[Dzazter]

I got this 2017 RS400 used in Aug 2018 with 8900 miles. It now has about 45,000. The wife and I made a run yesterday to visit my mother who lives about 100 miles away. At least 50% of that drive is up I-95. I drive the car pretty fast most of the time on the highway. Its not unusual to find me just shy of 20MPH over the posted. I had no issue on the way up or the way back. As I pulled into the garage at home, I notice the temp gage start to rise. it was past the mid point and climbing when I shut it off. Popped the hood and the cooling res was empty. I'm usually pretty good about checking fluid levels. I actually checked the oil right before the trip. Forgot to glance at that res tank (oops). I haven't seen any visible indication of fluid loss.

Soooooo, I have an appointment with Atlantic Infiniti in Jax on Monday. As far as I know Im still under the drivetrain warranty. If not, I did get an extended warranty when I bought it. Im well aware of the porous block issue and the water pump issue. I also have sample bottle to send off the oil to be checked when they grab a sample Monday. Figured since Im there its close enough to 5000 miles to get the oil changed. This will be the first time sending in an oil sample for analysis.

Wish me luck. Although, Im not quite sure what for. I really dont know what news is going to be better to hear as far as the cause of the coolant loss.

 

[IridiumRS400]

Forgot to glance at that res tank (oops). I haven't seen any visible indication of fluid loss.

Yeah, this sounds like another porous block issue. In the infinitiq50.org forum, we have a "Consolidated VR30 Block Replacement" thread:

Consolidated VR30 Block Replacement Thread

Your mileage is fairly close to the mean of the population.

 

[dajcopeland]

It’s probably your water pump. A gradual leak over time will just burn off without a trace. I had mine replaced at about 15k on a 2017 RS.

 

[IridiumRS400]

It’s probably your water pump. A gradual leak over time will just burn off without a trace. I had mine replaced at about 15k on a 2017 RS.

If that's the case, then there will be residual white powder showing below the WP in front of the engine.

 

[Idrisq60]

I got this 2017 RS400 used in Aug 2018 with 8900 miles. It now has about 45,000. The wife and I made a run yesterday to visit my mother who lives about 100 miles away. At least 50% of that drive is up I-95. I drive the car pretty fast most of the time on the highway. Its not unusual to find me just shy of 20MPH over the posted. I had no issue on the way up or the way back. As I pulled into the garage at home, I notice the temp gage start to rise. it was past the mid point and climbing when I shut it off. Popped the hood and the cooling res was empty. I'm usually pretty good about checking fluid levels. I actually checked the oil right before the trip. Forgot to glance at that res tank (oops). I haven't seen any visible indication of fluid loss.

Soooooo, I have an appointment with Atlantic Infiniti in Jax on Monday. As far as I know Im still under the drivetrain warranty. If not, I did get an extended warranty when I bought it. Im well aware of the porous block issue and the water pump issue. I also have sample bottle to send off the oil to be checked when they grab a sample Monday. Figured since Im there its close enough to 5000 miles to get the oil changed. This will be the first time sending in an oil sample for analysis.

Wish me luck. Although, Im not quite sure what for. I really dont know what news is going to be better to hear as far as the cause of the coolant loss.

I was in the same situation recently. My car is very well taken care of, never had issues. I started noticing my coolant was always burning. I would fill it up every 4-5 days. I took it to the dealership and had it looked it. They said they couldn't find any leaks. They also performed a pressure test which came back good. I drove like this for 3-4 months. There weren't any lights on the dash. After the 4th month, the coolant loss got worse. I would have to fill it up every 1-2 days. I went to the dealership again and they were not able to figure it out.

I drove the car for about a month and one night I noticed the car was overheating. I pulled over and checked the fluids. Noticed coolant was low again. After waiting for about an hour I decided to drive home. I drove the car for another week (waiting for my service appointment) and one day as I was accelerating, I heard knocking. It wasn't aggressive but noticeable. At this point I still had no check engine light. I put the car back to stock tune and went to the dealership the next day. They took the car in and called the next day. They said I needed a new engine and that it would be covered under warranty. Apparently, there were lots of metal shaving in my oil pan. The process took about 5-6 weeks. I was given a loaner and paid zero for the engine swap.

I took the car in with full downpipes and a heat exchanger.

 

[Dzazter]

They found indications (discoloration) of coolant in the oil due to some being stuck to the inside of the fill cap. They are starting the process to have the engine and both turbos replaced. Will up the forum whenever the process progresses to the next step.

 

[IridiumRS400]

They found indications (discoloration) of coolant in the oil due to some being stuck to the inside of the fill cap. They are starting the process to have the engine and both turbos replaced. Will up the forum whenever the process progresses to the next step.

Sadly, I figured this would be the ultimate diagnosis... it was just under a 3 week process from diagnosis to replacement of the engine and both turbos for my Q.

 

[Dzazter]

Sadly, I figured this would be the ultimate diagnosis... it was just under a 3 week process from diagnosis to replacement of the engine and both turbos for my Q.

Wonder if they have actually revised the process for casting the blocks so this isnt happening anymore? And, they used all the left-over original stock so I actually get one of the revised ones if they did.

 

[Dzazter]

Service Mang. at the dealer called to let know they got oil sample results. Sample had significant amounts of coolant in it.

He is going to try and cover it, but since its a couple of months out of warranty its a coin toss basically. For $250 my extended warranty will pay for it, so not worried.

I just really hope the new long block has had the issue engineered out of it. I know the turbos should be good since they were changed in mid 2018.

The only question after all this is keep it and take a chance, or drop it like a hot rock on a C7.

 

[Bevo]

drop it like a hot rock on a C7.

C8 or get out

 

[Dzazter]

C8 or get out

Cover the price diff Bevo and Im all in!

 

[IridiumRS400]

The only question after all this is keep it and take a chance, or drop it like a hot rock on a C7.

You'll have a 1-yr/12k mile warranty on the replacement long block, so you'll have some time to decide.

 

[Dzazter]

Does this look infected?

 

[NINaudio]

Coolant in your oil is never a good sign.

 

[Dzazter]

Coolant in your oil is never a good sign.

Truth. Just waiting to see if Infiniti is going to cover it or my extended warranty.

 

[Dzazter]

Great, just got of the phone with the dealership. They tell me if I have to go through the extended warranty company, they could replace my engine with a used one of similar miles. 🤬
Infiniti Consumer Affairs is just getting the ball rolling.

 

[Bevo]

They tell me if I have to go through the extended warranty company, they could replace my engine with a used one of similar miles.

So your extended warranty is not through Infiniti?

 

[Dzazter]

So your extended warranty is not through Infiniti?

It is not. It was a free-be I got because of what turned out to be some incorrect info (false advertising) on the ad for the car when I went to look at it. They claimed it had all the packages I wanted and it didnt. I was pretty pissed since it was a 3 hr drive to go look at it. So I pitched a major fit. lol
It was worth a free extended warranty. Guess not Infiniti since I bought it used with 8900 miles on it from a Mecedes dealer.