Hi everyone. I have a 2010 EX35 with 116k.

I took my car to Canadian Tire to have the winter tires put on on Friday. Before this visit, I had zero issues with the car. They tried to upsell me new air filters (which are needed, but I can replace myself) and a power steering flush. I declined both.

When I got in my car to go home, there was a lot of hesitation when starting from a stop. Then on Sunday, the same thing. Monday, it was still there and then all of the sudden the service engine soon light began flashing. Canadian Tire said, not their fault. Tried to claim it is the intake hoses that are splitting. Took the car to the dealership and they ran diagnostics which popped P0024 and P0300 and state Bank 2 exhaust camshaft timing concerns. They are recommending replacement of cover, gasket, seals and VLV solenoid and ECM software program. $673 for parts and then about 4.7 hours for labour.

They also stated that there would be a possibility if this doesn't fix the issue, then an oil pressure inspection would be required. If this is required it would be another $1600 plus tax.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I swear CT did something to the car, but of course, there is no way to prove it. Could it truly be absolutely coincidental? I 100% had no issues before taking it in for tire change over. I had a bad experience driving last year with my previous car, so I have really bad anxiety with any warning lights or unknown sounds and am hyper-aware of potential issues.

Thanks,
Debra

If the DEALER did the diag (and they charged you for that) they should have stated what caused the issue and what parts are recommended to be replaced. There should not be a 'after we replace this and that but if the issue still occurs then we will have to replace something else'. That means they did not do a thorough diag or they had no idea how to do proper diag but to throw in parts hoping to solve the issue. A good mechanic should have good diag skills, NOT just replacing parts.

The P0024 is a magnetic retarder code for bank2 (driver's side). The mags are basically electrically-controlled clutches and the clutch material can wear out. There are a couple things you can check. First, oil weight and level, the mags will respond badly to both just like an IVT solenoid. Second, there's a re-learn process for the mags that will sometimes compensate for one that's wearing out, at least for awhile. If it does need to be replaced, the Infiniti parts book will call for replacing the whole assembly, but there's a service part available for the retarder alone. It's from bulletin NTB12-116 for the '09~'14 Maxima, but the same replacement mags will work in your EX. In case you can't find the bulletin online, the Nissan p/n is 23795-JK21A, same for both sides.