06 G35 6 speed I did 48 of the 53 oil changes myself but purchased the oil, air, and cabin filters from their parts department until I traded it in at 171796 miles.
I've gotten lazy now and just let the dealer do the oil changes for $48 and they wash and vacuum my vehicle while I enjoy their snacks, free WiFi , and watch TV although I continue to do the air and cabin filter changes myself.

Perhaps if you were a better customer you might get better treatment at your dealer?

Your use of the pejorative term "stealership" in your post most likely rubs off on the employees at the dealership.

Telcoman

 

it has nothing to do with the costumer. Some dealerships managed different than the others. Some managers require service department to do allot of sales, so the employees are forced to sell you air for your tires.
But most dealerships will "attack" a non car client and sell him/her all kinda of unnecessary services and parts.

 

I disagree!

A wise a$$ customer that visits a dealer with an attitude or a chip on the shoulder is not likely to receive the best treatment.
Being quoted high prices is a good way to get that wise a$$ ball-breaker individual out the door and hope they never return.

Telcoman

 

Riiiiiiiiiiiiight.