Nissan Ester Oil - good news! see inside
 

So, after getting my first oil changed at Nissan under the Maintenance Program (for 75000 miles all oil changes, tire rotations and fluids topped off are covered, price $1052ish to car), I discovered that they did NOT use the recommended, and very expensive, Nissan Ester Oil.

I went back to the service manager and discussed that the ester oil is recommended in the owners manual and that I absolutely wanted the recommended oil put into the car. He checked the oil change history and confirmed that I had the maintenance program and said, no problem, just remind us whenever you bring the car in for an oil change and we'll use the Ester Oil. They swapped it out in about 35 min and had it right back to me.

I also got a printout confirming the Ester oil (specifically) install under maintenance program/warranty.

Apparently, Nissan Corp did not use to allow dealers to use Ester oil under the maintenance program but recently changed their minds about it. Hence, my 20 oil changes now include the pricy Ester oil at no extra charge, and I still have the tire rotations and fluid maintenance for the life of the car.

:happydance:

SUMMARY: Maintenance program is probably worth it on these cars. I checked under the hood too and they did a great job, no spillage, new filter is on and the fluid level is perfect.

Yes, Ester Oil is covered under the maintenance program for the 370Z, G37, and Maxima as long as you request it. Kind of shady that it works that way, but that is the way it is.

I just recently got my first oil change, with ester oil. It was 80$, I didn't request ester he just automatically put it in.

You might want to ask them how they managed to rotate the tires.

They can rotate side to side as the tires are not unidirectional per my understanding, but not front to back because they are different diameters.

The tires on the Sport Package most certainly are directional. The only way that they could possible rotate them would be to de-mount them and remount them for the other side, which I guarantee didn't happen. Hopefully they didn't tell you they rotated the tires.

AZ Roadster

Wow.....(not in a good way), but if it's worth it to you, then congrats....

Two things. One, they way overcharged you. Mine was like $400 and they threw it in after some haggling and two, I am not so sure Ester based CONVENTIONAL oil is as good as a synthetic to begin with.

I know Nissan recommends it, but I have never seen any tests done to show that it performs all that great and in fact the opposite seems to be the case. I wonder if it isn't more that they have a vested interest.

I put my trust in the folks over at Bob Is The Oil Guy site. They are saying synthetic...and I tend to agree.

I'll probably just bring my own M1 or PP to them when they do the change unless they have it there at a reasonable cost.

BTW, here are a few links talking about Nissan Ester oil over at BITOG:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=1905308
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=1850328
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=1902356
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=1848105

Pay particular attention to the last two. This oil doesn't seem to be doing all that great of a job as far as engine protection goes. In short, I would not recommend this oil if your goal is engine longevity. It MAY do what they designed it to do...increase fuel mileage and lower emissions though.

good post, darrinps! +rep

If you look at the Bridgestones, you'll actually see that they are NOT directional. You can swap left and right, just not front and rear. The confusion is that they ARE asymmetrical meaning the tire has to be mounted on the rim with the correct side 'out'. Once an asymmetric tire is correctly mounted on the rim, it doesn't matter which side of the car you put it on.

Ester oil is just a gimmick. Absolutely no need for it.

Are you sure about this? You are correct the tire has to be mounted on the rim with the correct side 'out'. However when I took my Z (touring / sport) in to Discount Tires (who I consider to be top notch in their business niche) to rotate them (rear to rear; front to front) they said the tires should not be swapped to the other side because the tread pattern for channeling water becomes reversed which affects the tire handling on water surfaces.

Though I have switched from Ester to Full Synth I don't believe that the Ester is just a gimmick.

Ester oil has certain molecular characteristics absent in mineral and synth oils that:

1. Stays bonded better to the engine internals when the engine is started in very cold temperatures, paerticularlly the winter weather.

2. Maintains exacting tolerances between parts to a greater degree.

Great information

I searched all over BITOG when I was deciding if I should go with the ester.

To make a long story short I did not. I have Agip full synthetic in my Z. And my gf is running mobil 1 in her G37. Car runs much better than it did with the oil from the factory. Couldn't be happier!

It's not a gimmick. I know because since they swapped it out, the engine is much quieter, especially the valvetrain. Cold starts have no more chatter noise from the valvetrain that used to be there.

I'm pretty sure that even if Ester oil is not the most advanced stuff out there, Nissan would not have produced it if it did not do anything and wore your engine out faster.