Chris_RI

I'm approachin 30k miles. I have done all olichanges, good gas, tire rotations. However I dont go to the delaership anymore. THey screwed me. They got mad because I didnt get my rotations there etc... all i got was oil changes. THey then told me that I needed brakes .... 2 days later I put my car on my buddies lift and took of the calipers and brakes were brand new. scumbags wanted money. dont go to norwood nissan stealership in warwick rhode island. I still ahve a cluster lid on order there from june of 2004. anyways... i remeber they wanted 500 to do a check up at 30k miles. screw that.

what shoudl i do at 30k? can i tune up myself? shoudl i go to a infiniti dealer? shoudl I go to a regular mechanic? what do i need to do?

thanks.

Chris

viguera

iTrader: (1)

Can't comment on the dealership, but I can verify the cluster lid is apparently on nationwide backorder everywhere... I've been looking for one for going on 3 months now and nobody can get one. Not sure if it's not stocked anywhere because Nissan is pumping out '05s or what, but I tried everything to get a hold of one and they're nowhere to be found...

Burny

WTF is a cluster lid?

viguera

iTrader: (1)

The piece of the dash around the info screen... along with the vents. I think it's listed by Nissan as "Cluster Lid C" or some such cryptic name.

SkoorbMax

You can do the 30k tuneup yourself with a haynes and motorvate.ca. In regards to what it entails the best way to get that is to go to your stealership and go to the service department and find/ask for a 30k tuneup brochure. It will have the list of all the crap that needs to be done. I say crap because that's what it is; it looks like a huge, long exhaustive list, but when you distil it to its real meat you'll see it's basically an oil change and check your freaking tire pressure.

If you don't want to do it yourself just bring the car to a different mechanic and ask him to do it. Any normal mechanic will have no problem doing the tuneup.

I'm glad you're not paying the stealership $500 for it, because that is money straight from the ATM to the toilet, with a hasty flushing.

BTW interesting you use brakes as an example of them lying. It's a good measure. I went to a mechanic once regarding my squeeking rear brakes (at that time didn't even know how to change my oil) and said I thought they needed replacing. Instead of taking my money he said there was plenty left, and they didn't need to be done. Instant faith.

msoemax

Go here and select your mileage...that's the best I can offer
http://www.nissanusa.com/form/0,,act...-51041,00.html

jcberb

I am glad someone posted something on this, I am getting close to my 30k and have been procrastinating BIG TIME on bringing my Max to the dealer, I too was quoted $500.00. That is a nice ammount of cash to give someone for work that you do not even know has been performed on your vehicle. However I do not have the time or the place to do this maintenance myself, and it seems that i am going to be forced to take it to NISSAN(reluctantly). HOWEVER, if something that was listed under the 30k maintenance breaks/malfuntcions after the maintenance, I would assume that NISSAN would bear all costs for repairs...right...?

msoemax

there is nothing Huge that you need to do at 30K...change the oil...check the tranny fluid...change the air filters...inspect your hoses and belts. Fuel stuff should be ok, but recomended to check the lines. Also, check some other steering stuff and make sure it's all greased right, which I don't think you need to do because it's all sealed. But $500 better buy you more than an oil change and air filters. For that money they better be using the premium scheduled maintenence list and do it all.

04BlackMaxx

Yeah, I hate those dealers...they are more than happy to take your money, and the prices are worth it if a few suckers fall for it. Im sure many do on a regular basis. When the brakes wobble or make a sound ill know it and have the pads changed. I think I have a good anough feel for my own car to know when something is needed anyway.

Chris_RI

I figured my stealership a holes, and i really mean a holes because they are all jerkoffs, you cant even have a conversation with them they just want want meney and thats it. anyways, i figured they wanted 500 a pop and heres why.

i bought the car thewre cuz they claimed they had a lifetime warranty on the powertrain if you service the car there. the stealer salesman said that includded oil changes only. i figured hell for a few extrabucks i can oil change at the deale rand get free warranty. hell i was wrong and in for a big surprise.

not only is my stealership raping innocent citizens on oil changes , $28, they take 2 hours if you wait, and a damn kia or toyota tech does the oil changes. thats right a NON nissan tech does the changes. so they dont even know the damn car. morons.
Also, they hit me with the brake issue last time there because the scumbag manager was like "you havent been getin your tire rotatiosn here"...I said "i do themn myself" he said "your voiding your lifetime warranty" I said "WHAT? " he said "yep, all maintence done here" I said thanks for letting me know that I dont need to waste my money here any more.

Moral, they want all maintence doen there, 40 bucks for a rotation that takes all of 3 mins while the car is on the lift. $28 for a oil change, $500 every 30k. If you are stupid enough to fall for this then you wont realize that the lifetime warranty isnt really free. Actually your better off buying the extended warranty for 1k and saying F off Norwood Nissan.

Funny story too, I needed a rotation after 7k, but when getting an oil change by the kia tech, he saw i had two nails in 2 diff tires. the two tires were off the car to be repaired. I said hell, just rotate them. still cost 40 bucks. scumbags.

screw nissan service

joemax1

as our knowledgeable moderator NismoMax80 would say: "Dealership is NOT Nissan".... maybe it would be better for you to look for another reputable Nissan dealership in your area to do the maintenance. My dealership here is A-ok!

SkoorbMax

Yeah those "get maintenance done here for lifetime powertrain warranty" are bogus. The amount of money a fool pays at a stealership in car maintenance just leaves the dealership laughing all the way to the bank.Of course not. There is no warranty so much as implied with anything. Whether you get the 30k done at nissan or not it won't influence your warranty one iota, as long as you're getting minimum things required to maintain warranty, like regular oil changes and what not.

Nissan customer service has been ranked quite low, so it's not a surprise that people are having problems with them. I've not taken my car to a stealership in a couple of years. They're brutal, and I go only when I either cannot do work myself or I think their tech may be better able to diagnose a certain problem than a generic mechanic.

Yes a lot of people have no problem paying for these silly 30k/60k maintenance schedules. They figure "I spent $25k on my car, I should do this." A fool and his money...

Looking at the link above, if you go with S1 or S2 it's about an hour labour and less than $100 in parts, including the tranny fluid change. And people pay $500 for that.

jcberb

Well it surely seems I am better off using the copy of the Maxima shop repair manual i got off of ebay to aid me in performing some maintenance, i am a little uneducated when it comes to certain issues with regards to vehicles. Skoorbmax is right in mentioning how all the parts probably wont ammount to too much money. If i could just sit and watch them (Service Dept) perform the maintenance, i would feel SO much better (only in my dreams). After all, some of the mechs use a repair manual when performing work on the cars, they themselves do not know it all.

blakstarz

I'm assuming a place like Tuffy's or PepBoys.....AutoZone can do tune-ups for our car right?

SkoorbMax

Autzone doesn't do work, but any normal garage can. There's nothing special to doing any of the things in the tuneup, so any shop with grease monkies can do it.

msoemax

Try to find a shop where you can talk to a mechanic and offer a 24 pack or some $$ to advise/help teach you how to do most basic things. Transmission flushes are easy to do but they require you have all the tools to do it all. Years and Years ago the guys on car talk on NPR started a shop where you could do all your own work using their tools for only a few bucks. A really awesome idea, but too many people had questions on how to fix a car and took up a lot of their time so they closed it down. Too bad...My advice is to ask questions and try to watch the work being done on your car. Nothing beats a case of beer or some cash for simple advice.

SLuxury

I went to my mechanic and had the following done for $250.

Oil/Filter change
Coolant Change
Power Steering fluid change
Transmission Service
Rotate/Balance Wheels
(I declined the air filter change because of my intake)
Does our car not have a fuel filter? The mechanic didn't find one (or maybe he didn't want to get to it) and I haven't had a chance to check for myself.

The receipt has the tag number and not the vin. I'm not sure if that'll hold in my favor if warranty issues ever arise.

msoemax

I have been told that the fuel filter sits inside of the actual tank. This means it's a real pain in the a$$ to get to...It's not something to be changed on a regular basis.

Bobo

I think you mean fuel pump not fuel filter.

msoemax

NO!!!!! i did mean what I said!!! It's all part of the Fuel level sensor unit, fuel filter, and fuel pump assembly. stick to the 4th gen forum about what stuff fits where in the car

Bobo

OK, take a Valium! Relax, be calm. I'm going back to where I came from. I feel safe there, lol!

bytemonger

Its funny but the Canadian Nissan site (http://www.nissan.ca/en/owning/vehiclecare/vm_02.html) talks about what level of service is good for you. Counld see it on the American site but.. "We’d recommend our Schedule 1 service interval which is designed for average Canadian driving conditions." In the range of mileage you are talking about they change the services required by quite a bit. This is your S1 service. Unless you like to get taken for more than you need.

04BlackMaxx

Ah, very nice thanks for that, 90% of theat stuff needed at 30k does not even include the maxima! Nissan says ATF and Coolant flush not needed till 60k!!?!? For Premium maintanence! Those bastards!! They wanted to replace my sparkplugs too!! Nissan says they're good till 105,000 miles!!! WTF!?

Galo

Guys.....all of you newer Maxi owners need to become intimately aware of the Moss-Magnusson act which essentially says that the only service-related issues a dealer can claim will void a warranty are those things the dealershiip and/or the vehicle manufacturer does free of charge.

For instance, BMW offers free maintenance for 50k miles. Because they are indeed offering this service free, if you go to Jiffy Lube to change a Bimmer's oil, and the engine blows five months later, you are screwed. Not because of Jiffy Lube, but because the dealer provided this service for free.

Simply put, as long as you have to pay for the services recommended in your owner's manual, its your choice where to have them performed and there is nothing that Nissan can state or claim about voiding the warranty.

Even DIY jobs like oil changes do not affect warranty, provided you keep the receipts for the oil & filters (showing they are of the correct quality and specification) and the receipts from the shop where you took the old oil to be recycled as proof of the completion of the job.

My suggestion would be to try to get them to state to you in writing that failure to complete the 30k service at theirs or any other Nissan dealership will void the vehicles' warranty. Take that to a good lawyer who knows about Moss-Magnusson and you might get a free Nissan every three years for life and them good

04BlackMaxx

HA, thanks galo...nice to know...and of course my nissan dealer charges an arm and a leg for everything...they even left 3 messages on my home phone because they let me leave without paying $20 after they rotated the tires (while investigating a power seat problem)

scavynger

While we're on the subject of dealerships and raping, anyone know the exact coverage on the brakes and rotors? I looked in the warranty book, and didn't see it spelled out.

Basically, I've noticed lately when braking that the steering wheel starts to vibrate. I'm assuming from warped, or getting to be warped, rotors. I don't do any exessive breaking. I'm at 16,000 miles.

Planning on bringing it to the dealership at the next oil change and having them take a look. For how long are the breaks and rotors covered under warranty?

04BlackMaxx

well it isnt a queston as to how long, becauser if it is, then it should be covered by the bumper to bumper warrenty 3/36k...That would be the length I would imagine, but because they are a part subject toconstant wear and tear they may be excluded much like bald tires wouldnt be replaced under warrenty.

Galo

Scavynger...your assumption is indeed correct and this is a tougher one as for the most part, brakes and other 'normal wear and tear items' are covered only to 12k miles. That said, the various TSBs for premature brake warpage problems on my generation Maxima (the '00 thru '03 Gen 5 and Gen 5.5) suggests that indeed, Maxima brakes are just crap, period.

Knowing that such a TSB exists (the TSB number is NTB00-088 and is only valid for '00 and early '01's) and forcing the service manager to look it up may allow some space for some negotiation when he comes back and tells you that the TSB is not applicable to the '04's, to which you can respond along the lines of 'well, it certainly seems Nissan has not yet fixed this problem so I absolutely expect this ongoing and long-unsolved defect be taken care of.' If they give you ****, I would bet they will cave if you mention that the NTSB would undoubtedly be very interested in Nissan's flagship having a brake design problem that dates back to 2000 (as evidenced by their own TSB) and which obviously not yet been resolved.

And on that note, the TSB requires that the rotors be turned while on the car, meaning, no removing the rotors and turning them on a normal, run of the mill tabletop Aamco brake lathe. If they cannot do that because they dont have the on-car lathe, they either need to pay to have an independent shop do it or install two brand new, shiny, spic and span rotors....

Good luck and let me and us know how this went...

One last edit: here is the link to the TSB itself in case the service manager pleads ignorant......
Galo

http://apollo799.50megs.com/Maxima/Brake%201.htm

slnned

first of all Hey Chris.... Norwood. WHat a coincidence man... I went to Norwood 4 days ago... for them not fixing my cd player correctly (back speakers have no sound) dvd navigation has no cover left foglight is out... but any way i went in for my 45k or something maintence since i forgot my 30k BUT the thing is THEY "SAY" i need coolantflush this, tramission fluild is all burnt out, coolant valve that, my brakes are worn down (3 weeks ago they when i had my front 2 tires fixed they said they were good) my back tires got replaced anyway to the point..... fixing all this will be $1875.00 but Joe Silva the manager there said he can do for 1700.. little awkward? just for maintence fixes.. and supposedly brakes. Good thing Chris since my cars been to the dealership about 10 times. My father got fed up he wants me to get a TL trade in.

04BlackMaxx

I just wouldnt go there anymore unless you have a problem...coolant 90k, tranny 60k, plugs 105k, brakes squeek when they need to be replaced..this is all provided on nissans website (listen to them because them made the car, not the dealer)...badda bing badda boom....

Galo

I'm sticking around this thread for the obvious reason....my prior post on the Moss-Magnusson act and this post caught my eye as well so here are my $.02: If you do indeed have 45k miles and you have not yet flushed/replaced your tranny oil, yes, you need to have this done. The coolant.....that's not so much mileage related as age related, and yes, u should replace it once every other year -but given your 45k miles, it's prolly due for a change.

At the dealer? Fuggedaboudit....get these two thing done at Jiffy Lube for about 150 bucks for both. Again, keep the receipts for any powertrain warranty issues that may come up later.....

For the brakes, either DIY (if you know what u are doing) or if not, go to an independent shop. Make sure they use Akebono Ceramic pads. If the rotors need truing, it might wind up being a 300 buck job for all four corners.....now you are at $450 bucks versus the stealership.....

kelley78

Back to the Cluster Lid..... Havn't lots of Nissan Parts been back ordered ?? I would say it's not because of the new cars, it's because they are in DEBT to lots of suppliers and we have been the ones to suffer !!!!

Chris_RI

NORWOOD IS FOR BONEHEADS, AND I AM A BONEHEAD FOR BUYING FROM NORWOOD. Slnned, you saw in my original posts how they wanted to screw me on brakes that were perfectley fine. Do what I do, don't go to them and dont ever go back and spread the word, hopefully this thread gets to them and they relaize that they lost business and will continue too. THey thing that sucks is that I tried Barry's and Knights and Barry's was ok and Knights was bad too. I guess we will have to find our own mechanics. Slnned I reccomend you take your car to a mechanic for a tuneup or something and forget NORWOOD, they just want your money.