Engine lost power while driving

Tiny
CGLONGMIRE
  • MEMBER
  • 2008 INFINITI G35
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 220,000 MILES
My car loss power while driving and the 1st mechanic said, the engine needs to be replaced at $4,500.00. So I got another opinion from 2nd mechanic who has it now. He seems to think it the flex plate but he wants to charge $1,300.00 for labor and says the part is $600.00 to $700.00 to replace. But after reading your posts he seems to be too high for labor and the price on the part. What' knowledge can you shed about my car?
Thanks in advance for your expert advice!
Wednesday, July 15th, 2020 AT 9:08 PM

10 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,700 POSTS
Hi,

Is there a knocking you are hearing? As far as the flex plate, labor is 5.4 hours for removal and replacement. So at $1,300.00 for labor indicates he is charging over $240.00 per hour. That's crazy! As far as the part, the OEM part shows to be $433.85, so that is high as well.

I attached a pic below for you to see the parts and labor for this job. The price on the part is for an original equipment part. I'm not sure that an aftermarket is available, but chances are you could find a good used one from a salvage yard. It's just a thought.

Let me know if this helps or if you have other questions.

Take care,
Joe
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Wednesday, July 15th, 2020 AT 9:41 PM
Tiny
CGLONGMIRE
  • MEMBER
  • 6 POSTS
Hello Joe,

Thank you for your quick reply! Yes, the car was making noise for a couple of weeks so limited my use of the car. But I made a quick trip in it and the noise got louder and became to loss power and wouldn't accelerate.
So how would you negotiate the labor cost since there's a major difference in labor cost? He has already took the front of the car off to troubleshoot the problem. If I decide to walk away now. What's a fair labor cost to pay him for putting the car back together without repairs? Need to let him know my decision in the morning by 9:00 am.
Thank you for your help!
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Wednesday, July 15th, 2020 AT 10:15 PM
Tiny
CGLONGMIRE
  • MEMBER
  • 6 POSTS
He's not sure if it's the flex plate or the engine needs to be replaced.
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Wednesday, July 15th, 2020 AT 10:17 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,700 POSTS
Hi,

I'm sorry that I didn't get back with you last night. It was late here. As far as the idea that you lost power and the vehicle wouldn't accelerate seems to indicate that it may not be a simple flex plate. As far as the labor, simply tell him you have access to Alldata manuals online and you looked up the flat rate for the repair and it shows 5.4 hours to remove and replace the part.

As far as putting it back together, I honestly don't know what has been done to this point. It's hard for me to answer that question.

Do me a favor. Take a look through this link, specifically numbers 5 and 7 in the link. Let me know which of those descriptions seem to fit your experience at this point.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-noises

I will be back online this evening. Right now it's dinner time. LOL

Take care of yourself.

Joe
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Thursday, July 16th, 2020 AT 2:06 PM
Tiny
CGLONGMIRE
  • MEMBER
  • 6 POSTS
How many labor hours to replace 02 oxygen sensor and crankshaft position sensor in 2008 infinite G35x?
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Wednesday, July 29th, 2020 AT 10:00 PM
Tiny
DANNY L
  • MECHANIC
  • 5,648 POSTS
Hello, I'm Danny.

I've attached the information you've requested below. Hope this helps and thank you again for using 2CarPros.
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+1
Wednesday, July 29th, 2020 AT 10:36 PM
Tiny
CGLONGMIRE
  • MEMBER
  • 6 POSTS
These 3 lights are coming on in my car: slip, VDC, and service engine soon. Went to AutoZone to get a diagnosed by scanner. Code P0335, P2A00, and P0021 showed up. Took it to a mechanic and they checked it and replaced the Crankshaft position sensor and 02 oxygen sensor. Got the car back today and the same dashboard lights are coming on. What do you think the problem is? 2008 Infinite G35x. I have paid close to $2,000.00 trying to fix my car. I had a broken flex plate replaced also. Would you spend more money trying to fix the problem? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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Saturday, August 1st, 2020 AT 4:10 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,700 POSTS
Hi,

The codes you mentioned shouldn't have anything to do with the VDC, or slip. Usually, when they all come on at once, they are related to a wheel speed sensor. The sensors that were replaced may have taken away the codes.

Keep in mind, the codes related to VDC and the traction control unit are likely being missed by the parts store simply because their scan tools can't read them. What really needs done is the CAN bus system needs checked. CAN (computer area network) is how all the modules/computers communicate with each other. By performing this type of check, it should indicate any codes or failures in the system.

Here is a video showing how it is done:

https://youtu.be/InIlnsjOVFA

This is where I recommend starting.

Let me know what you find.

Joe
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Saturday, August 1st, 2020 AT 10:52 PM
Tiny
CGLONGMIRE
  • MEMBER
  • 6 POSTS
Hello Sir,

Was just informed that the flex plate is broken again. The mechanic is saying that something is wrong with the transmission is why the flex plate keeps breaking. Is there any truth in that statement? My transmission has been replaced over 6 months ago with no problems. He also mentioned that since I didn't purchase it from the dealer that's why it broke. I am leaning more to installation error.
I took it the dealership for them to a CAN on the car and they said it was the flex plate and not a bad crankshaft position sensor nor did they mention the transmission. What are your thoughts about what steps I should take going forward?
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Thursday, August 6th, 2020 AT 8:52 AM
Tiny
DANNY L
  • MECHANIC
  • 5,648 POSTS
Hello again.

I would suspect there might be a possibility of an installation problem or defective flex plate. Something must not be lined up right or installed incorrectly to be causing you to replace the flex plate after only 6 months. When the transmission was replaced were you given a warranty? If so I would take it back to them to inspect and repair if still under warranty. Hope this helps and keep us updated. Thanks again for using 2CarPros.

Danny-
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Thursday, August 6th, 2020 AT 10:31 PM

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