'03 FX35 over heating...

FX OG said:
well they called me up today & said that we are not able to find any problems because it did not overheat & it supposedly fixed itself....

so i go to pick it up at 3pm & i leave dealer, within 10miles it overheats!!!!

...
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I hate to say it man, but this is starting to become as much your fault as theirs. It's more than obvious at this point that the techs at your dealership don't have any idea how to resolve your issue, and it's also apparent that they are going to continue to expect different results from the same actions. Ergo, what you are going to have to do is "take the wheel" so to speak and get this done yourself. How many times do they have to keep running you in circles before you tell them what they should be doing? They are working for YOU, they are being paid by YOU, and they will do what YOU ask them to do. You owe it to yourself to stop taking the stealership's BS and get this situation resolved. If they can't fix it, take your ride elsewhere. Allowing your motor to overheat time and again is risky to say the least.

In the end, it's your car and you can do what you want, but if you want to be taken seriously at the dealer you have to stop letting them push you around. Like this:

FX OG: "Before anything further is done to my FX, I'd like to positively rule out a head gasket leak."

Stealership tech: "I don't think it's the head gasket."

FX OG: "I understand that but we've been doing things your way for three weeks now and every aspect of my original problem remains. Either test the coolant for combustion gasses or I will take my vehicle elsewhere."

Stealership tech: "We really don't think it's the head gasket...blahblahblah..."

FX OG: "I'm not willing to negotiate anymore. Are you going to perform the test or not?"

OPTION A:
Stealership tech: "Yes."

Fx OG: "Thanks. I'll expect the results tomorrow." (Make sure you see the results with your own eyes.)

Stealership tech: "Ok."

OPTION B:
Stealership tech: "No, we can't/won't perform that test."

FX OG: "I'd like my keys please."

Stealership tech: "Ok."
 
Wow... this is a bit scary.

On my way home from dinner tonight, my car overheated and it immediately went in limp mode. The coolant was all over the place and it basically over flew from the reservoir.

I have never done a coolant flush and I'm nearing 58k miles. I have just drained all my fluids and I'm in the process of refilling the fluids. I really hope I don't have the blown gasket issue...

What was the power train warranty again?

---------- Post added at 09:28 AM ---------- Previous post was Yesterday at 11:27 PM ----------

Hmm how do i use the air release valve properly?

Do I run the car for a bit, let it cool, and unscrew the valve.... repeat until I have no more air in the system or no more overheating?
 
tchuck said:
I hate to say it man, but this is starting to become as much your fault as theirs......
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oh yea i know man, i would never be this persistent with the dealer & foolishly keep taking it back, but i need them to be my buffer til they figure out, or i find another reliable mechanic who cares to look at problem & i can see some trust, its all about loaner car for now, at end of the day when they do figure out everything hopefully it takes some time....i will get it fixed by them only with proper discounts or i will go to a performace shop like forged performace in atl, who i have already talked to to get this done....but immedialtely when it happens i just want to take it to dealer & get loaner, in this state especially around the parts i live -it is really really tuff to find mechanics who know what they are doing & in general trustworthy....
 
I started my car 3 times today and let it idle for 5 minutes. Once warmed up, I revved the car for up to 2.5 and held it for a minute (my friend with a Twin turbo G35 told me to do this). This is supposed to release the air pockets he said.. -_-

Eventually, the radiator fan would go on and it would spin really fast as the temperature goes up. After this happens, I just shut the car off.

Man, this is annoying me. I made an appointment with Riverside Infiniti to take a look at this. I spoke to the advisor there and I told him that when my car went in limp mode, the coolant was boiling in the reservoir. I also let him know that the coolant was never replace or messed with and I'm at about 57k miles. He responded by saying it's not the coolant.....
 
it has been 2 weeks straight since i have had the loaner car.

Today they are doing the combustion testing in the radiator to see if the gas's are exhausting into the radiator.

i will know possibly by today or tomorrow what arises.

They called "their" tech support headquaters & the head recommended they do this, so the kit was sent to the dealer early this morning from headquaters.
 
FX OG said:
...

They called "their" tech support headquarters & the head recommended they do this, so the kit was sent to the dealer early this morning from headquarters.
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That is insane. If it turns out to be your head gasket after all this time, here's what you should do: First and foremost I want you to kick that tech in the balls. Then poke him in the eyes, slap him across the face and kick him in the balls again. After that, tell him that he should listen to his customers, make him acknowledge that you were right from the beginning, then report them to Infiniti of America. Finally, when you get home become a supporting :iS: member. :tup:
 
ok, wow

they did the combustion testing, which involves replacing the thermostat, putting a clear cylinder on top of the radiator cap with a fluid inside the cylinder, then they are suppose to keep the car on for a half hour to let see if gases are going though, if the gases are going through then then fluid inside the cylinder on top of the radiator cap will turn neon orange. also there is a vacuum on top of the cylinder pulling air through cylinder.

they did mine for an hour, negative, nothing, that test concludes that there is not a blown gasket.

are you suppose to make it overheat? they said no otherwise it will make the cylinder blow off.

i dont know, they said they will call headquarters & let them know results & get feedback from there.
 
Well, mine ended up being a radiator leak. I suppose the bottom plastic portion of the radiator had a leak and it was causing my car to overheat

I wonder what the mystery problem is on your car...
 
Hey gang.....Newbie here. FX OG, where is this dealer? I unfortunately fell victim to the "air bubbles" and engine temp spiking in my car about 2 yrs ago. I drive an 03 fx35. I ended up with a cracked (warped ) block. I solely took my car to the dealership in R'well for service. Very meticulus about my car and never missed a beat on intervals. Not to beat a dead horse, but I was passed my warranty and had rather lenghtly discussions with the Service Mgr. Infiniti got involved and we agreed to replace my engine with a "used" engine. it had 5K miles on it. They paid half and warranteed to work for 6 mos. (very rare) Needless to say I stopped taking my car there and havent had any issuses since. I could'nt see myself replacing a gasket and not having the security of knowing, if that would fix it. So I threw every flag in the book at them and paid a bit more, but got an engine instead. See if that's an option. I asked around and got opinions from independant mechanics as well, and they all agreed that an engine swap would be the best move. (In my case) I see you have'nt posted in a few days. Hope it works out.
 
my service mechs are Infiniti of South Atlanta, Union City.

I went today to the dealer since after 45 days my loaner required service....ive driven 4K on it. I gladly wanted to get it serviced & also i wanted to see / drive my car to see if the still problem exist.

i get to dealer give 'em keys & they take to service, while waiting i talk to a service manager & they are simply like "we still have no idea whats wrong with it" not being amazed i was smiling, i asked him if i could drive it while loaner is being serviced he said hell yea.

i get to MY car & turn it on, it seemed like the car had not been turned on for days, it took a little effort to get it running, something just felt weird but i cant explain it. i begin driving it & take it on interstate, if was very bumpy because the tired had flat spots, but once it heated up it was fine. i drive at 80mph south for 10 miles, take an exit ride through little roads for 10 minutes & then get back onto interstate going north, as 2 miles went by i felt the hot air turn cold....i knew what that meant so then i kept looking at temp gauge & after a few secs it went up, i let it go up as i kept cruising....after about 4 min it was about to hit line so i pull over on interstate about 3 miles from dealer. i wait 10 min turn car on, it was hot but not very, i begin to cruise at 65mph, i get to dealer & show them the scenario which i was able to create in 40min, they are once again amazed....

they said they are trying to locate a master tech who roams around country doing the more unique jobs....but thats all they said.

i am leaving for a month out of the country sunday, so i told them i will be coming to pick my car up so i can put it in the garage at my house & give them loaner, but i insisted for them to continue trying to troubleshoot, as of now theres nothing i dont have time to do this right now, so in FEB i will continue this again.....& if they really have a solution & they need vehicle i can tell my brother to take it to em, but i dont think they will, oh well -another day in the life.
 
ok so today i went to drop of the loaner & decided to take my car home & put it in the garage while i am out of the country. Dropped of loaner, picked up my car, but i decided to do a few things diffrently....mainly go slow & make sure i does not over heat. i began to drive home about 30+ miles away, throughout the whole 30 i was cruising at 60ish, & did about 23.7mpg....amazingly the car reached home, WITHOUT A/C HEAT, it would not work.....but the car never overheated, as soon as i got home -i opened the hood and radiator fluid was bubbling inside tank but no over flow or any issues described from previous 2 months, mainly i drove nice & slow, rpm rarely reached 3k. BUT the fluid inside of radiator was bubbling ....i dont know what that means, but my temp gauge stayed perfectly in middle & a/c heat was spotty here & there......Overall it runs fine, just it seems if i decide to cruise 80+ or continuously reach high RPM's the car overheats.....i will make sure to tell dealer that....
 
tchuck said:
For some reason I still think it's the head gasket. I'd never make it as a tech... ;-)

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Hey Tchuck man, I don't think it is the headgasket. Besides having passed the test and showing good compression, the symptoms of a blown head gasket tend to present a little differently in the FX.

I'm actually having my gasket replaced as I type this post. The failure itself does not cause temperatures to go up, it's the act of the combustion process pressurizing the coolant system and having all the coolant blown out through the overflow. Without enough coolant in the system, the car overheats. I was able to drive my car without overheating for about 1000 miles even though the coolant was blowing out because I'd refill each morning. I also learned how to drive without blowing out the coolant - for me the failure only presented under heavier loads. Driving normally, the car wouldn't blow coolant and temperatures were fine.

So all of this considered, haven't we heard of one or two other stories such as this one? I can't remember exactly what the failure on KNFX's car was, but remember he got a new motor from the dealership?

I'm leaning towards the coolant system. Air in the system, a blockage somewhere, radiator, thermostat... even the radiator cap could play into it. I bought a cheap knockoff Nismo radiator cap that leaked - held zero pressure. Replacing that alone cleared up why my reservoir had crazy changing levels.

On the up side, at least you have a loaner. I just hope the ultimate repair doesn't cost you more than it already has.
 
jumbosrule said:
===== QUOTE tchuck ====

For some reason I still think it's the head gasket. I'd never make it as a tech... ;-)

Posted from my BlackBerry using http://www.BerryBlab.com

===== /QUOTE ====



Hey Tchuck man, I don't think it is the headgasket. Besides having passed the test and showing good compression, the symptoms of a blown head gasket tend to present a little differently in the FX.

....

So all of this considered, haven't we heard of one or two other stories such as this one? I can't remember exactly what the failure on KNFX's car was, but remember he got a new motor from the dealership?
...
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The story I've heard that most closely resembles this one is the story posted earlier in this thread by "noodlelegs", which (after eons of dealer troubleshooting) turned out to be the head gasket. It seems reasonable to me that A) a pin sized hole could create intermittent symptoms, and B) the motor would pass all the normal gasket leak tests when the symptoms were absent (dealer still hasn't been able to recreate the issue). I guess we'll just have to wait and see. At this point I'd push for the new motor as well considering how many overheat cycles this one has seen.

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab
 
they called me today & said that it still has air in it, also they have 4 other SAME cases throughout the state within the past 2months & they are bringing all the vehicles to where my vehicle is & some master tech is looking at them all, this will happen wed. This is turning out to be some event....
 
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