Hi,

I have a 2009 G37x Coupe and I have scheduled my first service at the dealership. I have less than 3,000 miles on the car. While I was on the phone, I asked the service advisor what type of oil they will be using. I told him about Nissan Ester or synthetic oil but he told me that regular oil is recommended by Infiniti and that's what they will use. I was just wondering, has anyone taken their 2009 G for the first service recently and what oil was recommended at their dealership..
Thanks,
Hap

 

The dealer just puts in regular oil for my oil changes.

 

I bring in my own Mobil1 5w/30

 

Same here. My dealer was aware of Nissan Ester but said it should only be used if the VVEL noise issue occurs (his words). Almost 10K miles on mine and no issues. This is a hotly debated topic.

 

i bring in my own Mobil1 full synthetic 5W30 and they do it for $19.99

 

How many quarts?

 

My first 2 changes the dealer recomended conventional oil instead of synthetic. They said its better to wait till the third oil change to switch to synthetic so the engine can fully break in or something.

 

its ~5 1/4 quarts. it always takes 5 plus a little more sometimes 1/4 and sometimes a tad less

i've never heard that ever...any car i've ever owned or worked on we've left the "stock" oil in for the first 3000 miles or so then put in full synthetic

 

Ill be due for my first oil change soon and im curious of this as well. Wont they put in synthetic for a higher price as well?

 

If you want the Nissan Synthetic Ester Oil, then yes they will put that in (its more expensive). If you want any other synthetic oil, just go to WalMart (GL finding a cheaper price anywhere else) and buy whatever synthetic you want in it and take it with you. They don't charge you to bring your own

 

The Nissan Ester Oil is not a synthetic oil. Below is a copy of a post from the Edmunds site, there are synthetic ester oils out there, Redline and Motul are 2 common ones in Calif.

"Ester refers to a synthetic blend of oil that has certain high end lubrication properties. Don't know where the name "Ester" came from.

Infiniti has a technical bulletin addressing this. Apparently "ester" oil was shipped in the vehicles from the factory, but at the 1st oil change after purchase, non-ester oil was used. Hense the valvetrain noise. The problem was identified and the the fix was the reintroduction of ester oil."

Let's clear up a few things here. The Nissan Ester oil is NOT a synthetic blend. It is conventional 5W-30 oil. According to the European Patent Application for this oil available on the web and referred to in a number of other G37 forums, the claims for this oil are that the carbon-based additives increase fuel economy. According to the Infiniti VVEL Technical paper, the carbon-based additives reduce friction across the VVEL valve stem diamond-like carbon coating. That seems to be the gist of the Nissan Ester oil.

Esters are PAO based substances added to oils and lubricants. Based on the European Patent Application, the Nissan Ester oil does not seem to have additional esters or greater quantities of esters.

Are you referring to the "out-of-sync" VVEL Technical Service Bulletin? If so, the newer software seems to be the key to getting the VVEL to return to idle, even though the amended TSB calls for an Ester oil change after updating the software.

Nissan has only recently stated the Ester oil is a factory fill. Most people with Ester factory fill may not have even performed their first oil change yet. The "change" from Ester to non-Ester oils does not appear to have any effect on the valve train noise you refer to. And, I am not sure what noise, exactly, you are referring to. The "identified" problem is the VVEL software which does not return the valve timing to idle setting after the car has been driven hard. The updated software is the "cure" for the out-of-sync VVEL knocking. Unless a different "noise" could be caused by the valve stem diamond-like coating, and the Ester carbon-based additive is the only way to the quiet this noise, then the cure is not the Ester oil.

This information is all available elsewhere on the net. <SCRIPT language=javascript type=text/javascript>//<![CDATA[var ret = YAHOO.forumsSMOLinks.genlinks("all", "http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f14015c/90", document.title, "post");if (ret) { document.write(ret);}//]]></SCRIPT>

 

I had mine changed at 3K and was told at my dealer in Dallas to use conventional oil. I went ahead and had them change it with Mobil 1 which they were happy to do but that it was not necessary. I used Mobil 1 since I drive about 2K a month and should be able to go longer between changes using the synthetic. Frickin' commute sucks but at least I have fun driving it!

 

I assume it's called ester oil becuase it contains ester molecules.

 

At the first oil change the dealer put synthetic oil in for me for $130. That is not required and not to mention it is just too expensive.

At the upcoming oil change, I will switch back to conventional oil.

 

Thanks for the correction!! I never use the Ester Oil and dont know too much about it, so again thank you for catching my mistake

If you want synthetic oil for WAAAAY less than $130 just buy 6 quarts of Mobil1 or whatever other synthetic you want (it costs about $15 give or take) and then have the dealer put that in. All in all you MIGHT spend $50, mine costs $34.?? when it's all said and done.