masterdukill

A little background:
So I had my 09 7 speed auto transmission die out @ 54K, and it was replaced under warranty last year. The fault was because of the radiator mixing the coolant with tranny oil. So they replaced the radiator, tranny, rear subframe, & catalytic converters...

Fast forward 1yr later, add 6k miles, the car completely dies this time. Car lost power, and I roll it to a stop. At stop the engine completely died & will not turn back on. Last time my tranny failed, engine was still run-able. Funny thing, i was taking it out to the dealership to look at why i was getting a "clicking" sound from the engine bay.


So as of right now, I'm getting a bill racked up for diagnostic time fee. They do not know exactly what the issue is yet. I'm thinking its the timing chain, torque converter, or the transmission gave out again. It's out of warranty now, and they say I'm going to have to shell out $ to fix it.

Does anybody know what the average cost to replace:
-timing chain
-Torque converter
-New transmission

I'm debating on what to do depending on the cost here. I'm praying its not, but it seems like the cost of any repair might be half the the value of the car. I'm also iffy now since they are taking apart the car. I'm 90% sure, all the seals, plastics, etc will never be as good as original and I'm bound to have more problems soon after this repair. Does anybody know any infiniti customer affairs people i can reach out to for help?

canucklehead

iTrader: (9)

you'll get a 1 year warranty extension on the parts/labour related to all the work done last year under warranty. even if you are slightly outside that 1-year extension, my guess is you will be able to push for full or partial coverage by Infiniti. at the very least you will get a goodwill partial coverage as long as the new failure is related to last year's failure. i have exercised this prerogative several times with Infiniti Canada with no issues, in fact the dealer usually offers it up once they've spoken with corporate.

Surfnazi

How did the radiator get into the sealed transmission?

telcoman

Might be time for a new car?
Comes with all new parts and a warranty
Does your driving style have anything to do with such premature transmission failures?

Telcoman

Crazyirish

Most cars with automatics have the trans coolers built into the radiator. Works fine unless a crack or corrosion allows the fluids to mix.

masterdukill

Doh, so it looks like the flex plate completely sheared apart. This is pretty unbelievable to me that i can do that. I'm thinking this can only happen if somebody manages to redline the car in neutral & stick it into gear? The other hypnosis i have is the the flexplate was "flexing" way too much with the new transmission, so it finally gave out.

Otherwise, yes, I do "accelerate" from a stop to 45mph often, but I don't think that is out of "normal" use.

Yellafella

Did you buy it used? It sounds like you bought a lemon. No that is not out of normal use. I dog the hell out of mine everyday and I've had no major repairs as of 69k miles. I redline it everyday, always shifting it and never in drive. I even drive it sideways when there's no traffic and brake launch it often.

Yellafella

If you do plan on keeping the car I'd get a new tranny and torque converter from Level 10. I assume the dealership is covering everything else including the engine? Or...

I would go with this

masterdukill

I bought the car new. The car already got a new transmission last year (under warranty). Now its out of warranty, so everything is coming out of my pocket. Dealer said he will try to get me a discount, but I'm not sure how much that is.

I've heard good things about level10. If i had figure out the problem sooner & done it with a local shop, I'd probably gone with the level10. I don't race the car, its already jacked up at the dealer, and they already got me with a hefty "diagnostic fee" that will be rolled into the fix. So kind of too late for me now..

Ape Factory

iTrader: (3)

I'd be calling Infiniti corporate on this one...A new tranny, installed by the dealer, goes out in a year? Nope, they did something wrong. I'd fight it tooth and nail. I'd also take a hard look at the radiator to see if there's any physical damage due to road debris (unlikely). If so, insurance may cover the costs.

masterdukill

I tried emailing the infiniti consumer affairs last week and so far no response. Just sent another email again.. I don't have the patience to wait on the phone for a call. I may just bite the bill and move on now.

Ape Factory

iTrader: (3)

You MUST call. An email won't do jack. Seriously, you're looking at several grand out of pocket at the very least.

masterdukill

So I got a hold of one of the Infiniti consumer affairs, Lauren, Regional Manager, and I didn't get much out of that. Understanding its costing someone money to pay these guys to work, I had offered to pay for the labor and only asked for some help on getting a discount or reimbursement for the parts only.

She was somewhat nice, and pretty much straight forward with me. Can't do anything, and she spoke to her service manager(Steve?), and she relayed back to me this is normal wear & tear. The car only has 64k miles..She said that is normal wear & tear is like the brakes or tires & its dependent on the driver. At this point, i tried to logic a bit more, such as quality of the build, and possible look/misalignment install problems with the new transmissions. She said the car shouldn't have ever started if there was any problems, and basically stone walled me and said no to everything. I don't race, drift, track, or push the car to its limit, so I don't think it the driver... No point in wasting more of my time as its pretty obvious they are not going to help a loyal customer.

Infiniti Corporate, guess they don't care about their older cars anymore, or the quality of their material anymore. I take this as a lost and I'm going to lose more time($$) if i complain more. Probably won't be looking for another inifnti in my next purchase.

The local dealer, they are awesome & have great customer services. I don't blame them for any of these issues! (unless of course they actually jacked up original transmission install )

I attached a photo of the sheared flex plate + what it the other part looks like on the engine crank.

Crazyirish

That is not normal wear and tear.

Rollo

If they replaced your transmission and it failed in a year there is obviously something wrong with the parts or the installation. I would advise speaking with a lawyer. That is completely unreasonable.
If your local dealer was really nice you wouldn't have this problem.


For example: several years ago I had a 2010 G35 sedan and it had the peeling steering wheel problem. I took it to Infiniti of Nashville--a stone's throw from Infiniti USA--and they told me the peeling steering wheel could not be covered under warranty. They blamed infiniti corporate.
I then took it to Infiniti of Louisville and they covered it no problem. I drove 120 miles to get it repaired and they discovered they had ordered the wrong part. they let me drive the loaner 120 miles home and when they got the part in and replaced they drove my car to me and picked up my loaner. That is a good dealership.