Brand New Vehicle oil leak?

mrkool44

Just bought a new 2017 AWD QX60. (Sorry if in wrong section, please move if needed) Aftter First day on the driveway, I noticed an oil spot. Second day, noticed another(smaller) oil spot . I looked under the car , under the engine & I can see dark brown liquid (looks like motor oil) coating a few metal parts right under engine and I can see a few brown oil drops forming and about to drop. Is this normal? Car has 100 miles on it.

Mr_Shiftright

No it's not normal. Perhaps someone spilled something during the vehicle prep, or didn't tighten the oil filler cap, etc. but you'll want to have that checked as soon as possible. If nothing else, you don't want oil sprayed all over your engine, so don't wait too long.

mrkool44

I called the closest infiniti dealer to make an appt to get this checked out.

the service advisor tried to convince me to take the car back to where I purchased it .
but that dealer is 1.5 hrs away from me.

finally the SA gave in and made the appt for me to drop it off for a check.

coming from bmws the past 10+ years, I was a little thrown back at how the SA tried to steer me back to the original dealer so strongly

kyfdx

mrkool44 said:

I called the closest infiniti dealer to make an appt to get this checked out.

the service advisor tried to convince me to take the car back to where I purchased it .
but that dealer is 1.5 hrs away from me.

finally the SA gave in and made the appt for me to drop it off for a check.

coming from bmws the past 10+ years, I was a little thrown back at how the SA tried to steer me back to the original dealer so strongly

Well... if it's a dealer prep issue, and not a warranty problem, then the other dealer is fixing a problem that someone else caused, with no remuneration. What if it's a big screw up, that is going to cause an expensive repair, that isn't a warranty issue?

I can see why they steered you back to the selling dealer.

thecardoc3

kyfdx said:

I can see why they steered you back to the selling dealer.

Through the years different dealers have put emphasis on varying aspects of their stores. While some pressed for lower prices to gain sales at the expense of fully supporting the service aspect of the business, others stressed a broader picture which meant investing more into their service facilities and people. That quite often meant they couldn't compete with pricing and often lost sales to the dealers who cared less about service. Then a problem like this happens where they lost the initial sale when someone drives to where ever to under cut them on the price of the vehicle but then turns around and still expects great service from them. That is a slap in the face for doing things the right way up front. This reminds me of the stories where the then servicing dealer has been slammed for swapping out a license plate frame when a car came in to their store for warranty work.

The O.P. should have to go back to his/her selling dealer at this point. JMHO. He rewarded that one with his/her business for what ever reason, he/she should stick to that decision.

mrkool44

Interesting - when you say, a dealer prep issue, can you explain?

I do understand that it would be better to let orig dealer solve the problem and I would prefer that also...
However,
as I said in OP, the dealer where I purchased car is 1.5 hours away.

closest Infiniti Dealer is 10 mins away (where I'd prefer to go for service)

ive had BMWs for the past decade and never thought twice about going to
whichever dealer is closest to me at that time for service - they never asked me to return to where I purchased, ever.
so, that's why im used to just going to the closest dealer possible - bc in my eyes, it's all the same 

Mr_Shiftright

When a new car comes off the truck, it is "prepped" for inventory and perhaps for delivery, and a series of checks and adjustments are done.

thecardoc3

mrkool44 said:

closest Infiniti Dealer is 10 mins away (where I'd prefer to go for service)

Then you should have bought the car there.

mrkool44 said:

ive had BMWs for the past decade and never thought twice about going to whichever dealer is closest to me at that time for service - they never asked me to return to where I purchased, ever. so, that's why im used to just going to the closest dealer possible - bc in my eyes, it's all the same

It's not. If it was then why shouldn't the dealer close to you shun the service side of the equation and leave you with no choice but to have to travel now? This is just one more part of the picture as to why there is a shortage of qualified techs.

mrkool44

Lol Do you work at a dealership or something cardoc ?

Pretty absurd that you would suggest to only buy a car from the closet dealer or only goto a dealer for service if I bought the car there.

I'm a consumer - I will buy a car at whatever dealer offers me the best experience / price / atmosphere / etc.
thats how any business works...

You do realize Infiniti is a international brand and their service warranty contract specifically extends to any Dealer in the USA?   Not to mention, a portion of $ I paid for the car is very likely set aside to pay for service warranty claims.
Also, the dealer closest to me benefits by getting my service business even though I didn't buy the car there -- I would expect they would love to take my $ for oil changes and maintenance over the next several years 


when I buy a brand of a certain car - im not just giving business to that specific dealer , I'm giving business to the brand.

so, I would never purchase a vehicle that doesn't allow me this basic level of flexibility.
if a dealer is going to "shun" me by not honoring their written service warranty - than they're illegally operating.

kyfdx

But, you can't say if it's a warranty issue or not. Basically, you drove the car home from the selling dealer, and immediately discovered a problem.

I'm surprised the local dealer agreed to take it.

Two weeks from now, if you had an issue? Different story.

I don't blame you for shopping for a better price, but this is the type of thing that can happen, when you purchase out of town. Be thankful they agreed to look at it.

stever

The selling dealer gets paid for prepping cars. If they fail, there should be a mechanism for the repairing dealer to get paid for fixing the car.

If not, well, that's between the brand and their dealers. Nothing a consumer should have to be concerned about.

kyfdx

stever said:

The selling dealer gets paid for prepping cars. If they fail, there should be a mechanism for the repairing dealer to get paid for fixing the car.

If not, well, that's between the brand and their dealers. Nothing a consumer should have to be concerned about.

should be

If Joe's Appliance store breaks your water line, hooking up the icemaker on your new Bosch refrigerator, should Mel's Appliance store have to come and fix it, just because they are a Bosch dealer? Just because Mel's is around the corner, but you went across town to Joe's to save $50?

stever

Infiniti doesn't make house calls last I checked.

Water lines are fixed by plumbers so Joe should pay your plumber to fix your water line. If the frig went kafooey, then I'd call Bosch and they'd send a tech out. And the tech could be Joe or Mel or someone from Alamogordo, an hour away (as happened with our friend whose Samsung icemaker almost burnt her house down).

What does the QX60 owner's manual say about repairs? Return to the selling dealer? I don't think so....

kyfdx

stever said:

Infiniti doesn't make house calls last I checked.

Water lines are fixed by plumbers so Joe should pay your plumber to fix your water line. If the frig went kafooey, then I'd call Bosch and they'd send a tech out. And the tech could be Joe or Mel or someone from Alamogordo, an hour away (as happened with our friend whose Samsung icemaker almost burnt her house down).

What does the QX60 owner's manual say about repairs? Return to the selling dealer? I don't think so....

Dealers can refuse to service your car, as they are independent businesses. They probably can't refuse warranty work, unless they have exigent circumstances (like you are a proven jerk, who has verbally abused their employees, or, you just bought the car yesterday from another dealer. )

In this case, who knows if the fridge (Infiniti) went kaflooey? If the dealer is 90 minutes away, and the car has 100 miles, then it's just been driven home. If Joe's appliance delivered your refrigerator today, and you find something wrong with it, you aren't likely to call Bosch, you call Joe. (and not Mel.. lol).

thecardoc3

mrkool44 said:

Lol Do you work at a dealership or something cardoc ?

I used to, and I saw "consumers" back then that stiffed a really good guy on sales just like it appears that you have here and then turned around and took advantage of the service department's excellence that was created in part by that same owner who built his business by valuing his employee's talents and their need to have a decent standard of living. In time consumers doing stuff like that eventually impacted the people in the service part of the business very negatively.

mrkool44 said:

Pretty absurd that you would suggest to only buy a car from the closet dealer

No it isn't, and its no where near as absurd as driving for an hour and a half to save whatever few pennies you managed to. The only thing missing is the kind of karma that kind of consumerism should have coming back to it.

mrkool44 said:

or only goto a dealer for service if I bought the car there. I'm a consumer

Yea you are. Consumers and consumerism unchecked has done serious damage to the repair trade. You don't understand why you don't deserve to have anyone qualified to service your car. It would be quite fitting if they don't have someone capable of repairing your car on staff, or if they do already have him/her booked solid with their own customer's work for the next year or two..... Heck, maybe what should happen is that tech should walk while your car is sitting there when he/she see's how little everyone really values their efforts and talents.

mrkool44 said:

- I will buy a car at whatever dealer offers me the best experience / price / atmosphere / etc. thats how any business works...

Really? That's how consumerism works, but it can result in serious complications for a given business. Lets see how many people this discussion can encourage to become technicians in order to allow themselves to be consumed.

mrkool44 said:

Also, the dealer closest to me benefits by getting my service business even though I didn't buy the car there

No they don't. Warranty work doesn't pay the shop and especially the techs fairly. More consumerism at play.

mrkool44 said:

-- I would expect they would love to take my $ for oil changes and maintenance over the next several years

Oil changes don't make the shop money and even if they don't necessarily lose you don't have the fully qualified techs doing those basic services so that is irrelevant. But it does expose one of the facets to this and right now you probably need a real tech, not an oil changer.

mrkool44 said:

when I buy a brand of a certain car - im not just giving business to that specific dealer , I'm giving business to the brand. so, I would never purchase a vehicle that doesn't allow me this basic level of flexibility. if a dealer is going to "shun" me by not honoring their written service warranty - than they're illegally operating.

That's the dealer's and the manufacturers problem, it isn't a problem for the people who have the skills and natural talent to diagnose and repair the complicated vehicles that are sold today, and they (WE) have been voting with our feet and the wheels on our tool boxes and are getting to earn much better living while consumers continue to ravage what we left behind. You can have laws on your side that say that the dealer has to put up with what-ever kind of BS some consumer wants to bestow on them, but there is no law that says someone has to work on cars for a living.

stever

The Infiniti warranty booklet for 2017 models says "You must take the vehicle to an authorized Infiniti retailer in the United States or Canada during regular business hours at your expense in order to obtain warranty service."

It doesn't say selling dealer and tells you that you can find an authorized Infiniti dealer by looking in the telephone directory (whatever that is....).

It also doesn't say "participating" Infiniti dealer (if you pay for coverage under the Elite Protection Program, repairs are performed at participating Infiniti dealers).

So yeah, if I buy a car in El Paso and it breaks down 50 miles later the same day in Las Cruces, I'm having it towed to the closest dealer. If they give me flack, then I'm on the phone with the manufacturer and/or the AG's office, because my deal with the (non-Tesla) manufacturer is that I'm buying a car that I can get serviced at any dealer in the US or Canada.

If the dealers or the techs don't like the "consumerism" at play, they can find another way to make a living. That's not my problem.

kyfdx

I'll just note that none of that says anything about what an individual dealer is required to do, just what you are required to do.

stever

In New York, if an authorized dealer refuses to make requested repairs, you can seek a new car or a refund under their lemon law. Other states probably have other angles. (pdf link - "Dealer’s Refusal to Make Repairs")

thecardoc3

stever said:

In New York, if an authorized dealer refuses to make requested repairs, you can seek a new car or a refund under their lemon law. Other states probably have other angles. (pdf link - "Dealer’s Refusal to Make Repairs")

Nice Link......
The Right to Receive Repairs
• General Business Law § 198-a(b)
Under the law, if a problem which is covered by the consumer’s new car warranty (provided by the manufacturer) develops, the consumer must report it to the manufacturer or its authorized dealer. (The consumer should first attempt to report the defect to the selling dealer.) If the consumer reports the defect before the car is two years old or has been driven 18,000 miles

stever

lol, picky-picky.

Found another one you'll like Doc:

"(2) In determining the dealers compensation for warranty service, the warrantor shall:
(a) Consider the prevailing rate for labor charged by other dealers in the communities served by the dealers area of sales responsibility; and
(b) Pay the dealer a rate for labor that is not less than the reasonable rate the dealer charges to consumers for nonwarranty service."

(link)

mrkool44

thecardoc3 said:

Lol Do you work at a dealership or something cardoc ?

I used to, and I saw "consumers" back then that stiffed a really good guy on sales just like it appears that you have here and then turned around and took advantage of the service department's excellence that was created in part by that same owner who built his business by valuing his employee's talents and their need to have a decent standard of living. In time consumers doing stuff like that eventually impacted the people in the service part of the business very negatively.

Pretty absurd that you would suggest to only buy a car from the closet dealer

No it isn't, and its no where near as absurd as driving for an hour and a half to save whatever few pennies you managed to. The only thing missing is the kind of karma that kind of consumerism should have coming back to it.

or only goto a dealer for service if I bought the car there. I'm a consumer

Yea you are. Consumers and consumerism unchecked has done serious damage to the repair trade. You don't understand why you don't deserve to have anyone qualified to service your car. It would be quite fitting if they don't have someone capable of repairing your car on staff, or if they do already have him/her booked solid with their own customer's work for the next year or two..... Heck, maybe what should happen is that tech should walk while your car is sitting there when he/she see's how little everyone really values their efforts and talents.

- I will buy a car at whatever dealer offers me the best experience / price / atmosphere / etc. thats how any business works...

Really? That's how consumerism works, but it can result in serious complications for a given business. Lets see how many people this discussion can encourage to become technicians in order to allow themselves to be consumed.

Also, the dealer closest to me benefits by getting my service business even though I didn't buy the car there

No they don't. Warranty work doesn't pay the shop and especially the techs fairly. More consumerism at play.

-- I would expect they would love to take my $ for oil changes and maintenance over the next several years

Oil changes don't make the shop money and even if they don't necessarily lose you don't have the fully qualified techs doing those basic services so that is irrelevant. But it does expose one of the facets to this and right now you probably need a real tech, not an oil changer.

when I buy a brand of a certain car - im not just giving business to that specific dealer , I'm giving business to the brand. so, I would never purchase a vehicle that doesn't allow me this basic level of flexibility. if a dealer is going to "shun" me by not honoring their written service warranty - than they're illegally operating.

That's the dealer's and the manufacturers problem, it isn't a problem for the people who have the skills and natural talent to diagnose and repair the complicated vehicles that are sold today, and they (WE) have been voting with our feet and the wheels on our tool boxes and are getting to earn much better living while consumers continue to ravage what we left behind. You can have laws on your side that say that the dealer has to put up with what-ever kind of BS some consumer wants to bestow on them, but there is no law that says someone has to work on cars for a living.

Jeez... clearly you have some issues and obv have a bias / agenda.

you want me to drive 1.50 hrs away to the selling dealer at great inconvenience to me 
, because you think that's more "fair" to the non selling dealers?  Lol 

so, According to you.... I should take a whole day off work ... ask my wife to take my car ... reschedule my work appoinements...so that I can be more "fair" to my nearby dealers ?  Lolol 

you gotta be kidding me... u do realize I purchased a $60k Infiniti?  INFINITI.  With national warranty.

i didn't buy a fridge or plumbing service or $100 item.  Infiniti sold me a national warranty as part of the deal.
do you understand that?

All this talk of consumerism .... you seem to understand very little about how economics and capitalism work.

consumers are the only reason dealers make a living.  Consumers are the only reason techs make money.

where do you think the money comes from?   Hint:  people like me that buy stuff 

also, maybe you are not aware of this, but all dealers are Aware, capable and willing to take on service of cars not purchased from them...even if it's for FREE warranty work... it's something called "cost of doing business" 

Dealers are business orgs.  They have already budgeted for instances exactly like my situation and many others.


I'm not sure what your IQ or education level is, but I have 2 degrees.   I suggest you do a little reading and learn about economics and how the world works before you go giving people unnecessary advice

all I ask in OP was, is this normal -- did not ask for opinions on how you view the world lol

thecardoc3

stever said:

lol, picky-picky.

"(2) In determining the dealers compensation for warranty service, the warrantor shall:
(a) Consider the prevailing rate for labor charged by other dealers in the communities served by the dealers area of sales responsibility; and
(b) Pay the dealer a rate for labor that is not less than the reasonable rate the dealer charges to consumers for nonwarranty service."

While the dollar per hour rate has to be similar, the number of hours per operation that they pay isn't close, that's why the techs get taken advantage of with most warranty work. Then you have this scenario and with 2 degrees the O.P. can't see the big picture. The stores that sell the cars cheaper typically treat the technicians the worst. They are all about moving cars, not about taking care of the customer and especially the people (techs) that the customer needs them to have. The result is that they breed consumers like the O.P. who turn around and spread that grief to the other stores and make things worse for everyone.

It never ceases to amaze me how some consumers think that anyone on some internet board can somehow just know what is wrong with his $60,000 car. He has no idea that almost no-one commenting here has ever touched most cars beyond sitting in their front seat, let alone really done anything with cars that have engines and drivetrains that are as sophisticated as today's. Then instead of seeing what is wrong with not supporting the business in his immediate community he has to take a tantrum and act like you can see displayed in the previous response. Now he has to try and belittle and insult to press his point and really the only thing he has left me wondering is how many more degrees he would have to get before he learns fifth grade capitalization and punctuation.

mrkool44

1st, you're making a LOT of assumptions... I never assumed people on here know what's wrong with my car.
My question was simple.  You brought up this whole topic.

2, I'm using my phone to type this, in my free time, Incoukd care less about grammar lol

3rd-- so it's clear you are/were a tech and have problems with your job.
You are choosing to blame whatever problems you had with your job as a tech on consumers.
Maybe that's who your employer blamed when they cut your pay/hrs etc.

Thats developed into your very negative view of "consumerism", etc.

You need to take a step back and re evaluate.  It maybe true that some consumers have taken advantage of certain situations to benefit them.  That happens.  It's part of doing business.  If your job was affected by this, which it seems like it has, that's unfortunate.   Easy thing for you to do is to place blame on consumerism and start thinking in a negative view of them.

But, that's a flaw.  Don't be results oriented.  You have to take into account all important factors, even if they don't directly benefit you.

You just don't get how business works - that's ok, most people don't.  I honestly don't expect you to understand at this point.

I own my own company and I often have customer complaints / returns etc.  If I treated my customers with your thinking, I wouldn't be in business for too long.  This goes for all businesses , including dealerships / car manufacturers 

Just realize this ... America is successful today because of this "consumerism" .  Period.

So, even though it has negatively impacted you, try to think what you're saying would do to the brand.
what it would do the image of dealerships across USA. 

thecardoc3

FWIW, I have been quite successful in my own business which even after retiring simply refuses to stop running. I must have done something right......

So, even though it has negatively impacted you, try to think what you're saying would do to the brand. what it would do the image of dealerships across USA.

I have thought about exactly that, which is why I have no problem with stepping up and taking on whatever challenges arise from making consumers try to see the bigger picture. The "brand" cares about you, the consumer, exactly as much as you cared about supporting your local business. Now when that hasn't exactly lived up to the promises you need that local business to be up to the task but the consumer doesn't understand how decades of abuses are coming back to haunt them. Today they may still have someone that will save the day for you, but they really shouldn't. That's a testament to the techs not the brand, nor the dealer and all the consumerism in the world isn't going to make someone else want to be the next tech to help out some greedy consumer.

kyfdx

@mrkool44

"all I ask in OP was, is this normal -- "

I think the local dealer's reaction was normal, given the reasons above (my reasons, not the ranting.. lol).

I'm happy for you, that the local dealer is looking at it. If it turns out to be your selling dealer's screw-up, things could get sticky. Let us know how it works out.

Mr_Shiftright

Oh c'mon, this is getting silly. Just take it to the nearest dealer under the assumption that it is a warranty issue. If this poor guy drives for an hour and his oil filter falls out on the freeway, y'all are going to feel bad.

thecardoc3

Don't bet on that.

mrkool44

Update:

Took the car in to my local Infiniti Dealer yesterday. The service advisor said I did the right thing by bringing it in to them vs going to the original dealer since it's a far drive.

She further stated " we get paid by Infiniti for warranty work"

So, to all of you that say I'm not being "fair" or causing the local dealer to work for "free" when they didn't make money on selling me the car -- you don't know what you're talking about. My local dealer still gets paid on service even if they didn't sell me the car.

The cost of diagnosis was $128. The SA said Infiniti will pay the dealer this amount. I owe $0 for diagnosis.

What they found:

The Right Side VCT Solenoid was malfunctioning. She said that was causing the oil leak and again, said that it was smart for me to bring it in to the closest dealer. She advised I should ALWAYS bring my car to the closest Infiniti dealer no matter where I'm at. She said I shouldn't take on the risk of knowing what the problem is with the car. Her words - not mine.

I also noticed I was getting 12 MPG on a brand new Qx60 which is rated at 19 MPG city. Looks like this solenoid was indeed bad.

They replaced the Solenoid and everything is all set. $0 was charged to me. But, I'm sure Infiniti paid the local dealer for whatever parts/labor was required to do this repair.

Picked up my Qx60 today and no more oil leak.

Mr_Shiftright

Great. Thanks for the update!

stever

The dealer/industry thread has been moved over to the Mechanic's Life discussion.

thecardoc3

mrkool44 said:

Update:

Took the car in to my local Infiniti Dealer yesterday. The service advisor said I did the right thing by bringing it in to them vs going to the original dealer since it's a far drive.

She further stated " we get paid by Infiniti for warranty work"

So, to all of you that say I'm not being "fair" or causing the local dealer to work for "free" when they didn't make money on selling me the car -- you don't know what you're talking about. My local dealer still gets paid on service even if they didn't sell me the car.

The cost of diagnosis was $128. The SA said Infiniti will pay the dealer this amount. I owe $0 for diagnosis.

It's important to follow the above link to the mechanics life discussion where this conversation is now continued. The price suggested here misrepresents how the dealer and the techs are compensated and is an important part of the discussion.