2010 G37 Sedan Journey. The dealer reports the following problems:

Red flag:
wiper blades
cabin air filter

Yellow flag:
brake fluid
drive belt
rear differential fluid

My friend tells me only rear differential fluid is important. I want to hear more opinions from G37 experts here.

 

If it's been more than 2 years since you had the brake fluid changed, you should probably do that.

 

Yep, what he said ^^^
Also changing out the cabin filter is simple, takes about 15 minutes. You can find decent filters on amazon or rockauto.com for about 1/2 of what the OEM filters run.
Here's a link to a DIY
https://www.myg37.com/forums/d-i-y-i...ent-video.html

 

I find the yellow flag items to be more important than the red flag items. One can easily replace wiper blades himself, and cabin air filter is easy too once you read the DIY here.

There are DIY for the yellow flag stuff too, but those are a bit more challenging for someone who doesn't have a mechanical background. Skip the belts for now, and get the other 2 done. The belt can last until it breaks...it's not a timing belt, so you're not going to damage your engine if it breaks, you'll just be stuck on the side of the road. Maybe replace the belt later.

How many miles on the car, and have you ever replaced any of the mentioned items yet?

 

None of those issues are immediately serious ones that need to me addressed immediately. All should be taken care of, but none of them affect the safety of driving the car in the short term.

 

Thanks for sharing. It requires a long-arm screw driver. Where can I buy it?

 

43k, 4 years.

No, I haven't done any above work.

 

Long screw drivers -- Sears, Ace Hardware, Harbor Freight, your local hardware store...

 

It also helps if the tip is magnetized to hold the screw, so it doesn't drop into never never land. I changed my cabin and 2 engine filters at 30,000 miles and they still didn't need it.
I live in SW Florida so maybe the air is cleaner here.

Just about all dealerships try and get owners to do the periodic service at least twice as often as required.
This is how they make a large percentage of their profit.
It is a different story if you own a car that comes with the first 4 years service free. Then they don't push anything and the oil service intervals are done 1/2 as often, which is what is normally required.
Tom

 

Air filter should be every 30K..so do that
Wipers..self explanatory..
Brake fluid, I only change if the color turns.
Belt should last 100K miles...even if it break you won't be stranded. Your accessories will be gone, & loose power steering but the car will be drivable...
Diff fluid I'd only do if you hear noises or at 100k.

 

I'd change the brake fluid at least every 2 years regardless of color, it's strongly affected by moisture which will lower the boiling point significantly.

 

Perhaps you live very high atop a mountain where the air is very clean?

Here in NJ where the air is not so clean my air filters get changed every 10k miles and get pretty dirty.



Cheaper to change air filters than to chance screwing up your MAF along with filthy throttle bodies

Telcoman

 

The first time I took my car (at 62k miles) to Beshoff Infiniti, they're inspection report had yellow flags for:

Brake fluid
Transmission fluid
Rear differential fluid
Cabin air filter
Engine air filter
Power steering fluid

So I get the transmisson fluid changed at a Nissan Dealership. Had the rear differential fluid changed at a local mechanic shop. I replaced the cabin air filter, engine air filter, and power steering fluid myself.

Then I took my car into Beshoff Infiniti again at 67k miles to get the transmission assembly replaced under warranty and they're inspection report showed yellow flags on the following:

Brake fluid
Transmission fluid
Rear differential fluid
Power steering fluid

As you can see their vehicle recomendations are not very reliable.

 

I see you're in CA, so this is the time of the year we need to replace wiper blades. Here in San Diego, it's normally all for not as it rarely rains and they will be dry rotted this time next year. Nonetheless, this is a DIY with aftermarket units (my dealer tells me not to use them for this).

Cabin air filter gets dirty, but nothing serious will happen if you do not change it. Recall that cars just started using these filters within the last 12-14 years. Dealers will even tell you that this one is a DIY.

Brake fluid as others have said should be changed every two years. I would have the dealer handle this one.

Drive belt worries me? Did they mean serpentine belt (30K is the recommended interval) ? Our cars using timing chains, so they are a little noisier than the drive belts Hondas use, but they should last essentially for the life of the car. This is a little more involved DIY, but if you are feeling gung-ho, G35driver.com has some good DIYs, there is one here as well: https://www.myg37.com/forums/d-i-y-i...an-09-g37.html. The dealer could handle with the brake flush, but the belt they use costs alot more than aftermarket.

I change diff fluid every 30K, but I'm **** and should disclose that I've owned cars in the 70s and 80s that ran fine after 100K miles and never had the diff fluid changed. This is also something dealers/manf. added to the standard maint. schedule in the last 12 years or so. If you are strapped for cash, this is one I would push out till maybe summer, a couple of oil changes from now.

I used Pleasanton Infiniti when I was in the Bay Area and would recommend them for service if you ever get up to the East Bay.

 

A deteriorated accessory drive belt can leave you stranded if it breaks/shreds. At 43K miles it would not be a bad idea to replace it. I think there's a DIY how to do it.

None of those items are truly difficult to do yourself but require some mechanical ability and/or supervision if you don't know what you're doing.

If doing your own cabin air filter, pay close attention to how the panels fit together. It took me 3 tries during reassembly to get get everything how it was... I glanced at it but didn't pay really good attention. Next time will be easier.