. So twice in the last 2 days when I shut the car off it went completely electrically dead. No lights on, can't lock the doors, won't start, brake pedal is very hard. Absolutely no activity. The first time after 10 minutes, the car lit up like a christmas tree and i was able to start the car and go home. Drove it a few times no problem. Yesterday I went to work and the same thing. I had to have it towed to the dealer, where it started of course, and they say they can't find anything wrong. They say the battery and charging system is good, but did note to me that the car started once they put a booster on the battery. The posted link is a video I made at work yesterday, listen after the one minute mark especially and you can hear the noise the car was making. That same noise I could hear in the car, but was not as loud. I'm stumped.

 

Well, I got a call back from the dealer. They claim that my battery tested weak, however, it's a relatively new battery and i tested it myself and it was ok. The claim that my battery temp sensor is bad. As far as i can tell my car does not have a battery temp sensor. They said my plugs were old and need changing. They claim my serpentine belt is bad and one pulley is bad, when i just had those replaced 30k miles ago. And they also claim that a code came that says i have left my ignition on with the car not running. That I know for sure is not true. I told them dont do anything to the car.
Now, this is the car that 40k miles ago, the one time I had it at the dealer told me there was "rodent debris under the air plenum" and wanted 700 dollars to remove it. I had my mechanic friend look and there was nothing there, so i don't exactly trust them.

 

My guess is a interrmittent shorted battery cell.or a bad ground
Have you carefully inspected your battery cables?
What battery did you replace the original one with?
Was it some cheap piece of crap from Walmart?
Carry a voltmeter with you
When everything is completely dead it should be easy to trace

Go to another dealer for a second opinion

Good luck

Telcoman

 

Well here's the follow up. I figured it had to be something simple. And sure enough, the ground cable on the battery was loose. I was able to remove it easily by hand... Cleaned, tightened, and everything is good. The bad part is, I think i'm going to make a complaint to Nissan/Infiniti USA because they came up with 4,600.00 of work that needs to be done, that I know is a complete lie. They claim that I need a R front wheel bearing. Not true, just had it replaced. I need a new serpentine belt and idler wheels. Not true, just had that replaced. I had rodent debris under the air plenum, not true, brought it to my mechanic and he looked and frankly said they're lying. This was amongst 6 or 7 other things which my mechanic is inspecting right now. They also said specific to my electrical issue that the battery tested weak, but i had my mechanic do a load test and it's fine, and also that my battery temperature sensor had failed. There is no battery temperature sensor in that car.
Probably the worst for Nissan is I was thinking of getting a Q50, but if this is the kind of service/business model, I'm gonna look at a different car.

 

Try another dealer

Dealers size up new customers and if you are not a regular customer and have not established a good relationship they might view you as a possible pain in the a$$, quote you high prices, and hope you never return.

Always be nice and professional when dealing with service advisors because it is very easy for them to F you over

Telcoman

 

Dealers shouldn't be sizing up anything. They should be giving you accurate and truthful feedback as to what your car needs. I just had my buddy the mechanic look over their list. He said that a few of the things listed were legit but not urgent. I had him do those things. But he also said they were frankly lying on other stuff. Like, they claimed the sway bar links needed replacement, he siad they were solid. They claimed the oil cooler seal was leaking, he found no leak. They claimed the lower transmission cooler hose was leaking, he found no leak. They claimed the battery was weak, it is not, it's 100% charged and passed load testing.
And, you probably work at the dealer if you would make a comment about someones demeanor, and interactions with the service folks. Trust me, I practice medicine, and it's very easy to say "well the patient was a jerk, and rude, and etc etc etc" I was nothing but nice. And no dealer is going to F me over, I can tell you that. I'm very smart, I check everything, then double check, and do my homework.