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Major maintenance on 2012 Infiniti QX56

107K views 204 replies 30 participants last post by  zba2a 
#1 · (Edited)
I just decided to make a thread to follow up major maintenance on this QX56.

2010 Nissan Maxima SE, Houston, TX - Page 36 - Nissan Armada Forum: Armada & Infiniti QX56 Forums

MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE

1/30/2016: 79,900 Bought my 2012 QX56 at Superior Auto Sales in Hamburg, NY. Drove it 1,500 miles home to Houston.
2/4/2016: 81,500 Oil change with Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W30. So, full synthetic.
2/5/2016: 81,600 Changed all 8 spark plugs. Drain and fill power steering fluid.
2/12/2016: 81,700 Did coolant flush.
2/18/2016: 82,300. Bought life time balance and rotation on current tires. Bought lifetime alignment. Bleed brakes. Got my TX license plates.
2/22/2016: 82,444. Front and Rear differential fluid done. Brake fully flushed. Installed rear bumper protector.
3/3/2016: 83,300. Transfer case drain and fill done.
3/7/2016: 83,400. Transmission fluid drain and fill done.
4/3/2016: 85,000. Installed OEM front brake pads, OEM rear brake pads, new front and rear rotors, and changed my ac belt. Car feels great and stopping power is immediate.
4/22/2016: 85,400 Oil change with Castrol 5W30 Extended Performance with Titanium.
8/27/2016: 96,000 Replaced timing chain under recall. Changed front lower control arms, front shocks. Did oil change and alignment. Replaced driver side dvd headrest.
9/14/2016: 97,000 Replaced Air and cabin filters
11/11/2016: 98,000 Replaced Transmission Control Module. Did transmission fluid change
11/14/2016: 98,100 Did oil change
12/17/2016: 100,000 ODOMETER turned to 100,000 miles
1/30/2017: 101,000 Car turned ONE year old in my ownership. So put 21,200 miles in first year.
2/26/2017: 102,550 Did oil change. (CHECKENG! first occurrence)
4/3/2017: 104,630 Installed offroad tires. 305/45/22 Atturo Blade XT.
4/17/2017: 104,870 Discount tire balanced and rotated tires. Firestone did alignment.
5/12/2017: 107,850 Changed bank 1 catalytic converter, gaskets, oxygen sensor and bolts and nuts. Oil change done. Cabin filter and air filter changed.
8/3/2017: 117,600 Oil change. Mobil 1 EP with Mobil 1 EP filter
8/8/2017: 117,800 Installed new fog lamps housing and new led fog lamp bulbs
9/16/2017: 119,150. Changed bank 2 catalytic converter, gaskets, oxygen sensor, bolts and nuts. Changed all 8 spark plugs with new oem spark plugs. Changed 2 ignition coils on the 1st 2 spark plugs. Cabin filter and air filter changed.
1/30/2018: 121,300. 2nd birthday of my 2012 QX56. I put a total of 20,300 miles this past year.
2/15/2018: 121,500. Oil change. Used Valvoline High Mileage Synthetic fluid with Mobil 1 Extended Performance filter. Balance and rotate tires. 4 wheel alignment done.
4/20/2018: 126,000. Oil change. First time using 0W40. Used German Castrol Full synthetic 0W40, which oil spec for european high end sports cars. My QX loves it so far.
8/2/2018: 131,000. Oil change. Castrol 0W40 with mobil 1 extended performance filter. Changed air filter and cabin filter. I used my last 0W40 for exactly 5,060 miles.
8/29/2018: 131,200. Dealership replaced wheel hub, bearings and ABS/Speed sensor on both passenger front and rear wheels. Balanced and rotated tires. Alignment done.
12/20/2018: 132,750. Oil change. First time using 0W20 and also using a larger filter than oem. Valvoline high mileage with KN filter. Changed 2 PCV valves.
1/23/2019: 135,100. Dealership replaced driver side rear wheel hub, bearings and ABS/speed sensor under warranty.
1/30/2019: 135,175: 3 years of ownership. Did 13,875 miles this year.
1/30/2019: 135,200: Replaced spark plugs, front and rear brake pads. Last set of brand new brake pads lasted about 50,000 miles. Replaced driver side caliper assembly. Driver front outer tie rod end replaced. Replaced all 24 lug nuts on all wheels. Rear differential leaking. Removed the whole rear differential. Cleaned it, put it back together with new sealant and put new rear differential fluid.
2/28/2019: 135,450: Installed 4 brand new mud tires; 285/55/22 Yokohama Geolandar M/T G003, made in Japan! Larger size tires than stock, giving me 1' lift. Tire rubs, but had to modify fender a bit to avoid rub.
3/28/2019: 135,500: Oil change. This time using all 7 quarts of Penzoil 10W30 and still using a larger than oem filter K&N HP 4001.
7/1/2020: 160,000: Oil change with 5 quarts of 0W20, 1 quart of 5W20, 1 quart of 5W30 with a larger than oem filter K&N HP 4001.

CURRENT ODOMETER: 168,100 Will be updating as often as I can remember.
My 2012 QX56 has extended warranty until 145,500 miles on odometer and my warranty has already paid over $18,000 in warranty repairs.
 
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#2 ·
I bought my OEM spark plugs and OEM belt from ebay about 2 weeks before I bought my QX. I have only 81,600 on odometer and it is recommended to change spark plugs at 105,000 miles. But since I already bought them, no need to wait until I get to that mileage. I called up the guy that did my Armada and took it to him.

We were supposed to do the spark plugs and the belt, but doing the spark plugs proved to be super tough. One side was easy while the other side was a nightmare and he broke one of the coil packs. Yeah, not really broke it. It came apart and some spring inside popped out and almost got lost.

I mean, to take out the half piece left inside was a true nightmare and I almost decided to tow the car to the dealership, lol. I mean, it took us close to 40 minutes to finally take that piece out. But we finally did it and almost ruined that coil pack. But we put it together and car started right up with no codes and drives strong. I am glad I got this done. We could not do the belt and so plan to do it some other day. I compensated him for the hard work and cruised back home.
 
#3 ·
OEM spark plug and belt




Spark plugs at 81,600 vs brand new ones

And this is working on the last spark plug that was a nightmare.
 
#4 ·
I had a bottle of Amsoil left that can be used for the power steering. So, I used it.

I sucked out the old fluid from the reservoir and put some new bright red fluid. Then drove around for about 20 minutes while turning the wheel end to end. Then sucked out the fluid from the reservoir and then put some new one again. Fluid is still black. I will drive the car again for about a week and then do this again.



 
#7 ·
I did not know you could use ATF fluid in power steering. This is something new.
I went through the same steps to "fresh" up the power steering fluid but it was still pretty dark. Please keep me posted on how much cycles you have to go through to get the fluid clear up again.
 
#5 ·
Nice....at least you got it done.
I do my own work on my 02 golf tdi and some prior cars but the couple of times I pop open the hood on my 11 qx56,my skin crawls..?.
I'm going to wait till the warranty is over and hopefully the mitchell on demand I have will help me do a few things when the time comes without making it worse than it was before...sigh.
So far,I've realized the knowledge on the Web to help tackle a few things on this beast is small and scares.
Is it because it's not that old or its just that reliable that folks don't work on them a lot ?
 
#8 ·
Recently I have been reading on the Infiniti FX forum about how some of them are cleaning their throttle body and MAF sensor. There are some very interesting threads over there. As usual, some people have had success with this while some people have MESSED up their cars.

Before I decided to do this, I told myself: Do it at your own risk.

I have read a lot on other Nissan threads and a lot of people are doing it with success while some people are messing up their cars. I called up the guy who does work on my car and asked if he could do it for me and I will pay him. He said he rather not mess with that. I said cool. I called up the dealership and asked for a quote for my Maxima. Dealership told me $175 plus tax. I said thanks.

Well, my inner self said I should go do it. But it also reminded me again; Do it at your own risk.

Well, I went to the store and bought what I needed to clean the throttle body and the MAF sensor.

Well, I want to do this on my QX56, but I needed a test car. Thank God I have my daily driver; my loyal and faithful 2008 Nissan Maxima. So, I put it to the test to do the job.

Let me share how it went. This is what I got from the store.

 
#9 · (Edited)
The entrance of the throttle body. Did not look too dirty.
BEFORE

AFTER


The back of the throttle body
BEFORE

AFTER


The plenum
BEFORE

AFTER


And the dreaded part of all that most threads advice against touching this or you will mess your car up. Well, I had read it enough to get the courage to touch it. So, i did touch it gently to open it and clean around it. Many people say their car got messed up after touching this as the car will idle high after they touch this messing up stuff. Well, I decided to touch it. If I was going to clean this, then I was going to clean it the best and most careful way I have learned on the internet and on forums.


And this is all my thrash from cleaning the throttle body. Trust me, it was dirty. 198,000 miles of it never done before. The Maxima sure appreciates the cleaning.
 
#10 ·
And for the MAF sensor, I got it out and just sprayed around it and sprayed the thin wires about 12 times. Then let it to dry. When I was done, I left everything out for an hour to dry off. Then I put them back together.


I sprayed this about 12 times


Then I also sprayed all around the MAF.

This is my rpm after test run.

 
#11 · (Edited)
When doing this, I never disconnected the battery nor any other connections.

After an hour and 10 minutes, I put everything back together. And here was the moment of truth as I cranked up my Maxima. rpm went to 2000 and stayed there. And I just told myself, you messed it up. But I was not worried as I let it idle for 2 minutes and decided to take it for a spin. I felt the acceleration a bit more responsive, so I decided to hit the freeway.

LORD!!! As I tried to slow down asking myself if I was in my Infiniti or my Maxima. Not sure, I had to pull over at the next exit to verify if I was in my Maxima or QX. Yes, I was in the Maxima and throttle is more responsive and it got to 100 faster than I expected.

CONCLUSION: It worked for my Maxima. It idles a bit better. Acceleration is a bit better. Oh, and it seems as if it may increase my mpg very slightly. And the idle has returned to normal. See pic above in the post above this one.

Now, my problem is if I will have the courage to do this to the QX. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Remember: Do it at your own risk. Many have had success, many have messed up their cars.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Then later in the day, I washed my QX and installed my new Infiniti cargo net and new weathertech for all 3 rows.





 
#16 · (Edited)
I decided to tackle the coolant. Nissan uses its blue long life coolant which is good for 105,000 miles. I have just 81,700, but it does not hurt to change my antifreeze this early. The Nissan blue coolant is a lot more expensive than regular antifreeze, but since it lasts 105,000 miles, I rather pay the extra and get it from Nissan. I bought 2 gallons at $20.99 plus tax a piece.

While my coolant was not too dirty, there were a lot of sediments that I drained out. The plastic screw is very fragile. Handle with care. I may need to order a new one from Infiniti as I tightened it a little too much.

I got pictures to show what I did. I must say I am not mechanically inclined at all. I just have read a lot and decided to start venturing on changing things I can change myself.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Supplies

I think my coolant was low before I did this

This is the drain plug

Draining coolant

I drained 1 quart and 1/4 coolant

Air relieve valve or something like that. Comes in useful when filling up.
 
#18 · (Edited)
I drained the coolant 4 times in total. When you compare the fluid from the 4 drains, there is very little change. Only the last one came out lighter in color. My coolant looked like it was still in pretty great state, but gosh did I have a lot of sediments or say deposits. Until even the last drain got some, so I took pic of all the sediments I had.

I think it is advisable to buy 2 gallons of antifreeze to use for this.

All 4 drains. You cannot tell the difference. Looking at the screen, count from left to right. 1 is first drain, 2 is second...

The sediments from the second drain


 
#19 ·
Bought life time balance and rotation for the current tires. When they took off my tires, I confirmed my front brake pads are low. So, I may be buying things for a complete brake job soon. All 4 rotor and pads for all 4 wheels.



Went to firestone and bought the lifetime alignment.


Went home and tried to bleed the brakes. Wow. Got only clean fluid coming out. So, I guess they have done a brake flush on this car already. I may just go ahead and do this on a day I have more time because I have a bottle of amsoil that I rather use than keep sitting. So, will do this for the fun of it, because it seems to have already been done. As when I opened each bleed valve, clean fluid came out, so I did not drain a lot. But on another day, I will just drain it and use the amsoil fluid to fill it up back.
 
#20 ·
A few days back I did bleed my brakes and it was clean. But sice this car is new to me, and because the cost of doing this is cheap, I decided I wanted to do it and keep track of my maintenance and just peace of mind knowing I did something to maybe help the car stay in top form.

The cost of a 32oz of brake fluid is $7.99 plus tax. I will need 2 for this job. That is all it would cost me. So, for that price, I feel ok doing this. In fact, I will flush the whole brake system.

Next was choosing my fluid and Valvoline DOT3/DOT4 is the best fluid I have used before. I even feel it is better than the Amsoil brake fluid (thier DOT3 and their DOT4 brake fluids).



Our vehicles calls for DOT 3, NOT DOT 4. But because Valvoline is selling this brand as good for a car needing DOT 3 and DOT 4, I decided to research a lot on it to educate myself. I have come to the conclusion to use the Valvoline DOT3 and DOT4 fluid, which is a DOT 4 fluid. So, this bottle is a DOT 4 fluid, even though it is written DOT3 and DOT 4 on it.

I can feel a slight improvement for sure.

I drained the reservoir in my QX and got almost all the fluid out. Then topped it off with this clear Valvoline DOT3/DOT4 fluid, which is a DOT 4 fluid. Brakes feel good. I plan to bleed the wheels when next I am off from work. When I finally bleed all 4 wheels and top it off with same fluid, then I should feel another improvement. Then when I change my front brake pads with OEM pads, then I will hope my brakes would be in its top form.
 
#21 ·
#22 ·
Drained fluid on the left compared with brand Valvoline DOT3/DOT4 new fluid.

Drain almost all fluid from the reservoir. It was enough fluid for it to take the whole 32oz bottle of Valvoline to fill back up

This was full and I had to get another bottle to catch the rest.

This is the reservoir almost empty. I could not get any more out at this point. At which I topped off the fluid with new fluid.

Filling it up now with Valvoline DOT3/DOT4 fluid, which is a DOT4 fluid.

On my next day off, I will bleed all 4 brakes and then top it off with Valvoline again, making this a complete flush.
 
#23 ·
nice work on that.. you saved a lot of money doing it yourself...



Believe
 
#24 ·
Thanks.

I agree with you that doing it by myself saves a lot of money.
 
#25 · (Edited)
#26 ·
I decided to buy some Amsoil products to do front and rear differential and then will completely flush my brake system someday soon.

 
#27 ·
REAR DIFFENTIAL

Getting the fill and drain plugs off was very tough, but WD40 helped a lot. The old fluid did not look too bad, but it is a good thing I changed it. I bought the most expensive and supposedly the best fluid from Amsoil for this application. 75W110 Severe Gear.



I drained 1.5 quarts. But I filled it up with about 1 and 3/4 until fluid started coming out of fill plug, then I quickly screwed the fill plug back in place and cleaned up my mess. My wetheartech mats come in very handy, if not, you will likely make a mess on the ground.

Pretty dirty fluid

Time for new fluid. Clean golden color and smells new. Old fluid smelled used up. Then put everything back together. Rear differential done!
 
#28 ·
FRONT DIFFERENTIAL

Filler plug

Drain plug

Draining fluid. It does not look bad, but smells used up

Drained a little bit above half a quart

This is how it looked. Looks pretty dirty. Both front and rear looked pretty dirty.

Filling with new fluid. I filled up until there was overflow at which point I put the filler plug back on. It took close to a quart.

Front differential done!
 
#29 ·
I had ordered a OEM bumper protector from Infiniti and just installed it this morning after washing the QX. The instructions were pretty good and it turned out a perfect install. I just don't know why Infiniti did not make this standard on all models as it is doing now for the current ones.



Job Done!
 
#31 ·
Thanks for the compliment. Just trying my best to take care of it and hope it lasts me a while.
 
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