Well, I called Mr. Ben Soster at Riverside Infiniti and said just to bring it in to verify and we'll go from there.

He's been helping me with my OC problem and has been great.

 

one of the doods @ riverside infiniti is the worst salesman ever

i wont mention any names...

 

I remember seeing many posts from days before the official Nissan/Infiniti TSB on oil consumption came out that seemed to suggest that Infiniti was definitely willing to replace engines that were getting worse than 1000 miles/quart of oil... I don't think that was firm but it sort of surfaced as a "line in the sand" if you will... If your engine got better than that, it wasn't that you couldn't perhaps get an engine replacement but it wasn't a slam dunk... That's just my read on what I recall having heard... My infiniti dealer told me "if you get 2000 miles/quart, you're doing good"... That didn't make me happy...

But then the real TSB finally came out... As I've said in other posts, I and what appears to be a small group of other folks have a stock engine/dipstick set up that is a TWO QUART L-H (24mm) system... Most folks have a ONE QUART L-H (24mm) system... I did the simple math for each mileage "bin" on the TSB and see below where I am showing the miles/quart (for different bins) at which you can get an engine replacement for both 1 and 2 QUART L-H engine/dipstick arrangements...

It blows me away that Nissan would establish that first bin... It's two few a number of mm's to get an accurate reading and note that a ONE QUART L-H system could get a replacement engine even though they get 6000 miles/quart... But just note overall that for a ONE QUART L-H system that you can get a new engine even though the car gets what a lot of folks would call reasonable miles/quart (around 4000 miles/quart)... One could guess that they might have started deploying engines like mine so we would NOT qualify for a new engine... I have watched my oil consumption for a long time now and to date would NEVER have qualified for a new engine... At 1000 miles and beyond (from FULL at the H mark) my car is always in the upper 2000's (usually around 2700) and as you can see, because of that I am never in the NO GOOD range...

I just find the numbers interesting, especially the quite high miles/quart values for a ONE QUART L-H system where Nissan/Infiniti will still replace the engine... Interesting... bob...

 

Hahaha!

Well I have been having Jeremy help me with my OC problem on my 06 coupe...I posted a while back when I first started my OC test at Riverside Infiniti..It passed as no good and I am getting the new engine put in sometime next week...He helped me and was real laid back...And it was nice to buy parts and look at the few things they got at their aftermarket store while waiting..

Anyways I got the go for the new engine and at 54k on the car it will sweeten the deal since I bought the car used...I will post some more next week once they get the new engine put in there...Also have to ask them to see if they will take the plenum off the old one and put it on the new engine (or if i gotta take it off before i bring the car in..)

 

Yes I remember you now. We brainstormed for quite awhile back then. I wouldn't trip on this and we'll probably never know why some are different, especially mine being a 2006 like yours with my original VQ being a 1qt H-L and my VQ replacement measuring the same.

IMO...forget if it's a 1 or 2 qt per 24mm oem oil pan. Bottom-line: If you using 24mm of oil in 2700 miles (your OC), your VQ qualifies for replacement on chart. Start testing again with dealer. Don't bring it back until your 24mm low or hit 2700 miles. Screw their every 1000 miles check. TSB says customer is to bring back between 1000 - 3750 miles during testing. Don't talk about quarts with dealer, only mm's. G/L

 

Hi... But you see, therein lies the point... At 2700 miles driven in my car, I am down about one quart, true, but I am not down 24 mm at that point... Instead, I am only down 12 mm because remember, 24 mm = TWO quarts in my system... If YOUR car got 2700 miles/quart, YOUR's would be down 24 mm and sure enough, the TSB would say you get a new engine... But at 2700 miles driven since at the H mark, my car is only down to the 12 mm (from full) mark and if you go to the TSB chart (2501 - 3000) bin and see that the reading has to be down 19 mm to be considered to be NO GOOD... So your engine would qualify for a replacement and mine never would because of the TWO QUART dipstick in mine... In miles/quart my engine might be every bit as bad or worse than someone with a ONE QUART L-H but in mm's, my engine is always considered GOOD... That's why I can't go to the dealer and "just talk mm's" as you suggested because if I just talk mm's I have no standing to talk with the dealer at all because my engine has NEVER ONCE been in the NO GOOD range even though it doesn't do very well on a miles/quart basis...

It's my belief that Nissan chose to make a "rev B" version of this engine with an oil pan modified to be TWO QUARTS L-H.. It's my guess that the engineers said the engine would still be ok if L(ow) on the dipstick was redefined to be TWO quarts less than five (ie, 3 quarts remaining in the engine). That way folks with such an engine could get the oil changed, drive it the reccommended 3750 miles and still have oil showing between L and H. Case in point, my engine at 2700 miles/quart (2700 miles per 12 mm on my dipstick) would have to be driven twice that far, 5400 miles, before you would hit the L mark on the dipstick... Contrast that with a ONE QUART L-H engine wherein at 3750 miles since an oil change, the oil now shows lower than the L mark on the dipstick and that would make customers very unhappy... I saw that my car was built in Japan and I have since seen that Nissan had these engines built both in Tennessee and a factory in Japan (at least I think that's correct)... And maybe at some point the Japan engine factory switched over to this "rev B" oil pan and I got one of them...

If the replacement engines were completely fixing the OC problem I would likely be down at the Infiniti dealer arguing with them over my car being a poor performer on a miles/quart basis but passable on a mm's basis only because they played games with the oil pan design... But it does not appear that the new engines are a slam dunk to fix the OC problem... So to this point anyway, I've been just sitting back and watching. It's along those lines why I recently asked (and have been at the G37 user forums lately) whether folks think Nissan has fixed this problem in the newer G coupes (6MT)... Because I like the car other than this one problem that really sucks... And I would consider trading this car back to Infiniti to buy a new one. And I would choose to do so before the power train warranty runs out (base warranty will expire this summer but the power train warranty goes two more years beyond that)... Just as I think Infiniti used this oil pan trick to make the car more marketable, I, too, could legitimately tell then this car passed the TSB every time it was measured and I have a ton of data to back that up.. My thoughts... thanks.. bob...

 

As I was driving to work I re-thought my post this early AM with your situation and thought oh...bet you meant you're only 12mm down in 2700 miles not 24mm (12mm being a quart for you). I don't know what else to say other than forget what I said in my previous post and sorry about that.

My 2006 was built in Nov 2005. Hope that helps narrow it down with your theory.

Go find a VQ in a bone yard and swap pans. With any luck, maybe it'll be the 1qt/24mm kind....then you'll qualify.

 

Mods please forgive me, but i don't have time to sit here and read all 72 pages of this thread...so just a few simple questions if i may.


First off...after reading of all these potentially catastrophic to the engine oil issues, i'm TERRIFIED to consider buying one of these cars...kinda breaking my heart since i was dead set on getting one, expecting typical Nissan reliability.

First off, i'll get the bone head question out of the way, i'm seeing the abbreviation TSB being used a lot in this thread...i have no idea what this means.


Second...is the oil consumption issue due to bad piston rings, poor valve cover design, or a valve cover gasket failure issue? I've seen all three of these things mentioned when oil consumption is brought up regarding these cars...and i'm just trying to get an understanding which is the real one causing the problem.

Finally, what are the specifications on factory warranty? What i mean is...if i buy a 2005 or 2006...should i make sure it has below a certain mileage so it can still have the engine fixed or, God forbid, replaced if i notice the oil consumption issue?


When they did replace the motors in the cars found to have excessive damage due to the oil consumption...did they just replace the motor with another of the same generation and build, with potentially the same problem...or did they replace the motor with one that had a new design meant to solve and prevent these problems from occurring again?

I really dont want to drop $20k+ on a newer, nice car...only to find that it will need $5000 in repairs in 2 months...i simply would not be able to afford that.

 

its not catastrophic, you just have to add oil...its not a huge deal

also 05-06s mostly still under the 6 year 70k powertrain warranty and if you spend 20k + on one you are on crack

I would recomend going for an 07-08 G35 sedan or an 07-08 350z with the VQ35HR if you have the money though

 

All the ones i'm finding locally are around 35k miles, and around 20k price...and according to edmunds, and kelly blue book...this is about right.

And i don't want a sedan, or a 350Z...I can't stand the look of sedans, just not my cup of tea (nothing against those that do like them of course), i want a coupe with luxury, something i can enjoy daily. For track days/spirited driving i have my 300zxTT.

 

If I knew then what I know now I would have NEVER bought one. Some say it is not a big deal, just add oil. But if oil is going into the cylinder then fuel is going into the crank case 'washing' the oil causing abnormal wear. I can confirm this on my replacement engine by the scent of exhaust fumes in the oil and the valve tapping that started at 2500 miles.

These cars are not impressive. They have a nice design, but that is about it. They are heavy, slow, get poor gas mileage, and have engines that you just don't know when are going to fail. It is my belief that Infiniti will just keep replacing engines until the warranties run out. I don't think that it is something that they can fix without drastically modifying the engine. Hence the 80% new HR engine.

Sorry for the rant.

 

the 07-08 sedan is much more luxurious then the 1st gen coupe or sedan..you guys who want to pay extra for less doors are so cute

 

Here you go with the "I'm better than you cause I have more doors" attitude again.

Get off your high horse and realize people have different needs and wants and most have other vehicles.

 

the 2nd gen is such a big step up though, and for a 2 door the 07-08 Z won't have the oil consumption issue and has a much better engine

all i know is if i spent 20k+ on a car and it drove the same as my car I would be pissed

 

someone told me it has to do with some egr type valve thing not breathing and sucking up extra oil or something. i didnt really get it since im not a engine nut. any truth to that?