Have not had the best experiences with them from the get go, but this one takes the cake.

Last 2 oil changes went to a local service center. Took in my X 2005 to Oakville Nissan to have air bag recall service. Thought while I was there I would get an oil change. While on the hoist they told me by differential fluid was black and needed changing (I did not ask them to check this). I figured it was probably close to time to change it so went ahead with it ($300). The same day I had to do a 6hr drive for business and noticed there was an oil smell that lasted the entire trip there and back. In fact I had to degrease my rear window more than once from a greasy film.

Took the car back in to have it looked at as soon as I was back. They told me I blew my diff seal (rear Pinion). Cost $300 more dollars. I told them to go fly a kite after having many words with the service manager. Him telling me it was nothing they have done and that their best mechanic had worked on it, so not their problem, and they would be happy to loose me as a customer!

Until the last 2 oil changes I had religiously brought in my vehicle to them. Even though whenever there was a warranty issue, they would still come up with an excuse as to why I still had to pay for things (rear hatch rust, brakes needing machined at 10,000km, skid plate needing replaced because the original one was missing.

I am looking into legal recourse, as I have found out that overfilling the diff would cause the seal to blow. Gee for a dealership it's like christmas. Totally untraceable and un-provable that they overfilled the diff. as if the seal blows and leaks you can't tell if it was overfilled. I am not accusing them of doing this yet, but if you think about it, it would mean a quick $600 for them and possibly thousands if I didn't catch it in time.

Would love to know if anyone else has had this happen to them, and what you were able to do about it!

Prime example of people to be educated in their investments. Not everyone has to be a mechanic and I am not giving you a hard time, but really, a diff fluid change is about as easy as filling your gas tank.

Here is a quick how to that would have saved you 250 bucks and more importantly given you piece of mind.

http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4847&page=18

IMO there are very few dealerships that dont try to screw you, I have yet to find one. All of the Nissan places around here have said oh you need this and oh you need that. Last one around here told my friend she needed a timing belt change at 60k miles... If you want something done right, find people you trust or learn to do it yourself.
That being said, i know it sucks, and im sorry that you got screwed. I doubt you will be able to prove anything in your case unless they gave you the old parts (rear diff seal) and have a 3rd party verify that it was indeed blown from overfilling. ALWAYS ask for old parts no matter what they are. A buddy of mine sent his X to have the sparks changed, when he asked for them, they were scambling to "find the sixth one", turns out they only did 5 and left the 6th. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to hear that one... :-)

Moral is its a gamble at the dealerships. I wish it didnt have to be, bc i sure as hell dont have time to do some of the stuff my X needs, but the alternative is it gets done right, the first time.

Thanks for the link!

You can be sure I'll be doing it myself from now on, if I decide to keep the xterra! It's too bad because I love the truck...when it's running!! I think mine was built on a wednesday...if i have had all these problems under warranty and just out of warranty (yes incl fuel sender etc.) I can't imagine what might come up in the next couple years!

I try and do as much on my vehicle as possible, however IMO, there are some jobs that are better left to a professional, or at least someone who will warranty to the work if something goes wrong.

I had my timing belt and cam shaft seals done at my local Nissan dealership back in Feb of this year, and within about 2 weeks, I started leaking oil.

Long story short, when I finally got into the dealership to get it checked out, they found that it was the camshaft seals that were messed up, and that's where the leak was coming from. The admitted it right away, and fixed it on their dime.

They EASILY could have said it was something else (I suspected that it was the cam seals anyways, but chose not to say anything to them until I heard their verdict) but they manned up and said that they would be fixing the problem under warranty.

I general, the more you know about your truck, the better protected you are when it comes to *extra* work ANY mechanic is suggesting. It's not limited only to dealerships.

THIDX - PM sent. Cheers!