$260 for 15,000 Miles/12 months Scheduled Maintenance! What did you do?
 

I checked with the dealer and they wanted $260 for the 15k/12 month
scheduled maintenance for the 370Z (see reference from manual p.19 below).

Looks like the dealership is charging $170 for the checks that are
beyond the ester oil change ($260 - 90 ester oil change = $170)!
Note that all of the items with a number to the right and 4WD/AWD items
don't apply to the 370 (except the 2, Differential oil).

What have you guys done for you 15k maintenance? Did you shell out the $
for the dealer? I live in an apartment and there is no room for do-it-yourself,
plus I'd like to have someone else do scheduled maintenance so that I have
the receipts in case I need them for any warranty claims


Reference (2009 Service and Maintenance Guide p.19):

15,000 MILES OR 12 MONTHS

SCHEDULE 1 MAINTENANCE

❏ Replace engine oil and filter
❏ Replace in-cabin microfilter 1
❏ Rotate tires (except 350Z and 370Z)
❏ Inspect the following:
__ Automatic transmission/CVT fluid 5
__ eCVT fluid (HEV) 4
__ Axle & suspension parts
__ Brake lines & cables
__ Brake pads, rotors, drums & linings
__ Cruise control vacuum hoses
__ Differential oil 2
__ Drive shaft boots 3
__ Exhaust system
__ Front suspension ball joints
__ Manual transmission oil
__ Propeller shaft (4WD/AWD)
__ Steering gear and linkage
__ Steering linkage ball joints
__ Transfer case oil (4WD/AWD)

This is why they call it the stealership.

I guess you haven't hit 15k miles/12 months yet?

Just for reference,

this is what actually applies to the 370Z and what you
are paying $260 for-

15,000 MILES OR 12 MONTHS

SCHEDULE 1 MAINTENANCE

❏ Replace engine oil and filter [ester oil]
❏ Inspect the following:
__ Axle & suspension parts
__ Brake lines & cables
__ Brake pads, rotors, drums & linings
__ Cruise control vacuum hoses
__ Differential oil 2
__ Exhaust system
__ Front suspension ball joints
__ Manual transmission oil
__ Steering gear and linkage
__ Steering linkage ball joints

(2009 Service and Maintenance Guide p.19, 370 N/A items removed)

I didn't mean to offend, I also skipped the part about living in an apartment. my bad.

NP

I know out of the 14,863 members here who aren't changing oil themselves (apt.
living, etc.), some of us have gone past 15,000 miles or had the 370 over a year.
Did you pay the dealership to perform the 15k mile maintenance (quoted $260)?

OK let's go through each and see what you can do instead of the dealer and save the cash:

❏ Replace engine oil and filter [ester oil] - Give this to the dealer to do.
❏ Inspect the following:
__ Axle & suspension parts - Is the car bouncing wildliy or make and creaking sounds when you go over a speed bump? If not then the axle and suspension are fine.

__ Brake lines & cables- Do the brakes work to stop the car without putting your foot to the floor? Do you hear any grinding or see scarring on the discs? Any oil puddles on the floor under the car?


__ Brake pads, rotors, drums & linings - If the brakes stop the car and pedal doesn't have to be pressed to the floor, no grinding sounds when brakes are applied and no scarring lines in the discs, and brake pad is still visible at least by 1/8inch then the brakes are fine.

__ Cruise control vacuum hoses - If cruise control works then you don't have any vacuum hose problems.

__ Differential oil 2 - Shifting is smooth and no grinding, bumping or ratlle from rear then your diferrential is OK.

__ Exhaust system - Exhaust sound smooth as the day you first bought the car. No noticeable loss of power or torque. No sonds coming from anywhere before the tips. Then the exhaust is OK.

__ Front suspension ball joints - No clunking, thumping or vibration felt through the steering wheel or audibly heard when making turns then ball joints are OK.

__ Manual transmission oil - Car shifts smoothly and doesn't have trouble getting into gear or freeze into a gear then the transmissionis OK.

__ Steering gear and linkage - Car goes straight, right or left when the steering wheel is turned into those respective directions then the steering linkage if alright.

__ Steering linkage ball joints - No vibration or grinding sound then the steering linkage ball joints are OK.

There now you don't need the dealer involved in the check except maybe for changing the oil. And you just saved about $190.00.

Cool, thanks for the checklist. Good info

Anyone else? Did everyone else just skip the dealer maintenance and get an oil
change at 15k miles/12 months if the car was running fine? Anyone willing to say
what they did at 15k miles/12 months :)?

As my wife reminds me. It's a $38K car, don't get cheap when it comes to maintenance and upkeep.

I got ya, but this isn't answering my question. What have people done for
the 15,000 mile/12 month maintenance? Did they pay the dealer $260
(was it the same price?), did they go somewhere else, or did they just get
an oil change?

The Nissan dealer themselves told me when I had my 350Z back in 2006/07 that the 30,000 mile checkup is really the first REAL checkup that should be done. So that is why I gave you the above posting listing those things to look for when 15K rolls around so you don't have to do teh 15K checkup except for the oil change.

Cool, I appreciate it. I plan just to go for the oil change with conventional

$260? Wow, now that's cheap. My dealership gave me a "recommended" maintenance guide for 15K and it had a quote of over $700. I was like...umm no thank you. I doubt I need to do all of that. I haven't looked myself but I think the thing I need the most are new air filters. Not sure if I really need to replace the cabin filter but they seemed to think so. They also said I need a $170 balance and alignment. It doesn't feel like I need an alignment but then again I could be wrong. Everything else I think is a complete waste of money. They can't do half the stuff on their list cuz it doesn't apply to the Z so why should have to pay all that money?

To hell w/ the dealer.
At 15k, I replaced the rear tires and got an oil change. If I hadn't already changed the diff and trans to synthetic at 11k miles, I would have done it at the 15k mark.

Any reason why you changed your trans and diff fluid to synthetic so early at 11k?

I have 25k miles on my Z. I get the oil changed every 3250 miles at the dealership with Nissan Ester oil. I replaced the tires to Nitto NT05 at 19k and have had the brakes checked at 22k since they started to sqeak a bit. Well the mechanic told me I have about 75% left on the pads and the rotors looked good. He also told me that some of the nissan brakes sqeak even though they are not wore out. My brakes do not sqeak real bad but thought I'd mention it. Over all have not had any big issues with the car to date, and I still have a stupid smile on my face after a some big pulls on the highway! :driving::icon17:

I wanted to go with synthetic in the trans for better shifting quality (stock was fine, no grinds or anything bad). And I already changed to the engine to synthetic so why not do the diff at the same time.

I just hit 10K miles, have changed the oil twice (once at 3k and once at 7500 to put on the oil cooler). I've also changed the diff and tranny fluids and put in a cabin filter.

As far as having the dealership look at the car - I don't see a reason to do so unless she's acting odd or reaches 30k miles. Well, if you're taking care of the smaller maintenance items.

Kev

Just get the oil changed man. $260 is highway robbery.

I got robbed then............:mad:

I personally just take mine to Quaker State for most of the maintenance items. Unless you have some type of computer problem or something major - I've always just done the basics. If it aint broke don't fix it.

Mac
www.infifthgear.com

You don't have to have the dealer do those checks. I have our club sponsor mechanic do them and he signs off with with company's name, date, etc for a lot less money plus club discount on parts and labor.

I bought a service contract from the dealer so the 15K service is included in the price. I don't think that they really do anything but change the oil & filter and give the car a quick once over. If I hadn't bought the contract I just would change the oil and filter myself.

yeah, for 15k mile service im about to change the diff fluid and do oil change. Everything else pretty much works well / already looked at.

I went with redline diff fluid back at 4-5k mile marker ( I forget) so i figure just gonna change it every 15k.

Now 30K is coming up next

me too... i'm going to need a new set of rear tires again. this will be my 3rd set. :shakes head:

I just had my 9k done, my next oil change is at about 13k, and the tech said thats pretty much my 15k maintenance. I have to change my air cabin microfilter, radiator conditioner, oil, and couple other things. Hes charging me $193. But he did not give me a long list of checks like you have. Did you end up doing the 15k maintenance? or did you just do oil?

Thanks for that:tiphat: Looks like I'll just need an oil change then. I'm at about 20K right now, myself

Did you go to the dealer for this? If so, what did they do and what did you pay? I just hit 30K and bought fluids for Transmission, Rear Diff, Power Steering, Clutch, and Brake. I'm still considering letting the dealer inspect it for a 30K mile check up. Though I do wonder what they'd say when I tell them no fluids need replacing.

I'm guessing half that cost is labor itself.... Where I'm at, labor rates are $80-$100 per hour

When I got my 2009 in Feb this year it had 11,233 miles, the dealer changed the oil and filter but nothing else. I ended up changing the air filters & cabin filter. The brake and clutch fluids are still clear yellow. The Antifreeze is green? P/S fluid just looks like P/S fluid, black I guess. I got a 60 day warranty on the car. I still have the 5yr 60K mile drivetrain.

My question is, since the car is 4 years old but apparently has been garaged for most of it's life (looks brand new in and out, tires aren't even half gone), should I do the time based maintenance, or the mileage based maintenance?
My gut instinct is mileage based...I love machines so I've crawled all underneath it and see no leaks, drips, worn bellows on any moving part so I'm satisfied that mechanically it's OK.

PS: What's the view from the clutch view porthole thing? Can I see the CSC? Or just the teeth on the flywheel :) As part of poreventative maintenance check I would love to see if it's leaking - although I have NO reason so suspect it at all.
I would just prefer to change it if it's leaking....that way I can do it on my terms, not the emergency I would face without a DD.

my 09 (original owner) is 4yrs old with around 12k miles. i dont plan on doing anything other than oil change and inspect battery water level this year. i will add probably 3-4k miles tops this season. i do check fluid levels often as i pop the hood each weekend to hook up the battery manager.

i will bleed and change brake fluid when it starts to feel a little numb. so far no issue.