I bought my 87 Maxima from its second owner, back in April of 01. It's been great. Then, suddenly, last week, it started to sound funny (weak; like injectors not firing, or something along those lines). Without a stethoscope or any equipment (I'm away at school now), I took it into a well-reputed auto-shop in town, apparently owned by a man who was a Nissan technician/mechanic for seventeen years. Couldn't be better, right?

Well, at the end of the day I picked my car up. He said the problem was my fourth and sixth injectors. He also told me that, luckily, there was a recall on 1987 Maximas' fuel injector electronics and harness. The silent recall was issued in 1996.

Well, that's good, I thought, as I called the local Nissan dealer (the same dealer our mechanic had resigned from), eager to get my car fixed free of charge, and get back on the road. I had, after all, promised my girlfriend I'd drive to her school and see her this weekend.

That's when we ran into our first problems. Apparently, the a**hole on the phone at the Nissan dealer (in case you happen to be his boss, he's a bald gentleman whose name I don't know, but the dealership is in Savoy/Champaign, Illinois) was not too fond of the automotive shop I had chosen, because it was stealing a lot of the Nissan dealer's repair business... his poor telephone etiquette in no way supports his case. So, he flat out lied to me, saying there was no such recall issued. I got online and quickly found four or five messageboards, and one official Nissan report, listing the fuel injector/electronics recall.

Knowing I would get nowhere with this bullheaded moron (who doesn't realize that, by lying in such a way, he's really driving business away from his own dealership and likely into the able hands of the local auto repair shop I visited), I decided to call Nissan of America, and talk to their customer service representative. I gave her my Maxima's VIN and she promptly told me that it had been brought in for a recall in 1996.

Herein lies the problem. Two very well-versed technicians (and for Nissans, the best in the metropolitan area) have reported to me that the fuel injector/electronics/harness modifications have NOT been made at any time, and the car is, in those respects, original.

From all these facts I can only conclude one of two things:

A) The mechanics I spoke with do not really know what they are talking about regarding the car's status, and the car really DID undergo these repairs in 1996. The faults this conclusion are that 1, it goes against 34 combined years of Nissan experience, and 2, if the repairs were really done, then WHY would my car still be screwed up? Why would it show the exact symptoms of a car which has not been brought in for the recall?

B) The Nissan dealership that called in the recall six years ago got paid to do a job that they never actually did, but since it's in the computer as having been completed, I can't get the REAL job done without paying somewhere between 1000-2000 dollars.. So, basically, that dealership was robbing me, six years in the future.

Neither of these conclusions are attractive to me. Either way, it seems, I am screwed out of a lot of money, time, and worry. But if that's the case then I want to bring somebody down with me.


--

So, that's my story. Since you guys are all Nissan heads (as was I), I'd like to see if you have any suggestions or connections.

Thanks,
AngryOwner

 

Do this; first try show the dealer the recall order on the Maxima that you saw on the computer. He would have to comply with the recall or risk being sued. Then, you would run into the vin problem.........
Call Nissan of America again, she might have typed in the wrong vin number. Don't tell her you called before, you may get the same answer you got the first time. Have her to repeat you vin numbers back so she gets it right. You should get better results, 'cause the way I see it, that dealer if going to be angry and embarassed enough to pull you car in to get it fixed without checking the vin number.


I don't believe they checked my vin number when mines was replaced. I have my car for about 10 days when I had that problem. Did anyone else have had their vin numbers checked before Nissan repaired any recalled problems?

 

When I got my recall done, the guy made me ask if there was an open recall on the car, and the lady said yes, so I called the dealership back and set up an appointment. Then I think they got the VIN when I actually came in with the car, that's what they do with all the cars they service. Not sure if the dealership actually checks it, but I would think so.

 

Actually the recall has nothing to do with the performance or functioning of the injectors. It has to do with the fact that some of the 2nd gen Maximas were catching on fire because of the injectors and the harness. If it weren't for the safety issue, Nissan would have never recalled them, even if they went bad after 50K miles.

I had to have my injectors replaced under the recall shortly after I got it. The only symptom that I noticed was a slight odor of gasoline inside the passenger compartment. Other than that, the car ran perfectly fine.

Most Nissan dealerships consist of a bunch of moronic a$$holes. You wouldn't believe how ****ed off they were when they had to change my injectors for free. Since they couldn't charge me for that, out of the kindness of their hearts they decided to make me pay $20 for a f*cking fuel filter that I could have got for $3 from Wal-Mart and changed myself in 5 minutes. They were also saying that I should get rid of my car 'since it's so old' and get a newer one from them, even though they admited that it ran and looked great for it's age. Bunch of d*ckheaded retards.

I also looked into getting the timing belt, tensioner, water pump, thermostat, and cam seals changed. They wanted to charge me nearly $1500 for that. I was like "F*ck that, I can get a f*cking engine for that much". I ended up getting the belt and tensioner replaced by a local mechanic for $200. I didn't change the rest of the stuff cause he said that it should easily last till the next belt change. I'd like to see the grease monkeys at the dealership be that honest, hell, they start replacing sh*t even if you don't ask them to.

-C-

 

I guess my dealer was nice, they never *****ed about it or tried to charge me extra, only thing bad was they put a different screw on the cover on the engine(valve cover? red with 3000 on it). Wiring harness, water hose, fuel pressure regulator, fuel filter, injector + tube. But i just noticed under the QTY of parts it says only 1 for the injector & tube(FP#: 16600-19P25), maybe it came as a kit? I hope so. Does anyone else have their receipt? I hope they didn't replace only one of them.

 

My advice is to get Nissan to give you details on where/when the original recall repairs were done...if they can answer dat, then call that dealership and confirm with them. Each Nissan dealership should have the records, even for 1996.

If not, a pump action shotgun gets a lot things done...fast.

-A

 

Yeah, it did come as a kit, I don't have my receipt on hand but I remember that it only listed one item on mine, I believe it said harness/injector recall kit or something to that effect.

Man, not only did you not get reamed, you got more stuff than I did. They didn't replace the fuel pressure regulator or water hose on mine and they charged me $20 for the fuel filter as they said that it wasn't part of the recall (but they had to do it since they didn't want me ruining my new injectors, so nice and considerate of them )

-C-

 

I heard about that recall for a while. Then I thought to get contact with Nissan. So I asked the Nissan company through email. I gave them my VIN too. A couple of days later they said that there was NO recall for my car. Could they be right? I do remember that one time my injectors were giving problems through the wire and harness, like if was moved crooked it won't work. Of course it should work even though ya touch the b*tch. Then some mechanic fixed it and told me it was not adjusted strait and it worked since with no gas azz smell.

But I still got my doubts. Should I still look into it more for the recall? Holla back.

Peace.

 

I would. I still need to check and see if the recall was done on my car.

S

 

You should call up 1-800 NISSAN1 I think that's the number, and ask about the recalls, be ready with a VIN and the person will tell you if there's an open recall on your car. My connectors on the injectors were bad too and sometimes they wouldn't fire when they were at a weird angle, got the recall done and it's fine.

 

It's truly amazing the ineptitude of some of the Nissan employees/techs out there. I bought my 1988 Maxima used in October 2000, It had 153000km on it. First thing I did was check www.nhtsa.dot.gov and I saw the injector recall. I called Nissan Canada, confirmed my car hadn't had the recall and then arranged it to be done at a local dealership. The service ******* at the dealership than made me bring the car in and leave it before he would order the parts stating that if I never showed up, he would be on the hook for $1000 Canadian dollars (the cost of the injector kit). Talk about being inconvienienced having to leave my car while the dealer waited for parts. Anyhow, it was done - the injectors, the fuel regulator, the fuel temperature sensor, all sorts of stuff. Now I pick the car up and another service ******* tells me my air regulator (for cold starts) is shot. He offers to fix it for around $220.00. No thanks - I bought the part later at another dealer for $125 and installed it in 15 minutes. So I drive off and wonder why the car is idling and running worse than before the repairs. Pop the hood and notice the ******* technician had not connected the vacuum tubes to the EGR valve and the PCV valve. I was surprised they remembered to reconnect the fuel lines.

Anyway, to the original poster, you should definitely double check with your VIN and Nissan to make sure the recall was done. Perhaps there's a new part number somewhere on the injector rails (or injectors) that Nissan can confirm if it's the new part or the old part? Good Luck.

 

The wiring harness was also rewired in this "recall."

Go HERE for a writeup on to put it back like it was, but keep the newer injectors. This writeup will probably help you determine if the work has been done on your car.

For the original poster: I'd call back at that dealership and talk to the service manager. Tell him the problems that the other guy gave you and that he was very unprofessional.

If he flat out kisses your ***, consider taking it to them for the work if you find it hasn't been done. Otherwise, go to another dealership. After the job is done, you should get a survey thing to fill out about the service you recieved. Mention the first dealer by name and tell how they treated you.

Yes, the parts were sent to dealers as a kit.

About the reason for recall...it was due to a lot of newer fuel attitives eating through the injectors which would then leak and fires would break out. Nissan couldn't predict the future of additives, so it's not really their fault.

For the one who had to leave the car and wait on the injector kit to get there.... ummm I guess you didn't ask for a rental or loaner car, did you?

When I took my car in for this work to be done, I had just rebuilt the engine and didn't even have it tuned in right. They replaced many hoses, the fpr, injectors and more. The car ran like new. I had absolutely no problems at all.

 

OK just to ward off the confusion I have about this injector recall ordeal.... I have an 88 maxima SE with 176,000 miles on it. The Nissan dealership around here (central PA) is rather competent. would it be worth my time/effort/frusturation to call and see if there was a recall for my car?

Dan

 

You probably should. You might want to try to find the release nissan sent out about the recall. That way your bases are covered.

S