hey guys i have a couple questions. my car has been idling very low and vibrating when i come to stops. i called the dealership and they told me its about time for a major tuneup, which includes rotor, cap, plugs, timing and idle adjustment, and a few other things. they wanted 389+tax, how does that price sound? oh by the way my car has 120k mi. and also i turned my car on a few days ago and the overdrive light started blinking a few times, but it hasn't happened again since...any idea what that could be? hopefully not a transmission problem...oh and the tranny has been shifting a little hard lately.

 

sounds liek bullsh*t. you can do it youreslf for $20, tehse cars dont even have rotors, we have ignition coils. read the FAQ section in the red stickies. if you do change the plugs and do the 60k service and it still vibrates, then you may have a ignition coil pack problem

 

Okay, you have a timing chain, chances are it doesnt need adjustment. You dont have a distributor cap.

No if you've never done your own repairs, it will cost you about $100 - $200 for new tools and parts (assuming you dont have any tools).

To be honest, $389 + tax doesnt seem all that bad from the stealership. IMHO

However I'd be weary to take it to a service manager that tells you that you need stuff done to your car that you dont even have.

Here are some things you'll need for the tune up

Spark plugs
Throttle body cleaning
Flush & Fill cooling system
Flush and change engine oil
Flush and change tranny oi
Fuel filter change
Flush and fill brake fliud
Tire rotation

Check brakes
Check accesory belts (replace if worn)
Check emissions system
incabin micro filter cleaning
top off fluids
Check tires

You'll have to give more info on the idling. It could be motor mounts or ignition coils. (Need more info on symptoms)

If all the stealership does is increase the idle speed, they are only treating the symptom and not the problem. A direct idle change is a last resort. (does it do anything else beside idle low)

 

Did you tell them what kind of car and year you have? if so and they still said that, that shows how they dont know what there talking about cause they should know off hand Maxs done have distrubutors, and why would they talk about rotors when you have an idle problem? they're just hungry for your money.

trust me that 389+tax price will go up, they will call you a few days after having you car and say, we found a major problem, give you some complicated non-sense explanation and charge you an extra $1000.


follow adithius' post, you'll be fine and save a lot of money.

if I'm not mistaken blinking O/D isnt that a major tranny issue? I know blinking cell is multiple mis-fires, but cant remember blinking O/D. I think it might be int he faqs . . .

 

That's way too much. Do it yourself (weather is bad, but you'll be saving a lot of money):
- Spark plugs (get 6 NGK copper plugs, part #BKR5E-11 - got mine from NAPA on Fullerton near Laramie, just give them the part number since it won't show up in their system under a 97 Maxima)
- Fuel filter
- PCV valve
- Air filter
- Clean the throttle body and IACV
- You can even try some SeaFoam ($5 at AutoZone) http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=308576

The directions for the stuff is in the How To thread at the top

 

so i can get all those parts from napa? it would be sweet to save some cash and do it myself but i've never really done anything like this before. i think my buddy has the tools though...

 

Yeah, the Nissan dealer also offered to change the timing belt and replace the cam of my snowblower! haha just kidding it's OHV so maybe that could happen. I'm about to use it in maybe another hour, in PHILADELPHIA. First we get 10-15", then we go to the Super Bowl, what's next?????? Don't blame me for saying the latter the last 3 years in a row....

I just can't understand how the dealerships still have a service for every 7,500 miles, as if it were 1970 and we didn't have plugs that go 100,000 miles and no distributor. It's just weird.

Well, a few years ago I bumped my idle up, now I don't have any of the info but it's probably on a sticky. There is a black thumbwheel that you can turn to get the idle up. Not too much, just make it so the motor is smoother, especially with the defrost and headlights on. good luck.

 

Get the plugs from NAPA for sure, but the other things can be picked up from all auto parts stores. I think AutoZone would be the cheapest. The spark plugs at NAPA will come out to like $12.xx for 6 w/ tax and not sure about the pricing on other stuff. After you do it once, you'll see how easy it is and laugh at how much other people pay to have it done

Not sure where you live by, but if you need help let me know.

 

Solid,
I would definitely do all of that maintenance on your own. Just to give you an idea, the dealer wanted $11 per plug for the platinum NGK plugs, I ordered those off the net and had them delivered for $16 total. The one thing that I did buy from the dealer was a fuel filter, which ran me $21 but I took the 10 mins, and installed it myself. Air filter, oil filter, trans fluid and filter, I did myself. It never seems to amaze me that even taking your car to a dealer for a tune up results in a " we found a problem" phone call. I'm sure alot of the guys on here have dealt with that one too many times, so I would suggest investing in some tools, and a service manual. Down the road you will save yourself alot of money by doing your own basic maintenance, no matter if it's on a maxima, or any other car.

 

hmm yeah i wouldn't mind working on it by myself, maybe i'll try it out on a weekend. so does anyone know what that blinking od light means?

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...3&postcount=30

 

thanks a lot man. too bad i don't feel like working on my car until it warms up, or at least until this damn snow stops

 

I had that problem when my tranny did not shift smoothly from 1st to 2nd.
And OD light blinked everytime I started my car.
Check this thread http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=357184
All I did is replaced a resistor.
Can you describe what's wrong with your tranny?

 

WE DONT HAVE ROTORS???????? how do we stop unless we have drums??????? just kidding i know he meant distributiors

 

Ok, I've got to ask. What does the PCV stand for and what is it's function? Why would it have anything to do with idle.

 

positive crankcase ventilation it allows excess pressure out of the crankcase and feeds it back into the intake