Sorry, I meant to reply to your PM about it but I got busy several times yesterday and it slipped my mind. I'll address some of it here for everyone's benefit.

I got the same $3500 quote from Sewell. I ended up having it done at a Nissan dealership and it was $600 less to have the issue repaired and also replace all the timing parts (chains, gaskets, guides, tensioners) due to the labor being so much cheaper. They gave me the same story as Infiniti - the rear cover has to be replaced and not just the leaking gasket. I was told that this was because the the gasket just by itself couldn't be purchased - it could only be replaced by changing the rear timing cover assembly which includes the defective leaking gasket. However subsequent to that I discovered that is not at all true. The part you need to fix the problem is available without buying the entire rear cover assembly and it's cheap. It also saves about 8 hours of labor charges.

The Nissan part number of the gasket that needs to be replaced is 13533-JK21A. $25.22 list price. If they refuse to do the repair by just changing the gasket (I'm assuming they will tell you they won't/can't do it that way) I'd suggest taking it somewhere that they will. IMO it's very worthwhile to go ahead and replace the timing parts while they're in there. The chain itself probably doesn't need replacement (I had them go ahead and do it) but the tensioners and guides should be done.

Here's a list of the part numbers for rear cover and timing chain replacement. I posted it earlier in the thread but here it is again. Skip the rear timing cover and associated O-rings, the timing chains themselves, the extra labor and it should be about $1400-1500.

I'm still working on getting some of the at money back form the dealership because I found out the extra labor and parts were unnecessary and they were gouging me.

 

Sure hoping my 09 doesn't have the same issue but this is a great resource if & when it does. Thanks for taking one for the team J. Hope you get some reimbursement.

 

As of this morning they are now quoting me at $2500.00 for this job. Money is very tight for me at the moment, should I go ahead and have them do it or take it to my non-dealer shop for the $900.00. I have had several bad experiences dealing with this particular dealer in the past and am second guessing that it may just be the VVT Solenoid. How can this just all of sudden happen? I don't race or spirit drive or dog the mess out of the car at all!!!!

 

Never hurts to get a second (or third) opinion. Along with the previous record from this dealer (BBs experience), I wouldnt hesitate going somewhere else to get an idea of what it would cost to get fixed. Even if its a Nissan dealer instead of Infiniti, or a small local shop.

 

I wouldn't take my car to Sewell for service unless it was a warranty repair that has to be taken to an Infiniti dealer. Since you are paying them for the diagnostic, ask them what the results if the oil pressure test was. That will tell you if it's the gasket being blown.

VVEL solenoids are not a big deal to change. It's right on the front of the engine and very easy to access.

 

Jbusby, you may look on the dealer's website (assuming you decide to fix it there) and see if they have any discount coupons for parts/service on their service department page. I used a $50 off $500 or more service recently at Grubbs. It's not much but every little bit helps.

I would lean toward the dealer doing it (even though it's more expensive), unless it's a shop that specializes in Nissan/Infiniti.

When you get to Dallas, Grubbs Infiniti has been absolutely stellar with service for me. I bought my car from Sewell in Dallas and had no issues with them, but I was living closer to Grubbs so started going there.

I'm glad they came off the price for you. That's good to hear. BB, I hope you're able to get some reimbursement from the dealer. Hopefully, they don't try to offer that reimbursement in the form of free oil changes or something like that.

 

This just happened to my car and I got the same call today that it will be $2400 to replace. I looked onkine and other Infiniti techs are saying you can get just the gasket for the 3.5 engine, and it works for the 3.7 engine for about 8.5 hours labor versus 18 hours. I told this to Infiniti and they said they can't get just the gasket for my car (obviously if that's what the book says, right?). Argh. I just hit about 84,000 miles. They also don't have the part, so I'll be without my car for at least a week.

 

Yes I know of Grubbs Infiniti very well, I actually got my vehicle from them last year and used to reside in Fort Worth a few years ago.

 

It seems like this failure is getting more and more common. Not being able to repair it by just replacing the gasket is complete BS. I'm not speaking out of school, the way I know it can be done that is that I've had a member of this forum share their invoice with me showing exactly that - replacing the gasket and not the rear cover. Guess what? His car was still under warranty so they did the job as efficiently as possible. Those of us paying out of pocket are getting hosed. And what's with a $3500 estimate magically becoming $2500? How'd that happen?

Also, I believe the gasket is the same part for all Nissan VQ 3.5L and 3.7L engines.

 

Bloody heck. Sorry to hear that you have this issue as well. Not liking how many of these we're starting to see. Think I'm going to hedge my bets and get that extended warranty from warrantydirect.com. It'll set me back a cup of coffee per day for 18 months to not have to come $2,500 out of pocket all at once.

 

Looking online, this is happening with all kinds of cars with the VQ. I now believe it was happening to my Altima (3.5) before I sold it (never had it checked out, but same sytoms except for the rpm cut off. I would put new oil in and it would go away for a bit). Time for a recall??? This seems way too common and extreme for them to be okay with it because we're just out of warranty.

 

^^^
I never heard of it happening on the VQ35DE that was in the first '03-'04 models but it seems that it's VQ35HR and up that's experiencing it. Very disappointing to hear it's becoming more common. No question that it's a design flaw for sure. I wonder if they will issue a recall if it continues to proliferate. One or two isolated instances is one thing but it's happened to two more people just this week on our forum.

 

Clearly the gasket in question is inadequate for the job it's designed to do. However this will never result in a recall by Infiniti. Auto makers only recall items that seriously affect vehicle safety, and generally only after a number of people have died or the government mandates it. This is just something that will cost you a bunch of money once you're out of warranty. Not their concern at all unfortunately.

 

True. I got off track thinking about that whole goodwill / right thing to do mentality versus the business case of a recall.

 

To be honest I have no idea how that drastic number droppedfrom $3500.00 to as of now $2400.00, it certainly doesn’t make me feelcomfortable due to that large amount, it makes me feel as though I'm beingripped off one way or the other and they don’t want to express the trueproblem, but whom will I go to rely on the full service and it being warrantedto a certain extent for the job. I went ahead and told them to do the repairbut I better not have any other issues with the car. Prior to me bringing thevehicle their for the diagnostic check on Tuesday I had a full brake job done,AC recharged and transmission flush. I too will be posting videos before andafter of this operation as I have recorded the problem multiple times of therandom throttle lag, misfire, RPM cutout and CEL flashing. I'll post thosetonight. I hope that their will soon be a national recall for this problembecause it is ridiculous. It amazes me how engineers develop these vehiclenowadays. The operation should take about a week to complete. The video of this P0021/P0524 problem will be uploaded tonight and I'll keep everyone informed on how everythin turns out.

Thanks guys!!!!! :-)