I brought my car in for the first oil change at 1200. I also brought in my shopping list of defect symptoms:

1) 2nd gear grinding when cold - also impossible to downshift without double-clutching

2) Driver's side window grease streak

3) Rattling clutch (sounds like release bearing noise)

4) Whining noise that sounds like a supercharger belt (could be a bad drive belt or a bad tranny symptom, unsure)

Other than those things, the car is fantastic. I have no sign of tire feathering yet, but I have noticed the tires make more noise when slowing to a stop than they seem to make while driving. Hopefully its not a developing feathering problem.

I'm not discouraged by the drivetrain and window problem at all. As long as my dealer and Nissan get everything straightened out, I'll be happy. I'm not fond of the ride, though I don't think its nearly as bad as many people seem to think, and I may look into the S-tune suspension setup in the future.

I still love this car!

-Jon

 

Keep us posted. And what dealer did you go to?

 

I brought the car to Star Nissan in Niles, where I purchased it. So far they've treated me pretty well. We'll see what the service rep. says later.

 

What's your VIN?

 

Why would you take it in with 1,200mi? The service guide in the manual says first service at 12,000mi or did I miss something?

Just curious because I'm about to hit 1,200mi (goodbye breaking in period )

Could you tell me how much they are charging you and what are they doing to your car (oil, filter, etc.)

Thanks

 

1,200 miles is for the first oil change. I took it in for that reason and for the issues above.

They changed the oil and ordered a window regulator. The other issues were not resolved. They seem to believe the clutch chatter is a normal condition and I don't buy it, but I'm not going to press the issue unless there's a failure or the clutch gets worse. It works just fine. Its just loud. The tranny problem couldn't be replicated by them and they offered to take a test drive with me but I don't have the time this week, so I took the car home. In any case, the tranny has been shifting a bit smoother when cold, so I'm not that upset. It seems to be loosening up a bit.

The bottom line is that they know about these issues from the outset and they assured me the would be more than happy to fix anything that might develop under the warranty, since they'd already know that there might have been a problem early on. I shmoozed with the service rep a bit and he seems like a pretty good guy. I'm fairly confident that should a problem really arise, they'll treat me well.

Everything else is terrific with the car. I love it and I'm finally getting a chance to see what it can do!

My VIN is in the 9xxx range and it was built in November of 2002.

The service was completely free. I wasn't even charged for the oil change.

 

Sorry for asking again Jon but is it a scheduled/mandatory maintenance to change oil at 1,200 or are you just being extra carefull with the car.

BTW, great to hear they treated you right, its a lovely car and I would hate to hear the experience of it being wasted by a bunch of jerks at the service centers (like my expiriences with my lovely VW Passat and the terrible!!!! VW dealers).

PS. Why did they did the job for free? if can be asked.