Hello everyone,

I will start off with telling you guys a bit about myself. I have moved to Canada a couple of years. Still getting acquainted with the culture and everything. I have a Maxima 03 GXE (fully loaded).

My knowledge with Car is novice. I never changed any engine part by myself. I did replace the Car desk once. I have been experiencing some odd things when I took my car at a service shop. I will try to tell my story.

First Experience around Sep 2009
Went to Nissan (Waverly, Winnipeg MB). After inspection they said I need to change the following.
Problem: Driver side lower ball joint is loose.
Solution: Change the driver side Lower Control Arm.
It was very expensive. So, I decided to get a second opinion.

Second Experience around Oct 2009
Went to Canadian Tire (Kenaston, Winnipeg, MB). After Inspection they said:
Problem: Right front ball joint is loose and Left front has slight play.
So I believe them now. And decided to get the work done. I went to Nissan and asked them to change my Left control arm. But before they do, I asked them to show it me how much play in there. I was waiting and after few hours they call me. I went to my car. The wheels are off. The service guys couldn’t find any play in the control arm. He said it’s all good. He said they must have made a mistake last time. So, they apologized and said this won’t happen again.

Third Experience around March 2010
Time for oil change and I got a gift card for Petro-Canada Certigard. So, I decided to use it and took the Maxima there. The gift card was for 52 point inspection and oil change.

Problem/ Solution:
1. Right lower ball joint is loose. Need to replace the right lower control arm.
2. Air Filter is very dirty. Need to change it.
3. Need to flush Transmission fluid
4. Need to flush Power Steering fluid

Again I got very confused. Wasn’t sure who to trust? May be its not easy to diagnose the control arm issue. I didn’t care about other problem, those are cheap to change. Anyway, I didn’t want them to change it. So I made another appointment with Nissan.

4th Experience around March 2010

Went to Nissan (Waverly, Winnipeg MB). Asked them to inspect front suspension, air filter, transmission oil and power steering oil. After inspection they came back with following result.
Air Filter is almost new. No need to change. No need any work.
Transmission fluid is clean and full. No need any work.
Power Steering fluid is full. No need any work.
They found the issues. (See attached picture)

I am confused with this experience. I am hoping if you guys can enlighten me.


Why the service shop contradicting each other?
Do they estimate to change a part even though its perfectly alright?
What should I do?


Thanks for reading.

Syed

 

Sounds like it keeps coming up as an issue, I would try another place outside of Nissan and Canadian Tire and see what they say. But since it seems that 3 places have mentioned it, it does seem like you need to fix these things.

As for your personal feel for the car how does it feel to you, does the steering feel loose and has alot of play? Do you hear any kind of noises when turning the wheel while driving like a clunk?

As for the guys who said air filter, tranny fluid and the like. More then likely just looked at the mileage on the car and just checked the box off. I know of alot of places that do that.

 

When I drive at a high speed the steering doesn't shake or anything.
I haven't noticed any noises when turning while driving.
How often do you need to fix the Control Arm?

 

There's no set time when you have to replace the control arm, with time sometimes these parts need to be replaced. Your best bet is to get a good private mechanic who you can trust, ask some friends or family if they have someone they use, and find someone who is familiar with Nissans. I don't feel that the Nissan dealerships are very trustworthy. They're all about money and a lot of the time even if you take your car in and there are no problems, they find a way to make money off of you. I doubt that Canadian Tire has the best mechanics around so I would cross them off the list as well.

As for draining/flushing the fluids, just because they're "full" doesn't mean everything is perfect. I'm not sure exactly what intervals are recommended, but personally I try to do a tranny flush every two years. For the air filter that all depends on the road conditions around you ect.. you can't put a time on replacing that. It's easy as 3 clips to open the air box, pull out the filter, and see if it is dirty. You should check at least every other week to make sure everything is good under the hood.. Goodluck

 

I used to manage a quick lube shop here in San Diego and I can tell you that a power steering flush is a useless service used only to make more money, I've never seen any owners manual ever recommend the service. The transmission fluid I would replace every 2 yrs or 30k miles, and the air filter every 15-20k miles unless you see that its dirty sooner. Air filter should run you about $5 to $7 at an auto part store so don't spend the $20 that the shop will try to charge you, it is a very easy filter to replace. As far as the ball joint goes, have a couple more shops inspect the suspension but don't mention that you think there might be a problem because most of the time they will just use that concern against you to try and make more money. Most service advisors work on a commission even if they say they don't.

 

Never heard of steering flush but here in Hawaii I usually change trans fluid every 10,000 miles due tu the year round heat here.As far as the suspension goes I would have a couple shops just look at it and give you an estimate some shops will tell you bs so they can make the extra money so shop around first