New Member with "new to me" 2010 Altima Hybrid

[NosajM]

Greetings folks. I've been lurking for years and decided to take the plunge and contribute a bit.

I recently sold my '00 Toyota Avalon XLS with 204k miles on it and replaced it with a 2010 Nissan Altima Hybrid with 22k miles. Felt a bit guilty about letting the Avalon go, but being my only vehicle and the last 2 months it needed a monthly trip to the mechanic, decided it was time to retire her after 8 years of faithful service.

After plenty of scouring the forums, the manual, and interwebs; I devised this maintenance schedule based upon my driving conditions. And being a single vehicle household, would rather spend a few extra dollars on preventative maintenance.

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Altima Hybrid Maintenance

Every 2500 Miles: Techron Fuel System Cleaner

Every 5k Miles: Oil Change & Tire Rotation

Every 30k Miles: Engine & Cabin air filters, CVT flush, Belt Replacement

Every 60k Miles: Coolant flush

Every 90k: Spark Plugs

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In my supply of oil and filters I currently have:

(2) Mobil1 M-110 filters: I'm partial to PureOne, but caught a good sale
(9) quarts M1 5w-30
(5) quarts M1 0w-20
(16) qts Peak FS 5w-20: It was on clearance for US$1.95/qt, couldn't resist.

My plan is to use the M1 5-30 first, leftover from the Avalon. Save the 0w-20 for the coldest winter months and use the 5w-20 in between. When I see other FS 0/5w-20 on sale, I'll back fill my stock.

 

[The Critic]

No flush on the CVT, it is just a simple drain and refill. There is no converter on the Hybrid CVT. The inverter can be tricky to bleed, if it is anything like the Toyota models. Having the Nissan Consult-III or the autoenginuity equivalent is a good idea. Cabin filter on that car is really fun as well.

Every 7500 with 0w-20 should be fine, though Nissan words its maint schedule in a way that puts most drivers in the 3mo/3750 schedule.

Also, some of the Altima Hybrids have this carbon buildup problem that is only cured with a new cyl head design iirc, but I think this was only the early ones.

 

[Towncivilian]

You can download a copy of the factory service manual here: http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Altima/2010_Hybrid/

Right click -> save as all of the PDFs into one folder and use FWD.pdf to navigate.

Welcome to BITOG!

 

[Klutch9]

The Techron gas treatment every 2,500 miles is a bit excessive IMO, but definitely will not harm anything.

And I always enjoy hearing of people who replace engine belts as part of PM. There is a person that lives near me who's belt SCREAMS until their car reaches the end of the road. Not a good way for my ears to start the morning

I don't have a set mileage interval for my belt changes, but if the belt has cracks, looks dry, or chirps routinely on startup or during operation, it's time for a new one.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Klutch9
The Techron gas treatment every 2,500 miles is a bit excessive IMO,

Agreed. Considering how much lead shows up in a UOA every time I run Techron through the tank, I wouldn't run it more often than once every 10K miles. Even that is probably too often, unless your local gas stations are of really questionable quality.

 

[yonyon]

Why replace the belts so frequently? I would think a retension at 30k and replace at 90 would still be on the conservative side.

 

[NosajM]

The only reason I'm thinking every 2500, is to keep the "carbon monster" at bay. From everything I read, it strikes on the exhaust side of the stroke, but IF tossing in a bottle helps keep it down, so be it.

More than anything, it's psychological on my part and if its not going to harm anything, I've wasted $10 on much less fruitless ventures.

 

[NosajM]

My last 'go round' with the mechanic, who is fantastic BTW, cost me almost $600 to replace a failed $100 part.

$100 Oil Control Valve
$200 Labor to Diagnose/Replace
$300 for rental car for 3 days while the car was in the shop
$100 lost labor for missing work to deal with this. I was working as an IT subcontrator at the time.

Again, for me. A lot cheaper to spend the money on PM, rather than have to make a unplanned, unscheduled trip to the mechanic.

I do most of my own maintenance. But, I learned at times, its not much more expensive to let the pros take care of anything more in depth. If I had a hobby car and could leave it there, mid-repair, I'm all over it. But, work is keeping me too busy for that.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I like changing belts early. I did the belt on our Acura and Honda both in the last month. 78k on the Acura, 56k on the Honda. Neither belt was "bad", but I'd rather have fresh rubber on there than to have one let go just because I was trying to see what kind of life I can get out of it.

And Jason, welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your new car.

 

[Bandito440]

Originally Posted By: Jasmotas
$300 for rental car for 3 days while the car was in the shop


Ummm... $100/day for a rental car? I rent cars from Enterprise on average five times a year. I usually try to get a Ford Fusion and typically spend $90-$100 for three days after taxes. Are you renting a Suburban or high performance car? Even then I imagine you could find a good discount code online.

 

[NosajM]

An update on the Altima Hybrid.

After 20 months of ownership, spending foolish money on trying to make it better than it was (new stereo/speakers w/bluetooth, etc) and it needed to go back to the shop for the 5th time. That was enough for me, I regretted getting rid of the 2000 Avalon with 205k that ran great and only let me down once in the 8 years that I owned it.

From my own experience and lurking the Hybrid Altima forums, I cannot recommend this vehicle to anyone else.

Now, to go though my stash of oil, air and cabin filters and try to get a few bucks back for them.

 

[Nick1994]

Why did it go back to the shop for the 5th time? What has been breaking?

 

[NosajM]

-Each front wheel bearing on separate occasions between 25-35kmi
-Computer was throwing phantom codes and CEL. Dealer and Nissan USA said I had to pay for code upgrade. Incorrect, covered by Federal Emissions Warranty.
-Mild front end vibration, was told it was the cracked catalytic converter, replaced under warranty and total [censored].
-Brought it to a VW/Mazda shop where they balanced the new tires with a Hunter Road Force machine.
-Final straw was a sway bar link or noisy strut mount in the rear end. And it was having rough starts and transitions between the gas and electric motor. A sign that carbon was building in the motor.