painkillerzz

Hello,

I have been having this problem for about 2 weeks now, and I finally took it in to the dealer. Here is the problem and the steps that I have taken.

1. Notice that on startup that oil pressure reading was very high, it was on the tick mark just before the 120. When i accelerated it jumped all the way to 120.

2. When the car warms up and I sit at idle it is just a little way above the first tick mark. however when i drive it is at the 60 mark

3. After 3 days of checking the oil to make sure it was not low. I did an oil change (jiffy lube)
4. Still no change, after about 7 days ( i didnt have time) I took it in to the dealer.

There verdict is that my engine is not receiving pressure, and I will need a new engine. They said that they contacted NISSAN and NISSAN said that they need to see 5 of my past oil receipt before they replace my engine.

THE PROBLEM.
I dont have 5 receipts, I never keep receipts, I might have the one for the last change I did, but no others. Is there anything I can do to get NISSAN to honor this. I am under warranty. Any help or advice would be great.

I don't know what to do right now.

thanks

Huckingfellers

That really worries me!!! My car is having same problems among others. I really hope they dont expect me to provide 5 oil change reciepts, because I couldnt produce 1 of them. I never keep a reciept like that! I will haul their A s ses into court real fast if they want to start problems like that.

bixby

iTrader: (2)

If you have your oil changed at the same location each time, they should have record & will be able to provide invoice copies.

If you change the oil yourself then you're SOL. I don't think they can deny the problem or refuse to give you an new engine but they will make it a bit more difficult for you.

Good luck & keep us posted.

hndumafia

iTrader: (10)

if you dont change it yourself and you pay with a credit card or checking account you could get the info from your bank statements.

painkillerzz

ok here is the update, I was able to get 3 receipts for oil changes, 2 from Jiffy lube, and 1 from the dealer. I wasn't able to find the receipts for the other 2 times that I did the oil change.

I gave the dealer the receipts and after contacting Nissan, they said that they have permission to tear down the engine to determine the cause of the problem. If its covered under warranty, then they will replace. If its not, then I guess I will be getting rid of the Z. It may be my last Nissan purchase if they do not fix the problem.

I will update as things occur. My lesson learned, keep ALL my receipts for anything that I do with the car.

jreiter

iTrader: (6)

That's probably good advice for *any* modern car now days. The manufacturers have gotten so hardcore about warranty work that it's becoming very important for the buyers to protect themselves where they can. After reading forums like this for so many years, I've started keeping all my service receipts. I'm sure things will work out. Keep us updated.

Oh, out of curiosity, do you have any mods which might've caused this? Also, are you running synthetic oil or regular?

iceco1d

I don't know what your specific vehicle info is, but after all the problems I have had with my Z, I contact a Lemon Law Firm....www.lemonlaw.com. The firm is Kimmel and Silverman. You may want to shoot them an email or give them a call and explain your situation. They are 100% free to use if they will take your case and to my knowledge they are the biggest firm in the country dealing with Lemon Law cases...very impressed with them so far. If you need a phone number, PM me.

PS - My Z has had the following problems (all between the mileages of 12K and 25K, it's a 6mt 03 Touring).

- "Z" Emblem fell off.
- Unresolvable "oily streaks" on both windows.
- Unresolvable "buzzing" in the dash.
- Bose 6 Disc changer stopped working, head unit had to be replaced.
- Power window control panel on driver's side pulling away from driver's side molding.
- Window "auto seal" failed to work 2 times (leaving the windows open an inch for 2 days, luckily I have it garaged).
- Windows just stopped working for 48 hours (on a different occassion).
- Transmission replaced due to grinding from 4th to 5th shift @ 15K miles.
- Clutch assembly replaced.
- Gas tank release lever replaced due to sticking.
- Trunk release lever replaced due to stick.
- Tire feathering, aligned once, tires replaced, still feathering, awaiting new alignment machine before dealer tries again and replaces the tires again.
- Brakes completely shot after 20K miles (my tab).
- "Clicking" from the rear axle..both axles replaced @ 17K miles, now clicking is back @ 25K miles and both axles will need to be replaced again.
- Plastic trim on left side of driver's seat fell off.

I THINK that's all for now...at least my engine didn't blow up. I think I should have a decent lawsuit here, I will post my results. An arbitration date is set for October 11th in Philadelphia, hope they settle before then, i'm sick of this sh*t.

chazzg

iTrader: (1)

Am I the only one that this does not make since too? At start up the oil is cold and thick, that is why the pressure is higher. once the oil warms up it thins out and normal oil pressure is obtained. My Z's oil pressure behaves exactly like painkillerzz does. This is not normal? As far as I can recall my Z has always acted this way. How is it supposed to act?

350ed

iTrader: (17)

Yeah, that's pretty much how mine has been all along. Usually the older the oil it seems to not hit 120, and I don't push it when the engine is cold.
I thought they all did that. Still is weird to max out on pressure even when cold.

painkillerzz

Jreiter- the mods that I have are jwt pop charger, and stillen dual exhaust, have had them for 1 year now. I also have been using synthetic 5w30 on all oil change after the dealer first oil change.


Chazzg- prior to this problem presenting itself my oil at startup was never that high, and during warmup idle it has always been at the second tick mark. Now at startup it maxes out at 120 and at warm idle it is almost right above the first tick mark. That is what prompted me to take it to the dealer. I thought, because i read that other members were having the gauge problems, that mine was a gauge problem as well. But when i took it to the dealer, they said that it was the engine wasn't getting pressure. If this is hapening to you, you may want to take it to the dealer. I am just waiting until Wednesday when they strip the engine. if they ******** me then I will follow up with lemonlaw as iceco1d recommended.

jreiter

iTrader: (6)

I only asked about your oil type because there was a little thread a while back where this came up. A few folks' cars had serious oil consumption problems. Interestingly enough, they had all switched to synth oil early on. Certainly not a definitive test, but interesting to consider especially since the owner's manually recommends regular oil over synth. I've been running synth since 10k miles, but I don't think I'm burning much oil at this time (17k miles). I'm going to start watching it more closely each time I fill up with gas.

Major

painkillerzz,
I am very curious as to what the problem is. Because what is being described as a oil pressure problem is exactlty how my my oil gauge works.

From what is being described I would never have went to the dealer as this is how the oil gauge reads oil pressure on my ZR!

Please report what the dealer finds as I am really curious & concerned!

Major

Huckingfellers

Same exact thing happening here. But after a 1000 miles or so the pressure at cold start up will be down to maybe 65 to 50 !! Not right! Mine is going in to start documentation for the oil consumption documentation, a leak down test, to have the tranny replaced, and last but not least the outer axel joints and bearings to stop the clicking on take off and reverse sweet really not though

painkillerzz

ok tell me if this sounds fishy... my disclaimer is I am a bit of a conspiracy theorist :-) and I dont check my mail as often. But I checked my mail this morning and I had a letter from the dealership, and the gist of the letter is that the dealership is looking to buy back my 350z at $above fair market value. There was final date for me to act on this, which was March 31, (again I dont check my mail that often) The reason i find this odd, is what is the probability that my car gets diagnosed with a bad engine and me receiving a letter from the dealership wanting to buy back my car.

Could it be-:
1. Coincidence
2. Great Sales tactic
3. Intentional diagnosis of a bad engine, to make me want to get rid of the car.

Either way, I will wait until Wednesday to hear what's the final diagnosis. Nissan did agree to strip the engine to determine the cause of the problem, hopefully they wont give me BS after they find out that it wasn't neglect on my part.

VandyZ

iTrader: (2)

This is all normal in my books.

To be honest with you, if your dealer thinks there is a problem, you might want to check with another dealer.

Better yet, go take out a new car off the lot . . .I bet it does the same thing.

Pit Bull

The oil pressure sounds normal and your mod's to your engine have already given Nissan an out if they want to void your engine warranty. I have the dealer do the oil/filter changes every 3K miles and all other work while it is under warranty and I also don't mod anything. Once you Mod a vehicle you are now your own warranty station. Hope things workout for you.

350ed

iTrader: (17)

Normal sales propaganda. Got them a lot from my old Pontiac dealer... usually after coming in for service

painkillerzz

ok here is the latest. The dealership called Nissan's engineers, and based on the readings that the dealership gave Nissan, they said that the oil pressure at cold startup and warm idle is within specs.

From what the dealer told me, Nissan stated that the oil pressure does change over the course of the cars history. Which would explain, why it wasn't so high/low before. I asked the dealer if this "change" would effect the performance of the car or Horse Power, but they said that they will ask the engineers.

So apparently, in the Z, the oil pressure reading does change over the length of the car's history. Have any of you, that are experiencing the same issue as I,notice any performance deterioration? i.e lack of power to the Z ? Still seems kind of strange that oil pressure would be hitting 120 when cold, then dropping to less that 15psi when warm. But at least I have this report on record with the dealer so if the engine blows after my warranty, there is documentation.

VandyZ

iTrader: (2)

It should change over the length of the oil lifecycle more so than car history.

When cold the oil is thicker causing higher pressure. When warm the oil is thinner, thus causing lower pressure. No big deal. It is recommended that you let the oil pressure reach its normal operating range before you flog the car.

These engines typically get stronger into the 40,000 mile range then plateau and only decrease as the engine wears. Preventative and normal maintenance will significantly decrease the rate at which your engine wears and noticeable decreases in power should never happen.

jreiter

iTrader: (6)

Whoa, wait... it's normal for a dealer to offer to buy back your car at above fair market value, just for the heck of it? I've never gotten such an offer in my life! That just seems weird. Or am I missing something here?