So what does the 30K mile service consist of and is it really necessary to have a dealership do it?

I'm less that 1000 miles from that mess too, and since I drive it hard I'm going to be replacing/flushing at lot of stuff. Humph. I'll post my to-do list when I have the time to draw one up...

This is what I see as the 30k service from the 06 Service & Maint Guide. I see everything as being very easy for the home mechanic to do except the Trans Flush. I'd call that a Medium pain in the ass

❏ Replace engine oil and filter
❏ Lubricate all locks/hinges
❏ Replace automatic transmission/CVT fluid
❏ Replace differential oil 1
❏ Replace engine air filter
❏ Replace engine coolant/flush system
❏ Replace engine drive belts
❏ Replace in-cabin microfilter 2
❏ Replace manual transmission oil
❏ Replace radiator cap
❏ Replace transfer case oil (4WD/AWD)
❏ Replace wiper blades
❏ Rotate tires (except 350Z)
❏ Optional: flush automatic transmission (flush with ATF)
❏ Inspect the following:
__ All lights
__ Axle & suspension parts
__ Brake lines & cables
__ Brake pads, rotors, drums & linings
__ Cruise control vacuum hoses
__ Drive shaft boots 3
__ Exhaust system
__ Front suspension ball joints
__ Fuel lines/connections
__ Fuel tank vapor vent system hoses
__ Headlights/adjust if necessary
__ Propeller shaft (4WD/AWD)
__ Steering gear and linkage
__ Steering linkage ball joints

Mine ran me around $650 and the dealership (Highest ranking in Cust. Sat. in my state per Nissan) didn't even offer the packages Nissan states for the Pathy in the Manuel and online. I had to add on the diffs and tranny fluid changes ala cart. and tyhey didn't even touch my in-cabin filter
42k and counting.

My '06 is at 29,5XX right now.

Regarding you list

❏ Replace engine oil and filter -- Will do this weekend
❏ Lubricate all locks/hinges -- Will do this weekend
❏ Replace automatic transmission/CVT fluid -- Dealer did recently for $79
❏ Replace differential oil 1 -- Have Mobil 1 oil, will do this weekend
❏ Replace engine air filter -- Did at last oil change (3750 ago)
❏ Replace engine coolant/flush system -- will not do
❏ Replace engine drive belts -- will not do
❏ Replace in-cabin microfilter 2 -- did at home last week in 5 min
❏ Replace manual transmission oil -- doesn't have one
❏ Replace radiator cap -- will not do
❏ Replace transfer case oil (4WD/AWD) -- will do this weekend
❏ Replace wiper blades -- will do..when I get to it...have them
❏ Rotate tires (except 350Z) -- buying new tires before snow, will skip.
❏ Optional: flush automatic transmission (flush with ATF) -- replaced


❏ Inspect the following:
__ All lights -- they work
__ Axle & suspension parts -- seem fine
__ Brake lines & cables -- seem fine
__ Brake pads, rotors, drums & linings -- pads were fine at last tire rotation
__ Cruise control vacuum hoses -- seems fine
__ Drive shaft boots 3 -- seems fine
__ Exhaust system -- seems fine
__ Front suspension ball joints -- don't know how -- do tell me
__ Fuel lines/connections -- no leaks
__ Fuel tank vapor vent system hoses -- seems fine
__ Headlights/adjust if necessary -- seems fine
__ Propeller shaft (4WD/AWD) -- don't know how -- do tell me
__ Steering gear and linkage -- don't know what to look at here, seems fine
__ Steering linkage ball joints-- don't know what to look at here, seems fine

amr40509 wrote:My '06 is at 29,5XX right now.

❏ Replace engine coolant/flush system -- will not do
❏ Replace engine drive belts -- will not do

❏ Inspect the following:
__ Axle & suspension parts -- seem fine
__ Front suspension ball joints -- don't know how -- do tell me
__ Propeller shaft (4WD/AWD) -- don't know how -- do tell me
__ Steering gear and linkage -- don't know what to look at here, seems fine
__ Steering linkage ball joints-- don't know what to look at here, seems fine

Any reason your not doing the coolant or belts? If the belts aren't checked or cracked then I understand.

Axle and suspension mostly pay attention to worn bushings, cracked, etc

Ball joints look for cracked, ripped or torn boots. from there its a number of different tests, but an easy one is with the vehicle on the ground, grasp the top of the tire and try to move the wheel in or out. If there is movement it could indicate a bad ball joint. @ 30k you're probably ok. But several methods to test are here: http://autos.yahoo.com/maintain/repairq ... 109_1.html

Propeller Shaft : basically just looking for worn U joints by twisting the driveshaft and checking for play in the joints. There should be a fraction of an inch of total driveline movement but none in the joint its-self. Or any large dents or other damage.

Steering gear, linkage and joints : basically same as ball joints, checking for torn boots, excessive play.

Thanks for the tips.

On the coolant -- the truck is only 18 months old, so I just don't feel the need yet. Am I wrong about this?

Is everyone else doing it (never a good reason, but good enough in this case I guess!!)

I don't think your necessarily wrong. Probably no real need to do it. Your averaging about 20k a year so it might not be a bad thing. I'm sure the qualities of coolant will deteriorate with you can probably get away with waiting till 50k. Maybe they just put it on the service to ensure the water pump stays gunk free?

The mileage is actually a little bit deceptive as it has really picked up over the past 6 months. I've added about 1000 miles per month extra beyond normal driving as I am opening up a branch office of my firm in another city, so I'm back and forth a lot right now.

I might do the coolant just for kicks. Better safe then sorry. I do a fair amount of boat towing in high heat in the summer, so I would think that would be the more critical time for it. Here in Kentucky the winters don't get THAT cold, and I park in the (fairly warm) garage at night.