My daughter brought her 2007 Versa to the dealer for A/C problem. They recommend the coolant service needs to be drained & change. They said this is done normally at 15,000 miles. Anybody heard or know about this maintenance service? I read somewhere at one time that coolant change s/b done at or around 2 years. I told her to flatly said NO. Did I do the right thing? Thanks.
With coolant changes getting longer and longer…15k miles is absurd. I’ve NEVER heard of ANY manufacturing recommending a 15k mileage for coolant change.
Check you’re owners manual. I guarantee you there will be a service interval for the coolant change. And I’d bet it’s no less then 5 years like every other Nissan vehicle. Tell your daughter to find another mechanic. This place is a rip-off.
Please read your OWNERS MANUAL that came with the car; it has the right interval for coolant chages. With the latest long life coolants some manufacturers recommend about 100,000 miles! I think that is too long, but the dealer is giving you a true BS pitch.
Even without a manual, most reputable mechanics would recommend 40,000-50,000 miles or 4 years between coolant changes. This would be combined with a cooling system flush. Several times a year the coolant should be tested for strength, and you should check the coolant level every 2 weeks or so.
So, tell the service “advisor”, who is on commission to well more service, that you will go by the book and have somenoe else do the job. Make sure you keep all your receipts, since your car is still under warranty.
“Did I do the right thing?”
Yes! The dealership was trying to sell you an unnecessary service. What else is new? As others have said, the correct answer is in your owner’s manual. Make sure Daughter reads it, too, lest she be taken next time by the popular air induction service, brake flush, or transmission flush rip-offs.
Like every has said, you did the right thing, dealer (like many others) was trying to sell you unneeded service. Unfortunately, I think Nissan makes this worse, because, if I recall correctly, they have in the manual different ‘levels’ of maintenance, trying to feed on our desire to ‘be nice’ to our cars. Make sure you only do the level appropriate for your car’s service. According to the Edmunds maintenance guide for your car, coolant change is recommended at 60,000 miles. What an (attempted) rip-off!
You can use it here: http://www.edmunds.com/maintenance/vehicle.do?synpartner=edmunds
Read the owner’s manual. It’ll say in there.
You learned something about most dealers. Dealers are no better (or worse) than independent mechanics for almost anything you might need done on your car. They will almost always charge more per hour and often more for parts and supplies. They also tend to look at repairs a little different than the independent.
A dealer may well recommend work that strictly may not be needed, but could be connected to the problem or maybe replace a part when a little repair would fix it ALMOST as good a new.
There is no need to bring your car to the dealer for any service other than service that is going to be paid for by a recall or original warrantee. During the warranty period be sure to have all required (as listed in the owner's manual) maintenance done and to document all maintenance work.
I suggest that most people would be better off finding a good independent (Not working for a chain) mechanic.
Note: Never ever use a quick oil change place. They are fast cheap and very very bad.
They were talking about the coolant in the radiator and not the refrigerant? I don’t see how the two are related. If she had an AC problem, I could see changing the refrigerant, at their expense, under warrantee. The OEM coolant should be good for several years and if you use one of the newer coolants when its finally time to replace it, it will last even longer.
I think that there must have been a communication problem. Did those people have the gall to tell someone that coolant needs to be changed at 15K? I doubt it. If they did, you should complain to the owner or general manager of the dealership. They won’t stay in business long if they tell this kind of bald lie. There are plenty of subtle ones that they can get away with.
I have no doubt the dealer tried to do this. My Lexus dealer tried to extort changing the transmission fluid at 15k miles, I refused, and the service agent refused to stamp the warranty book. I wrote the dealer and Lexus a letter, no response.
Things are getting worse than I thought. Time to take up living in a hut in the woods.
Simply do what is listed in the owners/maintenance manual.
Usually the interval is a minimum 30-40k and at most never.