Motor started sputtering on my 2011 M56x with 113k miles so I took it the dealership where I have had all the services done. They tell me the timing on the driver's side bank is off and all signs point to catastrophic engine damage. They have offered me $1k for the car or I could buy a new motor for $13k and then pay to have it installed. I have worked with the dealership for a number of years and they have a good reputation. Any advice of what to do with the car? Anyone need a ton of 2011 m56 parts? Maybe I should get a used engine and drop it in? Feels like I just got kicked in the nuts.

Sorry to hear about that Magnusbeck. totally sucks.

Did you get the timing chain replaced at the same dealership? I'd be curious if the work they did had some impact on the motor failing.

R

Man that sucks to hear. You got me worried about mine now as it has 110k on it. I had my timing chains replaced at 72k but they only warranty it for a year which does not make sense to me if they made faulty parts to begin with. If they are only offering you $1k for the car you can get way more selling it to someone else on the FB M56 page. I would not spend $13k for a new motor when that is about 50% of the cars value. There are some motors on ebay for around $5k as I was looking at some a few weeks ago. At this point I would probably just get something else unless you want to spend at least $6k to find a used motor and have someone put it in. If it were me I would buy a used motor and have it built up with new internals, long tube headers, etc then drop it in. Only if I wanted to keep the car long term but at this point I am about ready to sell mine.

Ok, make that the 2nd AWD to fail prematurely, as has been reported here.
timing-chain-recall-disaster-seized-motor-t614321.html

I am truly sorry to hear of the misfortune magnusbeck. Out of curiosity, did you ever check the oil regularly?

If you are seriously considering getting rid of it, I'd love to buy it from you. Where are you located? Mainly for investigation on the engine, but also as a test mule for some products.

However, since I am more of an advisor than a vulture, I have to give my unselfish opinion on what to do. I would buy a USED engine and install it. Apart from the recall, the incidences of these VK56VDs randomly failing are very few and far in between. It still registers as a statistically reliable power plant with low odds of failure in my book.

I live in Denver and would certainly explore selling the car. It has a clean title and I bought it used, from the same dealership (mike ward) four years ago. I have had regular oil changes and services done mostly at the dealership and there is no sign of excess/spilled oil in the engine currently. I am meeting with the Service department Monday morning to get more specifics of how this failed but they seem to indicate the timing chain had an issue.

Did you ever have that recall of the timing chain done? It was a big deal like 2 years ago.

Sucks to hear the news though. Like Walt, I have the same year and same mileage. My car sometimes makes a metallic 'ticking' sound when I give it gas up hills, etc. but I'm pretty meticulous with my oil changes and making sure levels are good. Right now, with about 2kmi more to go before my next oil change, I'm at the 75-80% mark of oil. Might be classified as a 'knock' but I've actually had it pretty much since I've owned the car. Might just be less than perfect fuel.

Ok, we can cross that bridge when we get to it. I can send you my email or cell phone number.

So, with no visual evidence of damage (and also assuming they haven't opened up the engine), how did they determine the issue?
Do you have a check engine light with any codes? It might be flashing for an issue of this severity.
Is there any knocking or tapping from the engine to go with the sputtering?

I will get a specific answer on Monday as to why they feel the engine is blown but it seems to have affected all four cylinders on the drivers side. He said they would need to completely tear down the motor to get to the cylinders to see the damage. I can’t remember if I got the recall or not. I remember taking it back for some kind of recall but it’s been a couple years. I will have them email me my service records.
The engine would get to 1300-1500 rpms and just sputter from there. Didn’t matter what gear. The check engine light starting flashing. It did this once before after I hadn’t driven in a week-10 days but it went away after a couple minutes. This time I hadn’t driven it for at least a week again just prior to the issue.

You must be devastated. I'm so sorry this happened. Seems the only way to really know the timing chain is the cause, and that requires tearing the engine apart ... you will be on the dealer's hook financially if you pursue a claim with Infiniti for faulty parts.
If you're in a position to spend the 13k, I would do it. The result is a brand new engine with years and years of life and if the rest of the car is in fine shape, you should get another 150k miles for your investment.
One other option (if there is no engine light) would be to trade it for another car at a non-Infiniti dealership like CarMax. You might find another M56 or Q70 5.6, get a decent trade value, and finance or pay the balance. You can add a bumper-to-bumper warranty from CarMax that lasts 6 years / 125,000 miles like I did. My car was given a 6yr warranty when it was already 4 years old and it has a bumper to bumper warranty until Sept 2019 or 125,000 miles. Imagine a 2009 M35 that still today has active, transferrable bumper to bumper coverage!

A good point by Larz. If your car is paid off...think of it as you buying another car for $13k...versus you buying the replacement for $30k. Silver lining?

Ilya wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 20, 2018 8:25 pm

...think of it as you buying another car for $13k...

Good point. A similar car to what you could buy brand new from Infiniti today. That is viewing it from the most important perspective - inside the car.
Refreshed exterior, same interior.


I quickly perused the technical specs and couldn't see any significant valve timing & control events that should happen at 1,500 RPM so part of me wonders if it could be a random multiple misfire.
I'll wait for the update from the dealership on the diagnosis and service records, but if you would please humor us - next time the CEL is flashing, have the codes read. AutoZone and O'Reilly will do it for free. We might be able to glean info that would save you some dealership costs.

I really appreciate everyone’s input. It has given me some great insights to utilize in my conversation Monday. I will get back with the group them and let you all know how things go.

I have to ask if the engine oil level was checked regularly, in between the regularly scheduled oil changes? A lot of folks don't know that the 5.6 motor, being a DI engine uses oil laden air blowby through the PCV valves to lubricate the valve guide rods. I had no idea about this when I first bought by '12 M56x back in September '15. I checked it after I got it home, and didn't check it again until the next oil change. I pulled the dipstick and it was bone dry - holy crap I almost passed out. No leaks anywhere, so I researched and found out that you have to add oil in between changes. Doesn't matter what type or brand, it'll use it just the same (my experience, and I tried different types). The timing chain recall mentioned was started because of a faulty oil jet or jets that caused premature timing chain wear. My car started running rough like yours on the way home from work one day, and I was able to make it to the dealership. At that time they had just started the recall campaign, and they took me right in and gave me a loaner Q70L to drive around while the work was being done. Refer to this document that details the scope of the labor and parts/fluids replaced at no cost to you:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2016/ ... 1-2280.pdf


This is a very extensive job - they had my car for a week. Some folks may have had theirs done quicker I don't know. I would think that you would remember this particular recall work if you had it done. If the oil jet failed the hole fit test they're supposed to replace the engine.

Now I check my oil levels a couple of times in between changes. As long as it's in between the holes, I'm good.

The dealership told me oil wasn’t the issue but I will double check when I see it Monday. The timing chain was replaced during the recall almost two years/20k miles ago. I have the rest of the service records and the car was in really good shape.

magnusbeck wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 21, 2018 10:47 am

The dealership told me oil wasn’t the issue but I will double check when I see it Monday. The timing chain was replaced during the recall almost two years/20k miles ago. I have the rest of the service records and the car was in really good shape.

20kmi isn't a lot since that work was done...I'd be curious to see if there is any way that Infiniti will cover this. I'd reach out to Infiniti corporate...

Thanks, I will give that a shot. Does anyone have any recommended questions that I should ask the mechanic tomorrow? I plan to video as much as I can while they explain what they’ve done and how they came to the conclusion that the drivers side bank is wrecked.

I'd ask to see a printout of their diagnosis report. It should help answer the question of how they narrowed it down to not only the left bank, but timing issues as well.

Secondly, I'd ask if there were any OBD2 codes. Share them with us if you please.

Lastly, just for giggles I would also ask if they've ever seen something like that before.

Thanks...I will add these to my list of questions.

Update:
I met with the dealership mechanic this morning. Here are the details:
They don't know for sure exactly what's wrong and would need to tear down the engine to figure it out. They think it may need a new engine due to the following circumstances: The timing is off on driver's side bank. They replaced the solenoid valve assemblies and seals, changed the oil, there is good oil pressure, there was "a little bit of silver metal shavings" found while changing the solenoids. The engine is showing 43 degrees exhaust timing and 65 degrees intake timing...specs are 0-5 degrees. They did the timing chain recall two years ago...there was a one year warranty on the repair. They feel that if the timing chain failed it would have happened soon after the repair. They did not notice any external damage to the timing chain but they can't really see that without taking the engine apart. Codes were P0011 and P0300. This is not an oil saturation issue.
Now I have to figure out: Do I put a used motor in there? Do I sell it? Do I trade it in from something newer. I am probably going to try to sell it so please feel free to contact me if interested.

I'd reach out to Infiniti corporate still and see what the options are. 20kmi is basically two oil changes for modern cars. What if some grandpa only does 3-4kmi a year because this is his weekend car?

I'd be looking for a massively subsidized motor from Infiniti. Or at least have corporate cover a large amount of the labor if you were to find a used motor with the understanding that the motor itself would not be covered by ANY warranty.

One more update...After I told them my options (putting a used motor in, selling it to a private party, etc.) they changed their number. They are now offering me $6k trade value for the car. Big difference from the $1k they offered Friday.

magnusbeck wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 23, 2018 12:25 pm

One more update...After I told them my options (putting a used motor in, selling it to a private party, etc.) they changed their number. They are now offering me $6k trade value for the car. Big difference from the $1k they offered Friday.

What, if any, is your loan situation on the car? If it's paid off, I may be more inclined to say take the $6k and run for the hills to avoid the headache...but if you're upside down on the loan, that may not be as prudent a decision.

Yeah, that is a big difference. I thought $1,000 was a slap in the face. I think my price would be closer to what they are offering now (but that is going in blind). Businesses are typically not in the business of losing money willingly, so their seemingly-generous offer of $6,000 is going to leave someone on the buying end happy. They know something we don't.

Has this offer been put in writing? I wonder if it has the dealership letterhead or if it's an individual offering to buy it. Either way, I don't like the deal they are offering and would consider other options like tearing down the engine either by an independent shop or even Nissan if they're close by,

EdBwoy wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 23, 2018 12:58 pm

I wonder if it has the dealership letterhead or if it's an individual offering to buy it.

^^^this, get it in writing, the numbers might change even better then.

Yeah I though $1k was a kick in the nuts. I’m looking through their used inventory now. They are telling me they will run my car through the auction and that’s their estimate but the $6k offer is firm. I will get it in writing. I am very inclined to take this deal. I’ve listed the car on a couple sites (CL, FB) for $7500 and would take less but having the $6k offer gives me a little comfort. The tech told me he isn’t sure the engine is torn up but frankly I don’t have the time or resources to deal with the situation. If anyone here is interested please let me know soon. Otherwise I will move forward with the trade in early next week.

After hearing this higher offer, I say take the 6k. Then take that 6k to CarMax and get another M or Q70 and add the Max Care warranty. That gives you a true 6 year, 125,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty with a copay of $25 at any Infiniti dealership for all repairs. They won't cover exhaust (or CATs) but everything else is covered. The top Infiniti warranty does not come close to the Max Care warranty in years or miles and it's a little cheaper and can be added to the loan. It has allowed me to keep all parts OEM with lifetime warranty on repairs for $25. And I still get a free loaner any time they need to keep my car.

Add me as the 3rd Person, up until recently needs a new engine after the TC Recall.

It didn't even lasted until the next oil change. (6Km)

Anyone knows how to contact Infiniti Corporate?

TeKNiX wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 25, 2018 11:16 pm

Add me as the 3rd Person, up until recently needs a new engine after the TC Recall.

It didn't even lasted until the next oil change. (6Km)

Anyone knows how to contact Infiniti Corporate?

Search for Infiniti corporate on Google for whatever country you live in (can't tell where you're from). If you're in Canada, just Google "Infiniti Canada". In the US, "Infiniti America", etc.

I contacted Infiniti Corporate and got nothing back as far as help with a leak. Even had my lawyer write the letter and the blew it off like it was nothing.

I think we should get together and do a class action lawsuit, infiniti knows that there are issues, they just want to see how hard we will push them legally.

Not impressed at all with this manufacturer!

Andy

Agrees with Andy. I'm fearful that one by one these motors are going to start breaking down. I think that infiniti knows that there is a design flaw somewhere and is trying to prolong the eventual motor fail. My valve cover gasket is now leaking and I was told by a 2nd Infiniti dealership that it was too soon for the car to be leaking. Hopefully it's just the valve cover gasket and nothing more.