Any Mechanics Out There?

[Cleveland Metal]

Believe it or not, a lot of cars have no auto tensioner! My GFs Lexus you have to loosen one of the accessories (I forget which, alt or pwr strng) on the belt. It has built in threaded rods that lets you set it, but it's a pain to get to, you do need a lift on hers to do it easier..

But yeah, they bought this trouble for sure with the outside guy. Get it documented, and tow it out.

[rjohnstone]

I haven't touched a Lexus in ages. Is the oil filter still located right above the alternator?
The first SC400 I did an oil change on pissed me off.
There was no way to pull the filter without it dumping oil all over the alternator. That was after you removed two skid plates to even get too it.
A steam clean was almost guaranteed.

[Cleveland Metal]

This is the 300, It's above the exhaust manifold so it drips and smokes like a bitch, haha

I just remember cursing it as I had to pull a tire, and a plastic cover to get to the tensioner on the damn thing...

My Mustang, I can do a belt in 3 minutes, haha... hers took me almost hour or so fucking around

[AdRock]

Go back to the Jiffy lube.

Get the names of all the people that were on duty while you were there. Also, try to get them to give you the name of the guy they called over there. Then tell them that you're going to have your car checked by someone else at their expense and they will be billed. Then tell them to give you the local corporate office info and the name of the person in charge of that area. The quicker you bother the higher ups in corporate the quicker the process can move along. The corporate guys get really angry when customer problems get to their level. Document every person you talk to and everything that they say.

[DonP]

Document everything and take their ass to court!

[Drsracing]

go in there and ask for the Distric Managers name and # and don't say anything to the "manager" making $10

[charvel750]

Thanks, all, I'll keep you posted...

[LouSiffer]

If I remember correctly on the Altimas, the fuse/relay panel is on the same side as the belt right across from the alternator. More then likely they didn't have the correct tensioner tool and pried the tensioner with a pry bar and unwittingly used the power junction for leverage. Odds are, its not a starter. They could have trashed the relay or caused the main power fuse to short.-Lou

[Cleveland Metal]

Yeah.... You remember right...

[Razor]

As the service manager of a Nissan dealer, my first advice is to have it taken to a reputable mechanic/dealer for diagnosis. Higher mile (100,000 plus) Sentras, Altimas and Maximas are notorious for having sudden starter failure, so that isn't far out of realm of possibility. Also, if someone tried to use the wrong key in the ignition, the NATS (security) system could be keeping the vehicle from starting if you have programmable keys. First question I have is does it crank and not fire, or is it a no crank at all?

If no crank, odds are it's the starter, and a decent chance they haven't caused it. If it's a crank but no fire, drive down with your spare key and try starting it with that. Sometimes the keys lose their programming.

At this point the first thing to do is get an accurate diagnosis.