kingkai

I purchased a 45k mile rev up 350z base model with a fresh oil change, drove it 3k miles and changed the oil. After a road trip and daily driving (3500 miles) I started noticing lost oil pressure when the engine revs above 5k RPM. When I checked the oil it didn't even register on the dipstick meaning it was 2 quarts low. I put one quart in it and headed to the dealer.

Later that day, I went to start the process for this TSB, about 2 weeks ago. When I arrived at the dealer the advisor set my oil change date for the first part of the test. I arrived and was discussing the new 2010 TSB on this process when another advisor butted in and started spouting off that I needed receipts for every oil change from when it was purchased NEW. I tried to not argue with him just saying we will cross that bridge when we get there but he continued to butt in, we eventually got away from him and discussed how we would proceed... Apparently there are 2 options and they are grey areas, one is receipts for every oil change.. could be from when YOU purchased or when sold new totally up to them, other option is pulling valve covers and oil pan and look for sludge.

After the main part the advisor and tech agreed they would install a new clutch for me for free since they will be in there anyway. They also advised me that the other advisor is a tool and just to ignore him and that I should come back as soon as I hit 1k miles. I made 100% sure I didn't need an appointment.

I came back into the dealer this morning right at opening time the only advisor there was the jackass from before. He insisted that I couldn't possibly get the oil checked today that it takes far too much time... I pointed out that it only takes like 10 minutes for the oil to settle and that I didn't want to argue just check the oil. After 10 minutes of watching TV and chatting on facebook he comes in with the TSB and shoves it in my face (Inbetween my eyes and my cell phone) pointing out the part about waiting 30 minutes. I looked directly at him and said "I dont care, stop trying to argue with me and check the ****ing oil"

He comes back 10 minutes later and says the oil is only 5mm low after pulling out a picture from this morning and showing him that it was 1.3cm low he asks if I want to go back and verify the measurement. As we are heading back I notice a funnel already in the engine and a tech placing oil in it... ruining any chance I have of verifying it. We get to the tech and I asked him how much he put in, he replied 1/2 a quart. we check the oil again and it is STILL LOW 1/4 qt. How does one measure 5.7mm and place a full 1/2 qt in the engine and still need more?

After 30 minutes talking to the tech about cars such we hit it off and he tells me "You have to come in here and be nicer" implying that it was because I yelled at the advisor. So I told him the full story, as I finished the advisor walked up with the service manager on the phone.

By the end of our conversation the manager agreed to check again after 600 miles and replace the engine with just that one more check that I will be in the bay to see.

There is more to this, but because revealing everything could get the tech or dealership in trouble I am keeping it to myself for the time being.

My suggestions to anyone getting this done;

1) Get a copy of the 2010 TSB and read it carefully, it requires an oil change as the first step now.

2) Insist on being with the mechanic while he is checking the level.

3) Take a picture of the oil fill level before you go in with a metric ruler beside it.

4) Anything above 5k RPM on this engine burns major oil and pretty much guarantees consumption, so a little birdy informed to to wind it a smidge higher for the next 600 miles. *I am not suggesting you do this*

I'll be scanning the TSB in the next week or so to get the most recent uploaded (I think the latest here is 2008)

kingkai

Just noticed your post and it ties into what the tech told me on the downlow. "Make sure you make the PCV open up" in the context of how to burn more oil. Makes me think it is directly related to the PCV system. I think that maybe during high revs the PCV sucks in huge amounts of oil from the crank case.

06CPV35

Yes it's been known these VQ's are vacuum monsters.

My wet PVC valve after only ~2500mi of use:

Inside of hose that normally goes to plenum wet too, but now goes to my catchcan.

MikeBit

iTrader: (4)

Ok guys..... this thread gave me a massive headache and I've read so much. I'm honestly scared to sh*t now about the purchase I made on my 06 M/T. Here's the story.

I'm the 4th owner of this car, and it had 58k miles before it started consuming oil. The previous owner I bought it from got the short block replaced and immediately sold the car to me. I bought the car because Nissan had done all the maintenance on it so all the service records are with Nissan. The previous owner took care of the notorious 5th gear grind, and now this oil consumption thing. They slapped a 1 year 12k mile warranty on both repairs - sweet deal right? And since Nissan said (I spoke to the dealer myself) "we guarantee our work, thats why we give you the 12k mile warranty on the repair", I thought I'd be safe buying the car. So long story short, this V1 engine started consuming at 58k miles and they put a new short block in at 60k miles. I got the car and put 1,000 miles on the new short block and took it in for a test last week + oil change. Service manager said the car was 1-1.5 quarts short. I basically went

So in 1000 miles I have lost up to 1.5 quarts. I'm breaking in the new short block the way they want us to in the manual. They said come back in 1,000 miles, and so I will.

My question is this: what the hell are my options from here? Lets say it burned another quart when I take it back after the 1,000 miles. Do they top it off for me free of charge? Say it burned 1 quart each 1,000 miles and they decide to put in the V2 motor, and that STILL doesn't work. Am I going to have the rights to partake in the lemon law? I mean, this car has been out on the streets for a long time and whatnot. I have no idea what to do if this problem persists. I think selling the car would be incredibly difficult, I may be looking at a loss. What do you guys think??????????

Wu-Watt

iTrader: (24)

Sounds like you got burnt like me, but worse...
There's 2 different break in methods, Nissan's, and this other guy's. The other guy says to beat on it a bit during break in to seat the piston rings.
If your engine consumes a lot of oil after break in then either get a new engine from Nissan, sue Nissan, sell the car, repair the engine, or keep adding oil like I do. (not a daily driver)

Thats my $.02

MikeBit

iTrader: (4)

The short block replacement, which is supposed to "fix" the oil consumption, is under warranty. If it keeps burning oil, then I'm sure I can have them replace my motor with perhaps the V2 like everyone got. The Z is a daily driver for me, so it's going to be incredibly costly to keep adding oil, especially if I'm burning 1qt per 1k miles. Nissan should give me free oil changes for as long as I have this car man. This is ridiculous. Unless they can fix it, I'm seriously sh*t out of luck. I don't know what to think right now. I honestly love the damn car too, and it drives so smoothly. I can't believe its running this smooth and burning oil

And the dipstick is so hard to read. I mean, I can't see anything on the damn thing because the oil is so clear. I have no idea whether or not its topped off or anything. I always get bad readings. Is there a technique to this piece of junk of a dipstick to get an accurate reading or what??? Sounds like a stupid question, but seriously I can't keep track of my oil if I'm not even seeing anything on the dipstick at all.

Wu-Watt

iTrader: (24)

Let engine cool for roughly 30min, or cold is even better.. Remove dip stick and wipe clean. (Do not re-insert) Allow 10 min approx. Take a reading ,followed by another. Carefully look at the stick at different angles.
Thats how I get spot on readings.

Maybe there wasnt any oil on your dip stick? lol It's possible if you ran low...

MikeBit

iTrader: (4)

Is it difficult to get Nissan to install the V2 motor??? I'm under warranty for this oil consumption issue for crying out loud. What's the point in swapping short blocks all the time? How should I go about convincing them that maybe its in their best interest to give me the engine that *hopefully* solves the problem? I read on here that I should be really nice with them and get them on my side.... I intend to do so, but I don't want this to drag on forever

Wu-Watt

iTrader: (24)

They will handle it like a corporation, and not your neighbor. Get rid of the car if you can, best bet. I might be selling mine soon, but I have alot invested in it.

dmemenza

iTrader: (1)

I've thought about getting rid of mine ( I have a 06 G35 6MT), especially after the Nissan dealership told me I was about 1 qt short after 3,000 miles during an oil change and Infiniti told me the same after an OC test. The service mgr at Infiniti told me that its normal for these engines to burn a qt after ~3,000 miles. She also noted that even though I decide to use synthetic oil, to not wait until 5,000 miles to change the oil like others do. I was really disappointed (as most of us with this dilemma are), especially all the money I spent buying this car. I expected top-notch quality. And I am getting close to paying my car off (18 months) and really don't want to start over again. So, what do I do? I've heard that the pistons and piston rings are the culprits. I've also heard that the valve covers are the culprits. I've seen aftermarket pistons and rings online for sale, but what about valve covers? I really don't want to put Nissan brand valve covers, since they can't seem to make a OEM valve cover that works for this car. Has anyone else heard any other things beside the two I mentioned (pistons & valve covers) that could be culprits? I guess thats really the only other alternative other than selling the car or going in circles with Nissan after they keep swapping in defective replacement motors. I love my G...but I got to admit, as hard as I try not to think of it, this always sits in the back of my mind and ends up resurfacing with major concern.

MikeBit

iTrader: (4)

+1 absolutely love my Z and don't want to get rid of it.... but its always at the back of my mind, and continuously swapping defective motors is so not on my list of things I like to do. I think for you, 1 qt every 3k miles is perfectly fine. That's just 1/4 per 1,000 and for most people its tolerable. If my Z was doing that I'd actually be a happy camper right now (but as most people say, it shouldn't be burning at all). But as of a few days ago, I heard 1-1.5qts per 1000.

Wu-Watt

iTrader: (24)

I'm in the same boat, and at the moment can barely afford my Z after some college. But its still here! I love the thing.
A qrt per 3k is fine in my opinion, just keep adding. My maxima burned that much. (03')
I'm also not in for the crappy swaps, I let warranty run out. I want a LS7 in the future possibly. Pretty straight forward, and reliable power. Good ol' chevy lol.

MikeBit

iTrader: (4)

Does Nissan top off your oil free of charge during the oil consumption test or do they charge you for the damn quarts your car is burning? lol

e30cabrio

iTrader: (30)

First they say it's not under 11mm, then they top it off so you can't get a second opinion.

MikeBit

iTrader: (4)

WTF.....

Someone teach me how to read my dipstick accurately.... I know the dipstick is what, 16mm from H-L? How do I know how many quarts have been burned depending on the oil level?? I need to check the oil myself prior to going to the dealer, taking a picture of it, and then watch the mechanic at the dealer take the reading himself I guess. That way I know they can't lie to me about the oil level prior to topping it off

thekinn

iTrader: (18)

There is a graph on the first post of this thread.

MikeBit

iTrader: (4)

Doh..... I knew that. I'll measure the oil level in the morning when the car is cold. For some reason I can never get a good reading after waiting 20-30 minutes after the car has been off

xray2

iTrader: (1)

I am going to try to Lemon mine next week. I had the oil consumption, but now I have an incessant gear problem in the tranny (2nd one) and the dealer is too incompetent to fix it.

They wanted to charge to tear down the tranny so they can check that it's not a burnt out cluth. Duh, of course the cluth is a victim, I told them I can smell it burning sometimes due to hydraulic issues from the slave/master they never replaced.

I don't even want to know when the current block will start consuming oil.

Fastie

iTrader: (2)

Ok - I came across a nice 35th anniversary edition Z and then I was just searching internet for possible problems with car to watch out for and this post really depressed me. The car is so awesome, but since it will be a DD - I do not want to keep adding oil all the time. Love the looks of the car too. Should I run from this deal or is there a way to check if the engine was replaced? Going to dealer tomorrow to buy - really want some advice here on this oil issue or potential issue.

06CPV35

Dealer will have in their National Database the history of that Z per it's VIN. If VQ replaced under warranty, it'll disclose that.

Tip: Look at insides of tailpipe tips. If super black and sooty, might be a burner. Take for test drive and I mean a high rev many WOT test drive (wind it out!!) It's a sports car right? After test drive swipe your finger inside tail tips. If oily soot, definitely a major burner, walk away.

Also could request a compression test from dealer and base your decision on that as well.

G/L