'03 FX35 over heating...

*UPDATE*

So today i took the FX to the dealer to check on the over heat issue i told them the issues as stated above. Before they tell me what the issues & money issues are they took it in, after 20minutes they took me back into the office & we discussed the issue. They simply said there is air in the system & they need to flush it & then they can do pressure test....so they went ahead & did that & told me pressure test came out good as in theres no leaks -but thermostat is sticking....so they need to replace that & flush system all which cost me $270.

as of now things are fine, we will see what progresses.
 
FX OG said:
*UPDATE*

So today i took the FX to the dealer to check on the over heat issue i told them the issues as stated above. Before they tell me what the issues & money issues are they took it in, after 20minutes they took me back into the office & we discussed the issue. They simply said there is air in the system & they need to flush it & then they can do pressure test....so they went ahead & did that & told me pressure test came out good as in theres no leaks -but thermostat is sticking....so they need to replace that & flush system all which cost me $270.

as of now things are fine, we will see what progresses.
Click to expand...


i am going to guess that after a couple days, you will start having the problems again. i had my system blown out at least 3 times because they said the same thing "oh there's just some air in the system." the problem is what is CAUSING the air in the system. a blown head gasket.
 
*UPDATE*

well noddlelegs seems like you were right, its been 12 days & the problem is back & if anything -i can say its worse. Todays outside temp low was 35F, as i am driving at night i can see the thermostat go from cold to hot, & then if i turn the heat on ill feel crazy cold air come out, & then few secs go by i can feel hot air come out, then i see thermostat go back to middle- its like everything went back to normal, but this will happen in cycles for the duration of my ride, i drove 45min, it mustve gone through like 35 cycle's, of hot & cold air out of heater & thermostat goin up & comin back down. ill go to dealer tomm, ill let you know what they find.....this time im going to get quote for gastket...
 
FX OG said:
*UPDATE*

well noddlelegs seems like you were right, its been 12 days & the problem is back & if anything -i can say its worse. Todays outside temp low was 35F, as i am driving at night i can see the thermostat go from cold to hot, & then if i turn the heat on ill feel crazy cold air come out, & then few secs go by i can feel hot air come out, then i see thermostat go back to middle- its like everything went back to normal, but this will happen in cycles for the duration of my ride, i drove 45min, it mustve gone through like 35 cycle's, of hot & cold air out of heater & thermostat goin up & comin back down. ill go to dealer tomm, ill let you know what they find.....this time im going to get quote for gastket...
Click to expand...

After they give you the quote, ask them to apply the $270 that you already paid for the thermostat and flush that you mentioned in a previous post. Also, you may want to get Nissan to give you a quote on doing the gaskets.
 
well.....this is crazy.

so as i said i went to dealer today & i showed them video i had of it getting hot then going back to cold, and so on -they saw it and said yea, we just need to get that air pocket out of the system...i said "didnt you guys do that last time" they said yea we did, but we didnt use the suction system or whatever they had, i was like ok -"what if its the gasket is bad", they said no that wouldnt be true because it wouldnt go up & down like it does....& they looked at me like what is this guy talking about, as if theyve never heard of it....at this point i knew i was gonna be back to dealership soon. So i waited an hour & they got it done, they used system & did whatever, & they said it wouldnt happen again.....

i drive from dealer to another location & sun is still up, car running like it came of the lot... i get to a location and park outside for the next 2.5 hrs....by this time its night a bit cooler....im going home which is about 30min down a cruising speed type road...
When i am about 7min from my house i see the heat level go up & actually reach "H", not that little line, but the "H" (picture underneath) -i pull over & open hood, i see fluid just gushing out -i wait like 5min go back inside car & by this time it came down very little, i quickly close hood & drive home in the next 6min & safely reach my garage....

tomorrow i will be going back to dealership & showing them another video....i wanna see what BS they come up with this time, until they even begin to comprehend the word "gasket"....im not frustrated but im getting there.....


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tchuck said:
Be careful with letting it overheat like that. Warped heads are way more expensive to fix than blown gaskets...
Click to expand...


well as soon as i saw it hit the line, i was pulling over & by the time i took pic it was on H, i wasnt trying to drive any further....& then i let it sit....& cool then started back up & got home, took few min, hopefully nothing further happened..
 
I am extremely frustrated for you. Next time you go back to the dealer, you also need to watch out for them telling you the need to replace the coolant temperature sensor. Thats another thing the dealer tried to pull on me. Sorry man
 
well todays update.....

i drove back to my dealership which is about 30 miles away & the car ran like nothing had ever happened the night before....note this is my 3rd time going to dealer in 2 week period....when i arrive at dealer they are all surprised to see me because for once i did not call in advance & i am back within 24hrs.....i show them the video of the night before in my iphone with spewing fluids & smoke & the line on "H"....they are amazed, they say we've done everything...theres nothing more to look over....we sat there in service area for 20min eliminating everything, they decided to takes it back to the bay & let it run for 20 and test a few things, i agreed. Half an Hour later they came back and said we think we have it figured out...they said on one side of the radiator the pipe temp was 90 some degrees, on the other side of the radiator it was like 180 degrees....they said the radiator has a "clog" in it...an "obstruction" from the fluids & what not crystalizing....i said ooookay....very hesitating to agree that they are right.....so we went to the office to begin negotiations on how the cost will work out......they said its a total replacement cost of $750, & radiator itself is like $350, i bring in the fact that ive already spent $300 behind this mess...they were like well we needed to do it....i argue that a new radiator was gonna come with a thermostat & fluid flush....we go back & forth a lil, but eventually i make him do 2 things....1) he credits me $300 towards doing the job...& 2) he said 100% garantee if this doesnt work we will refund me the money i have paid to do the job......so right now my car is at dealer they gave me loaner & the only bad thing i see happening is that they do have to refund me my money, hence my car is would once again be dik'd... so we will see -this has consumed much time, but hopefully this issue is resolved this time....also i dont see logic in the decision with pipes & radiator but what other options do i really have....?
 
Another option you have is to replace the head gasket...
Considering you are (I assume) no longer covered under warranty, I'd take it to someone else. It's obvious that these guys are less than amazing to say the least. Btw, isn't the sole job of the radiator to take hot liquid in on one side, cool said liquid, and expell the cooled liquid on the other side? Seems pretty reasonable to me that one side would be quite a bit hotter than the other under normal operating conditions. Further, if a blown head gasket were superheating that hot liquid just before it entered the radiator, wouldn't it effectively increase the side to side temperature difference normally present?
:dontknow:

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---------- Post added at 09:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:24 PM ----------

well....im back from the dealer....

i know this is going to be tough to believe but....

they have now flushed the system multiple times...they have replaced the thermostat & today they replaced the radiator with a new one....

....& as i am coming home on the same road where i had my other incident coming back from the dealer...in almost the same spot the heat level began to go up, i could feel cold air coming out of the heater....i pulled over & opened the hood & green liquid was gushing everywhere, i waited once again like i have in the past for it to cool & drove home the next 6 min.....
we officially now know i am fuked.
i will go back to dealer tomm, i have a 4min video on this....
Cant wait to get my refund & see the cluelessness on their faces...i will soon begin looking for engines i guess...
dont want to begin hating on infiniti but come on, really -a gasket leak....this is like cancer for an engine -the car as a whole will never recover from this...
i got service receipts from 2003, so i can always shove it in someones face how much i take care of my vehicle....& justify why it should never break down...
its like never eating oily foods, never drinking sodas, just having a healthy diet, but yet you still end up dieing early from a heart attack.
 
That blows, typical dealer troubleshooting though. Take stabs at the problem until you run out of stabs. A simple combustion check in the coolant would've said no or yes that there's a headgasket issue.
 
It would produce a very clean piston head! Easiest thing to do is test radiator fluid for combustion gases. They make kits for it.
 
dealer called me up 2hrs ago saying theyve had the car here since thursday & they have been driving it everyday with no problems...they said the radiator was definetely blocked, but while putting it in they created an air bubble & thats why it exploded that evening, so the air bubble kinda "burped" its way out & now there seems to be no air in the system, this is what dealer has said....so now im thinking everytime i went to dealer & they emptied all the fluid out & did all their stuff & that same day when i went home it would explode.....now that they have not done anything & all air is out maybe im good...i guess theres no way to tell unless i get it in my hands.....the point is after it bursted once that day right from dealer, now it has not done it for 5 days according to them so....i dont know...we'll see, they still will not agree with it being a gasket issue.
 
Sounds like they needed a car to do the Starbucks runs for the shop. Let us know if int. smells like French roast.

---------- Post added at 04:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:32 PM ----------

BMW dealer near me that always picks up the coffees at Starbucks. every day, diffnt bimmer, 3 shop guys get out. Park in the shitty lot, Pick up the ready made boxes, & cruise. Something wrong about them using the cars & customers gas, & getting dings. but it happens everywhere
 
FX OG said:
...they still will not agree with it being a gasket issue.
Click to expand...

Why? Have they performed any kind of tests to rule out the head gasket? Two extremely simple and fairly conclusive tests have been suggested in this thread so far...

IDK, but something about them just driving the thing around for a week trying to make it overheat rubs me the wrong way. Seems like a pretty low tech dumb approach considering the diagnostic capabilities of a modern dealership. In your place I would absolutely demand coolant chemical analysis AND exhaust gas analysis results before you take it home again.
 
well they called me up today & said that we are not able to find any problems because it did not overheat & it supposidely fixed itself....

so i go to pick it up at 3pm & i leave dealer, within 10miles it overheats!!!! i go back asap to show them this, they are all stupified looking, all the mechanics run out to see the heat level, there all just looking around like shit we dont know what it is, im like "gasket, gasket, gasket" -for the first time it overheated when the dealer was not closed, thank god for that in my benefit...

i got back in same loaner car & left, this time i will not be getting it back without & huge mod.

when they call me tomm, i will tell them to do all the combustion test, the reality is Infiniti service mechanics simply do not have knowledge when it comes to specialized issues...i think everyone should take close watch to things as mileage racks up, because theres no telling what those mechanics REALLY know until real serious issues arise, thats when a true mechanics knowledge is tested, & based on the one where im at, im convinced they are tarts, all of them, even the ones who look like they are seniors & heads who oversee shit, they are all tarts. .

who could i call or get on my side so that people start taking things even more seriously? im at 120k i dont see corporate helping me....arent all these service dealers privately owned? feel like i should get a lawyer on retainer...
 
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