I have 50k miles on my 03 max. I recently noticed a leak under the car so I took it to the dealer. They said there is a dent on the oil pan right at the oil outfall. I told them that the 60k mile warranty explicitly covered the oil pan but they said they won't fix it because the damage was probably caused by driving or someone hitting it while changing the oil. My question is do I have any recourse? I've taken the car to them for oil changes before so for all anyone knows, it could have been them that made the dent. Click on the links below for pictures showing what I'm talking about. It looks like the dent is causing the screw cap not to fit snugly, thus the leak. The pan itself has not been breached. Any input would be great. Thanks

 

take it back and tell them to fix the car... it is covered and they should fix it.. call Nissan and complain

 

If they did all your oil changes- they are responsible for this, no questions asked. There is NO way of doing that by driving over anything. ON TOP OF THAT the dain plug gasket- the goldish looking piece that sticks out from under the drain plug looks like it has never been changed. STUPID LAZY mechanics who do your oil changes are SUPPOSED to repleace the drain plug gasket EVERY time they change your oil, you get charged for it if you look at the invoice from your services ! If you reuse them over and over again your gasket WILL look like the one in the picture. My oil pan was doing a similar thing a while back, and I do my own oil changes, but the problem with mine was that after 100+K miles the drain plug threads got a lil worn out and started to leak past the gasket, causing a small oil leak like yours. I repleaced the pan and drain plug for approx 30 bux myself, new pan comes with a plug installed.

 

Thanks for the input. I did call Nissan and they basically said its at the discretion of the dealership and theres nothing they can do.

BlackBird, unfortunately not all my oil changes have been w/the dealer...just a few...and those were mostly in the beginning. I agree though that the damage was not done by driving. In any case, you replaced yours and got one for $30? Where did you buy it? The dealer told me to try replacing the gasket first and if that does not work, then replace the pan. They quoted me a price of around $1300 for that.

 

Holy ****!!!! $1300???

That is rediculous. I dont think I would ever return to that dealer for any reason. You could easily replace it yourself in less than 30min, for less than $50, in your garage.

I'd call Nissan again and tell them what they are trying to charge you for an pan replacement.

What the *** are those things made out of anyway. lol

 

Well its a relief to know that if I do have to replace it at my cost, it won't be too expensive. I thought $1300 was high too...glad I posted on here.

 

before you replace the pan,I would try another gasket. might be the gasket thats leaking even though the pan looks messed up. if that doesn't work out, you still have to change the pan. Why not do the easy fix first.

 

Yea i'm going to change the gasket at the next oil change and hope that works. It would just have been nice if they would have taken care of it under the warranty.

 

Just for reference: A lower oil pan for an 03 costs about $90. Nissan spec's RTV for the gasket. Dealer quotes about 2.5 hours of labor for a total of $280. If they are quoting you $1300, they must plan on replacing the upper pan also.

 

Thanks for the info, bladerunr.

 

I'm not sure what the lower pan costs for a 02-03 Maxima but it shouldn't be more than 60 bux I think. I got mine for approx 30 bux 2 years ago, and its for a 3.0L, which is almost the same pan.

Pan is SOO eassy to change I think I could reseal it in bout the same time it takes to change the oil litterally. You will wanna put some Nissan silicone RTV on the new pan and scrape off any residual silicone left from the old pan on the upper oil pan- what the lower pan bolts up to.

Even the UPPER pan shouldn't be 1300 bux to reseal or repleace, I mean it takes approx 30-45 min to remove that thing from the engine.

I would try a new gasket and while tightening the drain plug I would push up on the drain plug to pop the dent out of it, I had a similar dent in mine and was able to bend it back using just a normal wrench.

New copper drain plug gasket from Nissan will fix your leak, for approx 20 cents and 4 Qts of your favorite oil.

 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding but woudlnt' pushign up on the drain plug make the dent worse...push the dent in farther?

 

What he saying is to put a socket on the plug and push up and to the right to pop the dent out by using the head of the plug. Aim for about 1 or 2 o'clock.

 

Aaah thanks, I'll give that a try. I may try taking it to another dealer first and see if they fix it. Are all the dealers computers connected so they can see what work has been done on the car by another dealer?

 

Sometimes, bring it to another dealer and tell him how this guy wants to screw you. If he thinks he will get all of your business he may do the warranty work. Cheese it up and get your car fixed.