Infiniti I30/I35 Maintenance and Repair

Karen_S

Having a problem with your I30? Talk about it here. And please share any solutions!

KarenS
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Owner's Clubs

snowchen

My 2000 i30 only has 6000 miles, but I can feel pinging in hot and humid weather (always use premium gas). What's the cause? Is this a problem has to be fixed? What is the cure? Thank you.

razteo

98 I30 Standard. I havel a "fragille" feeling when is coming to bad roads. I cecked the tire presure, is how is sayng in owner manual.
I know is not a truck, but my other car, a Nissan 240, sound more robust than I30.
Anybody any ideea?

akimus

i bought an I30 a month ago and I am very impressed with the roominess,sleek good looks and the quickness of this car. I test drove it twice and was impressed with the quietness inside.
I could not wait to get this baby on the open road so after picking it up on a Tuesday I headed out on a five hundred mile trip down highway 95. The first think that I noticed was the wind noise. After a while it started to rain and the rain noise in the wheel welds was frightening. There are no lights on the steering wheel controls.
In my opinion Infinite put very little fore thought in the design of this car.

funclc

I bought a 2001 i30 from Enterprise with only 11,000 miles on it 6 weeks ago. 2 weeks into my purchase I realized that in the front of the car, on both sides of the pretty silver grill, are pit marks that have rusted over- there are about 10 of them on either side- over the past 4 weeks i see 3 new pit marks-(not yest rusted) it seems to me that they must have forgot a painting step in this area of the car in muanufactuing - I called Infinity claims and they said the car requires special care when pit marks occur and this would not be covered under any type of warrany- Does this make sense? The car is not 1 year old and has 12K on it- I have never had a car that rusted from pit marks (previous Saab and Mercedes owner) . Does anyone have any suggestions how to deal with Infinity or to correct the problem? Much Thanks!!!

geo55

I just purchased a used '99 I30T automatic with about 22K miles on it. I paid $18K for it. I loved it the day I test drove it. I do have a question as I am concerned if it is "normal" or not. When slowing down to make a turn and get down to less than 5 mph and then press on the accelerator, it doesn't downshift to first unless I press harder on the accelerator. Is this normal.
Also, I am getting terrible gas mileage. Edmunds says that the EPA fuel economy on the I30 is 21 MPG city - I am getting 20 MPG in all around driving (surburban).
One more thing: I have seen several reported 0-60 times for this car. From 6.6 (Edmunds) to 9.1 (Cars.com). I would believe low to mid 7's from my experience.
Glad to be a fellow Infiniti owner. Thanks in advance for the replies!

fuego0615

may be the battery, is also possible it is the starter. If the starter is bad or there are bad connections it may be sucking so much juice when you try to start it that your headlights go dim

wain

99 I 30

is there any way to have the recirc function always be "on" after startup?

It defaults to outside air and you have to push the button each time!!!

tgif888

Wain-This is no way to around it. We all have to live with it.

Funclc-This is the infamous Nissan's paint problem. That's why I brought a car bra for my hood. My car is Midnight Blue. I just need to take off the car bra once a week.

silvrfox

have 19000 on a 2000 i30. hit the brakes at 70mph and the car shudders like pads are glazed. any comments

jaki30

There is a TSB for the rotors. My sister has a 2000 Max GLE. The dealer
covered the repair under warranty.

My 01 I30 will be a year old next week. My wife has 5900 miles on it. I drove
it tonight and noticed there appears to be significant wind noise from the
doors, more pronounced on the passenger side. Anyone have a fix?

acrane

1st Question.
Could someone give more details on the TSB on the brake rotors on the 2000 I30/Maxima?

2nd Question.
Does the emergency brake act on the rear calipers or is there a supplemental mini drum brake used at the rear for the emergency brake?

Thanks.

jeh255

I've experienced the same problem with my 2000 I30. The problem started at about 2000 miles and the dealer attempted 6 times to fixe the problem, including working with rotors,and replacing rotors. The problem would return within a few hundred miles of the repair. At about 25000 they were serviced in compliance with a TSB and have been great for the last 6000 miles. Bug your dealer

pbernard1

I have just purchased an 99' I30 last week and I notice after driving with the A/C on there was water leaking from under the car. I need to know is this normal, or do I need to notify the dealership to have something fixed

PB

amarmistry

I have an 1996 I30 with 88000 miles on it. This was purchased used, after a thorough lemon check and previous owner had all maintenance records and papers.
Few weeks ago when I came back home from a short trip and ready to park and was backing up. Once I backed up I put it in Drive, the car stopped. The engine completely died on me. I try to restart and drive, same thing happened around 3 times. Then I started the car again and while in Park, I accelerated the gas pedal and it started and worked fine ever since.
After that episode, I noticed that once in a while the car hesitated to start while stopping on a red light(always in Drive mode) or stop sign.
The original problem occurred today too. I was waiting in a parking lot to park while someone was backing up. I have had the car in Drive mode. The engine died on me. I restarted and while in Park, accelerated the gas pedal and it drove well.
Anyone has experience the similar problem? What could be going wrong? Do you guys think this could be a transmission problem or fuel injector problem?
Any advice will be valuable.
Thank you.

wtfletcher

I didn't buy a brand new "luxury" car (yeah right) to have problems like this. My 2000 I30T has the same problems with the brakes. What is the TSB number for the brake problem?
Thanks JEH255 in advance for the info.
And for you new auto buyers considering and Infiniti -
1) After about 2,500 miles (not 25,000) I noticed a large cloud of smoke when I started it. It only does it about once every 2 or 3 months. Now, the engine is missing every once in a while (92 octane minimum always used). Dealer says he can't fix it if he can't see the smoke!
2) At about 10,000 miles my transmission started slipping bigtime between 1st and 2nd gear when moderately accelerating. I have taken it back twice for this problem and it hasn't been fixed yet.
3) When going into turns the front tires(Bridgestone-Potenza's) will break loose quicker than my 6000 pound truck will. They say it's a tire problem.
4) Wind noise on the passenger side. Hasn't been fixed.
5) Drivers window squeaks. Fixed for about a month and then came back.
6) Front end rattles when turning left. Fixed for about 2 months, then came back.
7) Heater-A/C blower motor is excessively loud.
This is a beatiful car but I am not impressed by Nissan/Infiniti in the least. And you can bet your sweet (well, you know) I won't be buying another one, and you might consider these notes before dropping 30G's. I should have spent the extra money and bought a German car.

wtfletcher

Go to www.alldata.com/TSB/ to find any/all tech bulletins for your auto's. My 2000 I-30T has these symptoms.
01-003 Seat belt - slow retraction.
00-028A auto trans-Slips during 1-2 or 2-3 gear upshifts.
00-063A Brakes-Vibration/Pulsation/Judder.
00-009 Brakes-steering wheel vibration/pedal pulsation
00-023 right front Strut-Click/clunk noises.
99-050A Heater-A/C Blower motor Noise.
99-065 Vehicle-Squeak and rattle Materials info.
There are a total of 72 TSB's for this piece of junk.

midnightryder

I have a 1997 infinite I30 I bought it used and the car shakes when I drive it sometimes it feels like the engine is miss firing and the check engine light came on, so I took it to the dealer and got it check out they told me it was the knock sensor was bad I paid for the replacement and it still miss fires any ideals on why its happing and a way to fix the problem
thanks
midnightryder

wain

Do the 1999 I 30s have a cabin air filter?

I thought the brochure we got ( I have it but can not find it) when we bought the car said it had a cabin air filter?
any way to check w/o pulling the glove box????

karz10

that, wtfletcher, you have had so many challenges w/ your '00 I30t, it is frustrating to have recurring issues

however, i guess curiousity got the best of me, i assume when you say, you should have spent the extra money and bought german, you probably meant BMW?

Regardless, that idea is correct only if you feel you would be happier in the German ride despite the possibility of having similar problems. In other words, by making that statement, it implies that you feel you should have bought German anyway, I hope so, because on average I think most people would agree that the higher end Japanese makes still carry a better fit and finish, initial quality, as well as over all reliability, than any other part of the world. Unfortunately, it is not a perfect world, and even the best manufactured products have some issues, including BMW and the like, plus you have to spend a considerable amount more to get comparable features and size in a BMW compared to the Infiniti.

Just food for thought, no annomosity intended, I considered buying a used 540 as I was making my decision to buy last year, but was cautioned by experts about the realistic cost of ownership which made me lean toward a more practical route for me, for less money I got a new I30t w/ side sills, spoiler, s/r, s/s for $27k...

Good luck finding a resolution, I know my '01 handles like on rails at 100mph+, and the ABS works real well, I don't believe the suspension is as good as the '02 Acura TL Type-S as I also considered that car, but you can't have everything, after all it was still a rear-beam in the I30's, but you shouldn't be getting the handling problems you described, maybe you should take some of your documentation and contact Infiniti HQ to help you resolve??

Karz

sfdsales

I am looking at a 1996 I 30 with 89000 miles on the car. The car is very clean and at a Ford dealership. The car rides nice and well equiped.
I want some advice from those of you who have had a car like this or if at this mileage I might have expenses that would be considered to be expensive. I want to thank you in advance for your help.
Rod

soonerinfiniti

I just purchased a 1998 I30 with 75,000 miles. For some reason, the small tweeter speaker grills were missing from both sides in the front doors. At first, Infiniti said they could order the speaker grills. Now, they say I have to buy the entire door panel - at $400 each! Ouch! I have seen Maxima's with the same speakers. There must be someplace to buy these flush mounted speaker grills. If they are part of the door, than why do they come off???? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

napanee

I have a friend with at 1998 Maxima who says he uses regular gas without problems--less mileage is all he reports. What is the experience of using regular gas in the I30?

qc3

I recently went on a mini-vacation to Las Vegas. Enroute while going up the grade on I15 when I de-celerated by taking my feet off the gas pedal from going 70-75mph the transmission went into idle. When I stepped back on the gas pedal the transmission did not go back into the lower gears just back into what appeared to be 3rd gear since the engine did not engage until about 3500-4000 RPM. I had to make a complete stop on the off-ramp and then resume before it engaged from 1st gear. This event happened again later on I15 and again I had to make an exit and come to a complete stop before the tranny would go back into 1st gear. Has anyone else had this problem and if so what was needed to fix this? I took the car into the Infiniti dealer but of course they couldn't duplicate the problem.

Thanks in advance for the help.

jimi

I recently bought a used 2000 I30 with only 46000 miles. After driving it for a week I noticed an unsually light but grinding noise at low speed and the pitch will go up at high speed. For a car in that class, I would expect the cabin to more quiet. It sounds like it is coming from the front axles, probably more to the right. My 95 Mazda MX6 that has 160k miles is at least five times more quite. Has anybody experienced this problem?

collegepro04

Not sure if this is a still un answered question, but jimi, get thee to an Infiniti dealer. I had some noise from the front of my 00 with 57K on it, and they've let me know they're replacing the tranny because of it. You're still under the factory 6/70,000 powertrain warrenty, so I'd suggest getting it in soon. My noise was a clicking under hard acceleration.

ahan

My name is Anne and I am from the metro Detroit area in MI. My 2000 I30t is just 6 month over warranty with 51K miles on it. Last week, the engine stopped while I was driving on local street. It couldn't restart at that time. I had it towed to the dealer. They told me the Engines harness wire need to be replaced and will cost me $3000 to fix it. I declined the repair and found out that the Engine will start again. I took it to another repair shop to have it checked again. the Same codes were kicked out but it's Crank sensor and Cam sensor need to be replaced this time. Since the engine still starts. I declined the repair and drove it home. About 5 Miles of driving the engine quit again and can't restarted. I left it on the side of the road overnight and came back the next morning. The Engine starts again and I made it home (with less than 5 miles of driving). I am very dissatisfied with the quality of the car and the customer service from the dealer. They didn't give me a loaner and had my car on their lot for 5 days.

I am also very surprised that dealer seemed to be clueless about the real problem of the car. Does anyone had similar problem before and can give me some advice how can this be repaired? Thanks a lot.

rknj2004

I just bought a I30 1999 and now it has a blinking air bag light. Any ideas what this means.

wain

If the electric solenoid at the fuel filler door fails or the switch on the dash fails
how do you get the gas filler door open?

test

test

jsorlando

I have a 2000, I30T. The Service Engine Light came on after I had the transmission replaced a few thousand miles ago. I took the car back to the dealer and they diagnosed that I needed a new catalytic converter system that would cost between $900-1,200. However, after I got the car back from the dealer the light was out for a few hundred miles, then it came back on.

I saw another posting about this question on a QX4, that said the diagnosis was an intake timing sensor. Does anyone know: 1)If this problem could be either/both of the above or something else? 2) Is there a reset button or relay that I can access to turn the light off, if even only for a few hundred miles? Thanks.

durnando

I have been trying to find the key for the sensor codes for the I30, its a '98. If you could direct me to a useful sensor code manual or just tell me what it means if you know, it doesnt always blink, it just does so off and on during the course of driving it.

lawman

I bought a 2001 I30 in October 2004. It had just come in to a dealer in a trade. I am an old J30 owner and I love the I30 as well except for two things: (1) my gas mileage is in the range of 14/15 MPG (admittedly mostly non-highway driving); and (2) I'd like the driver's seat to go back a few more inches -- or for the steering wheel to telescope inward -- to be truly happy. Any similar observations? Any ideas on the lousy gas mileage situation? I've been using regular fuel. I've read here that I should be using premium. Does it really impact mileage?

benudiva

I purchased a 2001 I30 about 2 months ago and so far I love it. I upgraded from a 95 Accord with over 213k miles on it (my odometer stopped working roughly 2 years ago--go figure) Anyhoo.. I was in the market for another Accord or an Altima but ended up with this baby. It was a company fleet car so it was impeccable inside and out with all the Infiniti services per the maintenance schedule. The car had 39k on it when I bought it.

I am a road warrior..drive roughly 60 miles a day to and from work plus any client sites I visit (roughly additional 50-75 miles a week). My question is.. should I invest in the extended warranty? To those of you with this model or prior years.. did you experience any problems/needed repairs between the time the factory warranty expired and when let's say an extended warranty would expires (100k)I need to know is it worth paying $1200 for an extended warranty.

FYI, I have a off market mechanic who kept my Honda in great shape for the fraction of the cost (i.e. cost of parts plus flat fee of 100-150 for labor) and before I bought this car I checked with him to make sure he could work on Infinitis and he can. Do you think I will be okay with just his expertise and buying Infiniti parts (filters/brakes etc from an online Infiniti parts website)?

Please advise. Thanks

michelle7

I have only had my 2000 I30 for about 3 months now. Well, it has 51,190 miles on it and the "service engine soon" light came on. I am wondering if there is a problem or could it just be a maintenance signal. Has anyone had this happen before and should I be ALARMED?
Thanks!!

mylesw

I have a 1997 I-30 that has the standard BOSE sound system installed. I recently got an Omnifi MP3 player that I love, and had a local Audio installer install it. Its wonderful, but they did the audio into the sound system via a FM modulator and the quality is poor. I understand that Soundgate offer a AUX input adapter that uses the CD Changer port, but their website states that its compatible with 1998-2001 I-30s that have a CD changer capability.

I've been researching this, and it seems that my car can take a CD changer (many seem to have this option on their 1997 I-30s) so I'm assuming that it would be ok in my car, but can anyone comment if they know any difference between the factory installed BOSE sound systems in the 1997 I-30s vs the 1998 I-30s? Are there any resources on the Internet for this?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Myles

luvmy99i30

I have owned my 1999 Infiniti I30 for three years now and it has been an exceptional car! But it has always had a minor eccentricity that I would love to fix. Any suggestions? --
This seems to happen mostly at lower speeds - let's say between 25 and 50mph. When I am cruising along at a steady speed and let off on the gas, there is an abrupt deceleration similar to what you would experience in a standard transmission car. This is an automatic, of course, and typically an automatic kind of "coasts" under these circumstances. I do not have it in the sport mode, as a matter of fact, it seems to do this less in the sport mode!
Anyway, this is a minor thing, but I would sure love to cure this problem. I have driven several other I30's and Maxima's with this same engine and none of them do this, so I know there must be an adjustment or part replacement that would make this wonderful car 100% instead of 99%!
Thanks in advance for any suggestions...

i30rust

My 2000 I30 is rusting on the trunk lid above the chrome plate and at the front of the hood, around the chrome grill.
Infiniti tells me this is not covered by warranty, only if it rusts completey through before 7 years.

Are other I30 owners having rust problems?
If yes, have you had any help from Infinti?

Dan

ajit1

Michelle,

I also have an infiniti 2000 i30 and my "service engine soon" light just came on after about 48,000 miles. I read the manual and it says that this light comes on for a potential emissions problem or a low fuel tank. I filled my fuel tank all the way and I drove for a while, and my light continues to remain on. I am thinking of taking it to the dealer, but i don't want to have them charge me nearly 1,000$ for a new catalytic convertor if that is not the problem. A previous post said that the diagnosis for the problem was a new intake timing sensor but i'm not sure. Have you done anything recently to fix this problem?

Ajit

karen15

I have a 1999 I30 Limited with approx. 115K miles and have had a similar problem for a few years. When I would try to start the car it would turn over but wouldn't start and the service engine light would go on. After 2 or 3 tries the car would start and run fine for months at a time. Maintenance checks found nothing wrong until last summer when the dealer replaced the crankshaft position sensor and also advised that I might have an EGI wiring harness problem.

All seemed to be fine until about 2 months ago when the car stopped while I was accelerating onto the freeway. It started right back up again. I also noticed that the car was struggling while going up hill. A check by my local mechanic found nothing wrong.

Yesterday, the car started fine and when I stopped for gas it wouldn't start again. A local mechanic said the injectors are not working and there are no computer codes - just a message "no codes, ok to drive." He was able to start the car by injecting propane into the bypass injectors (not sure what this means) - but he thinks it is a computer problem. He wants to replace the computer system so I'm towing it to the dealer.

I expect they will want to replace the wiring harness.

Has anyone else had this problem? If so, was it ever fixed?

I noticed a posting by Anne last summer that indicates a similar problem. Anne if you are still out there, I'm curious to know whether they ever found the problem with your car?

Also, my airbag light started flashing last summer. The dealer checked it out & said the side airbag needs to be replaced (for about $550). They said if the light stays on it means the driver's front airbag is gone.

hdrca

Hi Michelle, I had the same experience, and yes U have to take your car to the dealer or experience mechanic, when I have the light on, I just take it to my friend as a mechanic after checking with the equipment he has, he found a problem with the one of the sensor (for emission) and he just reset the system (with his diagnose equipment) and after that I don't have any problem again, my mechanic says that sometimes the sensor get lazy (that what he say), just need to reset.

sjordan

Help! I have a 1996 I30 with the same problem. It doesn't bother me too much during the daytime, but it drives me crazy while driving at night!

plz_help

I have a 2000 Infiniti I30 with 72K miles that occasionally I can't shift from Park. The owner's manual says that if the brake lights are not on (which they aren't) then this could be a transmission problem. Since I have noticed no problems driving the car, I am skeptical that this is a transmission problem. I have heard of similar problems occuring due to a brake stop switch, but I'm not sure if my car is even equipped with one.

Has someone had this problem before? :confuse:

jjwvu

I just bought a 2001 Infiniti I30 and want to know if preium gas is needed? What happens if I put regular into the vehicle? Will it cause any engine damage?

plz_help

they recommended over 89 octane for my 2000 I30.

amandash

Hi,I just bought a 96 I30 and it has the same problem when slowing down to turn (does not down shift to first) and also poor mileage. Did you ever find a solution? Can you share it with me? Thank you for your time, I would certainly appreciate it.

amandash

I just bought a 96 I30. It is a wonderful car in many aspects such as ride, noise level, power, comfort and safety. There is one problem I noted (or 2). The transmission does not downshift to first when you slow down for a corner. You can feel the slow pickup and as you attempt to accelerate it then kicks into the lower gear. Also the fuel consumption is poor probably is the range of 17/18. Does anyone have any ideas or experience with symptoms like these or know the solution. I would appreciate hearing from you. Thanks

breich

I also had a problem with the check engine light. I found out through an independent (non-Infiniti) mechanic that there is a known problem with the emission system in the 2000 i30t. The exhaust system is at fault - replace it and the problem goes away. Luckily I found this out just before I hit 80k - that's when the federal warranty is over. Since replacing it 5,000+ miles ago, the problem hasn't resurfaced. Fix it before the federal warranty is up - or the cost is $1,200+.

michelle7

Well, I took the car to the dealership and they said that it had something to do with the emission sensor. They fixed it and I haven't had any trouble out of it since.

manny6

I own an Infiniti I-30 2000, and have gotten the service light coming on, and have receive this code: P0171 when Iused the OBD 2 Code reader (meaning: Too lean system in Bank 1) and this causes the engine to run lean and thereby makes it too hot. How do I fix this problem?

coldflame

Took my 2000 I-30 in for scheduled service and ended up with a $900 bill for new starter, etc.. When I got home, noticed the driver's seat did not retract. I called next day and was told I would need to replace one of the motors in the seat. Cost: $400. The service dept did manage to get the seat moving when the seat control switch was set to off, but the seat's stuck again. Any ideas on what my options are now?