FL suspension clunking noise update.

[CodeRed]

Today i dropped my car off at the dealer for an oil change and to check my suspension. They call me back to tell me that my front 2 tires are completely shot and that my whole car is out of alignment and that none of this will be covered under warranty. So now that want $100 per tire (2x) and $60 for an alignment also add on the $20 for an oil change so right now I'm sitting at $280 of damage and they have still yet to put the car on a lift to check if anything is broken and if it is it wont be covered under warranty either. I was talking to the service rep and telling him i would be the first person to notice if anything was wrong with my alignment, the car never pulled to either direction, ive never hit a pot hole, never hit a curb, or even pulled up too far to where i hit the concrete piece in a parking spot. I will update later tonight when i hear the full of it they are going to check it out further. $%^$!

[bosoversa]

is that the nissan automall on atlantic? if it is then thats whack. ive known the service manager there for years. hes a nice dude but some of the service writers are jerks.

not covered under warranty FTL!

[CodeRed]

is that the nissan automall on atlantic? if it is then thats whack. ive known the service manager there for years. hes a nice dude but some of the service writers are jerks.

not covered under warranty FTL!

Yeah its the one on atlantic by the mall. My dad is trying to straighten things out its just so Bs because i remember the first time i heard the noise i was with my friend and i pulled into a Hess station (university and southgate) and when i pulled in i went over the gutter and it made the same noise ies been making ever since, and it has been about 5 months.

[Ever Victorious]

Wow... talk about BS there...

1) your warranty is supposed to cover all "adjustments" for 12 months and 12,000 miles. Alignment would fall under this category.

2) your tires have warranties on them. They may be prorated (you have to pay a percentage of the tire's original price based on how far you've driven on them), but there is no way you should have to pay for the whole tires. Hell, on my last Kia, I had one of the OEM Michelins go bad (belt separation) after only 18k miles, and Kia replaced it for free (and it was a $120 tire! These Continentals shouldn't cost more than $80 a piece).

3) Regardless of what they found with the tires and alignment, they should still have been able to diagnose the problem. If they felt your front tires were shot, they should have rotated them to the rear to continue testing.

Your dealer suxorz. Get a new one. Or call Nissan and make your dealer do the right thing.

[CodeRed]

Yes EV the alignment is covered, my service manager didn't know that.... But my dad is going there to rip him a new one. Will update.

[reyes1212]

for my nissan its a 100,000 mile warranty. Isnt that neat? Maybe i can still get my rotors changed and pads for free...CodeRed, you see why I don't want to take my car in for a check up? lol I dont want them to say wtvr is wrong on my car to not be "under warranty"

[CodeRed]

Alright update #4

My dad went to my dealer and he walked around the car and said "there is no visible damage how did you guys come apon the conclusion that he hit something?" They didnt have a straight answer. So this is where it sits now, They are going to rotate and align the tires (free) and check out he rest of the suspension and put the car on a lift. But the stupid dealer i told them that it only happens if you go over a bump (pulling out of your house, into a gas station ect.) they 'test drove it' on the main road and said they didnt hear anything, well a duh! because there aren't speed bumps on the main road. If anyone lives in this area try to AVOID this dealer! So it ends up i woke up at the crack *** of dawn only to have NO work done today, not even the oil change.

[Ever Victorious]

Yeah, just really crappy that your dealer made you send your dad to go correct them rather than just being honest in the first place.

I love dealers. Really.

If there were a Nissan-only independent shop in my area I'd be in heaven. Alas, they only exist for Subarus, HonDuhs, and Volvos.

[CodeRed]

Oh hey guys time for update #5, oh your going to love this one.

My dad calls me i have a bent strut...awsome... $300 to replace including labor. Also they charged me for the rotation/alignment stating that the strut was the reason it was knocked off. So day i dropped $400 out of my own pocket, ya you guys might be saying "big dea;" but when your getting payed minimum wage ya it is a big deal. Here is the costs:

1. Oil change- $202. Tire rotation/alignment- $603. New strut+labor- $300

it is . I haven't ordered the strut yet, because my sisters BF knows his cars and is going to check out if we can just pick one up at pepboys for a lot cheaper. Yeah, im pissed.

[XterraVersa]

This dealer is jerking you off. I had blown two OEM shocks on my Xterra & they were replaced for free under the warranty. I also broke a motor mount they replaced for free under warranty.

Get on the phone with 1-800-NISSAN-1 & file a report on the dealer. Stay on the line with them until Nissan agrees to replace it for free under warranty. There is no proof you broke the strut, it could have been a defective strut.

[alonsorules8]

Hey codered call nissan they should also refund your money as well. I had both front struts on my camaro fail at 180000 miles and after I called gm to complain about the 5 time they had to be replaced in 20000 miles GM replaced them free and refunded the money I paid on the struts for the previous 3 times and now garintees the struts for life. so check with nissan

[CodeRed]

I also forgot to add they want me to buy 2 new tires (the ones that stated were out of alignment.) $100 each.

[Ever Victorious]

The tires should also be under warranty. If the absolutely refuse to replace them, just rotate them to the rear and keep them there, you won't have a problem if they're not on the drive wheels.

[CodeRed]

The tires should also be under warranty. If the absolutely refuse to replace them, just rotate them to the rear and keep them there, you won't have a problem if they're not on the drive wheels.

they did rotate them to the rear

[CodeRed]

Sorry for the bump, but here is the 6th installment of my FL suspension noise.

Ok yesterday i drop my car off at my nissan dealership and it was ready today, they orderd the FR strut against my will. So i pick it up and write a check for $337.46 (price of the strut+installation+an alignment) I pull out of the parking lot 9im with my friend) and i go to my school because they have speed bumps. I go over the speed bump, and guess what! CLUNK! Yep you read it right, the noise is still there.

After getting two of the technician's in the car with me so they could hear the noise for themselves they agreed that they heard a noise. So we go back to the dealer and they said they only way that they would refund me my money was is they took the new strut they installed in the FR side and replaced it with the 'bent' one that they had taken out. I was like no because if it is indeed 'bent' as you had said before i dont need my two good tires to wear now.

So i asked so speak with the 'head honcho' over there and..well i did... I said that it should be covered under warrenty, I said this exactly "I have a bumper to bumper warranty and as far as im concerned the strut is between the two bumpers" And this is what he had to say to that "There is no such thing as a bumper to bumper warranty" my response was "Well I bought my car here and the person who sold it to me told me that it was bumper to bumper, so are you guys lying?" no response.

Then we started to argue and he said i didnt know what i was talking about..now i was pissed. So i told him "I think your trying to play me like a little kid so i will wait till my parents can get down here and straighten things out" Thats when i took my old 'bent' strut threw it in my hatch and drove off.

So that was the end of my day today, tomorrow i will call 1-800-NISSAN1 and follow up with my open case trying to get nissan to cover the cost.

The standing total now is.

$20 -oil change$70 -alignment (first one)$200 -$100 for 2 new tires (yet to buy)$337.46 -new strut + labor$70 -alignment (second one)

Grand total is now....$697.46

[Ever Victorious]

wow... your dealership takes the cake as far as being a-holes...

[CodeRed]

here are some pix of the 'bent strut' i took the pix next to some text books to show its 'bentness'

[Ever Victorious]

Dude, that's not bent. A bent strut makes your wheel stick out 30 degrees. Trust me... from experience.

Your dealer is a bunch of idjits.

[PB]

Sounds to me the dealer you are going to needs extra money,They are taking you for a ride.Go to an other dealer !,Take those struts and get them checked out at a shop that does nothing but front end work,Take it to owner of the shop to get checked out,front end shops are stores that do frame straightning/alignments/struts/shocks 100% of the time.Tell them what work was done and what they made you pay for,After they confirm the parts are good have it written up and keep it to send to Nissan,You can get this dealers licence removed for fraud ,If they had other complaints from customers as well you are in the green.

[Woogie]

Doesn't look bent to me.

[evil200000000]

I had this problem on the first week when i had the car back in Aug 2006. I took it back to the dealer several times and they said nothing..it's fine. As i try and test drove it on different surfaces, it seems to only happen on bumpy/rough surfaces and only when the car is cold (within first 5-10 mins on car start up). But in the end they got it fixed. They've replaced the front left strut and did a wheel alignment cuz it was pulling to the left a bit (covered under warranty)The sevice guy explained it to me of what happened. As far as i remembered what he said, there are two round bearrings (like a puck shape) holding the strut. AS you hit a bump, the bearings grind, creating the sound you hear but once it heats up, the sound disappear. So that's the final piece they replaced and got it fixed. Maybe try telling your dealer this situation. Hope this helps.

[ThirstyRoss]

If the next post in this thread doesn't tell the story of how you called Nissan Corporate and get your money refunded, you're an idiot.

It's been mentioned several times in this thread that your dealer is ripping you off, why do you keep going back instead of just calling Nissan and sorting this out??

[CodeRed]

If the next post in this thread doesn't tell the story of how you called Nissan Corporate and get your money refunded, you're an idiot.

It's been mentioned several times in this thread that your dealer is ripping you off, why do you keep going back instead of just calling Nissan and sorting this out??

I think it says somewhere in there, but i already have an open case file with NNA so we will see.

[coxcj]

Good luck, man. Looking at what's going on, I would tend to think they're trying to rape the wallet of some poor unsuspecting kid. I guess they would never expect that you've got a whole forum of people behind you waiting for the chance to come to the rescue.

Keep us informed!

[PB]

I think it says somewhere in there, but i already have an open case file with NNA so we will see.

Did you read what i mentioned to you?,Do exactly what i said,Get the parts checked out and put in writing that there is no problem with them,You will get your money back from them and their shop will be closed up.This is what I mentioned years ago to a person when he was getting screwed by a shop for a complete motor,They had the motor checked at a machine shop and torn apart,Found out it was never rebuilt,There were many other complaints on the shop as well,The shop was in To,The shop got charged and closed for fraud.

[CodeRed]

It's not a shop, it's a whole dealership.

[PB]

Shop or dealership that dont matter,They can be closed up,If they are charging you for parts that should fall under warranty they are scammers.On top of the deal those struts look ok.And I will tell you other shops that deal with only front end work have more knowledge of front end parts than any tech at a nissan dealer.

[josefoshizzle]

thats why when i go there for an oil change i tell them i know my cars fuct, i only want an oil change now stfu and do iiit.. then again i have a friend that works there too.

i usually try to stay away from the stealerships unless im getting the hookup. i dont see how they over charge and their mechanics still make **** money. I used to see it all the time when i worked @ Jm Lexus.

[Nismo V]

To bad bro... about all the dealership hassles, they are totally taking you for a ride an alignment might be needed but that strut isn't bent try and hook up with some of your local tuner mechanics not working for the dealerships and not only will your ride stay fly but the price will be better on any work done ..

[srellim234]

Make sure you file a formal complaint against the dealer with the Better Business Bureau, too. If Nissan corporate doesn't make it right, file against them, too. Here in California we have a Bureau of Automotive Repairs that works on these cases on behalf of the consumer. If you have one in Florida, don't hesitate to file a complaint with the state agency.

Depending on your relationship with your insurance agent, they can have a lot of sway. Even though it is not an insurance issue, agents like to know the type of operations they refer their claim repairs to. A call from your agent will let the dealer know they stand to lose a lot of referral and repair business if they are going to treat the agent's clients like that.