Infiniti Warranty.Impending Doom. Eh, Same Thing

[ZGadson]

I decided never to purchase an Infiniti/Nissan product again. They make great vehicles, but their service has much to be desired.

I had an appointment at the Nissan dealer near my house to have a diagnostic test ran on my I35 to find out what's wrong with the transmission. I then called the Infiniti dealer to verify that they would honnor what the Nissan tech says is the issue. I was told that Infiniti will not honner Nissan's diagnostic tests. I cancelled the appointment at Nissan and am now scheduled at the Infiniti dealer tomorrow at 7am.

I have driven the 2 hours to the Infiniti dealer more than once to have them look at the car for the same problem, only to come home with my wallet being $50 less than what I left with which paid for the oil change that was necessary before they could look at the transmission. wtf.

I currently have 1200 miles (or 15 more days) until my warranty is gone The transmission is slipping EVERY time it changes from 1st to 2nd gear no matter how fast I take off. I also have never done a transmission flush, so my fear is that they'll do that and the car will be fine for a few days - just long enough to make it out of the warranty period.

If anyone has any suggestions as to how to appropriately discuss this problem with the Infinity dealer, I'd greatly appreciate the input.

[maxhopper]

I do warranty administration for another car manufacturer, but I can certainly give you a few tips and tricks that should help your case.

First contact Infiniti Customer Service.http://www.infiniti.com/iapps/contactus

Explain the problem you are having and dates and mileage that the car was in the shop for the transmission problem.

Making you get an oil change to look at the transmission sounds like total BS to me. I would let Infiniti know about that as well, and ask if that is SOP for checking the transmission.

Are you taking to the same dealer each time? It is possible that the dealer you are going to sucks. How far is the next closest Infiniti dealer?

Once Infiniti contacts you, try to negatiate taking the car to a different dealer and get a loaner car. As long as the repair order open date is before your warranty expires, it doesn't matter if they keep in one day or one month...it will still qualify for warranty.

[ZGadson]

Thanks for the information!

And yes, I have taken the car to the same dealer everytime. The next closest dealer is Chicago - a 3 hour drive from me.

I keep every receipt for work done to the car, so I've got the receipt for the oil change (which also conveniently states exactly in the shop notes, "possible malfunctioning transmission, owner requests that the transmission be looked at." That receipt will come with me and be in my pocket tomorrow when the transmission is looked at.

[maxhopper]

So, you're telling me that the service writer did not write up the transmission concern as a separate item on the repair order? If so, that's BS! Your visit for a warranty concern should be noted as such on the repair order. Most manufacturers allow dealers to file claims for "No Problem Found" incidents. And if the dealership has done things in the way I suspect, Infiniti Customer Service most likely has no record of your repeated visits for the transmission concern.

Your repair order should have mileage in and mileage out noted. How many miles elapsed per repair visit? Any, one, three, or five? The mileage doesn't really mean all that much; just looking if the dealership just adds a certain amount of miles per visit, or if they actually keep track.

And finally, the repair order should have a technician name or number on it. Was there just one technician noted or two. If there is just one, it's possible they've had the oil change guy checking your car for a transmission problem instead of a tech certified to diagnose/work on a transmission.

[Mike G]

Since I did not buy my vehicle new, I would like to gain some clarification to your situation. Why is it that you cannot have warranty work performed at the Nissan shop, they are the same auto. I do extended warranty claims and what Scott is telling is dead on, even for us. It sounds like you have a sticking valve body or bad shift solenoid...

--Mike

[ZGadson]

Since I did not buy my vehicle new, I would like to gain some clarification to your situation. Why is it that you cannot have warranty work performed at the Nissan shop, they are the same auto. I do extended warranty claims and what Scott is telling is dead on, even for us. It sounds like you have a sticking valve body or bad shift solenoid...

--Mike

I was under the impression (per the Nissan dealer) that I could take my car to their repair shop for a diagnostic test, then take the paperwork with their results to the Infiniti dealer as proof that there is something wrong with my transmission. Seeing as how Infiniti did not make any attempt to fix the issue the last two times I drove the 2 hours to their dealer/repair shop, I thought Infiniti would be able to use Nissan's diagnostic test results, thus saving me from another wasted trip the the Infiniti dealer.

Apparently, that is not the case - when warranty is concerned, mechanics are only certified on one or the other - Nissan OR Infiniti. Nissan will not do warranty work on an Infiniti, nor is Nissan allowed to go by Infiniti diagnostic test results, and visa versa.

Where warranty is concerned, Nissan and Infiniti are like Honda and Ford. They're not related. They're not friends.

Also, I was informed after having my car looked at, that it needs a new valve body for the transmission, which is covered under warranty (thank god). I was surprised at the quality of service I was shown during this visit - I think the difference was that this time they actually found a problem, so they treated me like a customer rather than a 22 year old with a sports car who's just wasted their time thinking it should shift better.

[maxhopper]

Good news.

[Mike G]

I am glad to hear this come-around for you.

Generally the service writers are better than you, no matter what. They are there to make money and most do not even know what's wrong with your car. I enjoy working with them on a daily basis, it's alot different when they call you, if they don't have the right details, they don't get the money.....

--Mike

[NutriaforBreakfast]

After you get to the shop get someone to go with youand test drive the repair THEY made

THEN you can get happy

[ZGadson]

The 2nd time I visited the dealer to have them look at the transmission, I had a tech ride with me so I could show him how the car was acting. As luck would have it, it shifted rather rough, but not bad enough for the tech to think it needed more work than just a mere transmission flush.

He said, and I quote, "I don't feel anything different, but it's normal for these transmissions to jerk and catch sometimes."

I laughed and reminded him that Infiniti is a luxury vehicle company of which people spend upwards of $50,000 on their products. Those who buy them have the understanding that every element of the car is quality built, and that "jerking and catching" transmissions are not part of the deal.

Yes. A mechanic will be riding with me when I test out their handywork.

[ZGadson]

Had another question... or two

1) I don't know how long my transmission has had a bad valve body, but what is the possibility that the faulty valve could have hurt something else in the engine/transmission?

2) What all does installing a new valve body entail, and will they have to do a transmission flush?

[ZGadson]

Car gets fixed tomorrow, but no one answered my questions, so here they are again if anyone might happnen to know the answers...

1) I don't know how long my transmission has had a bad valve body, but what is the possibility that the faulty valve could have hurt something else in the engine/transmission?

2) And will I get a free transmission flush out of the deal (when they fix the valve)?

[maxhopper]

1. I wouldn't think so, but anything is possible.

2. They will have to drain the fluid in order to change the valve body.

[NutriaforBreakfast]

Get them to re-check anything related to the transmission which is electronic related while itis being serviced. It's easier to replace that stuff then

[ZGadson]

Get them to re-check anything related to the transmission which is electronic related while itis being serviced. It's easier to replace that stuff then

Good thinking!

I don't know the first thing about warrantys on any car (never had one new enough) but I was wondering what the policy is on work done to the car while warrantied. If the valve that is being replaced somehow malfunctions shortly after being replaced, would the valve at least still have some sort of extended warranty or is their repair work itself warrantied?

[maxhopper]

Usually 12 mo/12000 miles on parts and labor.

[NutriaforBreakfast]

Hows the transmission?

[ZGadson]

Hows the transmission?

Not fixed quite yet.

Idiots called me and said they had the part in... I got all the way there and was told that they never had a record of my car having any parts on order and didn't know who called me to say they had the part. They're having the part overnighted to the dealer, which means I have to make yet another hour and half trip back on Friday to have the work done.

[snwbrdr435]

that infiniti dealer sucksssss

[ZGadson]

Finally!

My transmission was fixed this weekend and now the car feels brand new.

I've had many cars, but every one of them had at least one major thing wrong with the transmission, so I figured I'd spend that little extra to get one that didn't have any problems... lmao. What kind of world are we living in when $18,000 can't buy a car without transmission problems?

But tiz fixed, I am happy. Although, never again will I buy an Infiniti. A car is only as good as the company that made it. Unfortunately for Infiniti, the cars are great, but customer service is comparible to that of a Pinto dealer.

[Sentientbydesign]

The dealerships aren't all that bad and truly, I'd recommend doing as much as you can on the car yourself. For the other stuff, finding a good mechanic would have solved most of your problems.

Regardless of the make, every dealership is going to be different. I've dealt with two of them in SoCal. One was extremely professional and a pleasure to work with, the other didn't know that the rear seats folded down on the G coupe and was very unprofessional about their damaged car on the lot.