3.5 Engine and Dealer Problem

[fadeintoblue1]

Driving home from San Antonio Thursday the noise started. Sounds like the timing chain. Drove straight to the dealer in Houston, dropped it off and left in a Sentra rental. Got a call Friday telling me my Alti was low on oil and that was the cause. I told them it was unlikely as it had only been 2500 miles since my last oil change and it burns about a quart between changes. The dealer insisted so I authorized them to do a synthetic oil change $69.00 to confirm that was the problem. Dealer called about 5pm to tell me it was done and the oil level was the problem. I went to pick the car up Saturday morning, paid the cashier, got a 5 minute badgering from the service advisor about filling out my survey card so he gets his bonus then went out and got in to start it and it's still making the noise. I gave them back my keys and once again left in the sentra.My altima is an 02 5spd I've had since new. just turned 73k on the drive to the dealer. I've got the Nissan extended warranty good though January 09. I know it's a long post but I really need some help. What should my next move be?Does anyone have a good dealer service department in Houston

[jdshift]

Be persistent........and if they give you the run around speak to a manager, and so on till this problem gets resolved. You have the warranty.....so don't let them play you.

[CONES]

The VQ35's are known for using oil. It is a manufacturing defect and you can probably get the motor replaced. My best friend has a 05 Altima SE-R and was going through the same thing. The dealer replaced his motor at 56k miles. His brother has a '06 350z - same problem, motor was replaced by dealer. Another friend of mine has a '06 G35 - same problem, motor was replaced by dealer. Here's the thing, the dealer is not going to offer this up. You must have knowledge of the problem and the fact that Nissan is replacing those motors as a result of it. Tell them that you know Nissan is replacing those motors and you want your motor replaced. They will tell you that they have to monitor it for a month or two. They will likely change your oil and tell you to come back in a month. You might go thru that a couple of times and then they will order a new motor and replace it. The whole "synthetic oil" thing is crap. That won’t make any difference. You might want to try another dealership, if available.

You're still in warranty right?

[CONES]

I just re-read your original post and noticed that you have the extended warranty. This will probably still work for you......give it a shot.

Worst case scenario, it doesn't work and you'll have to make sure you check your oil every time or every other time you fill up.

GL

[jdshift]

^^Excellent point.........that somehow slipped my mind.