Should I go ahead and buy a set of these if I plan to keep the car? I wonder is they week ever go back to forcing you to replace the whole assembly instead of just this gasket.

 

1) It doesn't happen to every VQ.
2) This is not a repair that most can do themselves. The vast majority of people should not attempt to undertake this repair themselves.

 

I wouldn't dream of doing this myself, unless I had 2 months to get it done...and a spare car to drive in the meantime.

I was thinking more along the lines of buying the gaskets now while they're still offered individually incase I need this down the line. I can have an independent shop do the work, while not having to buy the whole assembly.

 

I suppose you could do that. But I can't see this part being discontinued any time soon.

 

Be aware, there's more to doing the job than just those two gaskets. Check out all the non-reusable parts indicated in the FSM, and then read up a bit on the forums from those who've done it and I'm sure you'll find a list of all the associated parts and supplies to complete the project (with or without options). I admire your ambition.


On another note, I just saw someone post over on Driver that they had just bought a used G35 6MT (V36) and had it throw the dreaded codes within a hundred miles on the same day they picked it up!

I don't think anyone should buy a used V36 anymore without checking the oil pressure first. PERIOD!


@G37Xtreme: Like BB said, it seems unlikely they would halt production of the gaskets, but there's certainly no harm in shelving a set for yourself if it makes you sleep better at night. It's less than 30 bucks or so for the pair.

 

Just wanted to share my experience with ICA:

I went to a Bay Area Infiniti dealership on 11/29 and a tech saw coolant seeping from the cylinder heads and recommended i change the gaskets. The repair quote was close to $4,000 because they require pulling the engine. Infiniti Consumer Affairs denied my claim in helping with the cost of repair. They explained it was out of warranty. I was disappointed as i found it hard to believe a head gasket needed to be replaced at only 43,000 miles on 2008 G Coupe. I was hoping they would at least pay a percentage of the repair bill. Maybe I'll call them back to review the case again...

Anyone else has come across the same issue with a head gasket needing to be replaced? Maybe had theirs replaced under warranty. Would you recommend a Nissan dealership or an independent shop do this type of repair?

I also found this:

head gasket leak '08 and up 25, 35 and 37. all infiniti models - Infiniti Forum

I appreciate any other suggestions, Thanks!

 

Your powertrain warranty is 6 yrs/70K miles. I guess you've exceeded the 6 yrs.

I'm not familiar with the head gasket issue but I wouldn't think a head gasket replacement should cost anywhere near $4K. Or why it requires pulling the engine. Maybe I'm wrong. If it does, you may be better off (and cheaper) just swapping the engine.

 

Let me make sure I'm clear on this, Infiniti started using a different material for these gaskets? On what year models would the new gaskets already be installed on, or are they still using the old ones on the engines? I love this car, but between the diminished resale value and issues like these, it becomes a difficult decision whether or not to buy out my lease at the end.

 

I have yet to see or hear anything definitive as to when they incorporated the new gasket material into the production line. It's not exactly like Infiniti has been terribly forthcoming with regards to this whole debacle though. They certainly have known about it for some number of years though, so one would certainly hope they had incorporated it into the later G37 model years.

 

Just out of curiosity, which dealership was it. (If you don't mind my asking)

 

I've never seen anything saying when they started using the proper gasket instead of the defective one, and there is no way in hell under any circumstances that anybody at Nissan/Infiniti would ever share that information with a consumer. So the only possible way to find out would be for owners to document the latest build date that has the failure and then docunent an engine with the improved part (by doing a tear down). The inception date would be somewhere between those.

No, I wouldn't buy out your lease unless its brand new right now. It might have the bad part. It might not. There's no way to know. Even if it has the bad one, I don't think the failure rate is very high, but I don't know that.

 

This was San Francisco Infiniti/Nissan. I actually got 2 repair quotes. SF was $3800 and the other was $4300 before tax. It would take a few days for the repair so the labor rate would be billed about $125-$140 per hour. The service rep sounded as if he knew it was a common issue. Possibly even more now on the older models. But at 43K miles, it is very disappointing...
On my previous post i included a link that a tech said he's seen some drive 20K miles without any issues. I wonder if i can do the same since I drive only on the weekends.

 

You're kind of convoluting the issue. This thread is about a completely different leak issue. You're is a big deal too, but it's going to get confusing to people since your problem is an entirely different problem than what this thread's about.

 

This makes me sad. I know I overpaid on the front end, and if I buy it at the residual amount, I'll be overpaying again. I want to keep this car so very much, but it just doesn't make any sound financial sense to do so under these circumstances. It's a '12 FWIW.

 

Sounds like it doesn't make sense from a value or durability standpoint for you. Sorry.