Hi everyone! As of yesterday, I am now a part of the G37 (2010 AT7 Journey Sedan w/ 144k miles) family and I couldn't be happier! During my pre-purchase decision, I was heavily lurking on this forum and have been amazed at how knowledgeable and chill everyone is on here. After doing some of my own research around the forums, I couldn't really find an answer to my questions regarding maintenance or service items that should be performed. As a little bit of background on my car skills, I can perform my own oil and air/cabin filter changes just fine, but anything beyond that I haven't really tried in fears of damaging my daily driver. Furthermore, I have just moved to the Dallas, TX area and I no longer have my basic car toolkit with me So I need to get one of those soon so I can get back to doing some of my own work. However, before then, I would like to get my car in as best condition as possible and would like to know what steps to take. To start off, all prior major maintenance available to me from CarFax has been listed below. What I plan to get done ASAP at a Nissan/Infiniti dealer or Local shop is:

• Oil Change - Synthetic
• Rear Differential Fluid Service
• Power Steering System Fluid Exchange
• Complete Brake System Fluid
• Coolant/Antifreeze System Fluid Exchange
• Any other recommendations from the community. This is just what I think is best from my forum research.
• Transmission fluid exchange. (Both the Infiniti and Nissan dealers I called in my Dallas suburb said they would hook up the tranny to a machine to help it "shift through all the gears." I am unsure if that is the machine you guys talk about avoiding having maintenance done with. Local shop said they could do a simple drain and fill with a pump to get the tranny fluid back in but advised against it in my car due to high mileage and uncertainty of previous maintenance.)

And that last bullet point leads me to my biggest struggle in what I should do in regards to a transmission flush. Because I have no idea of the PO maintenance in-depth, if a G37 AT7 with about 150k miles on it has never had it's tranny oil replaced before, is there a good chance I mess something up by performing a tranny drain and fill at this stage? I just would like to see this car make it past 250k and stay in top shape! Thanks ahead of time for all the help!

**MAINTENANCE RECRODS**

3/15/10 - 5 miles - Pre-delivery inspection completed

7/8/2013 - 44,140 Miles - Maintenance inspection completed
Transmission checked
Four tires balanced
Four tires mounted
Brakes checked
Alignment checked
Emissions or safety inspection performed

10/13/2014 - 64,530 Miles - Maintenance inspection completed
Differential fluid flushed/changed
Tire condition and pressure checked
Decarbon service completed
Fuel injection system flushed/serviced
Cabin air filter replaced/cleaned
Tire(s) balanced
Tires rotated
Oil and filter changed
Air filter replaced
Brake fluid flushed/changed

9/5/2015 - 85,685 Miles - Maintenance inspection completed
Oil and filter changed
Drive belts checked
Fluids checked
Tire condition and pressure checked
Wheel lug nuts torqued
Four wheel alignment performed
Alignment checked
Steering wheel centered
Alignment performed

11/18/2017 - 138,478 Miles - Tires rotated
Oil and filter changed
Strut(s) replaced

 

 

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Welcome to the site and looks like you've done your homework. I'd echo slartibarts reply regarding the transmission service. At 144k miles it would be a good idea to change the fluid as per the drain & fill. A 3x drain & fill is the complete service as per the Factory Service Manual (FSM). I would also have the pan dropped so it can be cleaned along w/ the pan magnets, at 144k you will have pretty good buildup in there.

All the services can be done by a competent independent shop, especially one that is well versed in Japanese cars, I would get the AT serviced at a Nissan/Infiniti dealer though and see if they can just do the FSM procedure rather than any flush.

 

Thank You!

I can't seem to see slartibarts reply, but I will go ahead and get a service of some sort done ASAP then. A local transmission shop here said they would be able to perform a pan drop in addition to a single drain and fill (not 3x) for about $175. If I wanted a 3x drain and fill, they said I would have to pay a little bit more for all the ATF they would have to use (they also said it was Matic-S compatible ATF but not Matic-S). But basically, I would bring in the DIY instructions on this forum and have them do that. So my guess is that the bill would come out to about $200-250.

If the only answers I can get from a Nis/Inf dealership is that rely on their equipment that uses the car tranny pump to do a fluid exchange, would you say this is out of the FSM procedure and avoid them? And I am guessing I would have to bug them to get them to drop and clean the pan too

Lastly, would I have to purchase a FSM myself as well since it appears that NICOclub has since taken their FSM's down.

 

Slartibarts post should show up now~
Check your PM, I should be able to get that ATF FSM sent to you.

 

Thanks again blnewt!

As an update, I finally performed the following a few days ago at Nissan.

• Pre-Service can of BG 44k in the gas tank
• Oil Change - Nissan Synthetic Blend
• Rear Differential Fluid Service
• Power Steering System Fluid Exchange - still looks really dark to me after the servicing though
• Coolant/Antifreeze System Fluid Exchange
• Transmission Drain and Fill (2x as Nissan wanted an excessive amount for the 3x D&F) - Nissan noted that the old fluid was pretty black coming out and I should probs come back in 20k. Thoughts?

After my service, I then followed the DIY to change my spark plugs and clean my Throttle Body and MAF sensors this afternoon and then performed an idle relearn. From what I have read, I heard examining the spark plugs can give some insight to the health of the vehicle, and I was wondering if you guys could throw in your 2 cents on the condition of these plugs. Lastly, I also found a light amount of oil on 2 or 3 of the spark plugs after pulling them out. Is there something else I need to be on the lookout for?

Could be placebo, but I think my G is starting to feel a little more powerful haha!

 

 

Thanks for the info slartibart! Upon closer inspection of the plugs, the tips seem to have definitely dulled out a bit in addition to some buildup around the needlepoints.

For now, I definitely do not think I could handle a gasket change on my own haha, so if it is just an oil leak and nothing else to worry about, I will just keep an eye on my oil levels until I can afford to pay someone to change my gaskets.

 

check your valve cover gasket, maybe a leak and thus oil getting to plugs. Also How much did you pay for the transmission flush at the Nissan dealer?

 

I plan on getting the valve cover gasket checked a little bit later on. My time and disposable expenses are running a little low at the moment. However, if it is a minor oil leak/consumption, I may try some BG EPR followed by some BG MOA.

All in all, for my transmission service with only 2x D&F, it came out to a total of $200 for them to exchange out 10qt of ATF. Had I only done 1x D&F, they would have charged about $160. For a 3x D&F which I am thinking of getting in 20k miles, my guestimate is that costs should be somewhere up around $250.

 

As I mentioned earlier, I will probably wait on check seals due to time and money. However, if it just an oil leak, that doesn't sound too damaging or dangerous.

In regards to the plug condition, my apologies that the resolution is not high enough. I have tried reuploading another plug. In terms of the tips, they seem to be rounding off just a bit but not too extreme?