Trans Flush non Matic S

R

ReniFx

Member
Just got done the trans flushed at local dealer today. 39k on 08 fx35 still under warranty they performed the flush and on the paper said BG full synthetic. I talked to the mechanic and asked why did they use BG and not Matic S as listed. They said that BG is the same and quite better, will not void warranty and they use it on all the fx's for years without having any problems. I didnt want to argue with them... so i left.

Is this normal??

The trans shifts smooth,and it is def better
 
As a former dealer tech, I would say this is very common practice. BG and my old dealership were pretty much in bed with each other. They gave me a case of BG atf to flush in mazdas. Your injector/throttle cleaning is done by BG fluids and 44k BG as well, its good stuff.

As long as they honor the warranty then no problems. The only company that had tracers in their atf was KIA. If you used other atf , your warranty is void.

I wouldn't freak out about it. To me its common practice.
 
TurTLeG said:
As a former dealer tech, I would say this is very common practice. BG and my old dealership were pretty much in bed with each other. They gave me a case of BG atf to flush in mazdas. Your injector/throttle cleaning is done by BG fluids and 44k BG as well, its good stuff.

As long as they honor the warranty then no problems. The only company that had tracers in their atf was KIA. If you used other atf , your warranty is void.

I wouldn't freak out about it. To me its common practice.
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He did mention that they will honor the insurance if anything will happen to the trans, but still what bothers me is the fact that they are using a different oil. Anyway i hope nothing happens. Thanks
 
My dealer said the same thing. I paid extra to have them use Matic-S just because I wasn't sure about it and am out of warranty. They kind of acted like I was crazy, but were willing to take my money.
 
In my 60k service, I specified NISSAN fluids only...and they did even though they normally don't. He said he'll call if there is too much of a price difference. Price wasn't an issue so he never called and got all Nissan fluids.

Aaron on this side had his trans changed with BG and then went back and demanded to have matic put in...they only charged him the difference in the price of the fluid for the second flush and that alone was a little expensive since the matic trans fluid is so expensive, but that's also why you don't need to change it at least 100k miles on the 2009+ trans.
 
Same thing happened when I went to have my trans flushed. Dealer tried to sell me the BG fluid but I already had bought a case of J matic online, but since it only contained 12 quarts I had to buy an extra 2 quarts from the dealer as it takes 14 quarts for a full flush and refill.
 
Yeah that happened to me. I paid like $199 for a transmission fluid flush at the dealer and when I came to pick the car up I found out they flushed it with BG fluid. I was told the BG is safe to use in the transmission which I didn't believe at all. I called up Infiniti headquarters to ask and they told me NOT to use any aftermarket transmission fluid and to only use Nissan Matic S fluid. They also told me my warranty would be voided directly from Infiniti. They stress so much about making sure that the right fluid is used that they went as far as to "seal" off the transmission on the 2nd gen so there is no dipstick. If you want to change the tranny fluid intye 2nd gen you need a Consult III computer and a Nissan fill pump. They went also issued a TSB not to use any aftermarket fluid.

I called up the dealer and told them I was unsatisfied and wanted the CORRECT Nissan Matic S fluid put in. So they agreed and I paid the difference. I don't know about the first gen but on a 2nd gen a full flush with Matic S is $340.

Someone told me dealers try to push off the cheap BG crap because they buy it in bulk directly from BG and make a profit off it. The Nissan Matic S stuff the dealer doesn't make anything off of it. I don't care what anyone says I don't know how that stuff might damage the tranny in the long run who knows.



With the amount of money we pay for these cars I believe we shouldn't accept anything cheap to be put in our rides.
 
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I'm running castrol Import atf in my g that required matic j, which is now s.

No problems period. I actually do believe its the same formula. I'm also using the same fluid for my maxima which wants matic d.

This is my case of course and some you guys don't feel comfortable doing so. But most of the Chicago area g35/350z with auto trans are using amsoil. None have had a problem least posted about it. The fluids are the same, the additive packets are what's different.


Oh they do make a profit. Everything gets marked up a min. of 50%. Its just BG fluid is a lot less cost then Nissan fluid so they can mark more up.

A lot of companies are making "lifetime atf" now and/or removing the drain plug to try to stop the diy guys.
 
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So i guess my question is, will this destroy my trans,should go and make it a big deal at the dealer? or i wait until the next fluid change and put matic s? When they flush the trans no one is actually there to see what they really put in. Anyway he promised that it will not affect the trans or void the warranty.

I called another local dealer today and they said they use valvoline for the trans, none uses matic s and they also promised that either the BG or valvoline will not affect the trans.
 
My dealer won't use anything but matic. But oil changes and such they do use other products. I guess it just depends on the product.

If you are concerned, you may want to call Infiniti consumer affairs just to make sure and if they report no like they did to Aaron, then you can use that and go back to the dealer and mention what Infiniti corporate said.
 
That's great that they use aftermarket fluid but I still wouldn't use aftermarket fluid. Let's just say that the BG fluid damages the transmission fluid down the road, no way my dealer would cover it if the fluid damaged it even though they told me its okay corporate still says not to use it. They would probably try to tell me something else causes it and there wouldn't be no way to prove the fluid did it.

I don't understand what the big deal is though. It costs an extra $130 to use Matic S over the cheapo BG stuff. You maybe change the transmission fluid every 50K miles or so. Doesn't seem like a big deal to me its not like your spending money all the time on it. I for one wouldn't ever use it cause i would drop dead if I had to spend $10K for a new transmission out of my pocket.

I don't know if the original poster has a warranty but lets say the tranny needed replaced under warranty Infiniti wouldn't cover it at all with that stuff in there.

Interesting video about this:

[video=youtube;ye9dzRmr_co]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye9dzRmr_co&feature=related[/video]

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And by the way I'm not trying to make this a I'm right and your wrong thing since everyone is entitled to your own opinion. I'm just speaking of how I do things knowing that I have a piece of mind driving my car.
 
jdTrader said:
My dealer won't use anything but matic. But oil changes and such they do use other products. I guess it just depends on the product.

If you are concerned, you may want to call Infiniti consumer affairs just to make sure and if they report no like they did to Aaron, then you can use that and go back to the dealer and mention what Infiniti corporate said.
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Which dealership in Michigan do u go to? I worked for suburban near troy out there.


A key thing to remember guys, Nissan does not make their own fluid. They have their own recipe for ATF and pay the lowest bidder to make it. In the past its been castrol. Now while they might put BG fluid in there, if its made to the same specs, then there isn't a problem nor will it ever be a problem.

This could go for engine oil as well, a lot of engines come stamped with a castrol or Mobil oil cap. That's what they filled when they came from the factory, it doesn't mean u must use xxx brand oil. Just as long as its made similar. Mobil atf recently changed their formula and I don't think its Honda acceptable anymore. Valvoline maxlife and Castro multi Import oil as two examples that can work for any car that requires matic j/k/s. Check out bobistheoilguy.com plenty of guys using it with UOA of the atf to back it up.

I wouldn't go ape shit over it. Just tell them how u feel and they will either offer to fix it or not.
 
I go to the one in Ann Arbor since its where I work and have a very strong relationship with the whole staff there.

I've never been to the Suburban Infiniti of Troy but I have been to the Suburban Infiniti of Novi and I know the service manager there and they PUSH BG products and PUSH the injection cleaning service. I asked about Nissan fluids at the Novi location and they looked at me funny and said you want BG. I felt like all I could say was OK otherwise I would be wierd.

The Ann Arbor dealer doesn't even mention BG and say its important to use the matic fluids. That makes me think that Suburban infiniti is pushing BG because they get it in bulk and more of a markup. The head mechanic Mike in Ann Arbor has been working on these cars 15 years told me not to do the injection service even though they offer it and service recommends it. He says he does them and then has removed the throttle bodies after just to see and they are filthy. He said he can clean my throttle bodies by taking them apart and then resetting with relearn for much less and much more effective.

He also recommends even after every time I've asked him to not change the trans fluid on my FX until at least 100k miles. But other things he'll say u gotta change more frequent than what Nissan recommends because it's all based on his experience and what he sees when he does maintenance on these cars. He mentioned one time how he worked as a head mechanic at Lexus for 10 years and how those are are sooooo different as far as oil types to use and the difference as far as how dirty various oils get, etc. it's not as much the car differences but the brand of car ironically and how huge the maintenance differences should be based on what u see.

He knows how much I take care of my car. We talk about my blackstone lab oil results twice already 10 minutes each time. I learn quite a bit from him each time. Because of all this, I value his experience and base most of my decisions off of it.

I would not use BG in my trans.

Somewhat unrelated...BG is pushed at almost every dealer. My buddy at work has a Chevy Malibu 2006. Dealer said to get the BG Trans fluid at 60k and he did it because BG also offers a protection they guarantee your trans as long as u keep using their product. this was like 3 years ago I think.

Well after 1 year of the trans flush using BG the car would not go in drive one day. Long story short the internals got f'd up!! Whole new trans needed around 70k or something! Repairing it would only be $300 or something less so better to just get new. No problem BG will cover under their guarantee protection. WRONG. He dealt with them for months and they gave my friend $0 because he couldn't prove that he did not intentionally ruin his trans. Really? Even if he drove it hard so what but the kicker is that he doesn't. He takes care of his car like I do and why he does all the maintenance overkill. He did BG because the dealer recommended and protection offered and now that I recall suburban mention the protection BG offers. Same reason I'm sure. BTW, GM felt bad for him and covered $1k of the trans cost but his dad also works at GM. Yes this is just one case but it's enough for me. Is the BG spec up to par for the Chevy Malibu trans. You think so. My buddy and I don't but everyone goes through their own experiences and we provide our opinions on forums to help others make the right decisions for themselves that haven't had any experiences yet either positive or negative.

But I think as Aaron and goss' garage mentions, its not about if the trans fluid is good enough or exceeds specs as u mention but more so of what is exactly right to be used with your car components. This conversation makes me want to talk with another buddy of mine that I went to U of M with that now is a head engineer of the transmission plant for GM. He's told me some really interesting other things that I've never heard before but not related to fluids. Kind of like 'inside' information. Hehe.


Sent from my iPhone
 
What else did the head mechanic tell you and service intervals other than don't change the Trans fluid until 100K miles?
 
See that's where Infiniti told me something different. They told me the transmission fluid in the 2nd gen can be changed every 45K-50K. Its actually listed under periodic maintenance in the factory service manual. All fluid eventually breaks down under constant use and especially at temperatures that the transmission operates at.BMW tried this whole lifetime fluid thing and people's transmission started slipping and stuff and there were lawsuits because by the time it came to actually change the fluid it was too late. I would never wait 100K miles to change the fluid. by then you won't even be able to change it as it would make the problem worse. I heard people say if the fluid hasn't been changed for so long and there is already problems flushing it would make it worse.
 
Fire0nic3FX said:
See that's where Infiniti told me something different. They told me the transmission fluid in the 2nd gen can be changed every 45K-50K. Its actually listed under periodic maintenance in the factory service manual. All fluid eventually breaks down under constant use and especially at temperatures that the transmission operates at.BMW tried this whole lifetime fluid thing and people's transmission started slipping and stuff and there were lawsuits because by the time it came to actually change the fluid it was too late. I would never wait 100K miles to change the fluid. by then you won't even be able to change it as it would make the problem worse. I heard people say if the fluid hasn't been changed for so long and there is already problems flushing it would make it worse.
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Aaron, I know the Infiniti by you does BG because that is what they put in yours without you knowing at first. If you do BG you need to change every 45k-50k....minimum I would say. Every dealer and every Infiniti guy you talk to will say something different...their opinion. If they typically do BG then that is what they have in their mind and that is just what they say. You'll find most people say that either to get the sale or if they are good people, because simply they don't necessarily know what every owner had their trans changed with last time.

You'd be shocked to see what kind of ridiculous extremes tests engineers do in transmission plants and across in the world in different climates, etc. Transmissions are typically built to last several numerous 100s of thousands of miles. They can put those kind of strains quickly on a trans. They also test the break down of fluids among other things and usually significantly overestimate when things need changing but do so just to cover everybody's butt because some people do push the envelope. Just because a fluid is dirty or changes viscosity soon after doesn't mean it needs changing...in fact sometimes its better to let it sit at that spot in viscosity longer because that is more so what it's designed to be in.

You could change your oil every 2,000 miles, trans every 30k miles, and on and on....it's better than not doing it for 200k miles. But you seriously don't have to. I prefer not to overkill it, even though I feel like I do already with doing stuff with maintenance exactly when it is scheduled, but I also do that for the warranty purpose.

Don't compare BMW with Nissan...you should know better silly guy! Those engines and those transmissions are like comparing apples and kiwis.

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davidcarson48 said:
What else did the head mechanic tell you and service intervals other than don't change the Trans fluid until 100K miles?
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One thing that had struck me (but of course now I don't remember the details), he anticipates Infiniti may change engine oil interval recommendations sometime in the future because the engines on some of the new Infinitis (I think the Gs and Ms?) are not lasting between oil changes and they are coming out hinting at the first stages of sludge or something. Something about the viscosity of engine oil too. Honestly don't remember now.

If you have AWD, we don't necessarily have to run immediately and get the AWD service every 30k....60k would be ok with what he's seen based on the fact that our systems don't engage in AWD as much as we think.
 
thanks for sharing ur knowledge guys and i do apprecciate all the comments. As some of you mention before sounds like even people at the infinti or nissan dealers know shit. i called about 6 dealers and each one of them gave me a different explanation about why they dont use Matic S, some said BG is good and some others said BG is bad and it will kill ur tranny, some others said they use valvoline. It is really messed up i think that they do this kinda stuff at dealer.

Anyway i called the dealer where i flushed my trans 2 days ago and told them im unhappy with the BG stuff so i would like to replace with matic s, he acted all cool and said yeah no problem, so he will call me tomorrow with and update how we r going to do this. hopefully the BG didnt destroy anything while i drove around for past couple days
 
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You should be okay man. I drove 1K miles with the BG stuff in before I found out they didn't put Matic S fluid in.


Like I said earlier the BG may or may not be safe for the transmission........who knows. All I know is that the transmission costs a fortune to replace in the event of something happening that I can't take risks or play with fire like that. If the transmission has a problem down the road involving something completely different, Infiniti would try to find everyday possible to blame the use of the Bg fluid even if it had nothing to do with it. Im speaking from warranty purposes and long term ownership.
 
Keep us posted how it all turns out. As Aaron mentioned, you'll be fine. Yeah crazy about how every dealer response is different! Good luck!
 
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