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paintref
Look, I see stars
join:2003-02-21
Houston, TX

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Tips to keep a car running longer...

I just got a 2006 Nissan Altima which just ticked over to 133K miles.

Besides oil changes, does anyone have any general tips on keeping a car on the road longer? I have been told regular oil changes is what keeps a vehicle on the road longer.

This isn't the first high mileage vehicle I had. Had a 1995 Pathfinder which ran good and I kept up with oil changes.

Anonymous_
Anonymous
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join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1

Anonymous_

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My dad used Hyperlube oil in his 2006 Sentra (1 qt per oil change)

he sold it at 210,000 miles (he bought it at 5 miles) the engine was in perfect shape when sold with zero work done to it in the 210k miles...

Never had a problem with the engine or transmission only "normal wear" items such as the Belt, motor mounts, batteries and tires have been changed.
PrntRhd
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Fairfield, CA

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Fluid changes on time per the manufacturers specified intervals with the Japanese vehicles. Keep air pressure up in tires. Keep the wheels aligned. Don't drive in flooded conditions.
Don't get into crashes.
Use quality replacement parts when needed.

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

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#1, by a large margin is don't get into an accident. I know that sometimes is not doable, but I have a feeling some people drive in a way that make them more accident prone.

#2 do just enough maintenance to prevent issues due to negligence -- in my case, that means 5k or 10k oil changes, 100 - 150k ATF changes, brake pad replacement before metal-to-metal contact, occasional brake fluid flushes until it runs clear, etc.

#3 prevent rusting out

digitalfutur
Sees More Than Shown
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join:2000-07-15
GTA

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Run it to full operating temperature at least 5 days per week.

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

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While in theory it's a good advice, it may not be feasible, or just too costly for the benefits.

WK2
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join:2006-12-28
united state

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1) Change oil no later than 5k miles
2) Change fluids (tranny, power steering, etc.)
3) For the love of god don't jump in the car and go. Turn the key, wait for the RPM's to settle down, then go.

hortnut
Huh?
join:2005-09-25
PDX Metro

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Keep your ears open, if something does not sound right determine when the sound shows itself. Freeway at 55, 65, 75, accelerating, decelerating, and intown at x mph and also where it is and the notice is coming from. Have it checked out and do not wait.

If your hear a big clunk every time you make a right turn check the trunk and make sure the bowling ball is secured. That is a true story. Happened to my Uncle years ago and he is a pretty with it guy. Even the shop went for a ride with him and were scratching their heads on that. Last thing they did was open the trunk.

Open hood often and do a good look over, get used to seeing how it looks when all is normal. After driving for a while and after shutting off engine, use your nose for unusual smells, especially in the engine bay. And around tires and wheels.

Do the same with the engine running. Get used to its normal smells.
fixrman
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Hatboro, PA
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Since nearly every vehicle I have ever owned has has had high mileage, I can offer some guidance. Also consider this is coming from someone who made good money and a living from people who DID NOT perform regular maintenance.

Regular changing of engine oil is key. People can choose either Dino oil, synth blend or full syn. Whatever you choose, do it when it is due. The mileage isn't a hard fast rule. I would suggest though that the folks who do more frequent changes have the most long-term success. I do not exceed 5,000 miles. Whatever is decided upon: if the OE manufacturer says the car takes full synthetic, that is what you use. Do not cheap out and use regular oil if the specifications call for full synthetic oil.

Rotate tires every 6,000 miles if you can. Keep tire pressure set properly. Change brake fluid every three years or 30k. Coolant should be changed at 60k. Power steering fluid, 60k. Transmission fluid should not be changed later than 90k. 4x4 vehicles should change transfer box and diff fluids at 30k.

These are very general guidelines. Folks are free to do as they choose, but I can tell you that failure to perform regular maintenance creates opportunity for the guys I the service bays. Breakdowns are expensive and inconvenient. Plus it might involve a tow truck and missing an important event.
Dodge
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said by hortnut:

If your hear a big clunk every time you make a right turn check the trunk and make sure the bowling ball is secured. That is a true story. Happened to my Uncle years ago and he is a pretty with it guy. Even the shop went for a ride with him and were scratching their heads on that. Last thing they did was open the trunk.

Years ago, had a fuel pump replaced on one of my cars. Pick up the car from the shop, start driving, the car stinks of gasoline. Back to the shop, fuel tank comes back off, everything is triple checked and re-assembled. Start driving, stinks of gasoline. Back to the shop. They ask to keep the car overnight as it was close to the end of the day, I say fine, let me get some stuff out of the trunk, open the trunk, there is a can of gasoline, that I completely forgot about, leaking all over the place. The shop owner was barely restraining himself from not kicking my ass for making them take the tank down 2nd time.

Boricua
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join:2002-01-26
Sacramuerto

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said by WK2:

3) For the love of god don't jump in the car and go. Turn the key, wait for the RPM's to settle down, then go.

It has been advised, when starting the vehicle cold, to wait 30 seconds then start driving about 25mph to warm up the vehicle.

When I do this, I wait until the needle is above C and then go to traveling speeds.

Cho Baka
MVM
join:2000-11-23
there

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You live in Sacramento. It doesn`t get cold there.

Boooost
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Biggest problem with the Altima is the continuously-variable transmission (CVT). If that goes, you're looking at a $4000 replacement. Not sure if the 2006 has a CVT.
PrntRhd
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join:2004-11-03
Fairfield, CA

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But FYI, Nissan has extended the warranty on CVT equipped Nissans.
fixrman
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Your dad wasted his money. The longevity was due to proper maintenance, not the snake oil he put in.

The only way to know the engine was in "perfect shape" is to tear it down and measure tolerances with a micrometer. Did someone do that? No, I didn't think so.
fixrman

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I don't know many transmissions in many models that are much cheaper than about $4,000, unless it is an older vehicle.

Doctor Olds
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said by paintref:

I just got a 2006 Nissan Altima which just ticked over to 133K miles.

I have been told regular oil changes is what keeps a vehicle on the road longer.

The life blood of every vehicle is the engine oil (plus filter) and other fluid/filter changes. Other than that, just repair other things as they come up and don't let little things grow into major repairs.
billydunwood
join:2008-04-23
united state

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Oil Changes regularly, obviously. Follow manufacturer service intervals(don't need to take it to the dealership though!) and Seafoam every now and then. I use seafoam through the brake booster line so the car can run it through the engine and clean it.

WK2
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united state

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+1 on the sea foam. Change your oil right after use.
fixrman
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fixrman

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Don't forget the aerodynamic wipers, Slick 50 and the little gizmo that plugs into the lighter for higher mileage. Oh, oh, oh! Also the magnetic fuel line clamp! all these things boosted my mileage 30%!!! [rollseyes]

Doctor Olds
I Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me.
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join:2001-04-19
1970 442 W30

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said by fixrman:

Don't forget the aerodynamic wipers, Slick 50 and the little gizmo that plugs into the lighter for higher mileage. Oh, oh, oh! Also the magnetic fuel line clamp! all these things boosted my mileage 30%!!! [rollseyes]

And the Supercharger TurboNator that goes in the cold air intake.....

Gas Fuel Saver Supercharger TurboNator Air Intake Fan Blue
»www.ebay.com/itm/like/11 ··· ?lpid=82
billydunwood
join:2008-04-23
united state

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said by Doctor Olds:

said by fixrman:

Don't forget the aerodynamic wipers, Slick 50 and the little gizmo that plugs into the lighter for higher mileage. Oh, oh, oh! Also the magnetic fuel line clamp! all these things boosted my mileage 30%!!! [rollseyes]

And the Supercharger TurboNator that goes in the cold air intake.....

Gas Fuel Saver Supercharger TurboNator Air Intake Fan Blue
»www.ebay.com/itm/like/11 ··· ?lpid=82

Even better, you have to get the full kit!
»www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-El ··· &vxp=mtr

shdesigns
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said by billydunwood:

Even better, you have to get the full kit!
»www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Electric-T···&vxp=mtr

»youtu.be/cbGWgvJN1_8
scross
join:2002-09-13
USA

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said by Boooost :

Biggest problem with the Altima is the continuously-variable transmission (CVT). If that goes, you're looking at a $4000 replacement. Not sure if the 2006 has a CVT.

The thing is that CVTs are relatively simple devices mechanically - nothing like the complex monstrosities that conventional automatic transmissions are - so to repair/rebuild/replace a CVT should by rights also be a relatively inexpensive process. And by that I mean probably hundreds of dollars, not thousands of dollars.

Cho Baka
MVM
join:2000-11-23
there

Cho Baka

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said by scross:

The thing is that CVTs are relatively simple devices mechanically - nothing like the complex monstrosities that conventional automatic transmissions are - so to repair/rebuild/replace a CVT should by rights also be a relatively inexpensive process. And by that I mean probably hundreds of dollars, not thousands of dollars.

Wishful thinking, in Technicolor.
PrntRhd
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Fairfield, CA

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said by scross:

said by Boooost :

Biggest problem with the Altima is the continuously-variable transmission (CVT). If that goes, you're looking at a $4000 replacement. Not sure if the 2006 has a CVT.

The thing is that CVTs are relatively simple devices mechanically - nothing like the complex monstrosities that conventional automatic transmissions are - so to repair/rebuild/replace a CVT should by rights also be a relatively inexpensive process. And by that I mean probably hundreds of dollars, not thousands of dollars.

No, the build tolerances of CVT are so precise that rebuilding them is not a reliable option. Ford dropped their Ford 500/Taurus CVT option when the domestic assembled CVTs were much worse for reliability than their European-built units. These transmissions were built using identically sourced parts and the costs of getting these assembled right were more than the sticker price of the option.

CVTs do get better gas mileage, Nissan mileage is 10-15% better with CVT than with a traditional automatic due to lower internal friction.
Both Toyota and Honda are building their own CVTs but are programming them to feel more like a traditional automatic for customer satisfaction reasons but still get a 10-12% gas mileage boost.

More reliable or less? The jury is still out.
scross
join:2002-09-13
USA

scross

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said by PrntRhd:

No, the build tolerances of CVT are so precise that rebuilding them is not a reliable option. Ford dropped their Ford 500/Taurus CVT option when the domestic assembled CVTs were much worse for reliability than their European-built units. These transmissions were built using identically sourced parts and the costs of getting these assembled right were more than the sticker price of the option.

Smells like BS to me. I've worked on my own cars since I was a teenager, and I spent over 10 years in the automotive industry myself (my dad spent a few years, too), so I've heard a LOT of BS, from both ends of the spectrum. And while I remember reading something similar to what you describe about assembly, as I recall there was more to that story, but I don't remember the details.

We currently own a small Nissan with a CVT. I took to the CVT instantly (many people don't, apparently) and it is even fun to drive (something that I rarely say about vehicles), but it will on occasion do something weird, which I would probably just chalk up to software issues. But we wouldn't have even bought it had Nissan not extended the CVT warranty on it to 10 years.

And not long ago I drove a 2013 Altima rental, which in slow-moving traffic (barely giving it any gas) would sometimes shudder stupidly (again, I would probably just chalk this up to software issues), but enough that if I actually owned that vehicle then I would be all up in Nissan's face about it! I happened to mention this to a Nissan sales guy a few days ago, and before I even got all the words out he interrupted me by saying "Yeah, the Altima CVT has ... issues." Which is not the kind of thing you want to hear when you are car shopping for a late-model Nissan vehicle, which we were at the time, and especially not from a company which claims to have worked out most of their CVT issues by now.
PrntRhd
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My wife drives a 2009 Maxima purchased new which has a CVT, it works well in most circumstances, particularly during highway cruising. It has done some strange ratio things maybe 2-3 times in 56K miles, and fixed by pressing the accelerator to add more RPMs. I also would not own one if it was not covered by a long term warranty. As you may know, Nissan buys the transmission from JATCO. If the transmission fails Nissan replaces the CVT with a new one and does not attempt rebuilding the failed CVT. This might be a deal where JATCO does the replacement coverage as part of their contract with Nissan but I don't know where anyone outside those two could prove that. Nissan has taken a risk by pushing the CVT to mainstream production.

The Ford issues came up when they had a CVT option on the Ford 500 AWD. The parts were imported and then assembled in their Batavia OH transmission plant joint venture with ZF and had very high failure rates (close to 90%). Tolerances were quoted as the cause of failures, and Batavia showed they were built within the engineering documentation values. Lucky for Ford the CVTs were not a big seller so the damage was limited to the numbers sold and Ford stopped the bleeding by discontinuing the option. I just ran a search, rebuilt ones on EBay are going for $2800 for that car. Which is a good thing since Ford has since re-bought and then closed the Batavia plant.

scross
join:2002-09-13
USA

scross

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Yeah, I knew about the wholesale replacement thing. In fact, I'd started to mention that earlier - that by replacing them instead of repairing them, Nissan is probably preventing an active repair market from opening up, along with an associated parts market and such (including fluids), which keeps prices high for repairing something which should (in theory, at least) be easier to repair than a conventional ATX. I'm not saying that they are doing this intentionally, necessarily, but their current procedures and relationship with JATCO aren't helping their business any.

»www.autonews.com/article ··· glitches

Many of the comments on this article and others like it are pretty harsh. I've seen several mentions of the unavailability of CVT parts and having to replace the entire transmission instead; also to the very high cost of CVT fluids. If people knew that out-of-warranty CVT transmissions could be repaired at a reasonable cost instead of having to be replaced at a very high cost, then they would be much more likely to buy vehicles which have them.

On the Batavia thing, like I said I don't really remember all of the details, but as I recall there was some mention of possible mishandling of parts during assembly or assembling certain parts out of order or something like that. IIRC, there were also suggestions that maybe the Europeans weren't necessarily being forthright about some things related to the whole process.

chip89
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Prevent Rust. Rust is the Enemy!