As Mike Schmidt mentioned yesterday, our 2009 Nissan GT-R went straight from the body shop to Nissan of Santa Monica for service.
No, it wasn't broken again, it was just that Tuesday 4-21-09 was the first day our GT-R was eligible to have the transmission recalibrated under warranty. Nissan wants one calibration done at the 1,000-mile mark. We hit 1,000 miles somewhere in the middle of the country while bringing our GT-R back from Tennessee. That service was done at about 3,900 miles and remains the cheapest service we've had to date; they didn't have pricing available yet. But the next service is not based on mileage. Instead they mandate a transmission recalibration be done between the 9 and 12-month mark. Our GT-R, according to the computers at Nissan, started its service life on 7-21-08. Tuesday was nine-months to the day.
The transmission recalibration took a day and there was no charge. Before the calibration, first gear would bite suddenly somewhere around 1,500rpm. Creeping, backing and parking weren't easy, but they weren't as bad as in say, our single-clutch 2008 Audi R8 or Smart fortwo. Now, after recalibration the clutches start to grab around 1,100 rpm and gradually increase force as the revs build. It feels like a normal car now. For now.
The clutches get themselves out of line with miles and driver vigor, not time. Why this is a calendar-based maintenance and not a mileage one is beyond us.
Also included with this 9-12 month service is an alignment. We got the performance alignment because it's a GT-R. Tire life will be reduced. We're okay with that.
Days out of Service: 1
Cost: $0.00
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 19,002 miles
lazyhater says:
04:55 PM, 04/23/09
WOW, free! And I thought it was a scam! And 1st post, wooo hoo!!
lazyhater says:
04:57 PM, 04/23/09
So this Nissan dealer works on Infiniti too? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a premium brand?
srlracing says:
05:54 PM, 04/23/09
What would this service cost once the car was out of warranty?
carguy622 says:
06:25 PM, 04/23/09
I didn't realize dual clutch transmissions need to be serviced in this manner. Do all manufacturers require this frequency of service, do single clutches require it as well, because I don't like it one bit? Regular clutches and automatic transmissions need no such service. I'm not fond of paying extra for anything.
pezzy669 says:
06:52 PM, 04/23/09
carguy622:
VAG's wet clutch DSG requires fluid changes every 40k I believe. The newer VAG dry clutch DSG I don't think requires such changes.
frazier500 says:
07:11 PM, 04/23/09
Lazyhater,
ever heard of a VW/Audi dealer?
carguy622 says:
09:00 PM, 04/23/09
pezzy669: Thanks for the info.
dougtheeng says:
06:14 AM, 04/24/09
"So this Nissan dealer works on Infiniti too? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a premium brand?"
Also all those Cadillac / Chevy / other GM Brand dealerships.
mrryte says:
07:18 AM, 04/24/09
There are a few Toyota dealerships that offer to Lexus as well. Unfortunately the Nissan dealerships here in San Antonio won't offer such service to Infiniti owners....:-(
dgcamero says:
07:33 AM, 04/24/09
While VW does require DSG fluid changes every 40k miles, it's amazing to me how the transmission in their $23k-ish cars manages to calibrate itself! There are yaw sensors in the GT-R, it can tell if the shifts are herky jerky and adjust accordingly imho.
audisport says:
08:39 AM, 04/24/09
Seriously, I will take an M3 Sedan over this thing. What is the point when this thing is always in the damn shop. Do you get a free versa with purchase to have as your everyday driver?
rcalcaide says:
09:01 AM, 04/24/09
How is this car always in the damn shop? Its not because its breaking down. Its because Edmunds has put on 19,000 miles in 9 months! Obviously they love the car. So sure, tires are gonna wear quicker and fluids are being changed sooner.
The GT-R has free scheduled performance optimization services at 1,000-12,000-24,000-36,000 miles or every year. Edmunds is going 3 months early. Plus you cant count the time this car was in the body shop for the bumper accident.
stingray454 says:
09:06 AM, 04/24/09
At least it was covered under warranty. But this calibration sounds like it will be required for the life of the car. So how much would it cost out of warranty?
redliner says:
09:22 AM, 04/24/09
This car is like a new toy. Batteries not included. The cost of the car, is only an entry fee into the club.
felonious says:
09:34 AM, 04/24/09
"Tire life will be reduced. We're okay with that."
I am SO going to throw that back in your face later, when you start bit... complaining about needing new tires "already".
thehardcard says:
09:48 AM, 04/24/09
Yeah, I thought premium brands meant better service, not that certain people are banned from touching your car.
boxermike says:
10:21 AM, 04/24/09
thehardcardAuthor
"Yeah, I thought premium brands meant better service, not that certain people are banned from touching your car."
Rarely. It generally has more to do with where you service your car. In Santa Monica for example you'll get the worst service at the BMW and Lexus dealers because they have no competition and people will step over each other to buy the cars. There's no reason for them to work hard.
Now go over to the Toyota / Honda / Saturn (R.I.P saturn of santa monica) dealers and you get the red carpet rolled out.
This Nissan dealer isn't cheap but I've always had a good experience, even with our lesser Nissans they've treated us well.
-mike
blueguydotcom says:
10:31 AM, 04/24/09
Good grief the GT-R seems like it's always got an issue.
brn says:
10:46 AM, 04/25/09
lazyhater, I see it as a service. Why should I drive 200 miles to an Infinti dealer, when there's a Nissan dealer 30 miles down the road?
The only problem you're going to run into is that Infiniti has a more centralized way of tracking services (especially warranty work) on their vehicles. If you get it serviced at a Nissan dealership, it's likely to be cumbersome (for the dealer) to take care of the paperwork.