2017 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport AWD - 6-yr/70k mile Powertrain Warranty Comes Through in a Big Way!

It is very likely that the intercoolers stopped any debris from entering the engine. Make sure to carefully clean them out.

I'm of the belief that the aluminum compressor "dust" won't hurt a thing, and the engine can easily be inspected for damage with a borescope, compression check and UOA.
Agreed with everything said above, but as a customer, I wasn't about to question their rationale for changing the engine, too.

Independent of turbo failures, the only reason VR30 engine is failing in the 2016+ Q50s & Q60s, aside from oil-related failures due to customer neglect, is due to instances of porous blocks, which has been traced to a manufacturing issue with the block itself. Although in 6 years I've never experienced any form of coolant loss, maybe this block S/N was in the affected population, and Infiniti was "killing two birds with one stone", but that's just conjecture on my part.
 
Odd that the turbo failed that quickly. Why not try a more viscous oil If it was related to bearing failure. Or a more robust oil if it’s related to coking.

consider some form of alteration to the breather system, to keep out engine vapors. They can erode the compressor blades and cause them to bend and touch the housing.
 
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I spent five minutes looking up Infinity parts on dealer websites, and even at 17,000 MSRP for the engine, two turbos at 1400 each, and figuring 200/hr for 17 hours of labor, they are still about $14,000 out of their minds. Someone is cooking the books with this one.

Apples and oranges but I was involved in a warranty claim for aircraft parts and the number of dollars we showed on the customer invoice as being written off to warranty, and the dollars we actually spent satisfying the claim, were catastrophically different. I would say not even in the same ballbpark, but it wasnt even the same city. Or state. Or dimension in time.

Anyway.... a Q60 with a new engine and turbos... yea I'd be happy!


Yep. I was questioning the amount as well. Glad it worked out for the OP. If someone had been given that quote upfront for a non-warranty replacement the dealer had better have the paramedics standing by.
 
I spent five minutes looking up Infinity parts on dealer websites, and even at 17,000 MSRP for the engine, two turbos at 1400 each, and figuring 200/hr for 17 hours of labor, they are still about $14,000 out of their minds. Someone is cooking the books with this one.

Apples and oranges but I was involved in a warranty claim for aircraft parts and the number of dollars we showed on the customer invoice as being written off to warranty, and the dollars we actually spent satisfying the claim, were catastrophically different. I would say not even in the same ballbpark, but it wasnt even the same city. Or state. Or dimension in time.

Anyway.... a Q60 with a new engine and turbos... yea I'd be happy!
C/P for the job is 22.5 hrs plus alignment, A/C evac and diag (2 hrs).....so probably 27 hours. 17.5 under warranty is probably about right.

Keep in mind that OEM's can pay dealers a lot for parts under warranty. Cost +50-100% is not uncommon. Although warranty labor rate and retail labor rate are often different, they're usually pretty close - probably in the low 200/hr range.

With 33,500 miles on it, last month I noticed a slight whistle occurring under moderate to heavy boost. Since the Powertrain Warranty was expiring on Nov 16th, I made an appointment on Nov 10th with my local Infiniti dealer to identify the whistling under boost. The next morning, I was given the prognosis - the whistle is from one of the turbo impellers that is rubbing on the center housing of the Central Housing/Rotating Assembly (CHRA), and the dealer is recommending replacement of both turbos AND the engine. Why? Well, the metal bits from the housing are likely getting into the combustion chamber(s), so to eliminate a future engine issue, the engine is replaced, too.
I'll just say that based on our shops knowledge of this engine, this is not a surprising event at all.
 
Odd that the turbo failed that quickly. Why not try a more viscous oil If it was related to bearing failure. Or a more robust oil if it’s related to coking.

consider some form of alteration to the breather system, to keep out engine vapors. They can erode the compressor blades and cause them to bend and touch the housing.
The Garrett turbo has seen a couple of revisions since the VR30DDTT engine was 1st introduced for the MY2016 Q50. It was still the 1st revision when my MY2017 Q60 was produced in August 2016. The turbo revisions include elimination of the EGT sensor, and two bearing & seal improvements to the CHRA, with one of those occurring in MY2018 (can't pin-down when the 2nd bearing & seal revision occurred).

The oil call-out in the owner's manual (OM) is 0W20, with the option to run 5W30. I was using 5W30 Valvoline Modern Engine Oil pretty much for the last 20k miles, and it returned excellent UOA results. The "Thick/Thin" argument comes into play here, as the VR30 engine has statistically tight engine bearing clearances, so I was not willing to go higher than the viscosity specified in the OM, especially while still under the Powertrain Warranty.

As for engine vapors, I did have a Oil Catch Can (OCC) installed on the PCV line off the intake manifold. I'd empty every 5k OCI, and it would typically capture 20-30 ml of oil vapor mixed with gas. I was more concerned about intake valve deposits, so I figured the OCC couldn't hurt in that regard.
 
I'll just say that based on our shops knowledge of this engine, this is not a surprising event at all.
Thanks! I appreciate the background on the costing and service experience.

I'm curious how well it stand up in a more demanding environment in the Z-car.
 
The Garrett turbo has seen a couple of revisions since the VR30DDTT engine was 1st introduced for the MY2016 Q50. It was still the 1st revision when my MY2017 Q60 was produced in August 2016. The turbo revisions include elimination of the EGT sensor, and two bearing & seal improvements to the CHRA, with one of those occurring in MY2018 (can't pin-down when the 2nd bearing & seal revision occurred).

The oil call-out in the owner's manual (OM) is 0W20, with the option to run 5W30. I was using 5W30 Valvoline Modern Engine Oil pretty much for the last 20k miles, and it returned excellent UOA results. The "Thick/Thin" argument comes into play here, as the VR30 engine has statistically tight engine bearing clearances, so I was not willing to go higher than the viscosity specified in the OM, especially while still under the Powertrain Warranty.

As for engine vapors, I did have a Oil Catch Can (OCC) installed on the PCV line off the intake manifold. I'd empty every 5k OCI, and it would typically capture 20-30 ml of oil vapor mixed with gas. I was more concerned about intake valve deposits, so I figured the OCC couldn't hurt in that regard.
Castrol Germany recommends ACEA C3 5W30 Edge LL oil for this engine.
It is not an issue to run thicker than recommended.
 
Yep. I was questioning the amount as well. Glad it worked out for the OP. If someone had been given that quote upfront for a non-warranty replacement the dealer had better have the paramedics standing by.
I'm pretty sure a lot of folks would just junk the car. I would, if I was faced with an engine replacement of that expense.
 
Odd that the turbo failed that quickly. Why not try a more viscous oil If it was related to bearing failure. Or a more robust oil if it’s related to coking.

consider some form of alteration to the breather system, to keep out engine vapors. They can erode the compressor blades and cause them to bend and touch the housing.
I also wondered if 0W-20 was used.

EDIT: I see now that he used ILSAC 5W-30.
 
I've done all the OCs exclusively since new, and I have a UOA (see the UOA thread for the results) for every OC performed on the old engine.
The big question is...did they make you prove your at-home OCs and if so how did you prove it? There are so many people here who think you're screwed if you don't have all maintenance performed at the dealership. I think that's nonsense.
 
The big question is...did they make you prove your at-home OCs and if so how did you prove it? There are so many people here who think you're screwed if you don't have all maintenance performed at the dealership. I think that's nonsense.
Recently worked with a member who experienced a failed cylinder head on his Mazda right out of warranty. His DIY maintenance logs and receipts were considered by Mazda to be "inadequate proof" for goodwill coverage. So, I'd say no - DIY is sketchy at best.
 
Recently worked with a member who experienced a failed cylinder head on his Mazda right out of warranty. His DIY maintenance logs and receipts were considered by Mazda to be "inadequate proof" for goodwill coverage. So, I'd say no - DIY is sketchy at best.
Need more details on that. Did his receipts and/or documentation for oil changes, etc not match up with the time/mileage recommendations in the owner's manual?
 
Need more details on that. Did his receipts and/or documentation for oil changes, etc not match up with the time/mileage recommendations in the owner's manual?
All items matched the intervals in the manual. Ultimately, the work was not done at commercial facility and in the Mazda dealer's eyes, was not "valid."

However, keep in mind that this was a goodwill claim, so a normal warranty claim may not have been scrutinized as critically.
 
All items matched the intervals in the manual. Ultimately, the work was not done at commercial facility and in the Mazda dealer's eyes, was not "valid."

However, keep in mind that this was a goodwill claim, so a normal warranty claim may not have been scrutinized as critically.
I'd sell all my worldly possessions and wealth to simply make the dealership eat it if they denied a warranty claim stating that well-documented DYI was not valid. Goodwill claims are what they are and obviously aren't a formal contractual agreement.
 
The OP's turbo problem is the exact reason I avoided the optional turbos when I purchased my 2020 QX60. Good factory policy from Nissan/Infiniti, but also a reason that Nissan has trouble turning a profit.
 
Recently worked with a member who experienced a failed cylinder head on his Mazda right out of warranty. His DIY maintenance logs and receipts were considered by Mazda to be "inadequate proof" for goodwill coverage. So, I'd say no - DIY is sketchy at best.
I will also say part of the reason I send a sample off to BS, questionable utility and all, is I think well-organized receipts + an oil analysis at every OCI is a compelling argument for the oil was actually changed, especially when the manufacturer calls for a 10K OCI and I'm doing 5K.
 
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