ok, i dunno about all of you, but my i30 is a fricken money pit. I have had the car for 4.5 years ish.

I have been trhough:

2 new starters
4-5 trips to the dealer about the bose radio which i finally bought an alpine and was done with it which came with a mess of issues but are fixed
1 front end collision i fixed myself (new bumperstay)
1 rear end collision i fixed myself (new rear bumper reinforcement)
2 driver side window regulators and 4 motors or so
1x rear pass window regulator (broke on me two days ago and is shot)
1 passenger regulator (on its way out)
radio antenna module (went through the car wash and the mast got all ****ed up and couldnt take it out so the whole thing has to be replaced, havent done this yet)
1 set new foglights (still have to do this, results front from first front end collision

Other maint stuff
New brakes are needed rotors+pads on front, but i am just gonna brembo the rotors on all 4 and get all new better pads

im just so irritated at this point. i fix one thing and then its like a window goes flying down like the other night. its just a sick joke or somethin.

 

Wow, sounds like youre really having some bad luck. Just think about how much you saved doing the work yourself though.

 

I understand the frustration, but - just playing devil's advocate - you can't really fault the car for issues related to collisions. Additionally, while it looks like some of the items you've had to take care of are indeed excessive, you should keep in mind that it's a 12 year old car by this point and it will require more maintenance as time goes by. Doesn't make it suck any less though, I know.

 

haha, well the front end collision was def my fault, and the fog light on my driver side have been giving me issues since it happened in like 2005 lol, but it finally fell out the other day, the corner light and scraped all along the ground and is all ****ed up. The front end is still off by about an inch, you cant tell though unless you look in the engine bay and see that the radiator is squishing the bushing on one side.

The rear collision wasnt my fault, i got rear ended on the highway on valentines day like 2 years ago.

the suckiest part is that the i30/maxima are sucky on starters and window motors, you woulda though technology woulda progressed so much that it would eliminate these ****ty issues.

I know it's an older car so i am doing my best to keep it in shape for as long as possible but it's just like money every month at this point.

Money Spec List On what needs to be bought:
Window Regulator with motor x 2 more is about 140ish plus shipping
Window Antenna module x 1 with a discount at infiniti i can get it for 150
Foglight kit x 1 is 140 with new corners and fogs both sides kit from depautolights.com

and 300 bux for brembo brake rotors and akebono brake pads which im having installed so add like 150 ontop of the 300, i dont trust myself to do it.

so yeah, its just like money every month it sux i would rather put it all towards a new car but at the same time it's a hooby and fun. blah, contradiction of terms.

 

I think yours is fine. I have replaced my rack &pionion, and power steering tube, and these cost me $2000.

 

subxero, are you in NJ? If yes I'll help you to install the brakes

 

wow, I wish someone living SF can help me retrofit my light together...
ai~~~

 

Aren't regulators and motors like $40 each on Ebay? I got a reg for my old 3rd gen 2 years ago or so and it's working perfectly. The other stuff has been affected from crashing for the most part, which isn't really the cars fault, and if you buy your starters from Napa, you should get a lifetime warranty, which may be a pain in the *** to replace, but at least it's free every time they decide they want to take a dump on you.

The brakes are normal maintenance, and I assume you have 4 wheel discs which equates to about 2 hours or less to install pads and rotors by yourself, maybe a bit longer if you get someone to help you.

I guess you can be glad you're not having engine and transmission trouble... but nevertheless all the stuff you named is annoying and frustrating.

 

huh??

 

i wish i were in nj, i would much appreciate the help, i live in river edge, so you are just down rt 4, but i am in az with my car and its staying out here.


just to add, my driver side rear window broke tonight, just like my rear passenger window.


and i am very happy so far no engine/transmission problems, and i hope none to come. I should do the starter thing from napa, if it happens again i will.

 

btw n3895 we have the same last 3 digits/letters on our lp's

 

my other window broke last night just like my other window the other night

 

Are you sure the window regulators are being installed correctly? They break too often

 

Your car is 12 years old man, buy a new one ... it wont be a money pit.

 

the rear two regulators were the originals in the car, and the driver side got a used motor twice and 1 is dead and the second is dying, the pasenger side is dying but i believe its the orignal. This time i am buying the replacement brand with new motors and new regulators.

And if i had the money to buy a new car i would have. But unfortunately im in college and have to wait about another 2 years before i have enough and a job to buy one

 

eh it could be worse. ive replace
-2 starters
-altenator
-brakes like 5 times
-wheel bearing
-2 axles or maybe 3 i cant remeber
-transmission
-2 clutchs
-rear main seal
-like 4 batteries
-o2 sensors
-knock sensor
-ignition coils
-ball joints
and i still need a rear caliper

and i think i have had my max for about 5 years

 

I'll add to the list...so far I've replaced these and many things I've forgotten.....

1 engine
2 transmissions
2 clutch jobs
2 axles
2 wheel bearings
All new brake rotors, calipers and pads
5 O2 sensors
Random seals on engine and tranny
Many other things

And that's just the list for the I30. The list for my old 95 was much longer. Here are some things I remember:

All 4 Bose speakers because they died one at a time and I didn't know any better. $1000.
Engine support rusted- $500
Car was on fire at one point before I owned it and damaged the sunroof drains so they leaked into the car. That cost like $400.
Pretty much every sensor- $1000
Other random stuff- $1000

Ah the joys of owning a 12 year old car.

 

yup
1 engine
on 3 tranny
Nissan 4 life
pently of other work
Cars are made to break down! If you drive them hard, more will break. Nissan is pretty solid. out of my whole family my car is easy to work on and gives me less problem.

 

o yeah, forgot to add this, you guys reminded me

2 o2 sensors
1 knock sensor
4 interior door handles (the fake metal fell off)
1 master cylinder (old had a whole)

but yeah, you guys have had it a bit worse LOL

 

mine is just starting i guess,
1 alternator,
brakes
maf
brakelight switch
brakelight relay (i think dats wut u call it)
dats about it but, im hearing a sound from rear right wheel when the car is cold for a bump or two so i guess something is cuming up, but hopefully wont be a big deal.

 

I'll throw my woes into the pot as well. 98 I30t 5 speed
2 Alternators
Slave and Master cylinder
02 Sensor
wheel bearings
Rear Struts (my fault, had RWD rims with the wrong offset)

 

mine was fine for first 3 yrs of ownership from 2004 thru 2007, then started trouble ...

first replaced 2 rotors n all pads and o2 sensors, one rear caliper
starter
1 ignition coil
tires
again starter
cv axles
front rotors

still hear squeaking from suspension .. and the check engine light still glows brightly

seems the swaybar linkage on the leftside is bad ... need to replace belts it seems ...

oh man ... too much money flowing in ... wish carmakers made replacing things easy and DIY type

 

Now it's starting to look like the car's fault. Honestly, the only thing on your origimal list I can fault the car is the window regulators and the bose... All the otehrs if not your fault wasn't the car's fault either. You sure this isn't a hurricane katrina car? Seems like a lot of electricals

 

nah, the 2 o2 sensors i replaced because my mileage was really bad so i thought that maybe they were just old, and i replaced the knock for the same reason, just incase, but both were actually due to the retarded driving style i had when i was in nj, the stop and go and lack of highway killed my mpg. I was following along with what the mfg suggested was the real mpg, which i know now is false because the driving conditions under which they put the car is nothing like city driving.

The Master cylinder came from an issue i had with my neons. I lost my brakes twice because of EM interference and to troubleshoot at the time we did brake work which lead to them finding a small hole in the master cylinder. Turns out the neons were the issue which we didnt know at the time, cause who would have though. But yeah.

and the door handles, well thats just wear and tear my friend, they chose sucky coatings for the door handles lol.

all in all, i can blame the car, just me and my lack of knowledge with some stuff. This goes along with learning about cars and what does what. Its all part of troubleshooting, but when your experience with fixing cars is limited you can only do soo much. Im not aggetated that i replaced the o2 sensors and knock because they were getting old and tend to **** on you with old age. I rathered it be at home where i could more easily fix it then where i am now. I would have alotmore trouble doing this in an apt complex.

things that really aggetated me though are:
the door handles, not my fault just age
window regulators and motors, not my fault just age
starters, the car eats them and is just a ****ting design flaw, a more powerful starter would probably be better.
Battery, getting old, probably needed it.
Fogs, ****ing accident, my fault, but yeah, still pissed at that lol. fricken rain.

cars are a money pit, but i have gained alot of experience and i understand now, alot better than previously, how, what, and why things need to be fixed and what can cause issues. It's an expensive learning experience but it happens and you learn one way or another i suppose.

 

The costly A/C problem will come for such an old car, so better be prepared for it.