...I passed on that BS and bought this for $27 shipped! Next will be the cabin filter the dealer wanted $89 for!

 

That's crazy crazy, you could have got the Fram# CA4309 from Autozone for 9.99. They work great!

 

There is acceptable markup, then there is overcharging, after that comes ripping off, and then after all of that, there is Maximam's dealership...
Courtesy Parts sells the engine air filter for $18.49, and the cabin micro-filter for $17.27...

 

They're not called stealerships for nothin'.

 

^^^ yup, couldn't agree more!!

 

Or STP SA4309 for $9.49

 

Be sure to keep your receipt for the filter and write the date you changed it in your maintenance log. (for warranty purposes later)

 

Thanks for the FRAM suggestions. I was not looking for the most affordable filter per se. I had a great experience with a AEM filter on a GS400 I put 168k miles on, that car used the same filter for 13 years.

 

If the dealer was going to put in the same filter as you bought the extra 32 dollars on the price was 1/2 hour labor charge for install. Not so unreasonable if their labor charge is 80 dollars per hours. The dealership is not going to install it for free as you are doing.
If you factor in what your labor cost is worth then the price will be pretty similiar.

 

Couple things:

1. It takes roughly 45 seconds to replace the filter.
2. The filter I bought is not a factory filter. For comparison, the factory filter would cost me $18 giving them $41 for 45 seconds of labor. Unreasonable!

 

Exactly, most of the cost is embedded in the labor charge. And I think they charge for a minimum of 30min, regardless of how long it actually takes.

Most people are unaware at how easy and quick it is to do some of these tasks.

 

My dealership charges $25 for air filters and $33 for a cabin filter. We do charge 1/2 hour labor for the cabin filter as it usually requires glovebox removal and we also do a full vehicle inspection at the time (I personally set tire pressures, top off all fluids, check for TSB's and recalls and clean and protect battery terminals). We don't charge any labor for air filters or wiper blades. Sounds like your dealership does charge for labor.

You can call us stealerships all you want, but I doubt anyone here goes to work for free.

 

I just moved from Vegas, which Nissan you at?

 

smart man OP, never pay a stealership for basic maintenance parts you can do yourself in 5 minutes unless you just hate money. keep receipts as others mentioned so you have proof of maintenance if it ever becomes a question whether the car had certain maintenance performed. its cool that it sounds like i8acobra does a few other routine items as well; but my personal experience with techs at dealerships is they are trainees for the most part and there is 1 "master tech" on-site to help them. ive had a nissan tech install a CV boot using a zip tie, ive had them miss a leak in my coolant system almost causing my car to overheat while driving to VA, etc. i will never let a dealership touch my car again, they can look but that's it now.

 

I hear ya! I had a GS400 which had a starter (under intake manifold)replaced one time. At roughly 100k miles I went in myself and swapped out the spark plugs. While I was doing the plugs I saw they never bolted the injector harness back down and entirely missed two intake manifold bolts! These are things you would never know were missed unless when you picked up your car from the dealer you dismantle part of the engine to check their work.

I am a competent mechanic and can do most anything on my vehicles but as I get older I get busier and lazier so my vehicles start to see more and more mechanics unfortunately. One caveat though, if it needs repair, I am not interested in doing the work, if it is getting modified, I am ALL OVER IT!

 

Everything you describe above ( except possibly the TSB part) is included in my local dealers $25 oil change plus a car wash.


What do you do when you notice a Maxima has a TSB ?

 

Planet, NW part of town.

I do all of that any time I pull a car in the shop.

If the car has a warranty, I perform the TSB if needed. If it doesn't have a warranty, I inform the writer. Recalls, I perform always. Nissan requires that any car that comes in the shop with a recall can't leave until it's performed (unless the customer refuses).

 

So you check for every TSB and make sure the car doesn't have the issue ? Seems that would take quite a while as I believe there are many TSB's on the Max and other Nissans

In other words you have inspected hundreds of Maxima's for the engine bearing knock.

What are you finding ? How are you performing the check ?

In case you are not aware they are no longer swapping out the bearing and are replacing the entire short block ( and even the long block in some cases reported here) thus the short block is on a 30 day backorder according to the last person who reported here.

 

Yes, I check every car for TSB's. The check for Maxima bearing knock is to listen for audible knock. If there's no knock sound, the TSB does not apply. A recall would involve inspecting the bearing on every car. This is only a TSB, not a recall.

 

lots of places do that. place i work at is the same, nearly everything is bare minimum half a hour labour. its to factor having to bring the car in the garage etc. still alot of money for what it is, but otherwise its not worth them driving a car inside etc to make $3 for a minute of labour

 

Best Nissan service in Vegas! I bought 4 cars from them.

 

Thanks, how many have you ( or your dealership) found to date ?

You're in Cali but even during warm months here mine didn't show up until the car was fully warmed up and I'm sure you know that you have to be outside the car to hear it

Seems your dealership is really up on things

 

I don't know how many we've done. I haven't had any yet, but I'm usually buried in engines, trannies and timing chains. I only get noise diags when a few other people have already looked at them and got stumped.

 

Individual services are more than the packages they offer. I had my car in for it's first oil change today and glanced over at the Nissan service board.

For $219 ( 15k service) You get

Oil Change/Filter $35 ( up $10 since August )

Air Filter $25

Inside Cabin Filter $50

Brake fluid change $100

Replace Wiper Blades $40

Tire rotation/ balance and TPMS reset $60

Inspect CVT fluid

Various other inspectons, top off fuids and car wash

Individually the services were about $310

 

I heard the noise, found the TSB, brought the car ( and TSB ) to the dealer and had them listen, showed them how it went away in reverse or drive.

I left the car, they called Nissan, tech made a very nice writeup on everything he did, very detail oriented.

The dealer called me 3 hours later saying per Nissan helpline a new short block was on the way.

I discovered it at ~3,000 miles but would have never heard it if I didn't leave the car running one day and have to run back in the house so it may have done it since new

 

................................

 

Well 15K for me is year 3 but I was just pointing out it's cheaper as a package

I never changed brake fluid in my life but for some reason Nissan recommends it on the Maxima

Maybe our mechanic can chime is as to why

 

According to Nissan's "severe service" table, at 15K, you should replace the brake fluid, cabin filter, engine oil, oil filter, and rotate the tires.

According to Nissan's "standard service" table, at 15k, you should do all of that except replace the brake fluid.

This is from Nissan, not the "dealer's recommendations".

 

Hmmm??

 

I'm relocating to Barstow, CA early next month and I will definitely make it a point to visit the Nissan dealership in Vegas.

 

if you guys wanna see the Nissan maintenance schedule you can Google it

http://www.courtesyparts.com/pdf/200...ance_Guide.pdf

 

Replacing brake fluid at 15k miles is like changing your oil at 3,000 miles, it is a waste of time and money.

Wiper blades get replaced when they need to get replaced, not at 15k miles. I have had blades last many years with no problem.

 

Las Vegas is MUCH harder on cars than 95% of the country. Phoenix is about the only other place as harsh.

 

Now that I think about it the dealer only had Schedule 1 and Dealer Premium Maint packages on the board

I guess it makes the upsell that much easier, lol

 

Lived in Vegas for 17 years. I think the lack of responsible car owners is more likely causing car issues than the climate.

 

Nope. It's the climate. We actually have engineers here all the time looking at new problems because they usually happen here or Phoenix first. As an example... I found that several Maximas with the factory dark taillights are melting. Apparently, Vegas, Phoenix and one city in Texas are the only 3 places this is happening.

 

brake fluid only goes bad because its hydroscopic and sucks in moisture, doesnt matter if it was driven under "severe" conditions, it shouldnt go bad that fast. same with the cabin air filter, 15k miles seems too early unless youre driving on dirt roads constantly

and as said you cant put a mileage number on wiper blades, someone that drives 1500 miles a week wont need them changed every 3 months

 

Melting?! How are they melting?

And why is it 12s, 13s, and 14s?

 

Heat. If you're not somewhere where it's over 100 degrees in the Summer, you don't have to worry about it.

 

Sounds like a fantastic place to live.

I guess the moral of the story is don't buy a 2012, 2013, or 2014 Maxima if you live in a furnace otherwise your plastic will melt.