Is this repair a ripoff or for reals?
 

I took my car in to a new dealer today for brake judder - I have had the front rotors machined twice. The service manager calls back and tells me that it's from the rear rotors, not the front rotors, and that the problem is that my wheel lugnuts (installed at a reputable aftermarket dealer) were all torqued to 150 lbs, and that factory specs call for 80-90 lbs of toque. He said that the That this over-torquing caused the rear rotors to warp and that the lug nuts were warped (is that even possible?) and that he thinks the studs have pulled away from the hub some over time.

So, he says he needs to replace the lug nets for sure. AND, if he just machines the rear rotors on 'goodwill' and torques everything back to 80lbs, that the studs will be loose n the hubs, and the wheels will no longer be tight a proper tight fit on the car, and it will be dangerous and all sorts of bad things could happen.

This scenario is plausible. They want 300 for parts, 530 for labor. What does the board say? I need to call them back later today. I have the money, but it's what I had saved for the 30k service!!!

I'd be calling the wheel dealer and asking for answers from them.

As it turns out, it's a huge ripoff.

^ of couse it is, on many levels. even IF they are required, rear rotors costing $300? i've found them for $69/ea online. labour for rear rotors costing $530? that's about 1.2hrs so it should be $125 max, but doing it yourself is simple enough.

regardless, i suspect this was just an outright scam anyways...

Run, don't walk, away from that particular dealer. Tell everyone on Planet Earth who will listen to do the same.

It was. Basically what the service rep told me was impossible. The lug nuts can't warp, they can strip out, that can crush a bit but not warp. Plus, the studs can't do the same either. They come in from the back of the hub, and they would be more likely to snap rather than 'crush' in the area in which they are inserted and rest. the rotors could be warped from the pressure, but hey, they are doing a 'goodwill' resurfacing for free do I told them to go a head, do that, fix my other warranty stuff, resurface like they already told me they would for free, but put everything back in the same with proper torque specs and I would take care of the rest.

The 'goodwill' resurface I imagine was the bait to get me to pay for the outrageous fake repair. I will be filing a complaint with Infiniti National, and possibly the BBB. I will take it to a trusted Nissan dealer I know and get them to inspect the studs, lug nuts hubs and rotors.

If there is an issue, I Will buy some jackstands, the parts online, and a torque wrench and get on it myself.

I'll have to say, what a huge dissapointment. I cannot believe they were going to try and suck 800 bucks put of my pocket, food from children's mouths. I extremely upset with this service / dealer.

Is the name of the dealer a secret?
Would you care to save some other forum members from this abuse?

Steven Turner
to MyG37

show details 1:08 PM (0 minutes ago)

Wait till I get my car out of there (tomorrow) , and I'll tell y'all who they are. In fact, when I get my car out, I'm going to have all that crap inspected by my local nissan place while I stand over their shoulders (they are good guys, I know them) and see what they say. But their parts and services people echoed the sentiments of this board, and one guy said run, don't walk away from this dealer, they are crooks and thieves.

For example - Nissan parts guy called the Infiniti dealer, and cgot the price on new nuts and studs. 172. Ripoff in and of itself, right? Service adviser at Infiniti dealer told me over the phone in the initial phone call that the studs and lugnuts cost 310.00 Jeebus Z xmas, what I blatant lie, like I couldn't find that into out for myself??????

Yes, in the words of Spartacus: Blood and Sand, (a) dealing with them or even getting away from them is a c0ck in the arse from either direction, and (b) if they f**k with my car, my boot will find their arse in the afterlife. Oh, and the service adviser is a snake who walks on two legs.

i would scratch cars on the showroom floor lucky for me they treat me like royalty

Wow, that is truly sad. Definitely complain to Infiniti. It is amazing how many unscrupulous dealerships there are out there.

Thankfully I've had good luck with Orland Park Infiniti the few times I have taken my car there.

Rotors can warp from over torquing, this is partially why I have a torque wrench. Of course they're still rippin you off for those rotors. And it is hard to warp rotors from 150 ft lbs.

I would like to see your studs. so called pulled through lol. Those bitches break off. If you over torque them enough to stretch then after they get hot and you take a turn they should break. Other wise they are not over stretched. Break away torque does not always equal torque you tighten them down to. If you drove your car for a while especially with salt on the road corrosion will make the break away torque higher than what the wheel shop torqued them to. I used to have a car where I would torque it with a torque wrench to 95ftlbs then after months when I would take the wheel off it would take around 300ftlbs+ to break them loose. Overtightening lugnuts a little doesn't warp rotors as long as the torque is even on lug nuts. From the sounds of the break away torque assuming these were left untouched for months they were probably closer to 100ftlbs on tightening. Also, I find it hard your rear rotors are warped, that takes some real talent. On the other hand cutting your front rotors a few teams would lead me to say your front rotors are probably warped again. Cars these days don't have the metal to cut like back in the day. This reduces spin loss and improves mpg cheaply to. I don't see how a rotor could be cut twice and still be with in spec.
That dealer in Orland Park can kiss my a$$ the dealer part treated me like shiiiit everytime. If you don't walk in there saying ya I got money falling out of my pockets see the trail from my car. Then they don't want to have a thing to do with you. As for their service side i cannot contest to them because I have not been to that side. The Infiniti dealer in another state I live is the opposite the dealer is nice and great to everyone and the service side is a bunch of rip off/ con-artist.

You did it right and wait till you get your car out of there before you blast them but that is complete BS! Pick your car up and take it to another dealership, I had a similar horrible experience at Berman Infiniti & Lisle Infiniti here in chicago. Both gave me the complete run around about the Brake Judder TSB. Contact infiniti consumer reports and file a complaint about the dealership after you pick it up. Search the forums for the link directly to the TSB and print up a copy when you bring it in to the next dealership. They should cover all cost associated with resurfacing the rotors & replacing the pads.

Your lucky, Ive had to talk to the service advisors a few time about my girls car. He thought they could just had her some crap & she would accept it. He wasnt too happy to hear from me!

Fair enough, but I have to admit that I feel sorry for the service advisors at dealerships. They don't make much, and they have to take crap from every guy with a chip on his shoulder that drives in. It has to be a tough job.