hlsess

I just went to the express oil to get an oil change and he mentioned a fuel induction service- alsmost said NO but I did it- not sure if i needed it or not- car has 31,500 miles on it...

He mentioned factory recommends transmission service which is more $$ b/c of CVT transmission.. what else is needed at this service -is it Ok if i get the express place to do it- he said they would order it from dealer and cost some less... it is more of a convenience thing than anything

I do not want them messing it up though!

Ghozt

you dont need to do anything to the transmission until 60k, and even then its just a drain/fill. never let anyone do anything more than that, you'll screw up the trans. be careful of people who upsell you on random services, pick up one of their maintenance guides it tells you what the 30k 45k 60k etc service is and what they check/do

jspagna

Why would you ever go to an express oil change. Find yourself a good local mechanic referred to you by word of mouth or go to the dealer at least. At this point all you should have done to the car with that many miles are oil changes.

hlsess

I usually always to go my local guy but I have been OT and then got sick and today was the only day that would work and my oil change was overdue... I don't think there really is that much wrong with the Express places.... I prefer not to go to them but do if I am in a pinch.... I bought the car with 20,000 miles last August and all I've done is Oil change and Rotate tires...

funnyman82

I saw a show a few months back about jiffy lube in the states and how they recommend services and say they are regular maintenance required by the dealer where in fact that was not true..
Be careful what they tell you and as Ghozt mentioned get a service guide from the dealer and use that as a map for needs to be done for your car.
This small lube shops have all kinds of services that they try to sell which are not in that guide.

sonomamax

When a quick lube told me they would do a 30,000 mile on my 07 and I just ask them what type fluid would go in the transmission they told me dextron, i just said to them C YA.. and went to the dealer and they told me that nothing was requried till 60,000 miles, just a inpection of the fluid was all. SO just be careful if you get it serviced other than the dealer.Especially with that CVT.

Car Addict

The dealer and independant mechanic are the only two places that touch my car.

lightonthehill

I would let a 'name' oil change shop change my oil in a pinch, as long as they had oil I liked.

But I would NEVER let them touch my CVT. I would NEVER let ANY shop, including my trusted dealer, FLUSH my CVT. That is simply a money-maker that can cause problems with the CVT (or any tranny). A simple drain and refill, even though that does not get all the old oil out, is perfectly sufficient. But I would let nobody other than my dealer do it.

For normal driving, a 60K CVT oil change interval is fine. But if I pulled a trailer, drove at speed on unpaved roads, drove very aggressively, raced the car, lived in steep mountain terrain, or lived in a very hot or very cold climate, I would drain and refill my CVT at either 30K or 45K.

The normal dealer price for a premium 30K maintenance program is around $700, and includes a long list of things to be replaced, etc, with an even longer list of checks. The non-premium 30K maintenance is around half the price of the premium service.

I always go through the list line-by-line with my service advisor. She pulls up the maintenance history for my car, and I cancel anything I have already had done recently, such as wiper blade refills if already done, or things I do on a different schedule. For instance, I rotate my tires every 15K, where some folks do this more often.

I also usually have a few things to add, such as an emissions inspection, etc.

I don't mind spending money maintaining my car, especially since it has given me absolutely trouble-free service from day one. My '09 was built in September of 2008, and I am still on my OEM battery and have lots of tread left on my OEM RS-A tires, having not had a single alignment done.

My Maxima has helped make my life a happy one. Because of that, I try to make its life a happy one.

hlsess

I agree- I have always had all of my cars maintained-usually going to dealers for oil change/rotation or a local mechanic BUT since i was in a pinch for time- i goofed and went to the quickie place- i learned my lesson--- I am calling Nissan tomorrow and ask them a few ?'s then i will call Xpress and tell them i really don't like the way they push customers into services- i know it won't do any good but they just lost me as a customer...

thanks for the answers and help...

PSU09MAXIMA

I thought that the CVT at 30,000 miles was to just be drained and refilled with fluid?

hlsess

I talked to service guy. He said they do fuel induction at 30k. But said do not let them touch transmission. All I need done is brake and coolant flush. Will get local guy to do it. I feel much better now

PSU09MAXIMA

I talked to the dealer where I bought my Maxima and they say they drain and refill CVT fluid at 30,000 miles so.... I dont get it some say their dealer says not to others say to...

Kmoney

I did mine at 50k at the dealer. Now am at 60k due for service n am only doing oil change cuz I did my rear brakes n steering fluid 55k miles

lightonthehill

This is actually fairly simple:

Nissan's 'Premium' Maxima maintenance schedule calls for a CVT drain and refill at 30K, while Nissan's 'regular' and 'economy' schedules of maintenance for the Maxima call for the CVT drain and refill to be done at 60K. Some dealers push the 'Premium' schedule, while others push the 'regular' schedule.

The reality is that whether we use the 30K or 60K interval (or even a 45K interval) should depend on how, and under what conditions we drive the car. For normal driving, a 60K CVT fluid change interval is absolutely fine. But if I regularly pulled a trailer, drove at speed on unpaved roads, drove very aggressively, raced the car, lived in steep mountain terrain, lived in an excessively hot or cold climate, or simply wanted to lavish premium treatment on my baby, I would drain and refill my CVT at either 30K or 45K.

PSU09MAXIMA

Thanks yeah that's what it is the "premium" service schedule the other dealer one closer to me which I will be going to after this year since no point to drive to the dealer where I got mine... Only going there for free oil changes which expire at the end of this year they said they inspect it but dont just arbitrarily drain and refill all CVTs at 30,000 miles

morenar

Question about the CVT fluid. When I was last at the dealer getting service they also tried to upsell the 30K CVT fluid change. They said they were using (not sure of the correct company name) "BCM Fluids" which have a warranty if the transmission fails with their fluid, etc. I thought we only are able to use Nissan branded CVT fluid? Why would a Nissan dealer use anything else?

AlDente67

This brings up an amusing story about the last time I stopped in a quicky lube store for an oil change in a pinch. I had K&N air filters on the car in question.

For anyone who doesn't know, the K&N is a permanent air filter that you need to lightly re-oil every 50k miles, but never replace the filter itself.

This quicky lube was the sort where a "tech" doing the oil change would march into the waiting area with a dirty air filter and gravely convince the soccer mom that it was a good time to replace the filter, and usually they did.
Guy walks in with my K&N, hesitates, and then saunters back to the service bay without me saying a word.

bryansuavo

http://www.nissanusa.com/pdf/techpub...2010_N_SMG.pdf

Page 7 and up.. check it out

lightonthehill

That lays it out straight.

CVT fluid should be changed at 60K unless you tow a trailer, have a car-top carrier, drive on rough or muddy roads, or just want to 'baby' your Maxima (premium service).

I think this is a common sense situation. In my post (fourth back in this thread), I listed the same things Nissan did, and also added regular driving in mountainous terrain, living in extreme (hot or cold) climate conditions, very aggressive driving and racing the car as other situations where the CVT fluid should perhaps be changed more often than 60K.

The reality is that, unless we fall into one of the listed situations, changing the CVT fluid at 30K is like changing the oil at 3K; unless we are driving in one of the listed extreme conditions, an oil change at 3K is rather wasteful.

It bothers me that so many Nissan dealers are pushing the 30K CVT fluid change without even determining what conditions the car is being operated under, and in many cases, not correctly explaining the options to the customer.

STARR

iTrader: (1)

I just passed 30k, I was gonna get the 30k done but the dealer quoted me $450, I looked at the 30k service list an was like almost all that stuff I have inspected myself, or had serviced or took care of, I just put a new battery in the car, why am I paying for a battery service, I just put new tires on the car, why would I pay them to rotate and balance my tires, Im not paying them to inspect my brakes, I know Im gonna need new one, so I came to the conclusion that in another 1000 or so miles I will take my car to the dealer and just get the CVT service for like $120 and get the coolant drained for whatever they charge, a couple minor things here and their that I just don't feel like doing I will pay the 200 bucks it cost, but Im not paying 500+tax to have them inspect my car.

When I had my 06, I paid 300 for the 30k, it was well worth it and I only had certain things done, most dealers offer a maintenance book, or you can find them online, read the services and usually 9 out of 10 are inspect this, and you can do them yourself.

So Im not saying don't get your car serviced, just know your paying for actual service and not just a list of inspect this cause you can find lots of unhappy customers posting online about paying 500 bucks for essentially an oil change and inspection

MaxMus

So the dealer got me then. Said I needed the Premium 30K service. Quoted me like $600. I was like hell no, just got the oil changed, the coolant flushed, and the cvt fluid drained and refilled. They tried to sell me on getting the in-cabin filter changed and the air filter changed, but i went to parts, got them myself and did it myself.

I really think this is my last Nissan. I don't like dishonesty.

AlDente67

Mercedes is the same way - every 7500 miles you must get the "A" service, consisting of :

Oil change
Check this
Check that
Check the other thing

Price = $300

Every 15,000 miles you must get the "B" service, consisting of:
Oil change
Replace cabin filter
Check Wiper blade
Check this
Check that
Observe this
Ponder that
Order lunch
And check a few more things

Price = $500

And on and on. Many people endure it while under warranty so the SA has no excuse to decline a covered repair, but the moment the warranty expires...hello Indy mechanic!

Car Addict

I bet the dealer makes way more money on service than car sales.

STARR

iTrader: (1)

Nissan is not the only one, they all do it, you have to be an informed customer, otherwise they all take advantage of the customer, the more expensive the car the more the services cost

STARR

iTrader: (1)

used cars and service is the money

MONTE 01&97 SE

iTrader: (1)

Yeah Nissans 30K service is a waist of money......I would just get the coolant, tranny drained and oil changed A La Carte..........Most of it is check check check which they do anyways when you get the oil changed when they do the 36 point check........... I have had 7 Maxima's and 3 Z's over the years and never did the 30k service and never had any issues with any of them.

IFuXwiTuZ

PREMIUM service on the CVT is 30,000 miles (which is what i always do, because i am an aggressive driver)
REGULAR service is 60,000 miles
This decision should only be made by your driving habits (if you mess with the manual mode frequently or once in a blue)

Just a little food for thought my friends CVT on his 3.5 altima started whining @ 58,000 miles after a few seconds of aggressive driving until he did a drain n fill then it stopped

Just wanted to clear that up.
and if you do decide to do a D/F there is 6qt's in the pan and you could just go to pepboys and get Valvoline synthetic CVT fluid for $10 a qt (which is the fluid nissan uses minus the $20 premium, same lime green color)

atlanta10

My Altima (2006) and my Maxima had the same symptoms before changing the fluid around 30k and it was fine after the service

STARR

iTrader: (1)

Besides changing my oil I have not really looked at changing the CVT, any special tools needed, for the drain plug removal, I also know the coolant is drain and refill, anything special for that

IFuXwiTuZ

i dont remember the size to be honest im sorry, i just go to my friends shop and use his tools lol


i know its a hex style

coolant u just remove the hose from the lowest part of the radiator let it drain out crank the motor for 1 second and turn it off right away, then refill it (should be enough) unless u wanna go to pepboys/autozone and get a self flush kit. there are plenty of youtube video's on how to do it

IFuXwiTuZ

yup it all depends on how you drive the car I will always do it @ 30,000 miles regardless of what anyone says cause at the end of the day its MY car not YOURs

NCSUpilot

If you look at schedule 2, there is never an indication to actually change it, just have it checked.

The dealer (other places might be able to as well) can read a code to determine if it needs to be changed (exact number are in the FSM).

I went in around 80k and he said it is fine. I guess Ill just stop in there every once and awhile and have them check on it.

I do 75% hwy, so maybe that makes the difference. I have been following schedule 2 since the beginning.

lightonthehill

Very good point. The dealer can determine whether the fluid really needs changing. Driving conditions and driving style have a great deal to do with when the CVT fluid needs changing. Of course this fluid check works only if the service tech running the test is honest.