Wow at Nissan maintenance...

[SpatiallyAware]

A friend of mine has a 2008 Sentra with 30k on it. She's been complaining that it's due for a $700 service but I assumed she was mistaken

Well, apparently not. Nissan has 3 service 'schedules' and the dealer is saying the only way to guarantee warranty is with the premium version, which requires transmission and diff fluid changes. This seems ridiculous to me, why even have these "optional" s1 and s2 schedules??


The way the guy explains it, is if you skip over the premium junk you'll probably be fine.. But if there's some sort of bizarre transmission problem then I'll get pushback over not changing the fluid at 30k miles.

"Schedule 1/2:"
Replace engine oil and filter
Replace engine air filter
Replace in-cabin microfilter 2
Rotate tires (except all 370Z)
Inspect the following:
__ Automatic transmission fluid 3,5
__ eCVT fluid (HEV) 3,4
__ Axle & suspension parts
__ Brake lines & cables
__ Brake pads, rotors, drums &
linings
__ Cruise control vacuum hoses
__ CVT fluid (cube, Murano, Altima,
Altima Coupe, Maxima,
Rogue, Sentra and Versa)
__ Differential oil 1,3
__ Drive shaft boots
__ Exhaust system
__ Front suspension ball joints
__ Fuel lines/connections
__ Fuel tank vapor vent system hoses
__ Manual transmission oil 3
__ Propeller shaft (4WD/AWD/RWD)
__ Steering gear and linkage
__ Steering linkage ball joints
__ Transfer case oil (4WD/AWD


"Premium:"
Lubricate all locks/hinges
Replace automatic transmission/CVT/eCVT fluid 6
Replace engine coolant
Replace differential oil 1
Replace engine drive belts
Replace manual transmission oil (if applicable)
Replace radiator cap
Replace transfer case oil (4WD/AWD)
Replace wiper blades
Inspect the following:
__ All lights
__ Headlights/adjust if necessary

 

[helpme]

Are those the schedules in the manual, or the made up ones the dealer gives you?

 

[FDF12389]

Well, apparently not. Nissan has 3 service 'schedules' and the dealer is saying the only way to guarantee warranty is with the premium version,

Wrong, follow the service schedule in the owners manual and keep your receipts. You don't even need to have the work done at a dealer.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Those are in the manual. It doesn't explicitly say following one or the other voids any warranty, but it definitely does open up a 'loophole' if something were to go wrong with the transmission and you didn't get the premium service.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Wrong, follow the service schedule in the owners manual and keep your receipts. You don't even need to have the work done at a dealer.

This is in the manual... You have 3 "service levels" to choose from depending on how severe the usage is of the vehicle (fleet, sand/desert, towing, etc etc) but it is apparently up to the dealer's discretion as to if you 'followed the service sched' for warranty issues

 

[Vetterin]

If her warranty is only the 3yr/36000 mile what the hell does she care about a 30000 mile (empty your wallet) maintenance pkg? Half of that premium crap I wouldn't even consider until after 60000 miles and Replace radiator cap.....Replace wiper blades.......yeah..right!
I'll bet that is close to $75 alone.

 

[Vette73]

Those are in the manual. It doesn't explicitly say following one or the other voids any warranty, but it definitely does open up a 'loophole' if something were to go wrong with the transmission and you didn't get the premium service.

No it does not.

If the person operates the car as it is supposed to, don’t tow a bunch of rocks in a corolla and complain when it blows up, and you follow at Min what the manual says then they have little room.
If a warranty is denied then the dealer/maker has to show you did not follow service or take care of the car to deny. If they can’t its covered. Now you may have to go to small claims court but that’s another issue.

Also she does not have to have the dealer do the service, anyone can. That and there is no seperate diff fluid in a sentra, its parts of the trans.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

If her warranty is only the 3yr/36000 mile what the hell does she care about a 30000 mile (empty your wallet) maintenance pkg? Half of that premium crap I wouldn't even consider until after 60000 miles and Replace radiator cap.....Replace wiper blades.......yeah..right!
I'll bet that is close to $75 alone.

Oooo good point.


Oil change/air filter and that's it. CVT, coolant etc can wait until 60k

 

[Vette73]

Oooo good point.


Oil change/air filter and that's it. CVT, coolant etc can wait until 60k

I do 60k for the first one and 30k after for the trans.

Also I would spray out the throttle body with some carb cleaner.

 

[Aikouka]

That's weird... I don't think my '07 Altima has these multiple tiers of service plans. As for those asking, in my case, Nissan has a separate "Service Manual" book that you get with the car that details each interval. I usually never got them to sign my book, but I have each maintenance interval's work order.

 

[vshah]

i just follow the maintenance minder in the dash...my manual doesn't even have a service schedule

 

[HarryLui]

__ Propeller shaft (4WD/AWD/RWD)
__ Steering gear and linkage
__ Steering linkage ball joints
__ Transfer case oil (4WD/AWD
__ Differential oil 1,3

For most FWD cars, changing the transmission fluid equals changing the differential fluid since they are all together in the same housing. And the above does not apply to the Sentra. I'd do the transmission fluid at the recommended interval.


2008 Nissan Service and Maintenance Guide is here.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...sg=AFQjCNHrnaVXmHPwQy5DbNSPNpuUVvENtA&cad=rja

 

[CrimsonWolf]

That's a massive load of BS. I still have the PDF of the service guide for the 2007 Versa I used to have. It plainly says:

"Premium Maintenance is a Nissan-recommended option; however, owners need not perform such maintenance in order to maintain the warranties which come with their Nissan."

She needs to get the schedule 1 service (unless she just drives highway miles basically and can get away with schedule 2) and that will satisfy the warranty.

She should tell that dealer to pound sand and take the care somewhere else. Maybe her 08 Sentra is different but I think it's far more likely the dealer is just trying to screw her over...

 

[CrimsonWolf]

Oh, and IIRC, an independent shop did my 30k service on that Versa for about $170. I just showed them the schedule 1 stuff and that's what they did.

 

[Aikouka]

Ahh, it appears I never really understood my maintenance guide! I thought their "schedule #" wanted you to schedule an appointment for those .

I'm at 29.1k miles and I took a peek at my 30k premium service, and there was one thing that stood out at me... "replace engine drive belts." That one ought to add a bit to the price.

 

[Vette73]

Ahh, it appears I never really understood my maintenance guide! I thought their "schedule #" wanted you to schedule an appointment for those .

I'm at 29.1k miles and I took a peek at my 30k premium service, and there was one thing that stood out at me... "replace engine drive belts." That one ought to add a bit to the price.

Yea 30k is early for most belts. I woudl hold that to at least 60k unless its a age issue.

 

[brblx]

i worked for an infiniti dealer with the same 30k trans/coolant/diffs schedule. nissan does not give two fucks whether or not you follow it, as anything that breaks due to you not maintaining your trans or cooling system will be after you're out of warranty. if her trans goes out at 35k, she's not going to get denied warranty coverage because they fluid wasn't changed at 30k.

 

[brblx]

also

I do 60k for the first one and 30k after for the trans.

Also I would murder your electronic throttle.

fixed.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Murder the electronic throttle? Explain?

 

[brblx]

well, first off, carb clean sucks. it leaves a residue. i dunno why- personally i find brake clean superior in every application. if you're going to clean your throttle the cheapest way possible, use brake clean applied sparingly to a rag. the danger is in the excess liquid getting into the electronics. with older cars, you could just remove the TPS and spray the throttle out. you do not want to actually spray cleaner into the electronic throttle ('throttle by wire') on a newer car.

for best results, i would advise above method (spray onto rag and wipe) plus a good cleaner that is advertised as 'electronics safe'.

 

[Vette73]

well, first off, carb clean sucks. it leaves a residue. i dunno why- personally i find brake clean superior in every application. if you're going to clean your throttle the cheapest way possible, use brake clean applied sparingly to a rag. the danger is in the excess liquid getting into the electronics. with older cars, you could just remove the TPS and spray the throttle out. you do not want to actually spray cleaner into the electronic throttle ('throttle by wire') on a newer car.

for best results, i would advise above method (spray onto rag and wipe) plus a good cleaner that is advertised as 'electronics safe'.

OK your post is so full of fail.
Carb clean is similar to gasoline and will burn off.
The TPS is external, you can spray all you want in the throttle body and will not harm it at all.
"throttle by wire" is all external, not internal again will not harm.
If this is the best you know about cars do not give advice ever.

 

[brblx]

wow, you're an idiot. do you know how many throttle i've seen killed by someone just 'spraying them out'?

do not give advice ever.

also examine that little metal shaft that holds your throttle plate and see where it goes, genius.

 

[Howard]

wow, you're an idiot. do you know how many throttle i've seen killed by someone just 'spraying them out'?

do not give advice ever.

also examine that little metal shaft that holds your throttle plate and see where it goes, genius.

On a DBW it's a servo/stepper motor, right?

 

[JimW1949]

I'm at 29.1k miles and I took a peek at my 30k premium service, and there was one thing that stood out at me... "replace engine drive belts." That one ought to add a bit to the price.

I don't know that it would cost a fortune to change belts. I helped a buddy change a serpentine belt on his Prizm. He paid a little less than $30 for the belt and it didn't take us very long to replace it, only ten minutes or so. I am sure on some cars belts would be more expensive and more difficult to replace, but on the Prizm it was pretty easy to do.

 

[Eli]

Uh... lol

Marlin is absolutely right. brblx, you have no idea what you're talking about.

The first sentence in your post gives it all away. Carb cleaner DOES NOT leave a residue. Any brand. Ever.

HOWEVER, I have seen cheap carb cleaners that only clean off some of the residue that is already there.

If carb cleaner is going to ruin something, so will brake cleaner. They're not much different.