I need some help. Today at Boardwalk Nissan in Redwood City, CA, I went to buy replacement parts for my VQ30DE A33 Chassis 2001 Nissan Maxima 20th. I, as a matter of course, asked for the crushable drain washers, a few air filters and 15208-9E000 oil filters.

I am under the impression that these filters (The 9E000) are being replaced with inferior quality Fram with a slightly better pressure valve (65F00). This new part is 15208-65F00 . Here is what I know about both filters. They are both low port (which is required), they both have pressure-release valves, and they both are for the VQ30DE. The 9E000 has the VQ30DE/A33 ON THE BOX. To me that says it all. Last time I remember the 65F00 don’t even list the VQ30DE on the box.

This is where things got strange. The dealer's parts guy said that 1) this part has been replaced by another filter, the 15208-65F00 . 2) He said, I'll give you what you want, but I will note you down as having taken the 9E000. 3) He said that the oil could splash everywhere and that this isn’t the recommended part 4). He also said that the 9E000 doesn’t have a pressure release valve. He also asked for my VIN number.

So I walked out of the dealership a little angry. I have head time and time again, in the following places just to list a few:

1) http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?p=5166819
2) http://6mt.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9169
3) http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=334956
4) http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?p=4926143

That the 65F00 is completely inferior and should be avoided, however, this is the FIRST TIME I have ever heard that the dealer claims that damage could be done to my car for using it and that the 9E000 is indicated for use on the 4 cylinder models and the 6 cylinders all should get the 65F00.

So, I really need some experience folks here to answer the following:

1) Why did he note my VIN down? That seems invasive of my privacy and I think these guys might be trying to start a warranty fight against me should anything come up? I have had work done there, and my fear is if that work should need to be revisited in the future they say something like "Sorry, you deliberately used the WRONG PARTS, you are SOL., etc"

2) Does the 9E000 have a field notice / manufacturer's note , TSBs or some other US, Japan or Nissan warning about the use of these filters on the VQ30DE? The claim he made about the 9E000 spraying oil everywhere and ruining the car should be associated with an application note/ TSB / recall notice or some other Nissan generated document.

3) Does the 9E000 have a pressure release valve? His claim was that it doesn’t.

At this point, I'm so sick of this issue, I'm thinking about switching to a better oil filter for my A33 VQ30DE 2001 20th. Just as side information, I ALWAYS used Mobil 1 (original formula before all these new fangled bottles came out) 5W-30.

Please help, and Thanks in Advance.

- Mick Russom

 

Lots of people use the 9E000 including me, no problems yet. And you be surprised how ignorant some dealerships are.

 

They cannot refuse warraty service based on any "aftermarket" or alternate oil filter unless they can PROVE that said oil filter directly caused the problem.

Magnusson-Moss act.....FTW.

Personally, I've never bought a filter at Nissan...ever. I buy K&N or a couple other reputable brands at the local auto parts store. Check recommended on BITOG.....

 

I have used the 15208-9E000 filter in both my A32 and A33 with no problems and will continue to use it (I have 15 of them still heh).

 

The 9E000 is all I've ever used and every spin-on oil filter that I've ever seen has a pressure relief (filter bypass) valve. The parts guy was probably seeing the info on the box that showed only the A32 effectivety for the VQ30.

 

9e and 65f are practically the same. there is a difference but you wont notice it. i personally use 9e just cuz logically theres more filtering capacity and im supposed to be using 65f. also, i belive all the 3.3 xterras, 4.0 pathfinders, and a few other cars also use the 9e. you could bring your car to the dealership to get an oil change and youd never notice a difference if they gave you another oil filter unless you looked. dont listen to that parts guy. he prolly doesnt know ****. the only possible way for oil to spray everywhere is if somehow your wheel manages to turn so much that it knocks the oil filter right off. i have never seen/heard that happen. let him take your vin number. it wont affect anything because you couldve been getting the oil filter for someone with the same car but not have their vin number and gave him yours just cuz he wanted the vin.

 

I've been using 65F00 filters for the last 170K miles on my Maxima..... no issues with it. I was told by my parts guys at the Nissan dealership I used to wrench for- that 2001 is the year Nissan used 65F00 vs 9E000 of the older cars. I just use what they gave me.....

Only reason he asked you for the VIN is to see if the oil filter you where asking for applied to your car. There is a VIN split on alot of parts for Maximas.... you won't belive it till you need to order something like a ECU or even a stupid Airbag, VIN is the key to the right parts.

 

yea. believe it or not, if you wanted lets say chrome handles for the doors, teh dealership would need your vin to tell which part number you need. but yea, just use wat you want

 

So far it sounds like there are no TSBs or any real reason NOT to use the 9E000, and that both the 65F00 and the 9E000 have a pressure relief / bypass valve.

I just get the jitters when someone in "a position" says something. I'm extremely paranoid and distrustful of others due to bad experiences with inferior work (in general, not just cars) and dealerships doing very underhanded things.

I just use the same oil and oil filter and regimen because the car works great so why make any changes.

Hope more people comment on this just for more reassurance.

 

At this point, I may just switch to whatever BITOG recommends per " irish44j"

Seriously, cars would be a lot cheaper if they would hire one or two busy smart guys at these places rather than lots of less knowledgeable people and sales folks confusing people, extrapolating and making stuff up.

 

I think I'll either continue to do just that or go high-end after market.

 

Yeah, what kills me about this behind the parts counter tirade is the 9E000 PRINTED BOX says VQ30DE on it! The 65F00 box (last I remember) does not indicate the VQ30DE on it. That is how I started even caring about what they gave me, I trust no one and read the directions - carefully. When the box didnt indicate VQ30DE, I didn't care, I trust the Japanese to print things correctly, not the parts guy so much. Without a TSB, its all BS apparently.

 

I found this on BITOG:

I recently spoke with Curtis Sheen, parts manager at United Nissan and initially he said there was no difference between the "long" 9E and "short" 65F filters. He then sent me this message:

**********
Hey you can scratch what I said about the (no difference in 9E and 65F) oil filters. I spoke with a Nissan Engineer today that came to our dealership and he has informed me that the 65F is mainly used on vehicles with oil coolers. The difference in size apparently prevents the wheel from hitting the filter during wide turns.

Go figure, I’ve been putting them on for 9 months now and not had one problem which he describes as not impossible but recommends me going back to the 65F’s .Just thought I’d let you know and give a heads up….I don’t want to give out wrong information and get sued.

Anyway sorry hope this is good information.

Curtis Sheen
Internet Parts Professional
www.nissanparts4less.com

 

^^Your web server must be down?
because your site is NOT LOADING AT ALL

 

I've been using the 9E filters for years.

 

Since I bought my car I have been changing the oil myself since 3000 miles, and I only use the 15208-9E000 filter. No problems at all. I have a 5.5 gen and don't know what filter the 5th gens use, but my wife's 2000 Atima uses the 15208-65F00 and that's the filter I buy all the time for her car since she bought it new.

 

I just talked to the Parts Manager (an aquaintance) at the local Nissan/Infinity dealer and where I bought the last four filters (the 9Es) for may Gen. 5. They still sell (and Nissan supplies) the "long" filters specified for the VQ30s, and the "shorties" specified for the Gen 5.5s. I did not get into P/Ns with him. In the start thread where the parts guy sold the shorties for the VQ30, the way I see it, he was "technically" incorrect. It may be that some dealers are stocking only the "shorties". But in the big picture, as long as you change your oil frequently enough, with these small capacity filters it ain't going to matter. Both filters have the same filter bypass valve and anti-drainback valving. But if I had a Gen. 5.5 I would probably do what a lot of you have done and go with the slightly larger capacity filter as long as there was sufficient clearance.

 

I think you guys spend way too much time worrying about filters. I've been using $2.37 Walmart "Tech" filters (Purolator really) and their "Tech" 10-30W for both of my Max's since new. 170K on the '97 and 115K on the '01. Both still don't burn a drop and run like they did on day one. Changed every 5K or so. Oil and filters are just not a big factor with modern engine designs. But if paying the big bucks helps you sleep at night, that's OK too. Effective marketing at work I guess.

 

I use a Fram filter

I never used an OEM Nissan filter on my car.

 

The real question is, why would you give the VIN number to some parts dept moron?

p.s. Wix 51356/NAPA Gold 1356 FTW.

 

I think for me it comes down to this: If it aint broke, dont fix it. For you your filters are fine, and the high mileage proves whatever you do works. For me, switching from stock must be justified, so I just used whatever the manual tells me to. When Nissan switched that filter in mid-life, I didnt get it, and then we have parts guys terrorizing folks like this. I've split the cans before, in the past the 65F00 innards look a lot crappier than the 9E000, and the extra filtration surface, from what I can gather, is a good thing to have. The point is, I dont want to worry, and Nissan changes parts without a real TSB is cause for worry, it begs the question: WHY.

 

For my car especially, the VIN number is important for changing the brake pads (which I did myself). Without the VIN, the parts guy cant tell you the right pads, for example. I just didnt like how he "noted down" I wanted the 9E000. This commie crap pisses me off. Unless he has a TSB, he should keep his mouth shut, the VQ30DE is on the dang box.

 

Another Request for Comments:

Wix/NAPA GOLD vs. KN vs. Purolator PureONE vs. Purolator Premium Plus vs Mobil 1 filters.

This should be a poll

To me basic lubrication and cooling really extend the runways of cars drastically. so I do worry.

 

Check the Fluids and Lubricants forum. Plenty of good info about filters....facts based on Blackstone samples. (BTW - Mobil 1 filter FTW)

 

I just picked up some filters from the dealership last week. Guy told me the same thing - use the short filters, he said they were phasing out the 9E000 ones.. anyway, I pointed out that it makes no mention of the VQ30 on the box and he said not to worry about it.. whatever - i'm sure it'll work fine, but it's weird that dealerships aren't recommending you put in the same filters the manufacture suggests and puts in from the factory.

 

hey there was a link for those of you who think the alternative might be better that i hear alot on this maxi site. 'i would not buy Nissan/OEM crap,' is generally the sentiment of a few over known members.

there was a thread a while back, can't find it. some guy on the org was thinking that OEM was/is crap, but actually disproved himself. while taking/ cutting apart both the nissan OEM oil filter and , not positive, a fram oil filter found significant differance betweeen.

the OEM filtering material was thicker and more of it, there was a drain back valve and the metal stucture inside the filter has a spriral molded shape, to allow more efficient flow of oil.

Nissan/OEM oil filter kicks a$$, imo. and at $4.50 each is why i have 15 of them in garage. they will also try and sell you a new crush washer w/ every filter. imo, i think its exessive. maybe every three to four changes, monitor and decide for yourself.

 

i've been using the 9E000 filters for about 3 years now.

 

frams are actually not THAT bad...its just that, for what you pay, you get bad quality...you can pick up a super tech filter for half the price and its better quality than the fram...

i'd say 75% of the cars out there run on fram or fram type quality filters...i don't see nearly 75% of the cars breaking down...

 

yeah, I use Fram filters a lot as well. They're easy to find, which is why I usually end up getting them. I don't doubt their level of quality is low compared to others - but as steven says, do our cars NEED a ultra-high quality filter? If you're changing your oil on a regular basis and there's nothing mechanically wrong with your engine that would be affecting the oil, I can't see it being too big of a risk.. having said that, if they sold Mobil 1 filters and such next to the Fram ones, I'd probably pick that up instead..

 

I usually try to use the higher quality filters, although I'm in the rinse phase of an auto-RX treatment, and I had to settle for a FRAM tough guard

 

I stopped going with Nissan filters when the parts guy near me told me they stopped carrying the 9e000 filter. So since I could not find info on the 9E000 or 65f00, I went with Wix becasue of their great beta numbers. From Wix's website the beta ratio is 2/20=6/19. That's 50% of 6 micron (or greater) and 95% of 19 micron particles will be removed. You can't go wrong with these.