Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

I've been dealing with Infiniti Consumer Affairs regarding an issue with my wife's 09 sedan that is now out of warranty. The issue is a leak in the rear timing cover gaskets that is causing a low oil pressure condition.

But what I'd like members input on is the Infiniti Consumer Affairs process itself. As mentioned the car is out of warranty by about 7K miles. However the leaking rear timing cover gaskets is a known issue that at least 2 members of the forum (that I know about) have had to deal with, but they were still under warranty at the time so they didn't have to come $3K out of pocket. Of course I'm posting this because their answer was that they can't do anything for me on the repair cost. What a shock. I was repeatedly told that it has been reviewed and that the decision has been made. I asked what is to be done if I'm not satisfied with that decision. I had to ask literally 7 times and use different phrasing to get the person on the phone to finally tell me that I can request that a supervisor call me back to discuss it. They are supposed to call me back within 2 days.

My question is for any of you that have successfully gotten Infiniti Consumer Affairs to change a decision not to pay for a repair or anyone that has or does work for Infiniti. Is there anything in particular that I can say or do to compel them to do the right thing (IMO) and take care of a repair out of warranty on a known issue? Thus far I have been very polite and complete with information regarding the car, the maintenance, and that I am aware of other cases of the same issue affecting this engine. I dont want to threaten litigation or bad mouthing them publicly to force them to change. I don't want to do either and I'm not at all sure that doing so would even help. Any advice from those that know?

EDIT: My resolution wasn't satisfactory. Basically Infiniti Consumer Affairs told me they really don't care about my problem, I'm out of warranty so go kick rocks. Pay for my own repair of a known issue with these engines out of pocket or GTFO, they aren't doing squat for me.

EDIT~For those wanting to try to DIY this, here's a link (cliff notes~it's a B*tch)
http://g35driver.com/forums/attachme...ry-gaskets.pdf

And a list of the part #s for the minimum parts req'd~
SEAL O RING (20.8MM) - 15066-ZL80C
SEAL O RING (27.7MM) - 15066-ZL80D
SEAL-OIL, CRANKSHAFT - 13510-31U10
GASKET SOLENOID-23797-EY01A
GASKET SOLENOID-23797-JA10B
THREEBOND 1217F GASK-999MP-1217FPP
LONG LIFE ANTIFREEZE-999MP-AF000P
GASKET OIL GALLERY-13533-JK21A
GASKET-FRONT COVER,L-13533-JK21B

SwissCheeseHead

iTrader: (6)

That's a tough spot, Jeremy. I don't have any advice, but I hope you can get something sorted out. It might be a good opportunity for a DIY if nothing changes? Fortunately, the timing cover gasket itself is a relatively cheap part. Gaining access to it might be another story however. How far (time-wise) out of warranty is it? You could argue if it's relatively close that it just fell out of warranty. Maybe telling them that you've been a loyal customer to the Infiniti brand and that you're a G37 enthusiast on this forum might help your cause.

EDIT: Yeah...I just looked at the FSM and it doesn't seem like a DIY job...

ANMVQ

iTrader: (13)

My experience with them was horrible. They didn't offer any help ,but my case if you remember was very different. An I didn't know oil leaks, Gaskets? were covered under the warranty. My front can cover is leaking wonder if I should ask when I'm here Saturday getting my trans serviced.

The only thing I would like they look at is where the car is serviced,. When I was at Toyota the only leeway we had was if the customer was a "customer" and not someone just looking for warranty work. Did you do all the services at Infiniti or no?

NJ Torque

iTrader: (5)

Hopefully you can show service history at dealer/dealers to help your case.

Just ask for assistance if at all possible... ask to speak with a supervisor to have them excalate your file.

JerseyG37s

every dealership should have whats called good will coverage.... now every dealership has a different amount so to know how much they have i wouldnt know....but speaking from being an infiniti service advisor its up to the dealership to grant you good will service.... with that being said if you do all of your service work there they are more willing to help you out ie. we pay for parts you take care of the labor and so on.... that would be your best bet is to find that out... infiniti consumer affairs is going to call the dealer and ask them what they think about the situation and they will figure out from their what the next step would be.... hope my info helps as i am on the phone with CA pretty much every single day LMAO

xtremeroller

Had to deal with them over the acid rain damage to my clear coat. My car was still under warranty and the dealer wouldn't do anything. Infinity consumer affairs was no help either. Basically told me to either come out of pocket to have it repainted or just deal with it.

blackfunk

iTrader: (1)

I'm assuming this car was bought new. If so you've purchased 2 new cars within the last 6+ yrs or so, thats a start.

Next if you've ever reported it prior to your car going out of warranty this can also help greatly. I had creaking headliner that I had them work on several times out of warranty. I did have to raise hell going up the food chain though.

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

If any of you have read anything I've posted over the years, it's pretty clear that I'm not the guy overpaying a dealership for routine maintenance and crappy car washes. I DIY almost everything. I'm a "customer" because I have $90K worth of their product sitting in my driveway. I use their service department if it's a major issue beyond my skill or will, or for TSB and warranty work. This is beyond a DIY because it is very labor intensive. They estimated 18.4 hours and about $400 worth of parts. I don't have that kind of time to spend on it. So if that's the criteria of whether or not my case warrants consideration I'm screwed. I first took it in for the problem about 7K past warranty. I don't know how long it was occurring before she noticed the symptoms. I wasn't aware that the dealership had much of a say in it. I haven't had much dealings with them so I doubt they care about my situation much. I don't see why they'd recommend to decline Infiniti paying for it if they are still getting paid for the work, by Infiniti rather than by me. Because if I'm the one paying I'm having it done at the Nissan dealership that's 40 miles closer, has techs with he exact same training, but charge me $50 less per hour labor for the exact same work.

Thanks for your insights.

.

JerseyG37s

They call infiniti to ask them about service history and how you as a customer are to the company... if you don't do service work infiniti isn't really inclined to help... its like me buying a dodge and than going to chevy for all of my service work... you aren't brand loyal to them... 18.4 hours is a lot to pay for a repair I'm completely agree however i do not know your situation with the dealer nor do i know the dealer at all.... some dealers take care of their customer some don't... i get you DIY things save move where ever you can but a piece of advise.... the cars we drive last forever with a little bit of fluid maint and some tlc...im not telling you to go to infiniti and have them do a full 60k service for 1200 bucks... but do a trans flush here and there and do a brake flush here and there a couple hundred bucks goes a long way in history instead of only going there for warranty work.... there are a lot of people who have 90k worth of infiniti cars in their homes some have driven them for 10 or 25 years.... I'm just saying i know you think they rob you (and some do to be honest) but a little service goes a long way... my last QX4 lasted 340k miles and all i did was service it...**** happens bro like what i have to say or not i couldn't care less just trying to shed some light on a situation and help you out...

Hope everything works out nothing else to really say about this situation

jmann

Not that it makes your situation any better, but at least while they are repairing that you can have the timing chain and guides replaced for basically the cost of the parts. After you have all that done the motor should be good to go for a really long time.

Dough1397

I've often read that vehicle manufacturers (e.g. Infiniti) pay a reduced hourly rate for warranty work. I am not sure how Infiniti handles this.

If this is true, dealers may realize that 18 hours of warranty work at $60/hour is much crappier than $110/hour they get when charging the walk in service customer who wants a tire rotation and new brakes.

xtremeroller

Let's face it, customer service has gone to hell in the past ten years with everything.

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

I'm brand loyal becasue I have purchased 2 Infinitis back to back and 4 Nissans before that. I was seriously planning on a third one within the next year or two before this. I'll seriously reconsider. I don't usually take it elsewhere except my own garage. If their idea of being a good customer is paying $450 for a brake job I can do myself for $175 in parts and an hour of DIY work that I enjoy doing, then we have a different idea of what brand loyalty is. The idea that their service work is better than mine is ludicrous. It's money to them. It's my baby to me. Instead of getting them to warranty my crappy clutch that went out, I paid out of my own pocket and upgraded to aftermarket saving them parts and labor. I should have made them do the warranty repair, then immediately take their parts out done the aftermarket swap. At least I'd have gotten my money's worth.

TVPostSound

iTrader: (9)

Intake timing solenoid codes??

You'll have to convince them that this gasket is not a "moving" "wear and tear" part.
It's a fixed gasket, not a seal (seals have friction to wear them).

An internal fixed part should not fail, the OEM gasket is paper, Infiniti now sells a metal gasket in place, this has been going on for 7 years, they know its an issue.

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

No, the codes are low oil pressure and random intermittent misfire. It's the rear timing gaskets. They know it's an issue, and it's not a wear part. They just have no responsibility to pay for repair out of warranty. It's their prerogative not to. But IMO it's the right thing to do. They obviously disagree and the final decision is theirs.