Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Warranty Claims Administration

124»

Comments

  • martescdmartescd Member Posts: 1
    Are there any Honda ones out there???
  • disgruntled33disgruntled33 Member Posts: 11
    Question: This is my first Nissan that I bought. I included the extended warranty on the car. I bought the car a good distance from my home. We have kept up with maintenance on the car, however, we did not save the receipts for oil bought. I now have a problem with my Murano 2010, 28,000 miles, with white smoke when starting my car. I took it to the dealer and provided him with my service record of when we changed the oil. Because there was sludge in the oil, they want receipts for the oil purchased. We have only ever used what was stated in the manual. We were never told to save receipts for such things as oil, window washer fluid, air filters, etc. Now Nissan doesn't want to honor the warranty. The dealership won't even diagnosis what's wrong with the car. Where is it stated that receipts must be kept for 'normal' supplies for your car? The manual states that 'records' need to be kept and that the owner can do it, nothing about receipts.
  • dtownfbdtownfb Member Posts: 2,918
    Where did you have the oil changes done? Most shops or garages keep receipts.

    Keep fighting. Nissan is trying to avoid paying for a new engine. Also here's a link to a similar situation: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100221091536AAmdIXV
  • disgruntled33disgruntled33 Member Posts: 11
    Thank you for your reply. We didn't take our car to a shop for oil changes, we do our own. My husband has been doing oil changes for 30+ years. We cannot find it written on any of our paperwork from the dealership nor the owners manual and no one at the car dealership told us to keep receipts (since we refused other offers at the time like lifetime inspections because we lived so far from them) they knew we wouldn't be driving that distance for our maintenance. ....And still no one told us to save receipts.

    We find it 'ironic' how we receive all these promotional things from Nissan/Dealer but never received any literature on how Murano's are having engine issues. It is a shame that we are only finding out now as we research our problems (such as the link you sent to us of the woman that owned a 2007 Murano and having same issues). It just seems our issues are not uncommon from what we have read from numerous Murando owners. I would have thought Nissan would have sent some warning out to have our cars checked.

    As you can see, I am very disheartened by all of this by how much I have written. After all the money we have spent on this product plus the extended warranty only to find that Nissan will not stand behind their product after we have done what we read from the owner's manual to do (maintenance). If in the future you think of something else that would be helpful I would appreciate hearing about it.

    So far, no one has gotten back to me as to where in print it is stated to save receipts in the owner's manual.
  • mitzijmitzij Member Posts: 613
    The dealer needs you to prove you changed your oil. A list of dates and mileages of when the oil was changed is just that: a list. You could have written that up last week for all they know. Dated receipts are a bit harder to fake.

    If they're looking at a sludged-up engine that looks like it hasn't had it's oil changed in 2 years, they may have reason to disbelieve you.
  • billy3554billy3554 Member Posts: 148
    Just an example of why an extended service contract is a bad way to spend money. Too much small print.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I think we did point that out already---the actual warranty that comes with the car has the wording in it that requires you to keep receipts for service work not done at the dealer.

    (quote)

    "As a condition of this warranty, you are responsible for
    properly using, maintaining and caring for your vehicle
    as outlined in your OWNER’S MANUAL and your
    NISSAN SERVICE & MAINTENANCE GUIDE, and
    maintaining copies of all maintenance records & receipts for review by Nissan."
  • disgruntled33disgruntled33 Member Posts: 11
    Thanks, Mr Shiftright....however, the wording in my warranty book states, 'you should' not 'must'. I have owned many new cars and have only kept receipts of replacement things. Also, the Owner's Manual just states to keep records. I am in compliance with what Nissan has stated in both manuals. I don't understand how both of us have different wording in our books.

    By the way, take a look at what the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 says. It's worth checking out.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Well we can play lawyer with the wording but the fact is, you are between a rock and a hard place here, and my best advice is to take a hard look at all your best options. Suing Nissan is going to be mighty expensive, since it is Nissan and not the dealer who is (allegedly) denying your warranty.

    I think your best bet is to negotiate with Nissan directly and try to work out some kind of legitimate "split" on the cost of repairs, or maybe (hopefully) get them to finally, reluctantly pick up the tab after sending a tech to examine your car. Maybe in the end it's still going to hurt, but maybe only half as much.

    Legal cases are not about fairness, they are about maneuver, so you need to develop a strategy that has a good chance of working.
  • disgruntled33disgruntled33 Member Posts: 11
    Yes, I look forward to it.
  • disgruntled33disgruntled33 Member Posts: 11
    Tell me how a receipt for oil tells of when an oil change was done? Do you not watch your local papers for sales? Considering I have several cars that all take the same type of oil I buy many when on sale. And by the way, I only need to provide what the manuals in my car say I need and I have done so.

    My car is only 2 1/2 yrs. old, Mitzij...I have taken care of my car. Could it be that the dealerships jump on the easiest solution to a problem, the customer, than perhaps looking at perhaps other reasons that sludge may be building? I don't know, I didn't see the sludge...I'm taking the 'word' of a mechanic at a Nissan dealer. Should I just jump on their bandwagon and call them liars, as you implied in your post of the customer? Or, being a good mechanic looking at the overall car and seeing if it was cared for, checking other avenues that might cause a problem such as this. I know from my research and going to other mechanics there are several other and probable causes for sludge, especially in a car so new. Yes, I do assume people are honest until proven otherwise, so I never put induendo's, such as you have, that a dealership from the company was anything but honest.

    I would just like you also to think about this, Mitzij....could a dealership/company have a known problem on a car and are looking for ways to get out of fixing it by stating 'sludge'? Like I said, I did not witness any sludge the mechanics are referring to...nor did my husband when he changed the oil. I would think sludge would show up in a pan if I'm not mistaken.

    Just wanted to throw that out there since in your post it seems that you perhaps work for Nissan....
  • mitzijmitzij Member Posts: 613
    edited May 2013
    Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. Just pointing out the dealer side of this.

    If the tech sees cruddy internals, he's thinking it's a maintenance issue. We don't know what the tech did to determine sludge. Did he pop the fill cap and peek, or did he do real diagnostic work? It's certainly possible that the dealer is claiming sludge when the smoke is caused by something else. Maybe there's a gasket failure causing oil and coolant to mix. From this distance, it's hard to tell. The only way to know is to do proper diagnosis.

    Looking at the overall condition of the vehicle is no indication if it's had its oil change done regularly. I have regular customers whose cars look very lived in and the engine oil is clean as a whistle. I have customers who turn up with pristine wheels and the oil is a quart low because they haven't checked it in 6000 miles. The book and the cover don't always match.

    If you could show that you bought oil filters and oil for this vehicle, it would be an indication that you did do the maintenance. I realize people buy multiple filters, or gallons of oil on sale, but having some record is better than a handwritten list.

    If communication between you and your dealer has broken down to the point that they won't touch the car again, it might be in your best interest to find a different Nissan dealer. I know that might be a good distance away, but would be worth it. Remember you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

    One other thought, you might want to read the service contract (extended warranty) you bought. Most contracts do require receipts for maintenance work. They can void a claim anytime they want if you don't have receipts. I've heard of people who have submitted claims that weren't even related to the engine that were denied because they couldn't prove maintenance. You think Nissan's bad? Wait'll the service contract kicks in.

    I've worked at a Chevy dealer for 13 years. The nearest Nissan dealer is about 40 miles away.
  • disgruntled33disgruntled33 Member Posts: 11
    Hey Mitzij...
    Sorry if I jumped down your throat before, not my intention but am just fed up with this whole Nissan stuff. It is now 2 months later and I'm finally getting my car fixed after Nissan jerked me around for so long. I had to take my car to an independent shop to have it diagnosed and they are fixing as of now. It is a blown head gasket. And to tell you the truth Mitzij, I know the service manager and Nissan knew it was a blown head gasket. What I think is, that my motor was built using the faulty 2009 gaskets that were redesigned for future Murano's. They came out with the new design in Feburary 2009, my car was assembled in July 2009, but I don't know when the motor was put together. This information came from the internet from a knowledgeable guy. Are they factual? I don't have access to that information. Actually, the garage called me today to let me know that the parts were ordered from the Nissan dealer. He said he had the engine apart. I asked him about the sludge that Nissan is claiming it has. He told me to come on down to the garage to take a look and pictures if I wanted. He felt there wasn't any big problem with sludge in my engine. It looked pretty normal, nothing really amiss. I guess making 'determinations' about sludge can be very subjective. Unfortunately, I truly believe, if you don't have regular maintenance done with the dealship they won't give you the time of day and will look for this type of 'problem' just to deny a customer. The manager at the garage also told me that the maintenance on my car had nothing to do with the head gasket blowing. In fact, the blown head gasket could cause the oil to sludge. It's like fighting city hall sometimes. Just going around in circles. Anyway, to say that I am truly disappointed with this company would be an understatement.

    As to the warranty, Mitzij...in the warranty book that was provided by the dealership it absolutely does not say 'you must' or the warranty is void. It suggests that 'you should' keep a log and receipts. If you look up the two words in the dictionary, Must and Should, you'll see they have definitely two different definitions. Thank you for taking the time with answering my post.
  • kimmysarkelakimmysarkela Member Posts: 4
    Hi im a honda warranty administrator just wondering if anyone is still posting on this forum
Sign In or Register to comment.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles