I just recently went to Nissan to get my recalled alternator replaced (yea six years after it was announced) and that went smoothly (after the 5 hour wait). I also asked them to take a look at my keyless entry because i already changed the battery on the remote and tried reprogramming but the car's hazards won't even flash (i even had my friend tried who successfully did it with his car). Then I also asked them to just take a look through everything and to let me know of anything they see wrong.

so for the keyless, they came back and told me something about an "internal failure" and that it would probably cost around $800 and that it wasn't even worth it. yea go figure. I've searched around and all signs so far seem to point at the BCM (body control module) but im not even sure if thats the little box they talk about being in the rear passenger side connected to the antenna, trunk, and car. so i need some suggestions on that...

Now for the problems that they found, some of which i already had an idea about:

Both front "axles" quoted at $400 EACH

Right side control arm quoted at $450

Rear main seal leaking and Axle seal leaking quoted at $2300 to repair

New muffler quoted at $604


For an idea of what the condition of some of this stuff might look like on my car check out these pics i posted on this other thread i made. http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=562785

Any suggestions, tips, or estimates of what the actual cost of doing this might be if i went to a local inexpensive mechanic and bought the replacement parts myself.

Thanks.


P.S. I got my Maxima.ORG sticker on today =D

 

i work at an infiniti dealership, and i can vouch for those prices. labor at my dealer is 105-115 depending on the work being done, and dealer parts are marked up a lot.

 

The BCM is under your car on the rear panel of the car is,yes that is the thing that controls the alarm and the flashing lights. Thats not that important now,what has to be done now is your gonna have to fix the nasty mess that CV is making. Replace the axles while your at it. Then take care of the rust. good luck....nice car...and welcome to the
org.

 

$800 to fix the keyless entry is absolutely ludacris. i would slap them if they told me that. i dont have keyless so i don't know much but check the BCM like you said.

axles at $400 each is retarted. you can get good quality RAXLES for about $130-150 each. or go to advance or autozone and get a lifetime warrenty on theres for around $80 each.

control arm: again, check local parts store. upper and lower usually run around $150 each.

$604 for just the muffler!? you can get a full cattback for less then that.

RMS is where its going to get yah. mine is pretty bad too but doesn't seem as bad as yours, or at least i think so:



$2300 is way over the top IMO. actually any labor and big parts at the stealership is always over the top. typically, the labor to fix the RMS should cost around $1000 depending on the shop. theres a member on here that got his replaced for $770. just need to look around. i unfortuanately can't fix mine at the moment due to other expenses and projects that needs to be done.
if your on a budget, i suggest degrease and clean off the RMS area and try using heavier weight oil (not sure if it'll help much). and always keep an eye on your oil level and check the RMS periodically to see if it gets worse or not.
oh, NEVER use RMS leak preventative additives. those are for temp fix and will screw up other components.

 

that sounds good. i probably won't be able to get that fixed anytime soon. i might have to save up for this for a few months but i'll most likely get the axles and control arm done within the month and probably the muffler too. i saw something at meineke about muffler service and their middle plan thing went for about $60 but im confused if thats a full replacement of the muffler or entire exhaust system?? seems too cheap.

in the meantime i'll definitely look into degreasing and cleaning the RMS.

thanks for that.

 

The BCM is in the center console underneath the radio.

If you don't plan to do any of this stuff on your own, your best bet would be a private mechanic. The dealership is almost always a bad idea!

 

 

^^^ Thar she blows!!!

so would the BCM be my problem then if my hazards won't even flash when i'm trying to reprogram? or the thing that goes in the rear right side quarter panel.

 

On an auto (or 5-speed) if trans removal isn't involved I can do them for $400ish including oem parts.

Trans removal isn't required because there's a 94.6% chance that that leak is NOT from the RMS but actually the upper oil-pan seals.


I've had several people come from farther away than NJ for my services.

 

Dude...you're from Newark.

Join NYCMaximas.org and have one of the fellow members on their do the work for half that cost. There is a lot of good guys on that forum.

My $0.02. Don't ever go to the dealer for repairs unless all other mechanics say they don't want to work on it.

 

the multi-remote control system controls the operation of the following:
power window, power door lock, panic alarm, trunk lid opener, hazard reminder.
the multi-remote control unit (LCU05) can receive signals from remote controller when key switch is in OFF position. this sends the signals to the BCM and LCU's.

the MRC unit is located in the trunk


disregard the buzzer


so yah, check the relay first

 

i don't think the tranny need to be removed. infact, i don't even think theres enough room in the rear to remove it. i'm pretty sure you need to lift the motor and go on from there.

$400 is an outstanding price. but MS is a little out of my reach lol.
didn't really know about the upper oil pan seals being the major cause. of other things, i thought it could of been the lower VC gasket leaking down to the RMS. are the oil pan seals easier to replace than the RMS?

 

so a quick update for anyone that might be in the same ballpark as far as making similar repairs....

i took my car in today to a private mechanic and spent about four hours there (them working on my car for about 3 and a half hours or so) and paid $600 total, $200 of those 600 being labor.

this is what i got and what i paid:
New Left and Right axle repacement = $200 total
New Muffler = $100
driver side rear brake caliper was leaking so got it replaced = $100

all in all i think i payed a little much for the caliper but in the end i still payed less than half what nissan quoted me for these parts.


by the end of summer i hope to change my struts and get the right control arm replaced and that should sum up my repairs. oh and the RMS too =/

 

Not bad, you got a good deal on your services. If you plan to replace the control arm later this summer, and have some air tools, you can do it in about two hours, its real simple (maybe less). I got a hook up here for about $90+ shipping on a control arm if you're interested, as I just replaced mine.

All in all, good job with teh car and welcome again.

 

wish i could find a mechanic to do all that for $600. Good job.

 

damn thats cheap good deal.

those axles can be a biatch too, damn carrier bearing bracket on pass side and dumbass c clip on drivers swear it wants to hurt me lol

personally wouldve went w/ Catback and done it myself paid $260 shipping and all for my monza and its not loud.

PS my RMS seems to be lil oily think it sealed itself lol every 3K and still full

 

. Has the keyless worked in the past for you? Some Maximas BCMs do not have keyless function built in unless they came from the factory with keyless. If the hazards don't flash that can mean that your BCM does not have keyless function.

From the looks of the price the dealer quoted you your car does not have keyless and that is how much it would cost for the dealer to install it. They probably did not want to tell you what is required and may be why they said "internal problems".

 

i actually don't know if it ever worked because i just bought it used about a month ago. it did however come with a remote which seems to have been pretty used. the buttons are faded.

 

If the remote module and relay mentioned in post #11 are installed in your car you may have keyless remote. If not you do not have keyless.

 

Check out these posts, this org member added keyless to his Maxima, with a little of my help. It may help you determine if your car has keyless or not. Also if you really want to add keyless you can get parts and info.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hlight=keyless

 

Add to this that my car (the one in the post) had no part of the keyless system other than the wiring. Nopike, fanaticrockford and myself added it for a fraction of what you were quoted, and thats for all the parts, relay, remote, everything so you at the very least already have a head start.

 

I'll be replacing both lower control arms this weekend. Order them from www.mr-auto-parts.com. They are $69 passenger and $83 driver's side. Good prices on a lot of stuff.

 

do you know that theyre good quality?