well yesterday i got a tune up on my car...i think just changed spark plugs and tranny fluid and oil change. but after the tune up the car doesn't drive as smooth anymore.

i went to dealer to buy tranny fluid and they gave me the Castrol brand instead of the Nissan brand. would that make any difference? also, they told me to use 4 and 1/2 bottles of ATF but the shop i went to only used 3 1/2...so this morning i thought i would put another bottle in but after i did it the car still feels jumpy and will have a small jerk when i'm close to a stop. also the service light came on i guess it's too full now?

oh also, when car is in idle the rpm is slightly over 1k...which is not normal like before. know what might be the problem guys? i might need to go back to the shop tomorrow =/

 

start by pulling the codes.

 

Did you ever change the tranny on your car before, i'm guessing you have an automatic, if you didnt just wait till the new tranny oil wears back into the tranny causing thats how it is on automatics, the fluid acts like a sort of sealant/gasket and get worn into the parts, the new oil has to wear into the parts again, also your idling high because your maf is probably blown, maf = mass air flow sensor. Also in most automatic i think its like 10 quarts of tranny oil thats if you do a flush otherwise you just drained the tranny fluid that was sitting in the bottom of the pan, this could also explain the jerkiness, old and new fluid mixing = kind of a bad idea, just out of curiosity how much did you pay for the fluid change??

 

ya i only changed the oil that was in the pan. i'm gonna have it reflushed tomorrow hopefully. i bought 5 bottles of Castrol ATF and paid $140 for the oil change and tune up oh and $71 for spark plugs =/

i'm not sure about why the idle so high cuz everything was fine until after the tune up.

 

okay, first off, atf doesnt act as a gasket or sealant for ANYTHING... and it doesnt wear into parts. it soaks into some of them, but all they did was drain the pan. so it doesnt matter.


you overfilled your trans fluid by adding the last quart. this will cause the fluid to churn, foam and get air in the hydraulics, causing the erratic shifting.\

pull your codes and expect to do the trans service again, BEFORE you burn up the trans.

 

Just curious what kind of spark plugs were installed on your car? Also you bought parts at a Nissan dealer but took your car to an independent shop to have work done on your car?

 

Sounds like it's an auto if you bought ATF. You gotta be low in quantity if the shop only put in what you bought. First, before you wreck the tranny check the tranny dipstick fluid level with the car on level ground, with the engine running after warming up the car and running the shifter through each gear and back to Park. Like above have the codes pulled. You are aware that the shop had to remove the intake plenum assy. to change the rear plugs? They may have screwed up and have caused the high idle.

 

dont you think the shop that did the work might know how to do that. what makes you think that they didnt check the level when they added the fluid after the change. if it was that wrong, he probably wouldnt have made it home. aside from the high idle, it was alright until he overfilled it, AFAICT...

 

actually after the tune up i drove home and started noticing the jumpiness especially when i'm almost to a stop it'll have a slight jerk. i thought it was't full so i put one more bottle in and it did the same. i'm gonna have to use the nissan ATF next time.


as for the spark plugs, i got it at the dealer they're ngk something...they're stock ones. on my recipt it says they're 14.52 each but i got charged for 11 bucks each.

 

i dont think its the brand... but maybe.


start with checking your level, just like samson said. warmed up, idling in park.

and pull your codes for gods sakes...

 

how do i pull the codes?

 

Go to Autozone. They will do it for free. Or the shop that did the "tune-up" for you should have the scan tool to do it.

 

and they should be doing it for free, ROFLCOPTER...

 

I would still check the tranny level and correct it if necessary. Check the exhaust for an obvious miss, but I suspect what the jerking etc. that you talking about is "hunting/surging" caused by the higher than spec. idle speed. Ensure that the throttle servo position reset procedure in your owner's manual has been accomplished. If that doesn't help, then the PCM/IACV are unable to control the idle speed correctly due to a problem. There is a lot of "stuff" that the shop disconnected and disturbed during the spark plug change. If the idle speed was normal like you said before the shop had the car then it's something the shop has done. Have you talked to that shop since they worked on your car and told them about the high idle etc.? A lot of these "independant" shops aren't the best places to have work done in my opinion. I apologize to the good ones. You need to find someone with an OBDll or Consult ll scanner. Sounds like PepBoys/AutoZone in the U.S. will pull codes for nothing, so try them. The shop where you had the work done should have an OBDll scanner.... if you are comfortable going back there. (Consult ll scanners are Nissan/Infinity dealers' only equipment.)

 

But if you drive it for more then 60K miles, it does wear into the parts which helps them in the wear and tear of driveing. Tranny fluid is different then engine oil!

Oh yeah if you didnt get the tranny flushed every 30K like your suppose to <---owners manual:
After the flush you migth get some tranny troubles, i'd drive carefully for first 500 miles after flush.

 

really, and what parts might those be?



you DONT say

 

Ask anyone whose never changed the tranny fluid on an at tranny till like oh lets say 80K and then they flushed it, they will tell you they had trouble right away, oh like you saidIT SOAKS INTO SOME OF THEM

 

well i went to dealer and got my tranny flushed again this time the whole thing including tork converter too i think...and also had them check on why my idling so high. well after they changed my fluid they say it's still idling high and they can't fix it...they say i need new throttle body something that costs over 1000 bucks installed =/ but when i drove off everything is back to normal now...no idling over 1k and no more service light on...so i guess i'm ok for now haha

 

Oh yeah if you didnt get the tranny flushed every 30K like your suppose to <---owners manual:
After the flush you migth get some tranny troubles, i'd drive carefully for first 500 miles after flush.[/QUOTE]


My car had 60000 miles on it with no tranny service, and I went to 3 different places and they all recomended to only drain and fill once, drive for 1000 miles and drain and fill again, and not flush it b/c they said most likely it would cause a leak, and other possible problems. They said the ATF has some kind of detergent in it that gets all friendly with the tranny and the gaskets, and with no service after a lot of miles the love just keeps building up, and when you finally flush it, it flushes away all that happiness. They said that if I've had had regular service on it, it would be fine to flush it, but in my case it would do more harm than good. Finally after the 3rd shop told me that I listened and let them drain and fill it for 1/4 the price of a flush. F'ing dealershop kept telling me to flush it sinch I never did it before. They just wanted more $$$ after screwing me.

Sorry I didn't solve your problem, or even address it.

 

yes, soaks. not wears.


i dont need to ask anyone i already know that you dont to a trans service on a poorly maintained auto tranny...

but since you know so much about auto trannies, what parts does the fluid soak into?

 

the parts inside the transmission case

 

aaaw you got beat to it... oh well, the points get awarded to mass media...

on another note, lowincash... if the battery was disconnected or ECM reset, it was probably idling high due to needing to be run through the idle vol learn. basically it had to learn without being prompted and now it should be okay... if that was indeed the cause...

 

yea my battery was disconnected...i basically paid an extra $88 for dealer to reset my ecu what a rip off

 

Is your idle back to normal. Cleaning your TB would cause the IACV to malfunction and when the dealer changes this they also change the whole assembly which is 700.00 just for the part. I bought a used one for 125.00 and it fixed my problem.

 

ya the shop i went to also cleaned my throttle body...but the problem seem to be fixed now somehow...idling is back to normal


btw kinda off topic...but i just noticed that for the mufflers, air only come out of 1 (right side) tip? i didn't feel air coming out of the left tip =/ is that normal?

 

Yeah that's normal. I'll let Mr. A+ in auto shop (BewsAdd1ct) explain why. I don't want to get flamed for not knowing the exact mechanics of it, and I also don't want to play Quiz Show with him either.

 

I have yet to have any tranny issues after a flush. My opinion is if you do a drain and fill service (minor trans service) on your trans every 15k miles; depending on driving conditions, there is probably no need for a flush at 30K miles. Usually when I do a trans flush is when the fluid is dark or the fluid has a browish color. Other than that I just do a drain and fill.

How much was this place charging for a drain and fill service and how much for a flush? I don't really see the purpose of doing a drain and fill service, driving it a 1000 miles and paying again to do it. Unless there was a big diffrence in price between two minor trans serv. and a flush. Plus, I still don't think that your actually gettting rid of all the old fluid with the two minor trans services you had done versus a convertor/trans flush. In my opinion, Since you haven't maintained your trans until 60,000 miles it would have been better just to have the trans flush done instead. You were way overdue the recommend schedule maintance for your trans. Plus you could have used the time you spent going back to redo the service again for other stuff. Did you ever check to see what the condition of the fluid was before the first service? Possible leaks after a flush? I've done many flushes on cars and haven't had a leak (knock on wood). Either that place isn't very confident on doing trans flushes or their not doing something right.
Even engine oils have detergents in them. Both engine oils and ATFs lubricate and clean. Part of what makes Castrol diffrent from Mobil or another brand is the kind of detergents they used in their products.

Three shops actually told you that or are you joking? If a shop told ME, that doing a trans flush does more harm than good I would want to hear a valid reason. None of this "love just keeps building up, and when you finally flush it, it flushes away all that happiness" BS, thats absurd.

I don't see how the dealer is not justified in recommending a flush especially when you went 45k miles than you should have without service to your trans, which BTW I would be cautious about given that Nissan doesn't have a good reputaion for making good/solid transmissions as they do with their engines. That in itself would give me one reason to more or less stick to the recommended service intervals in order to prolong the life of my trans. I am not saying that just because you pass on a flush in favor of a drain and fill service that your trans will fail soon. My point is that I think the dealer had a valid reason to recommend a flush given your car's situation as oppose to the ind. shops you went to, that said a flush wasn't neccessary. Whatever, the good thing is that your transmission was serviced.

 

if the fluid is burnt, usually a flush will kill the transmission. most shops, and most techs wont touch a higher mileage trans unless they know its been maintained. they dont wanna be buying the customer a new trans.

 

What he said. Yeah I was just being dumb using the happy words. I don't know all of the technical jargon. I don't even know if a drain and fill will replace half of your fluid. The reason for multiple drain and fill was to probably get my transmission back in shape slowly, instead of the shock of replacing all the crap fluid at once. I'm going to do the second drain and fill myself so I'll just have to pay for fluid. Even though I've had nothing but good service so far from the dealership, they are known for screwing people over, and sometimes you gotta go with your gut, which I did, and trusted the smaller shop mechanics. Thanks for your opinions Menasor, now I think I'll go drain my ears of all that garbage you just spewed.

 

indeed... three shops told him the same thing... you think its a conspiracy? of he lives in 'stupidville' or what?

these guys tend to know about cars, he got three different shops to tell him the same thing.

how many would it take you?

 

Lots of tranny servicing whether it be drain, flush (inc. cooler), replace filter and refill or the waste of time drain and refill is done on high mileage cars with no problems afterwards. It used to be (and I suspect it is still done) that some shops would add a seal "conditioner" (aka - "sweller") to the tranny fluid during tranny serviceing to help (in theory) prevent seal leaks, especially if there was an indication of minor valve body/servo fluid leakage. With the newer cars with better materials now used for "O" rings and Garlok seals etc, I believe this is a red herring. A friend just had a full service done on her Taurus at 60,000+ mileage. No leaks and no changes to shifting etc. Unless you know that the tranny has had severe usage (i.e. trailor towing) or abuse by a complete moron then even the fluid's apparent dark color and considerable swarf in the pan/on magnets does not mean the tranny is shot. If the tranny is shifting normally then I can't see a shop turning down the work. All they do is caveat their work by writing on the W/O something like ...... "customer requested work".

 

Don't get all butt hurt over my comments. They weren't meant to attack you. But since you took it that way and if you still feel wronged by them, we can take this to the PMs, and I'll make sure you know all the jargon I know. That way when I read another one of your lovey and cuddly technical post, I wont have to drain MY ears from all the garbage YOU spewed.
No I'm the dumb one for posting all the "garbage" and for disagreeing for what I feel is BS

Even smaller shops are known for screwing people over. Dealers are obviously more expensive than smaller shops and when they quoted you the price of a flush, you opted to go a less expensive route and took your car to an independent shop...because you felt the dealer was screwing you, yet the dealer has "given you nothing but good service." Makes no sense, much like your warm bedtime story about the happy fluid that gets all friendly with the insides of a tranny.

 

I doubt all three shops gave him an explanation like that. I'm guessing that you work in one of those shops and that those techs are your heroes. And when people post about a problem with their car why is it that YOU have come in with the attitude that you are the only one that knows the answers and discredit other org members that try to help by providing a diagnostic procdure, ala http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=421854 In this thread many of us believed the problem with this guys car was due to malfuntioning MAF sensor. Except you. And when I questioned you didn't back your answer.
What makes you think that all people that work at small shops or dealerships know what they're doing, competent or perfect? You'd be surprise...shoot I'm surprised at how much of an idiot you are. And how could this guy not have made it home when all they did to the trans was a drain the fluid and put three or whatever, quarts back in. There is still about 7 quarts +/- of old fluid still left after draining. But I thought you knew this???

I work on my own car and the only time my car will be in for service will be for ECM reburns or for warranty. No, I don't think bremner44 lives in stupidville, but I know you are the mayor of smartassville.

 

no, i dont work in one of 'those shops', i work in a dealer, and i AM the tech. explanation the same to the word or not, three shops told him that they didnt wanna flush his trans, due to the possibility of it failing.

i dont have any attitude. ppl ask questions, i give answers. other people provide other answers and we have a discussion about it... no big deal. and all the time am i asking others about the operation and common problems... i dont know everything, claim to, or pretend to.



you didnt question me... not once is there a new question in your thread. you wanted to know about scan tool readings and i answered you... heres what you posted, the only post of yours in that thread:

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as for the one bank running lean before the other, i answered that in a post before you even asked. if its still unclear to you, let me know and ill explain it in detail. i only said that a MAF usually throws a code on both banks, his car isnt that far yet, the trims need to be checked before condemning the maf... read the thread again, tough guy.


what makes you think that i think that. i never said that... when you assume, you make an *** out of YOU... but seriously, THREE shops told him the same thing. does it make sense to go ask a FOURTH? how many would it take before you stop? (speaking of unanswered questions...)


OMFG the ROFLCOPTER has landed... you know, you can call me an idiot all you want, but you dont have any premises to support your conclusion...


i did know this and i didnt say anything that would suggest otherwise. if the level wasnt correct, all kinds of neat stuff can happen. when you get air in the hydraulic circuits, it becomes REAL easy to burn up a clutch pack, especially with 'spirited' driving.

...but i thought you knew this


hmm, youre the only one bringing sarcasm and rolleyes smilies into the convo. i shoot straight and rarely bring the sarcasm, unless someone is calling for it. you, sir are the only smartass here.