I've already posted this on another site so for those of you who check both please understand. I know this is a Z board but for the most part our engines are pretty much the same. I have an 03 G35 Coupe btw..

To summarize shortly over the past few months my car has been burning oil badly. I'm talking an oil change today and less than 3 quarts left in a couple of weeks. I've taken it to a dealership here in Atlanta who has monitored the oil consumption (3 oil changes since july) only to come back and claim that some modification has been made to the ecu to make the car run excessively rich. That or a piggy back system that is sending a false reading from the o2 sensors to the ecu, bs.

I explained to the service manager that the only modifications I've done are RT Cats, Nismo Exhaust (both of which installed by another dealership) and JWT Pop Charger that I voluntarily took off a few weeks ago.

Today I called Infiniti Consumer Affairs and their position was "you modify the car then you void your warranty." So we're going back and forth while I'm explaining to him that even if my modifications are causing the problem the burden of proof is on them to prove it, he comes back with "well if you read your warranty you'll find that any modification done can void the warranty."

At any rate I am tired and I just need a favor. Consumer affairs seems to believe this is an isolated problem, that literally my car has been the only one with oil consumption problems. If there is a thread listing owners who have had problems with oil consumption can someone please direct me to it? If not, for those of you who have had this problem can you reply or shoot me a pm. Basically Infiniti is trying to say there is nothing else that can be done.

 

I know of another G owner there in ATL that has the same problem as you. He says he is losing 2 qts every change. He uses a thin synthetic, which could be part of the problem. As far as mods, he only has the nismo intake. Let me see if I can find his name somewhere . . .I remember his first name was the same as mine . . . Adam.

 

I just quickly read through the warranty guides and didn't see any line saying you install a part you void your entire powertrain warranty. Here are the guides online:

http://www.nissanusa.com/m/cma/i/200/2005_Wrnty.pdf
http://www.nissanusa.com/m/cma/i/200/2004_Wrnty.pdf
http://www.nissanusa.com/m/cma/i/200/2003_Wrnty.pdf

 

maybe take off the mods, go to a different dealer and see what happens then?

 

Hey TONIO.........

Copy your oil burning dilemma to 'G35 Frenzy.com' There's a host 'G' guys over there who undoubtedly can help you.

 

Good idea bro

 

The dealer installed the mods so there isn't really a way for me to get it past them. From my experience other dealerships have been able to pull up work that had been previously done. I did remove the pop charger but of course that didn't do anything.

 

Im sorry to hear about your problems, and I cant help you but I HATE whendealerships pull BS like this on people that modify their cars....a friend of mine is having issues with his VW over tranny work---I hate how dealerships cant assume the problem is a defective part on your car, rather they blame you, and they cant even prove it. Sorry man hope you figure it out. I would take it all back to stock and go to another dealer somewhere far away...

 

FYI Im a car dealer so I kind of know how big of a pickle your in. First and foremost dont waste the time/money to take the modded parts off. Your vin number is recored and your warranty is "blocked" at any nissan/infinity dealer in the county. Secondly taking that stuff off is sort of like an admission of guilt ect (BS)

What happens is they have to call in a zone rep to say yay or nay on a repair. They cant actually block the warranty for the mods you have but there is a racing clause on almost every single new car that can void it.

Your only shot in hell is to somehow find out who your zone rep is, maybe ask a service writer. And try to convince him. Problem is this, these guys are paid NOT to fix your car, they have a conversion ratio that if they go over they get ball busted for. So if they guy fixes every car he is out of a job.

One other thing you can try is to talk to the GM of the dealership that sold you the car, not the deskman or anyone you saw when buying the car but the General Manager, those guys have a ton of power in some cases.

Just be a thorn in both of thier sides untill you annoy them to the point its in thier best interest to fix it. GL bud

To everyone else, I made damn sure my dealership was MOD friendly before I bought it. One dealership can encourage/install/repair modded cars while the next would damn you to hell for it /shrug.

 

For what it's worth, I believe there is a federal *law* stating that the dealer must prove that the mod caused the problem in order for them to deny warranty work. They can't simply make a blanket statement and say that, since you installed some mod, you whole warranty is void.

The tough part here is that you modified parts of the powertrain (intake and exhaust) and the powertrain is now giving you troubles. I'm with you, I don't see how an intake and exhaust would cause this sort of problem. However, those mods can be easily "proven" to have caused the problem if the dealer wants to go that route.

 

A thin synthetic might be the problem? When you say "thin", how thin do you mean? Since the manual calls for 5w-30, I was just going to switch to that weight in a synthetic at my next oil change. Surely that isn't too thin!

 

You guys keep assuming that the dealer has anything to do with warranty.
Your warranty is with Nissan, the dealers service department will fix anything as long as they are paid for their work.
Either Nissan pays or you pay, that simple.

If you see any resistance from dealer [because they know Nissan won't pay], then you go immediately to Nissan zone employees working your way up the food chain in writing DAILY, copy Nissan Legal Department [by registered mail return receipt] to start the 30 day clock running. Document and record every conversation!

Send a daily email to all 50 excecutives of Nissan USA copy all automotive press and trade journals...........easy type once and copy.

 

I can tell you that Performance Nissan here in Duarte, Ca has replaced a few engines that went through the exact same scenario you are describing here.

There is also a user here, I know, had his engine changed, he's HFM so maybe you could drop him a line, and he might be able to comment as to the path to take.

I have scanned through the additional posts here and I belive there is good info here for you and from what I know:

(1) they can not simply void your warranty because of modifications, the ones you have made are "minimal" in the sense of engine impact.

(2)your warranty is with Infinity, so you have to go through their customer care.

(3) going to another dealer isn't going to do anything, they are tracking this stuff electronically at this point.

 

Well, finally got some resolve. I went to another dealership and basically what I was told was they are marking everything under the hood and to bring it back at 3000 miles. I told them that it wouldn't make it to 3000 miles without adding oil and the response was it did not matter if the engine locks up before then..just dont touch anything.

 

Man, I hope you got that all in a written statment from the dealership.

 

ya please get that in writing.

 

yep..it is in writing. I'll call them before the engine locks up, I couldn't see taking it that far.

 

Anyone who has or is planning on modifying their vehicle should save this link: http://www.enjoythedrive.com/

This site explains your rights in being able to modify your car and also gives suggestions and tips if you are denied warranty coverage.

Take the time to read through some of the information before you go to a dealer with a problem if you have modifications. Know your rights!