Just found out about this post and went to check to see if I have the problem. I have an 09 with 48k miles and when warm and in park I have no knock, just quiet as can be.

 

Previous owner of a 2005 Maxima (235k sold and still running @ 280k) and still own my 2010 Maxima (262K) self maintained..
Purchased 2011 Maxima 45k from Carmax 2/7/15, changed oil after one week, noticed engine very noisy and going to take to dealer...engine power seemed weaker than my current Maxima.
I drive 1,000 - 1,500 miles per week in sales up and down the east coast..and after a trip to Virginia mountains and North Carolina, I was in Florida last week. Home base is Columbia, SC..
Got to the end of my trip on I-95 and knocking became very loud and sudden loss of power..sounded like a bag of hammers inside the engine...
Daytona Nissan said bearing parts in the oil pan and negotiating with Nissan over short block with current headers or long block (complete replacement)...
I'm waiting on the verdict now (3/1)...

After researching this weekend about this issue, seems it is well known.

Trying to decide if any scenario keeping this car is a good one...
I need reliable transportation on long distance hauls every week for my job.

Any thoughts from the crowd? Continuing to drive the 2010 is an option, but anyone think I can get 400k out of it??? Everyone says it still looks new

 

Sorry to hear that, I bought a cpo 2012 Max a year ago and had the knock. Had a new bearing put in and its beginning to make its presence known again. I hope a block is in your future.

 

I think we have a WINNER! Well actually a loser but you get it. 550k you have the first reported engine failure due to the bearing failure/knock(I believe). If you end up getting a new motor out of the deal then I'd consider keeping it. Although, it sounds like your new maxima wasn't properly cared for by its former owner(s). Either way I hope things work out in your favor!

 

So after reading this thread i was so curious if i was one of the few to try to dodge this situation. well i went out and listen at nite couldn't hear anything. so the next morning after a 30 min drive to work, i was curious once more so went and check. and tadaaaa yes its knocking quite not loud yet but in due time I'm sure it will become louder. so i did contact my nearest dealership and told them about the TSB they stated i haven't been the first to report this so they will take the oil pan down and see which bearing i'll need to replace. free of charge of course. since i only have 36000 miles on it. its 2012 Sv. I just hope my lil bit of mods don't interfere with my warranty. Y-Pipe, and BOP set up. wish me luck every one.

 

Please get a sample of the engine oil sent off to Blackstone Labs or another used oil analysis firm. It would be nice to know if you have high levels of tin, copper, lead, or iron in the oil BEFORE the dealer takes the engine apart.

 

So I went by nissan today, and they showed me what he problem was and what they are doing. The one bearing is too small, so they have ordered the larger one. I thought to get at this bearing, the whole engine would have to come out and apart. To get to the bearing is very minor disassembly from the bottom of the car. I have only worked on jetski and ATV motors so I didn't know you could get at the crank without taking the whole engine apart. I'm letting them change the bearing, I would rather have just the bottom of the engine taken apart instead of having everything taken apart. I called nissan and they said they will have a regional person contact me tomorrow about extending the warranty. This is a much more minor repair when you actually see it taken apart in person than it sounds like.

 

Great info. finally! I wonder if we should rename this thread...

 

I will say that the sooner it is done I'm sure the less chance of any long term damage is my opinion. I will get a pic tomorrow of how little stuff needs to be taken apart. This could be done in 1 day if they had the bearing in stock.

 

The procedure to replace the bearing is shown in the TSB which can be accessed online.

It's far from a small job, read it for yourself. I can't imagine who would read that TSB and think it's a minor job. This wasn't by chance something they told you to convince you that a new block was not needed was it ?

There are 75 steps in the TSB just to get to the bearing. Do yourself a favor and read the TSB and decide for yourself if it's minor. I would list what's involved but there is just too much

http://x.nissanhelp.com/forums/Knowl...0#.VPkTD-GaKpo..................TSB NTB12-071

If your car is new I would push for a new block and either way the complimentary Gold warranty to 100K

Good Luck

 

I registered for that site and still cannot see the tsb, do you have a link to it anywhere else?

I asked about a new block and they showed me the car with the bottom of the motor apart, which didn't look like that major of a deal to take apart to me. The service guy said if we do this and it comes back you will get a new engine. I'm supposed to get a call from a nissan regional rep about extending the warranty tomorrow. What should I do tell them I won't take the car back? It was 2 nissan master techs and the service guy who showed my the bearing from my car which they had cut in half.

 

I would get that in writing.


If they already ripped your car a apart and you let them there is not much you can do now

What is your email, I will send you the pdf......it's a big job

When you get the car back check and see how many hours of labor they bill Nissan for

 

Correct, replacing a crank bearing is not easy. Without mic'ing and plastiguage and possible machining just replacing the bearing is poor and shoddy repair.

 

Do you know if the procedure in the TSB is correct ? The dealer told him accessing the bearing is much easier than what the TSB shows

 

No they just replace the bearing to the specified size in the tsb. In a perfect world they mic the crank and then with a plastiguage they can choose the correct size bearing by checking the pattern of this material. This can only be done with complete removal of the crankshaft as a few sizes of bearing thicknesses could be used to compare to get the correct pattern. To remove the crank the timing kit and connecting rods need to be removed to get to the top and bottom journals. Plus any other ancillary items.

 

So you are saying the steps in the TSB to ACCESS the bearing aren't all necessary ?

There are 75 steps just to access the bearing in the TSB. I'm not talking about the bearing replacement itself, when I read the TSB I knew right away I was never letting my car get ripped a part the way the TSB specifies just to access bearing

 

The dealer lied to me I'm guessing, they told me its a minor easy to get at thing to do. After seeing the tsb I think they are full of isht. This is really annoying I don't have time to waste with this bs that's why I bought a brand new car.

 

Freakin Nissan....... if there was a TSB in 2012, why did the problem not get fixed for 2013 / 2014 model years? Haven't seen the TSB, but there is no way this is a simple re and re.

 

Good question. It would have cost Nissan money to fix the problem. More profit to be gained by ignoring it.

 

13MaximaSV, I'm sure the Nissan TSB has all the correct ways to get to the bearing, I looked over my service documents when mine was done and it was pretty thorough. Official Style, not sure what kind of shortcuts they can make to get to this part.

 

I kind of figured the factory TSB was accurate but the dealer told Official Style it's a simple job but I doubt many people who read the TSB will agree with that statement.

 

I think the dealer was bsing me, considering they never called to tell me they were changing the bearing, promised the car Friday, still don't have it and can't get the service guy on the phone now

 

What I don't understand is, you have said in a couple of earlier posts that you think the dealer is lying and bsing you, so if you don't trust what they are saying why trust them to do the work?

 

Because I didnt feel like they were jerking me around until after they had my car all taken apart. What should I have done been like put it all back together and don't fix it?

 

That sucks man....I hope things turn out well.

 

Well here's hoping everything turns out ok for you. Make sure you find out what if any break in is required of this repair and what the warranty will be, then I would really push for a 10 year 100K mile extended, free of charge of course.

Good Luck

 

Yes on both counts. I took it it easy for 1200 miles or something as a precaution. And yes be polite but persistent about an extension.
Good luck sir.

 

So the nissan regional rep called today, and all she would say is the new part is covered for 5 years. I brought up the fact that this problem has been happening since 09, it is a major deal to fix it as I have the tsb etc and she kept saying she won't be able to do anything. Then I kept asking for her supervisor, so she said they will be contacting me within 1 buisness day. So far they won't give me the extended warranty. Supposedly my car is ready today, the dealer just called. I'm not really sure I want this car anymore after being treated like this.

 

Unfortunately your experience with Nissan corporate and it's dealers is pretty typical. I doubt that most other car manufacturers are any better.

This is based on what I have read on this forum and personal experience.

 

I got the car back, noise is gone. Tried talking to the service guy about warranty and he was just pissing me off. I'm really sick of dealing with dar dealership people, between this, dealing nissan corporate, and looking at a few cars I would trade for. I'm waiting to hear from the 'supervisior' from corporate tomorrow.

 

Nissan and the dealer were nothing less than FANTASTIC to me when dealing with the bearing issues and other problems my car had.

The tech line at Nissan that the mechanics called said to put a new short block in and Nissan Consumer repairs gave me the 8 year extended Gold Warranty just for asking.

Below is the techs report per my receipt

I inspected the vehicle and confirmed the noise. I located the noise coming from the short block. I checked the bulletins and did not find one related to the 2013 Maxima. I performed a cylinder power balance test and found that when I cut out cylinder 1 and 2, one at a time, the noise got louder. For cylinder 3 and 4 there was no noise. For cylinders 5 and 6 the noise was there for a brief second and then went away.

I called Nissan TECHLINE for Assistance and they had me pinch off the PCV valve and the breather Tube to build pressure in the crank case. I did that and the noise did not change. I called back and they suggest replacing the short block.

IMO the reason Nissan changed to doing the bearing instead of a new short block is because they had so many claims and need to save cash.

At the very least I sure hope it's the part AND LABOR.

I thought the dealer told you if the problem came back they would give you a new.
motor ?

Hopefully Nissan at least gives you the 7 or 8 year Gold Warranty when it's all said and done

GL

 

Yes they did say if it comes back the motor will be getting changed. Hopefully they extend my warranty. I asked the dealer why they were still using engines that they knew in 2009 had this exact problem and he kept saying he had no explanation. I really don't know what to do at this point that I havent done. I have 15k miles now, and they told me it is definetly covered by the 5/60 power train warranty. I asked about break-in, they said none is required. I definetly wont ever buy a Nissan again or recommend one to someone else.

 

Unless you get that in writing I think your chances of ever seeing a new block are slim to none

Hopefully everything was done correctly, I would be just as concerned about the arts they had to dismantle to get to the bearing as the bearing itself.

At about 6 months and while the car is still under the bumper to bumper it might be worth paying a good independent mechanic to look for any issues such as very small leaks that may be hard to see without getting under the car.

GL

 

So the service you received was not FANTASTIC?

 

Official Style never said his experience with Nissan was even good.

I was one who had a great experience service wise and with Nissan Consumer

 

I also have had a great experience with the dealership and Nissan when I needed a new long block engine, transmission and cats on my 06 Maxima manual under warrantee. But it pains me to think that I may have go back again with my '13 Maxima. My dealership is 2 hours away which doesn't help.
It tells you something about Nissan when they have known about this problem for at least 4 years and have chosen not to make it right. I loved my 06 and the 13 even more....but enough is enough.

 

Bearing was not sited as the cause of the engine failure, but a broken cam rod....think the cam rod broke before or after the bearing broke (strange that the service manager said he found broken bearing in the oil pan the morning he first cracked the car open...).

I didn't buy this car from a dealer, but through Carmax..and state of SC has no lemon laws on used cars.

Dealer tells me I get 12k mile warranty (to 60k) on the replacement short block they just installed. Calls to Nissan customer service puts me with someone in asia who doesn't understand english...

Should I consider keeping this car or tell Carmax to give me another Maxima? I only had it 3 weeks before it blew up....

 

Even if CarMax agreed to another car you are still getting a used engine with 50K on it, and the problems it might already have. I would keep the new short block if you like your car and there is nothing really wrong with the rest of it.

 

I would say now that it's said and done, the dealership was fine, they did what nissan would pay for. Nissan the company is who I am pissed at.

 

I have a 2010 with barely under the 60,000 miles. I have like 59500 on the dash. I went to a dealer today in the NY and the tried to make me pay for it myself, saying it was not under warranty. They diagnosed it as the bearing.
But from what I read, I here on this forum, the car should be still under warranty. I bought it used, from a non nissan dealer.

I will try another dealer.

Is there any way to ensure that nissan pays for this?

Thanks.