Nissan Genuine Lubricants and Fluids: More than …

1 14| Nissan & Infiniti Tech NewsNissan & Infiniti Tech News Feature| Nissan GenuineLubricants and Fluids: more than Marketing!Keeping your customer s Nissan or Infiniti vehicleoperating properly means using the right product forthe right job. That s easy to do if you use GenuineNissan Lubricants and s a Genuine Nissan fluid or lubricant to fill every need on every Nissan or Infinitivehicle. Each one of these products is the best choice for its specified application, becausethe engineers who designed it and understand the vehicle s operational requirements,selected the fluid that ends up in the bottle with the Genuine Nissan :MarchStarTuned2005 11/16/09 5:42 PM Page 14 Nissan & Infiniti Tech News|15 But, let s be honest for a moment.

2 Virtually no shopuses every available Genuine Nissan fluid and lubricantfor every Nissan that rolls in the door. Do you alwaysorder Nissan motor oil, or Nissan GL-5? It s OK; evenNissan and Infiniti dealerships use some bulk are aftermarket fluids that can be used onNissan products with good results. When this is thecase, the proper alternative will be specified in theowner s manual and the service manual. However,there are some Nissan systems that won t operate asdesigned with anything but the correct Genuine Nissanfluid. Worse yet, using anything but the Genuine Nissanfluid will permanently damage the system and void choosing a non- Nissan fluid , you becomeresponsible for verifying it meets all of Nissan s require-ments.

3 For instance, when the owner s manual speci-fies 5W30 motor oil, installing any brand of 5W30 willnot necessarily provide adequate protection or keepthe warranty intact. There is more to motor oil than justthe SAE weight designation, and if you plan to usenon- Nissan fluids, you ll need to do your own it in WritingSome lubricant vendors will provide incomplete orinaccurate information. Never rely on a verbal assur-ance; always get written confirmation a fluid meetsNissan specification from the manufacturer beforeinstalling the product in a vehicle. This is a real interac-tion with a lube vendor at a trade show:Vendor: You can replace ALL of your import OEMtransmission fluids with our new multi-vehicle ATF.

4 Customer: So it can be used on the Muranowith a CVT? Vendor: Uh, no. The Nissan CVT is special; there is nofluid from any vendor that meets the specification. You llneed to buy it directly from Nissan . Customer: Oh, I see. But it can be used for theAltima Hybrid transaxle. Vendor: No. Matic W fluid is special too. You ll need tobuy it from Nissan . Nobody else carries it. Customer: Can it be used in place of Matic S fluid ? Vendor:(clearly irritated) No. Now, what would happen to the unfortunate shopthat did not dig beyond this vendor s initial inaccuratestatement? They might receive a bad news call from aNissan dealer something like this, The transmission isdamaged because the wrong fluid was used, and thewarranty is void for the same reason.

5 Your formercustomer would like you to pay the bill .The bottom line is this: You will always be making agood choice if you use the Genuine Nissan fluid . If youchoose not to, always take the time for due diligencewhen selecting an t Be Sorry Later; Read FirstIt seems technicians are always in a hurry. There sno time for research! I have to get to work! The truth isthat a few minutes spent researching will save morethan those few minutes once you start working andmay prevent a fluid specification on Nissan sTechinfo sites, , takes about one minute fromthe time you open the browser until you re reading theinformation, once you know how to find it:1.

6 Log on2. Click Find Publications 3. Enter the year and the model4. Click the View Service Manual icon5. Click the Maintenance section in the Table of Contents 6. Click on Recommended Fluids and Lubricants 7. You re finished!NissanTechNewsLatestNovember09: MarchStarTuned2005 11/16/09 5:42 PM Page 1516| Nissan & Infiniti Tech NewsNissan FluidsIf you do this before starting work on the car, you llknow the fluid type and capacity. Then, you can checkstock and order if necessary so you won t accidentallyinstall the wrong fluid in a customer s OilThere are four ratings to check when choosing motoroil.

7 First, there is the SAE weight; expressed as 5W20,5W30, 10W30, etc. This rating refers to the oil s viscos-ity. The first number represents the oil s ability to flowwhile cold (as indicated by the W for winter). Thesecond number represents the oil s viscosity when theoil is at operating temperature. The service manual maylist more than one acceptable weight, depending on thelowest expected ambient temperature. Don t useincorrect weight oil; doing so can damage the there is the API rating. This rating refers to theoil s performance level. There are three current cate-gories for gasoline engine oils: SJ, SL, and SM.

8 SM isthe highest of the three standards, and is acceptablefor use in engines requiring SJ or SL rated oil. Sincemany modern Nissan and Infiniti cars require API SMrated oil, it makes sense buy SM for use in is an additional standard. ILSAC (InternationalLubrication Standardization Approval Committee) is theresult of collaboration between Japanese and Americanauto makers. The highest ILSAC rating for gasolineengines is currently GF-4. Most API SM-rated oils arealso GF-4 there is the API Energy Conserving indicates the motor oil will increase fuel economycompared to reference Nissan motor oil meets the API SMstandard, the ILSAC GF-4 standard, and the EnergyConserving standard.

9 If you plan to use oil other thanGenuine Nissan , you should choose one which meetsthe same Genuine CoolantMany believe that one brand of coolant is the sameas the next. They may say, It s all just ethylene glycol. Nissan Genuine Coolant is not just ethylene glycol;check the ingredients on the back of the is it the same as other coolants; just comparethe ingredients to another brand of may ask, If it transfers heat and provides boilover and anti-freeze protection, won t any coolant work? It may work, but at what cost to vehicle longevity? Thecooling system is composed of many different materials:alloys, plastics, rubbers, coatings, etc.

10 Nissan engineersNissan recommends theuse of Genuine Nissan5W-30 Ester Engine Oilin 2009-2010 Maximaengines. It is alsorecommended for mostNissan/Infiniti vehicles2008 MY and GT-R uses Mobil Genuine CoolantNIssan Genuine SyntheticGear OilNIssan Genuine Transmatic DNIssan Genuine ManualTransmission FluidNissanTechNewsLatestNovember09:Marc hStarTuned2005 11/16/09 5:42 PM Page 16 Nissan & Infiniti Tech News|17 Automatic Transmission FluidIn most cases, buying ATF from your Nissan or Infinitidealer is the only option. Doing anything else is askingfor trouble. There are quite a few types of Nissantransmission fluid , and unless you are very familiar withthe Nissan product line requirements, you ll need tocheck the manual with every DMatic D is the oldest of the Nissan AT fluids.