I recentlly posted a violent jerking issue, as my 09 g37x coupe (86k miles) was entering a safe mode and not allowing me to control the car as I was driving. I thought it was my stillen gen 3 intake. I took it to the dealer and authorized the following repairs: both throttle cable replace, as the diagn. was reading over 110% on the Bank 1 +2., idle valve relearn, and a TCM/ECM UPDATE. Cost around $1,200. Anyone have any thoughts? I'm just hoping my rare problem disappears and I wasn't screwed by a dealer. Parts and labor 12 month warranty on dealers work.

 

Bro you got SO screwed. It could have been the smallest thing. Could have been a dirty MAF sensor or a dirty throttle body. Please tell me you checked those before taking to the dealer

 

Anyone else see a problem here?


Hint: three letters- D B W

 

I saw that too. LOL

OP, go back to the dealer and have them show you exactly what throttle cable they replaced.

The throttle body opens without a cable lol

 

I didn't think stuff like that still happened since the invention of the internet. The next time you have an issue with your car, take it to a shop or an auto parts store to have them read the Diagnostic Trouble Code. Of if you want to get really crazy, spend $50-60 for a cheap code reader and read it yourself. Then you'll have at least an idea of what is actually wrong. HINT: I can guarantee it's not a throttle cable. I'm not sure what exactly was wrong with your car, but if that's what you were told you got hosed and you shouldn't use that place for service anymore because it seems that they're dishonest. If it was a dealership, would you be willing to scan and post the invoice for your repair?

Also, when your car goes into "limp mode" it can still be driven. It simply won't allow the engine to rev over about 2500 RPM. If you accelerate slowly and change gears before reaching that engine speed and you can go as fast as about 60 MPH. Or at least that's the speed you can react in 6th gear on a manual equipped car.

 

+1, I'd love to see that.

 

Tighten up your chair's nuts and bolts....

You might fall out !

 

Dealer Service managers can see these folks coming a mile away...

 

Wow for that price I hope they help you top off all your vital fluids especially the blinker fluid. I'm also interested in seeing the work order.

 

Let me know if you can see the photo of invoice.

Did I get screwed, absolutely. Did I need assurance that this fail wasn't going to happen again, yes.

The reason why I had to visit a dealer is bc of the ecm/tcm update that I knew was required from previous thread research. Included in the price is a 12 month warranty: peace of mind that this wont happen again. Is it going to happen again, I'm not sure.

At least the service guy f'd up by not charging the throttle service twice.

If you guys have any positive advice of where to go from here, if anything, I'd like to hear about it.

 

Easy there bud. The desire to see the invoice wasn't just to make fun of you. If the work was done at a dealership, then post a pic of the invoice and we'll look at it to see if it's legit. If it actually details that they did what you stated here, then you have a legitimate case to take to the BBB or at the very least contact Infiniti corporate customer service and report this dealer for lying and cheating, and possibly force them to give you a refund or adjustment.

At this point, I don't know if it was not just a misinterpretation of the work that was actually performed. To be honest, I kind of suspect that the actual work was probably a throttle BODY (not cable) replacement.

 

Fixed your image in your post.

So they replaced both throttle bodies, not throttle cables. Huge difference.

However you just bought $1500 worth of throttle bodies you probably didn't need at all. Here's what DTC P010B is:
P010b Infiniti Mass Air Flow Circuit Range/Performance Bank 2 OBDII Engine Light Trouble Code | Engine-Codes.com

I do have some positive advice for you.
What should have been done (in order) is:
1) Get your DTC read at O'reilly or another auto parts store. Cost $0.
2) Google "P010B" and find out what the actual problem is. Cost $0.
3) Check, double check, triple check all connections on the aftermarket intakes to make sure you don't have an intake air leak (The overwhelmingly most likely cause of your issue). Cost - $0.
4) Check air filters and make sure they aren't completely blocked. Cost - $0.
5) Remove, examine, clean, replace MAF sensors (Not likely the primary cause of the problem, but possible becasue of the intake leak). Cost - $9 for can of MAF cleaner
6) Perform idle air volume relearn procedure. Cost $0.
7) Reset ECU. Cost - $0
8) Buy something really cool for your car with the $1900 you just saved.

 

I get your logic. Dealership service will have guarantee fix and warranty. However something I want to point out to you is the very last comment on the invoice. While I am not sure if they 100% fixed what was wrong but -IF- the problem occurs in the future, I would HIGHLY suggest you throw the stock intake box back on and remove your Stillens. The aftermarket intake will give them excuses to not warranty the work that was done to your car as they have already advised you aftermarket intake might trigger MIL (meaning it may cause issues).

And quick search will show the TB to be $641 a pop on infinitipartusa.com. A quick tip... to avoid getting raped and overcharged for OEM parts, I would ask them to let me know before or when changing parts (so I can start researching and comparing prices online/other dealership prices).

 

BINGO. I wasn't going to mention it and make OP feel bad about it, but you hit the nail on the head. The dealership blamed the aftermarket parts as being the cause of the issue, which I would guess is correct. Not the parts themselves, but an issue with installation most likely. That "warranty" is worthless, becasue they clearly state on the work order the disclaimer that if the problem recurs that the intakes are the reason. Hence not something that warranty will cover. As stated, if it happens again your only recourse is to remove them and put all stock parts back on before taking the car in to the dealership again to be sold more expensive parts that I think you probably didn't need in the first place.

 

Understood. Thanks all for the input.

However, I did not visit the dealer for the check engine light. The check engine light has only appeared twice in the 2.5yrs I've owned the car. Both times I cleared the computer and went on my way.

I went to the dealer to remediate the "limp mode" problem that I was experiencing. Keep in mind I've experienced the "limp mode" problem even before my stillen intakes were installed. At random, this limp mode (happened about once every 2 months) would kick in and nearly caused me multiple accidents.

I've researched previously that the tcm/ecm update may be a remedy for this problem.
Therefore, the dealer performed this update, along with a idle relearn procedure.

And yes, the throttle BODIES, were a way the dealership could take advantage.