Not retail replacement cost.
During inspection for my QX60 I had a one door panel need to be replaced, and it was like $500 on turn-in bill, while I’m sure I would have had to pay much more at the dealership (they wanted to ding the car at $2k to replace the door when I tried selling to the Infinity dealership)
Why not to try get an inspection done since by not failed engine is an open secret on that car?
Not you repairing- you just giving it back. There may be a flat fee for a bad engine that is lower than retail replacement cost. Someone has to know what the number is. Might be able to get it from a lease end inspection or IFS on the phone.
From IFS return guide (although no pricing is available on the guide)
Engine / Mechanical / Other Examples of Chargeable Excess Wear
Engine or Mechanical Damage
Mechanical, electrical or engine damage due to failure to maintain the vehicle in accordance with the
owner’s manual or maintenance schedule, including but not limited to damage caused by oil gelling or
solidifying in the engine housing, more commonly referred to as sludge. Because oil sludge damage is
not always readily ascertainable through a visual inspection, IFS reserves the right to maintain a claim
for engine damage caused by sludge, subsequent to the lease termination, if this condition is not
discovered until then.
Interesting, can you tell me your basis for this conclusion? This could definitely change my approach.
If this is the case, it seems my best option might well be as jeisensc suggests above; do repair as cheaply as possible and then either turn in or sell to 3rd party based on buy quotes I get at the time (in the same way people are normally dealing with lease disposition right now). Thanks!
In case it wasn’t clear, I’m not asking that you try to hide the fact that the engine was replaced. I’m asking which hypothetical buyer is going to verify or even care whether the replacement engine was used or new?
The default assumption with engine replacements is that they’re used. IMO no one’s going to offer you more because “the replacement engine is new” vs “used”
I looked into this at one point and the NHTSA issued an interpretation letter about this exact scenario. Their stance is the purpose odometer is to track how many miles the vehicle has traveled. Not the engine. Not the transmission. Not the driveshaft. Not the brake pads. The engine is just a part of the car.
There is nothing on Florida’s odometer disclosure that says anything about relationship of the odometer to age of any parts. It very clearly asks you to select 1 of 3 answers:
The odometer is not designed to tell you the age of individual components. The laws are specifically about the accuracy of the odometer itself. If it has not been tampered with in any way (rolled back, disabled, etc) and hasn’t “rolled over” (obviously not the case here) select option 1. Period, end of story. You can call FLHSMV and they will tell you the same.
I’m not a lawyer though, and you are, so you do you. I personally wouldn’t unnecessarily brand my vehicle’s title just to feel warm and fuzzy inside
Thanks, this is interesting, particularly if there is NHTSA guidance on this - which I’ll need to research myself. I reviewed the Odometer statement also, and the question is whether (3) would apply — does the Odometer reflect the actual mileage. I agree with your interpretation that this shouldn’t be applicable, as the Odometer is accurate as to the vehicle as a whole.
It’s the same logic, in reverse, that would apply if I replaced the engine with a brand new one; the Odometer couldn’t be turned back to “0.” In the end, it’s not that I am looking for a “warm and fuzzy feeling”, I just want to be certain I’m on solid legal footing and not committing any fraud when executing the disclosure. NHTSA or other authority that supports this interpretation would make me feel more comfortable I am on solid footing.
This is where I would pause because it is a bit of a gray area (to me). In my opinion, it can go either way and is up to individual interpretation.
I have found that being too honest (e.g., offering information or disclosing things I do not have to) is working against me in this world. So, while I will not lie, I am learning to state what is necessary/asked and nothing further.
Just spitballing- Could you use a used Nissan Pathfinder engine- would that be any cheaper since its non-luxury (but esentially the same engine.)
FWIW, I did find some legal analysis on this and did confirm the NHTSA opinion that an engine replacement does not impact the “real” mileage of the vehicle under the Federal Odometer Act, as the theory is that every part of a vehicle is “replaceable” and that the odometer reflects the actual miles driven of the vehicle as a whole. At least one case found that a dealer was not obligated to disclose a non-original engine to a buyer on an odometer verification as part of a used car sale.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned this, but for option A you likely will not have $4K equity that you were planning on for 2 reasons.
-your car now has a large yellow flag. It will not demand the same value as a car whose engine was not replaced.
-resale values are dropping quickly. As prices drop buyers are less willing to buy a vehicle with a history unless it is significantly discounted
Implicit in the discussion above is whether an engine replacement does require sales disclosure and whether there would be any flag on the vehicle, which doesn’t appear to be the case.
That said, I suspect that (aside from engine issue) you’re right that falling used car resale values may mean no equity in the car.
I’m leaning towards extending, replacing with used engine, and then either turning in or selling to broker if I receive an offer higher than residual.
Yeah, I’m not sure about required disclosure or not. But when I purchased my last SUV for section 179 write off, I had it inspected and matching VINs on key parts was part of the inspection.
I guess If you’re extending, fixing and returning to the dealer they may not care enough to check.
We are in the EXACT same situation. My pregnant wife and 4 year old son were in the car when they came to a stop in traffic on the highway and when my wife attempted to accelerate, the car suddenly went backward (while still in Drive). Car had to be towed. Infiniti couldn’t be more dismissive – blaming us for the sludge / engine failure even though we had multiple oil changes. No sympathy or expression of concern that my pregnant wife and son were stuck in the middle of a highway because their engine failed. Curious… How common is this? Is this a pattern with Infiniti QX60s? I really want Infiniti to take some accountability. I’ve been a longtime, loyal Infiniti customer but this doesn’t feel right.
No sludge with me but the car shut off twice while driving. Once when I was towing a trailer, good thing I don’t skip leg day. I ended up getting an attorney because they couldn’t diagnose or fix the problem. Other than software updates…
It was a lemon law attorney in PA, they were excellent.
My buddy was in a similar situation as yours but had he had the oil change receipts. He went into arbitration with Nissan and won the case. Nissan had to pay for the new engine.
I recently sold my 2020 QX 60 lease to an Infiniti dealership and the best offer I got was them taking the car off my hands so I did not have to pay the disposition fee. Carvana was only offering me $200 more than the buyout price so the equity on the QX60 is not so high especially since the car is known to have engine issues. I took the deal since I was scheduled to pickup my new car the next day.
This is actually very common and I have seen it with MANY qx60 lease returns over the past year+. Several times, my dealers were planning on buying a car out only to discover that it had a sludged engine. Long story short, without a service record, they’re going to pin that on you. In theory, you’re borrowing their car and you should be servicing it at an authorized dealer. I understand it’s not fair. That engine truly is a POS that if you really did perform service when the oil light came on, you shouldn’t have to bear the burden for a new engine. I’d provide all of your service records to them and see what can be done, if anything.
The bolded part is wrong. They just need to prove the oil was changed at the scheduled intervals. There is no responsibility to have it performed at an authorized dealer.
and that’s why OP is on the hook for an engine replacement…
We don’t know all the details of the OP’s case. He seems to have accepted responsibility for the engine failure and after multiple posts on the subject he has never claimed to have done all the oil changes on time (regardless of who performed it).
Following the maintenance schedule, which says nothing about requiring the work to be done at authorized dealer, would have either prevented an engine failure, caused Nissan to warranty it, or won him the case in arbitration.
TLDR: Whether the oil changes were at an authorized dealer or not is immaterial here.