Oil change interval on a 2004 FX

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fx45dream

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I live in the Middle East and I bought a used US Spec 2004 FX45 that has done 77000 miles and all services done at the Infiniti Service Centre. Looking at the service history for the vehicle recently I noticed that the previous owner had been doing routine scheduled service at intervals of 5000 miles (instead of 5000 km).

Apparently he didnt realize the odometer on the US spec car reads miles instead of kilometres. (Needless to say that the local infiniti dealer is inept)

The vehicle was first registered in Feb 2005, this means the previous owner has been using the car for 6 years at 5000 mile service intervals (including the oil change). The previous owner had replaced the radiator, cams and sensors before selling it to me. A month later I had to change the exhaust manifolds and starter because the MIL came on. The car runs fine now.

So my question is: Would this have had a lasting negative effect on the engine? Did I buy myself a car with a poorly maintained engine that might lead to engine trouble in the future?

Your expert advice is sought and thanks for taking the time to read my post.
 
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Did you get an owners manual with the car? My 2009 FX50 manual says change oil at 3500 miles and as I hardly drive that much in a year I have to change oil at 6 months intervals. With your climate (HOT) I would change at 3500 miles as one of the toughest things for oil will be the temperature and running the A/C most of the time adds to that as well. I would suggest to use full synthetic as that type of oil is the most resistand to high temperature oxidation. Good luck and enjoy the summer (Here in Atlanta it will be 96F today!)
 
Thanks GOFAST24 for the response.

I didn't get a manual with the car but I downloaded it on the internet and I saw that oil change should have been done every 3750 miles. However, the previous owner did it every 5000 miles (the mileage now is 77000 miles). So I'm wondering if this would have caused some engine damage?
 
i wouldnt be worried especially with the service records, + here in USA dealers have the option to Mobil 1 syntethic oil, which can last you 7500 miles.. So 5000 will be the min interval to change.. Enjoy your car and for your sake, change it at 3500 now on..
 
Thanks Dracula for your response. I would assume the service center here uses synthetic oil by default, but I'll check with them.

My other car is a 2009 Kia Sportage (V4 engine), and the service center always uses synthetic oil which they claim lasts 9000km (5600 miles). I was curious about the V8 engine on the FX45 but thanks for clearing this up for me :)
 
Hi StuLax18,

Thanks for chiming in. A quick search revealed that the FX45 is known to burn oil. Assuming mine did burn oil and it was not topped up between oil changes all these year, what problems should I be expecting?

Secondly, I saw in the manual that Infiniti recommends mineral-based oils. Any idea why they prefer mineral oils over synthetic ones?

Sorry for all the noob questions. :)
 
I thought that the 3,750 was for severe duty and 7,500 for normal on the 45?

Either way, getting it done every 5k is better than many people do. If the oil quality was good and it wasn't being driven like a rental 100% of the time, all should be fine.

I would be curious why the cams were replaced. Unless it was the cam position sensors, which are pretty common.
 
CBRworm said:
I thought that the 3,750 was for severe duty and 7,500 for normal on the 45?

Either way, getting it done every 5k is better than many people do. If the oil quality was good and it wasn't being driven like a rental 100% of the time, all should be fine.

I would be curious why the cams were replaced. Unless it was the cam position sensors, which are pretty common.
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+1 ^
and its an 04 with only 77,000mi means it wasnt really driven too much...maybe thats why the previous owner was changing the oil at every 5,000mi instead of 3,000mi. I have the 45 and change it every 3,000mi, no signs of it eating oil yet. And what Dracula said if you want (just to be safe) start changing the oil every 3,000mi and you should be good...seems like the car is in good shape. Good luck and post some pics when you can :tup:
 
I would change it every 3000 miles. And check the oil every other week or so. The FX45 engine can start burning oil after a while. If you do not check it, you could be running on as little as 1 quart of oil if you wait to around 5000 miles to change it.
 
I use Mobil 1 synthetic 5w/30w and a K&N 1010 oil filter ( https://www.infinitiscene.com/search/1/?q=s...43&postcount=3 ) every 5000 and it still looks pretty clean when I drain the oil.
Also I add a bottle of fuel system / injector cleaner to a full tank of fuel at oil change intervals.
 
To answer the question about Nissan recommending mineral based oil, I would guess to say it is because of the old problem with fully synthetic oils not being engine seal compatible. The older generation of syn oils used to let the rubber oil seals dry out and caused leaks. The problem have been fixed with the newer generation of fully synthetic oils, but Nissan probably do not want risk recommending syn oil for their engines. Also the FX's are filled with regular oil from the jump, so after some miles are put on the engine, regular oil could cause sludge to form on the oil seals which could damage the seals; it will not leak because the sludge forms a false seal over the oil seal. Using fully synthetic oil could loosen the false seal and allow the damage oil seal to leak. Which could make the Nissan engines seem faulty and invite lawsuits. I am only speculating, but I believe those are part of the reason why Nissan recommends only mineral based oils.
 
So is the general census for the 45's is to change oil more often? I ran Mobil 1 syn on my 35 around 7500 miles between changes. That seems about average for synthetic oils. I know newer cars like BMWs and Mercedes go up to 10K between changes. But I was thinking 5-6000 miles between changes on the 45 now.
 
Ah, the newbie to the VK45DE!!

Set you change interval computer to every 2,500 miles and check your oil level. It's not uncommon to have to top-off anywhere from 1/2 quart to 1 quart. It's really random for me, sometimes it's 0 quarts, sometimes it 1 quart.

Unless you run a true synthetic which most "synthetic" labled US aren't (bases are purified mineral oils), change it every 5,000 miles if you plan to keep your car for a long, long time.

Don't forget to check your valve covers after every 60,000 miles and spark plugs.

BMW's state 12,000 miles, but oil has been known to be bad by 10,000 miles and typically 7,500 oil change is recommended.

AeroBFA said:
So is the general census for the 45's is to change oil more often? I ran Mobil 1 syn on my 35 around 7500 miles between changes. That seems about average for synthetic oils. I know newer cars like BMWs and Mercedes go up to 10K between changes. But I was thinking 5-6000 miles between changes on the 45 now.
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Thanks Ed. I definitely will have to keep up with this now. Up to one quart is a lot I might say. Looks like 5K miles for changes since I plan on keep it for a long, long time. :wink (2):
 
Most was 2 quarts (5w-30) until I switched to 0W-40 weight...


AeroBFA said:
Thanks Ed. I definitely will have to keep up with this now. Up to one quart is a lot I might say. Looks like 5K miles for changes since I plan on keep it for a long, long time. :wink (2):
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Best way to tell oil change interval is by sending out a little of your used oil for analysis. This will tell you if your oil is holding up for 5000mile changes, should be done sooner, ok to extend it further, or even if a different oil is recommended.

Seen a lot of people using Blackstone-lab.com. $25 for the analysis, and they keep a record going for you so you can compare your different oil changes and different recommendations.
 
toy4x said:
Best way to tell oil change interval is by sending out a little of your used oil for analysis. This will tell you if your oil is holding up for 5000mile changes, should be done sooner, ok to extend it further, or even if a different oil is recommended.

Seen a lot of people using Blackstone-lab.com. $25 for the analysis, and they keep a record going for you so you can compare your different oil changes and different recommendations.
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cool...can you post your oil analysis...I'd be interested to see the kind of stuff they say :)
 
I'm still up in the air when it comes to oils. I guess I would use Royal Purple if money wasn't an issue. But I do use Puralator One filters because Handy Andy recommended them! :smug:
 
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