I bought my car new at Infiniti of Clarendon Hills in September of 2013. The day after delivery, after washing the car, I noticed the door panel and fender on the driver side was not lined up very well. I called the dealership and they agreed to try and fix it. When I picked up the car, I noticed it was a little better, but definitely not perfect.

Here is a picture of the before:


Fast forward a couple months. I was hearing a clicking sound while opening and closing the driver side door. I also noticed that there is occasionally some water leaking into the car on the driver side while going through car washes. This prompted me to look at the weatherstripping, when I noticed this:



I brought the car in to Infiniti of Clarendon Hills and explained these issues. I was also having some rust spots on this side which I attributed to water settling down there due to the compromised seal. This is what that looked like:



I dropped off the car and I was told I would be updated when they get more information as to the course of repair. The next day I received a voice message stating “we ordered the door molding for you… for the clicking noise we ordered the door check…”. I was comforted knowing that 2 of my three issues would be taken care of, until I received another voice mail the following day stating that the weatherstripping would no longer be replaced, neither would the kick plates. I do not understand how I can be told that the part was ordered for me one day and the next day I am told nothing will be done about the issue.

Very disappointing service experience for a car I bought new, less than a year ago, with about 14k miles. I spoke with the GM of the store and he was very unhelpful as well. Luckily, I have another Infiniti dealership close to me that can take care of my future needs.

Has anyone had any of these issues with the coupe, and if so, were they resolved under warranty? Any receipts for the warranty work to help me out?

Thanks in advance.

 

I forgot the best part. When they called me they asked me if I knew that my seats were swapped out. I said yes, of course. They then proceeded to tell me that the person that did the install damaged the weatherstripping and I should seek repair from them. I said "Hold on a second, I will transfer to the person who did the install. Hello, I installed the seats... I didn't hit anything." When I spoke to the GM he said the same thing to me. I told him I wanted him to put that on the receipt as the reason for declining repair and he refused to do so, probably knowing it wasn't legal.

 

Sorry to hear
So is the other dealership working w/ you to resolve this? Wonder what happened to the door prior to your purchase? Seems like that wouldn't have passed inspection at the plant.
As far as the door seals deteriorating, there's been some cases of that, not sure if it was TSB-worthy however. Should definitely be handled w/out cost to you. G/L

 

They are not working with me on this. I got vibes from them that they were worried they wouldn't be able to warranty the work, and they made it clear they didn't want to open their wallets, not even for the $60 molding. I asked the GM what happened with the molding that they said they ordered for me and he told me that they ordered it and it was there, but that doesn't mean they are going to install it. Very unprofessional.

It's really their loss though because I had a sub-par sales experience at the dealership close to my house, so I bought the car from Clarendon Hills (the dealership I'm having trouble with) since it is kind of near my work. I have already gone to them for 2 oil changes and at the last one they were telling me about the 15k mile maintenance I needed... guess where I wont be going.

Really makes you wonder if this would have been an issue with Lexus, BMW, Mercedes to replace at 15K on a car you bought new...

 

unusual responses from the dealerships there. either you have two bad apples as far as dealers go (likely), or there is more to the story (i doubt it). dealers get paid for warranty work as long as the work can stand up to an audit by Infiniti, so there is not much incentive to deny legitimate claims. do you have a 3rd or 4th dealer in your area?

in general i've had great service when it comes to warranty claims, but i do pick and choose which dealer i use. luckily there are 5 in my region to choose from.

 

That was my experience at a single dealership (Infiniti of Clarendon Hills). I am well aware that they make money on warranty work, but I really don't see where this doesn't fall under warranty at 15k miles. They were so hung up on the fact that I swapped my seats it was silly. I told them those parts are not inter-related and that wear on the weatherstripping is clearly not from anything catching on it and tearing it.

 

Ryne, my driver's side door seal was replaced under warranty. After I purchased my car used (privately as well), I noticed the driver's side was folding back on itself on the top edge of the window. The dealer replaced it under warranty with minimal hassle. Best of luck.

I like how you handled the seat installer accusations

 

Would you be able to send me a scanned copy of the work order (less any identifying info). This would help my case that it is a part of the car covered by warranty.

 

Well this sucks!!! I take my car to Clarendon Hills all the time and they've taken care of me without fail. You referenced the GM being a ****. I assume you are talking about Toni (Service Manager). That's really surprising to hear as he's usually willing to work with people. I haven't been there in a while...maybe some things have changed. I hope they get this right for you - especially since you bought the car from them!

They can't deny you warranty work unless they can "prove" that something you modified directly caused the issue.

Magnuson-Moss Act (wikipedia)
Magnuson

 

I'm aware of Magnuson-Moss and the technicalities, but I felt it was pointless to threaten legal action over it.

As far as names are concerned, I tried to keep that out of the post even though I have it all documented who said what, etc - in case I decide to bring this up to consumer affairs. I just find it more professional not to put people on blast over the internet. I do think it's fair though that people hear about my experience, and allow them to make their own judgement on who was right and what was fair.

All I can say though is that they burned a bridge with 23 year old customer that bought a new car from them. I have plenty of warranty work, service, and car buying in my future.

 

Just visited fields Infiniti in Glencoe based on a service review in the sedan forum. Scheduled a transmission flush in a couple weeks. Maybe you should try there.

 

Thanks for the heads up, I may have to. I am going to give Orland Park Infiniti a shot first since that is 10 minutes from my house.

 

I take my G to Infiniti of Orland Park. They are friendly and always give me "discounts" on work done and on parts/accessories. Have had good experience with them. Just an FYI. good luck with your issues.

 

I have not dealt with their service department yet, but I had a sales guy who rubbed me the wrong way back in September when I was looking at cars to buy. I realize there can be dramatically different cultures between the 2 departments, so I am going to go there with an open mind.

I did buy a couple exhaust gaskets from Orland Park Infiniti when I bought my sport muffler. I told the guy I went to Nissan (next door) first trying to save a few bucks, and they didn't have them. He told me to just come there first next time and gave me a nice discount (without me even asking). I asked him if he recommended thread lock on the bolts and he threw a tube in my bag and said they open tubes for jobs all the time and it ends up going bad and getting thrown away. It was a refreshing experience.

 

I also had the weather strip replaced via warranty on my 09 coupe I bought CPO. They even have me a loaner for the weekend while they did the work because they couldn't get to my car right away.