Post by
LaughnJar »
https://forums.nicoclub.com/laughnjar-u303257.html
Mon Mar 06, 2023 4:49 am
Please do not bomb me because of the length of this post, because I'm posting this after having just picked up my 2012 m56x from the dealership this past Friday March 3, 2023. Subsequent my having had the car towed on a flatbed tow truck to their location on August 16, 2022! And that is no typo. THE NISSAN SERVICE CENTER HAD MY CAR IN THEIR POSESSION FOR AN ENTIRE 6 MONTH SPAN!!! In order to fix problems with the car that initially, in my possession, were then limited to three 2500 rpm wot limp mode events, obd2 scan trouble codes p0010 and p0011. with my attenpts to fix the issue limited to changing the oil, filter and both air , and slapping an OBD2 reader on it to pull trouble codes off the ECU due to limits imposed by the MEPCO drive train/power train repair service policy I took out on the car.
So yes this perhaps is a little bit of venting to The Forum. But also I want people to know just how egregious this event truly is in my case in case anyone else has had any similar experience. Simply because I have recently read more than a few accounts of horrible dealership service! In my case, the service has been so freaking ridiculous that I'm contacting Infinity USA regardless of what happens and I'm going to file a complaint with the Attorney General of my state. Not to mention aggressively pursuing my demands to fully correct the engine in my car to its normal operating and working functionality. Because based on the totality of the events, I believe the dealership mechanic was either doing a little on the job training or didn't know what they were working on and were negligent. Because I suspect that they are the cause of the primary damage that's of significance in this case based on the difference between what I head to car taken into diagnose and fix, and what they initially found in subsequently did and did not fix! So if you're in a rush please don't bother eating this. If you're interested or if you've had or are having troubles with the service from infinity or Nissan service centers. Read on for the debacle and you will understand my frustration. Thank you in advance grab a cup kick your feet up lol!
I'll begin by stating that I purchased an insurance policy on my drivetrain and powertrain for this car before I even drove it. I strategically began policy coverage on the car well prior to flying one way from Kansas City to the Atlantic Coast. In order to sign and close a deal arranged entirely via internet with a vetted reputable "luxury" used car dealership. Until finalizing in person at their location. I then immediately drove the car 1290 milws back to Topeka KS where I reside. Therefore the trip back satisfied the 1000 mile probationary Drive miles required for coverage to take effect.
The trip back took me through the Appalachians, and involved both mother nature and myself putting the car through its paces and doing so at times in a very aggressive driving Style. I could do so because I was familiar with the power handling and other performance aspects of the m56x. Because I specifically purchased the 2012 after having been impressed with the 2011 m56x purchased for my wife's daily driver one year earlier from a dealership just 3 hours away from me, and with approximately the same amount of mileage on the odometer.
Simply put that specific car ran like a beast. And was the coolest high performance luxury land yacht sedan that I've ever driven! I shot a powerful all-wheel drive vehicle specifically because my wife is Puerto Rican. It snows in kansas. And I wanted a V8 to put out some horsepower because I'm a performance Junkie lol!
Ironically, as opposed to road conditions being the culprit, she managed to Total it by rear-ending a 1990 something lifted Toyota pickup with a solid steel bumper, just prior to exiting a parking lot, and traveling at a rate of speed no greater than 15 mph. Lol!
So anyway to continue.
The trip back was entirely uneventful and remarkably quick and comfortable! The day I returned home , took the car to the car wash to make it look relatively new once again, swung by O'Reilly Auto Parts and picked up the recommended oil and filter, which I changed the next day after getting some sleep lol! The trip back went so smoothly in fact that I was surprisingly more happy with the purchase then I had even expected. For the next two weeks my wife drove the vehicle back and forth to work has her daily driver. We then went to visit her family for three and a half weeks in Puerto Rico. In that time the car battery drained.
Upon realizing the dead battery situation, I charged the battery on low slow charge for 24 hours. And for the next few days the car seem to be operating excellently.
And then one morning as she was heading to work, while on the highway on ramp attempting to accelerate upward to speed with wide open throttle, the RPM gauge hit 2500 and the car went into limp mode. She immediately pulled over on the side of the highway and called me explaining what happened. I instructed her to drive the car roughly three blocks so that she would be off the highway and in a retail parking lot. I drove and met her there swapped cars. And took about a half our doing a cursory evaluation checking for any symptoms of major damage like timing belt issues and such. But symptoms of such major problems did not present. So I put the car in drive and drove approximately a mile back home on city streets never allowing the engine Dixie 2500 rpms.
Arriving home I slapped an OBD2 reader on it and pulled codes p0010 and p0011. And finding the related to the vvt intake and exhaust actuator solenoids and noting that the most common issue is dirty oil, I proceeded to do another oil and filter change on the car later that evening. Waiting to use our other vehicle to buy the oil and filter and change that before doing anything else including starting the engine of the m56x.
After that oil and filter change, and using my OBD2 to clear the trouble codes, I took it for a test drive went to highway speeds of 100 under wide open throttle, one slight hiccup but nothing more presented. So I was like okay no problem we're good to go. Perhaps it was just some heavier sludge remaining from the oil because of the trip that broke free and partially clogged the actuator after having changed the oil once already.
But such was not the case. because the very next day the very same thing happened when my wife attempted to drive the car to work wash rinse repeat except for the oil and filter change which I didn't bother with. I went straight to the OBD2 scanner. And the same trouble codes popped up again. I should mention that both times the check engine light did come on.
So being somewhat Help Myself hamstrung by insurance and annoyed, I simply cleared the trouble codes and performed some no load RPM rev increase hold tests at 2000, 2500, 3000, 3500 RPM. No codes occurred and the check engine light remained off. So I thought okay, I guess I'll just test drive again on the highway maybe that's got something to do with issue under load.
Well I guess so because after reversing out of my driveway, I turned and proceeded just one house further up the hill from ours, when I heard a different plastic slapping sound that concerned me enough that I immediately hit the brakes, put the car in neutral while the engine was still running costed backwards downhill and parallel parked in front of my house against the curb. And then I turned the car off and immediately made an appointment with the local Nissan dealership. The soonest appointment was 2 weeks out! During which the entire time the car was never started nor driven.
And because it's all-wheel drive, and I've got pretty much unlimited tow insurance, I called for a flatbed with a winch, to pull the car up onto the bed and have it hauled to the dealership. I took it to the dealership because that was what was required by the underwriter of the warranty insurance I took out on the power and drivetrain. And due to another conflict I could not go with the vehicle so I drafted a two-page description of the specific events much like this one LOL, that led to my car having arrived at their location for their service people to diagnose and fix. In it I specifically mentioned everything that I mentioned above including the trouble codes regarding the actuators. As well as having driven almost 1,300 Mi halfway across the United States immediately after I picked the car up just about a month and a half earlier.
That I had that information in writing and specifically told lead tech at the dealership of the the problem and the written description of it was on the driver's seat is significant in this case. Because according to the dealership service department notes in the repair order documentation I have been given , the very first thing that Tech who worked on the car did, was to "erased all the codes, [which I would think would include temporary, pending and permanent], and only codes that return are fuel pump codes." At which point the codes I was seeing and apparently magically disappeared never to return.
However and unfortunately, as stated on same document, codes that return are fuel pump codes. Found high pressure fuel pump pressure is low, also found fuel pump lifter has cracked, and is damaged came out in pieces - - replace lifter along with replacing high pressure fuel pump. And that was just the beginning of the ordeal. But don't worry getting from this point to picking the car up is pretty quick in spite of the fact that it took 6 months for the dealership to perform the necessary repairs as they determine necessary.
Which included not only a new high pressure fuel pump but also included the hpfp oil pot or bucket and valve lifter it rides on as well as the passenger side camshaft, due to the camshaft lobe having been scored due to friction and I assume slight oil starvation, pump gasket, water pump Inlet gasket and antifreeze as well as other necessary gaskets and O-rings.
And there are some interesting observations I have made about the invoice and what is mentioned. Because I was told several times that my car was almost ready to go but the tech needed to test drive before signing off on the repair work and yet the invoice indicates mileage in being 108,362mi and the mileage out being 108, 362mi. I'm thinking that is deliberately falsified.
And recall the codes that I was getting had to do with the VVT intake solenoid specifically which was the reason why I thought an oil change would help resolve the problem. And yet invoice doesn't even have reference to those codes presenting initially at all among the multiple codes they report finding and then clearing. Which subsequently led to having only high pressure fuel pump related codes. And the finding "fuel pump lifter has cracked and is damaged came out in pieces..."
So finally I pick up my vehicle on Friday more than just a little pissed off after having waited 6 months having been givien multiple excuses that don't really add up. At one point mechanic even told my wife that Apparently one of the cams was 180° out of phase. To which my thinking was really? Then how in the hell did I drive halfway across the country in the car? Or alternatively, how did that happen driving in town and barely on the highway a few times if it l didn't happen prior?
Essentially when all is said and done my experience my intuition and the facts that I was told as well as based on facts that are printed right on the invoice suggest that they didn't know what in the hell they were doing at the dealership. Or at least they thought they knew better and I or the OBD2 reader that I was using because they didn't touch not even test the VVT intake or exhaust actuator solenoids, much less replace them like they should have in my opinion.
And the total bill came to 5 313.59 I had $100 deductible but I had to pay for $1,000 more worth of Diagnostics because the insurance I bought only covers 1/2 hour diagnostic.
OH AMD MOST IMPORTANTLY, it took a while for them to pull the car around to me when I picked it up. And after getting in it and driving approximately six blocks I noticed hesitation starting. So when I came up is the first car a red light waiting for to turn green I decided to do a little drag racing wide open throttle from Red on Green to 40 mph but as soon as the car RPMs hit 3500, it's stuttered Studdard seemed like it was going to go into mode. And my father was following me because he had taken me to the service station. So he pulled over as I pulled over into a parking lot and I described him what happened though he didn't really notice anything from afar. I figured it was just the engine perhaps needing to be driven more lightly and broken and with the new parts. So I continued on. I had to pick up my son so I had to travel a short stretch of highway. And upon attempting to enter the highway accelerating the speed once again 3500 RPM and then stutter stutter stutter but not shut off or limp. So now I'm getting concerned but think I'll just drive home and then decide what I need to do. I pick up my son and the drive home I never exceed 50 miles an hour but once again while going up a hill trying to maintain 45 to 50 mph 3500 RPM same stuff happening. As soon as I got home I put an OBD code reader on it noted that the check engine light was on and pulled codes p0024 and P0300! If you know what those are which I do that's not a good sign. Subsequently there are a couple more codes that have propped up after just idling in the driveway. Sending those to say they didn't fix my car. And I feel I have pretty good reason to believe that they ran my engine under starvation of oil conditions which caused the fuel pump lifter to fail and crack and disperse debris throughout my engine and probably ruined it. Good Times! So there you have it. And now you know why I am very aggravated with Nissan/ infinity at present!
But hey Nissan carries a 12-month / 12,000 mile warranty on all repairs! So whats to worry or be upset about, right!?!?
Other than not having a vehicle for 6 months to repair something that should have taken two weeks at most being lied to obviously, and being handed the document that is totally incomplete when it comes to you information regarding the repair work as well as the odometer reading for mileage in and mileage out. That they are the exact same mileage readings begs the question how in the hell did you test drive the car to see if the repairs were sufficient to fix the problems that the codes are indicating!? Please provide me with any advice helpful suggestions and or Devil's Advocate arguments, that your experience has provided you or that what you have read suggests.
Thank you for reading my vent rant and account of my series of unfortunate Misadventures with the Nissan dealership service center at my location! With that I am out!
Peace