Infiniti G35 Maintenance and Repair

bsnyder030174

Gabman,

Nope I dont have any tinting.... and I live in Northern Virginia, about 13 miles from Wash. DC, which is home to quite a few radio stations, and sometimes I cant even make out what they are saying.

Its probably something I should tell my dealer about when I get my first oil change, but it comes and goes... I hate those problems cause they always look at you like your an idiot

1north -- I live N.V. also, we had a thread going on FA about those of us near DC getting together for an owners meet... check out the thread.

--brian

dklanecky

I have a 00 Maxima SE that came with the 17" all season tires. You're correct about the first year in snow being really impressive with the Potenza all season tires.

I went with a set of 16" wheels and dedicated snow tires for my second and third winters in Wisconsin and have three observations:

1. I'll never drive in snow again on all season tires. The worst dedicated snows are way better than the best all season tires.

2. By driving 10-15k miles on my snows for 2 winters, my potenzas lasted until I had 90k on the odometer and they're very expensive to replace while the snows in 16" size are cheap (relatively).

3. When it comes time to replace the 17" take a
good hard look at the Michlein Pilot Sport A/S. They are expensive ~$200 each but the handling improvement is simply tremendous.

racingmaniac

Seeing the recommandation by dklanecky to uses dedicated snow tire, what brand of snow rubber would be good for winter. Seeing how I live in Toronto and snow is a fact of life in Winter month. I think we are going to keep the 17inch wheel for the winter, so that might effect the choice as well. Also, should we change all 4 wheels or just the rear drive wheel?

force98

Go here for good info:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testResultsPerformance.jsp?perfType=W

stsurbrook

Just as a FYI, I think that you will find the Bridgestone S-03 Pole Position's to be better than the Michelin's. They handle better, are quieter, have a better ride, and are less expensive...

The Michelin's are good tires, but personally I think the Bridgestones would be a better all around tire.

Scott

stanny1

There is no question that the Bridgestone SO-3 is one of, if not the best handling Summer Tire in existence. I have a Lincoln LS Manual and the handling superiority over the OE Firestone Firehawks is really incredible.
But there is some sacrifice involved. The ride is a little more intimate with the surface (slightly harsher), the tire has a huge amount of rayon for high speed capability so they flat spot for the first few miles, and they don't like the grooved freeways here in Socal (they tend to follow the groove as it wanders from left to right).
It could be that the LS is not tuned for this particular tire.
But on a corner this tire has tremendous grip. The breakaway is silent, predictable, and smooth.
Some tires lose their grip and give up. The SO-3's keep on trying to hold on even when the laws of physics say it's impossible.
Incredible tire but Grandma wouldn't like the ride. It's worth the trade off to me.
But I will feel guilty if I bait someone following me into a corner and they end up in the weeds.

jsspears

Since bringing my car home, my wife and I have put only 250 miles on it and already there are dents and scratches in the Infiniti door sills for both front doors. I think the aluminum used in the Infiniti marking is just way too thin, and easy to mar with shoes. Any others with this same experience? Anyone found a solution?

jsspears

Still waiting for my plates, but I have noticed that the indented area in the front bumper cover does not match American sized license plates. When I use the surround provided by the dealer, which matches the size of our state plates, there is a gap about 5/8 inch wide on both sides. While the better solution would have been for Infiniti to supply an America-specific front bumper cover with a cutout to match, I believe a wider front license surround can be fitted to fill the gap. Has anyone found a license surround to fit the gap in the bumper cover?

cloth

I don't know if this is the case with your car, but yesterday I washed my car and was also disappointed to see what looked like scratches on my door sills, but after further investigation, I found a thin protective film that I peeled off to reveal beautiful metal door sills, take a close look, your's might still have this film on them.

neptungrll

I also found that my sill still have the plastic on them. !!! Thanks for the tip. I am going to keep mine on awhile as they do not even look worn yet. But is good to know that the beauty is under there.

I also have chip in the paint bout the size of a pin head. The dealer is sending me some touch up pain (Twilight Blue) and instructed me to use just a safety pin to apply it. Then redo again if needed. They do seem to chip easy.

lattebud

Okay - I dumped the Mercedes and bought the Infiniti for better reliability. So far...

- The Seat Belt Noise
- The A/C Compressor Noise
- The Center Console going inoperative (which I am tempted to report to NHTSA as a safety issue - no ability to defog windows)
- Three rattles the dealer can seem to hear

Now, I have a steering wheel vibration at 60 - 70. Yes, the wheels have been balanced. It is seems to happen when I release the accelerator, but not apply the brakes. Anyone else? Solutions?

But at least I get an Infiniti as a loaner and not the Escort the Mercedes dealer gave me.

jsspears

No such luck. The dealer peeled the protective blue plastic film off of three of the four sills, and two of the three are already dented and slightly scratched. The aluminum sills are beautiful, but seem very easy to damage. I am going to ask my dealer if they will replace the two dented ones and then may cover them with clear plastic film like Xpel (Scotchguard) to keep the nice look that was intended by Infiniti.

I am also thinking about putting the Xpel protective film on the front bumper and hood of the car. I have had this on my Corvette for over a year, and am very pleased with it.

maxima4

Hi jsspears... where would I be able to find info on the Xpel. I have heard really good things about it. I suspect at 3m.com or something like that? Thanks for your help.

neptungrll

Rats. I just got my G35 last week. I have been reading the owners manual. It stated that the compass could be reset to the proper magnetic pole for your region. So, I went out and tried to set it for my region (9). I pushed in the button and held it as directed then waited for the choices to come to punch through. They never did and now I have annoying - - - - blinking all the time. It will not reset. I have tried turning everything off, driving around, etc. Any ideas before I take a drive to the dealer (which is 90 miles away!) Thanks. Pat

jsspears

Visit www.xpel.com for info on their kits, which use the Scotchcal film from 3M.

cloth

Someone at freshalloy.com mention the manual was wrong with regards to the compass reset, you would have to do a search a few month back. Or give Infiniti a call and they can probably walk you through it

neptungrll

Thanks Cloth. I will call the dealer today or Monday and find out.

nnylec

neptungrll,

I did the same thing. I could not find the region setting either. In order to clear the blinking -----, follow the instructions in the manual. You need to drive in a couple of circles with the AC and Radio Off. Once you do that it is calibrated and it will work again. I am not sure what is going on with not being able to set the region.

Good Luck

N2

mchard

Here is a previous post on setting the compass correctly. Ignore the manual, this works:

Compass deviation setting.

The manual is wrong concerning the deviation setting. To set the deviation or area setting turn off the ignition then hold down compass setting button while turning the ignition on. After a few seconds the numbers will come up, in my case it was #4 for San Diego area. Cycle through to correct # for your area and you will be done and be happy with an accurate setting.

maxima4

neptungrll

M2 and Mchard

Thanks so much! I am out of town (I flew) but will follow your suggestions as soon as I get home Friday. I had not drove in a few circles in a parking lot as suggested, but has drove around my neighborhood. I probably did not turn in circles tight enough either. I will be sure to do the ignition thing too. Thanks again!
pat

pfschim

Hey, I have also had the CD changer skipping problem on the bose premium system. I even "re-bought" a few of my favorite cd's thinking the old ones were the problem. I can't say the skipping and mistraking problem is heat related though as the same cd's played just fine in my '99 300M and on any other cd player I tried. Even when its very hot here (90-105), some play ok and some (even brand new)sound like old scratchy 45's. I also had the problem back in March when the weather was cool. So heat is not a good diagnosis.

I am also experiencing the noisy AC problem. Mostly sounds like a metallic whine, kinda nasty though.

In general, I am very happy with the G, great performance and handling, good looks too, but the AC noise and CD skipping problems actually become significant detractors in the long term driving experience. I mentioned both problems in my J.D. Powers survey.

Well, I'm going in for my 1st oil change soon and will talk to the service folks about these issues. We will see how it goes with Infiniti service.

Desert Platinum/Graphite
Premium Leather, winter pkg
2200 miles

neptungrll

I do not seem to have the CD problem. I have had my car about 3 weeks. I also have a Jeep that I used for my "Beach Wagon" so do not drive the G35 for beach trips. I have put up to 3 CDs in and have played them while driving and switching, and while the AC is on. No problems with skipping. I will really check this out next week when I drive it on a 300 mile trip around South Carolina. Thanks for the headsup.

morgan1112

I usually only listen to CDs and have the Bose changer. I haven't had any problems at all. you might think about getting one of the CD laser cleaners.... maybe you have dust on the inside of your changer. I used one on a home unit and it improved performance noticably.

sanandton

Hi, See you mentioned SC. I live in the Upstate and have had my G for about 3 months now. Bought it from Bradshaw. I have 7500 miles thus far and have not had any problems with the CD Changer. Just curious about your location in SC. I'll keep my eyes open for you if you live around Greenville. I rarely see another G here, but have been seeing a Desert platinum or SS one near my apartment. I drive a SS with all options but the body kit.
Speaking of the CD changer. I belive the units are manufactured by Clarion and designed by bose. I had a 2001 Nissan PF with the 180watt Bose system and had the CD changer locked up on me. I took it in an attempt to retrieve the CDs (I was told I may not get my CDs back). It was manufactured by Clarion for bose according to the labeling. I believe our G changers are nearly Identical to the ones in the PFs.

mmangano

I've been having problems with my CD player as well. Service dept. (Infiniti of Ardmore, PA) ordered me a new one last week - was on backorder, but got here in 7 days. Having it installed next Saturday. My player seems to act up after sitting in the hot sun all day.

There is another thread about some of these issues over at g35driver.com:

http://g35driver.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=1&Number=2186&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&part=

-- Mark

willjam

I think the problem is heat related and agree with mmangano. I have the exact same problem. I have not complained to my dealer as yet, but intend to do so next week when I take the car in for servicing. My hesitating is due to the fact that there is not service bulletin identifying the problem. Has it been determined that there is just a bad batch of changers? I think a replacement changer will exhibit the same problems.

neptungrll

Hey there. I am in Myrtle Beach. I bought my G from Baker Infiniti in Charleston. They told me I had the only Twighlight blue G from Savanah up the North and South Carolina coast. It is really cool to see the heads turn when you go by or you are at a light. People just can't figure out what the G is yet! My friends have all fell in love with it and beg me to let them have a spin at the wheel! I did see a desert platinum G about 2 months ago in a movie parking lot. That is how I caught the G 35 bug. I had my heart set on a used E class Mercedes, but after talking to many people (and as the poster above also stated) I knew I was better off with a new car with the warranty and not the high Mercedes repair bills.

If I am in Greenville, I will keep my eyes peeled! My boss is from there and is now in Pawleys Island.

We do not have an Infiniti dealer here, hence the trip to Charleston.

sanandton

Yeah. Myrtle Beach aka "The beach" to those of us in SC. I didn't realize that we in SC had adopted that term until my ex wife from Ohio pointed out to me that many beaches existed in the US and I would have to be more specific about our destination. To many of us in SC., Myrtle is "The beach". Enjoy your Twilight blue G. I have to say, I have not seen one here in the Upstate either. How does it do with that sea spray salty residue or rain drop ringlets baked in the sun? I had a dark blue car once that had permanent ringlets baked in after one trip to "The beach".

dmacneill

There are possibly two Twilight Blue G 35s in the Columbia area, and I have one of them (Graphite interior, premium pkg., winter pkg., Xenon, wood pkg.) You're right - it does turn heads.

A question for someone. What is the small lamp in the side of the high-beam lamp housing that looks like a flashlight bulb?

g35man

Does anyone else feel that the Bose system is lacking a fresh, crisp sound??? I love everything about the car, but I'm bummed out about the "muffled" sound from the stereo. It's like the treble needs to be turned up a lot more but it already is....

g35man

The BOSE website says to identify that you have a BOSE system the BOSE nameplates should be located on the center console, front door speakers, and on the rear shelf speaker. I don't have it on the front speakers. Does anyone??? Are we getting gypped here?

stsurbrook

I find that the Bose system in my wife's G35 is very good (better than I expected from Bose). While it isn't at the Lexus's Mark Levinson system level (it shouldn't be since it costs about $2000 less), it is very good. In fact, I had to turn down the treble a bit because I found it to be a bit "bright".

Scott

dmacneill

The Bose system in the G35 has 7 speakers: 2 tweeters in the upper front doors, two speakers in the lower front doors, two speakers in the lower rear doors, and a subwoofer in the rear deck. Only the subwoofer grill has the Bose nameplate. The Bose name is also on the little flap that covers the cassette tape player in the head unit.

pfschim

Just got my G (Des Plat/Premium all goodies except NAV, 2700 mi)back from its first Infiniti service.

Have to say that the '02 I30i I got as a loaner was very boaty compared to the G, but it was interesting to compare and was better than any loaner I ever got from a dealer before.

The service guys were very professional, easy to deal with and handled the service issues well. Here are the basics:

1. Oil Change
advised to use dino oil till 10k miles, so that's how we went with that.

2. A/C Compressor whine/noise
Advisor very familiar with the issue. He said Infiniti engineering has announced an impending fix that will involve a newly
engineered compressor. They said I should expect a call from them in 30-60 days to discuss scheduling the fix. I good with that.

3. CD skipping, mistracking and general bad performance
I described my experience, they checked it out but could not re-create the problem.
Solution is to order a new changer/head unit and swap out the old unit.
This point alone is very cool from my perspective as an owner. They actually listened to me and decided that even though they could not re-create the problem it was worth customer satisfaction to just change out the unit. Very happy with that response. Have to wait 2 weeks to get the unit then do the install. Hope it fixes the problem.

I was very happy with this service experience. It was the least frustrating and easiest trip to the dealer I have ever had. I will have to see how the follow-up goes.

FYI, Parts folks said that splash guards are "way back ordered" due to initial poor body color match issues. He figured it might be as long as 4-6 months. No big deal to me, I'll just wait but I thought I would pass this info on.

Happy Driving

cloth

pfschim, thanks for the update on the a/c fix, who's your dealer?

sanandton

Thanks for the info on the splash gaurds. I have been waiting for 3 months now. No biggie though. At least I know what the hold up is.

neptungrll

Sanandon, you are right, it is "The Beach" to most in SC! LOL! And, my twighlight blue does not get a chance to get too much of the salty ringlets or water drops because I have another vehicle..........a Jeep..........that is my beach wagon! The G stays nice and dry and clean in the garage until it's time for another serious drive. I had to drive to Charleston this a.m. then to Charlotte this afternoon. It was great. I looked down at the speed and YIKES! 95mph! It goes so fast and you don't even know it! I backed down and put the cruise on so I don't get a ticket!

I do not have the Bose problem or the AC noise problem. Is the AC noise problem just a loud fan or a high pitch noise or another noise? Just curious.

sanandton

I have the AC noise. It sounds like a baseball card in a bicycle spoke except at a very rapid rate. It only seems to kick in when I'm accelerating and around 3k rpms. It detracts from the Infiniti Experience a little, but the AC is still cold.
Speaking of cruising. I was acutally on my way home from Charlotte about 6 weeks ago when I got my first ever ticket in 18 years of driving. I was doing 84mph in a 60mph zone. Less than 2 weeks later I got my second ever ticket 72 in 55. Since then I have become very familiar with the Cruise control operations. It is so quiet and smooth I didn't even feel like I was going that fast.

shazbat

In the the old 3000GT/Stealth there was an option to have a warning to go off when you exceeded a set speed, would be quite worthwhile in the G.

maxima4

HI Shazbat,

I know what you mean about tickets. I had a 1986 Mazda 323 for 10 years and not one speeding ticket. It had a 1.8 liter 4 banger with 85 HP. Anytime I approached 75 MPH or higher the engine sounded like it was in the passenger seat with me! As soon as I upgraded to a Maxima SE in 1996....within 2 months, BAM! First ever speeding ticket. 85 in a 55. Trooper was nice enough to discount it to 75 mph.

Any, When I test drove a G35 two months the sales rep said to gradually bring the speed up. I was doing 80 and it felt like 55.

I remember speed limiters use to be very common in cars back in the 60's and 70's. My brother had a 1968 Buick Electra 225. I remember he use to set it manually at 65 and anytime he went over 65 it would sound like a muffled alarmed clock going off. I would like to see a speed limiter on the G, but obviously with updated technology.

pfschim

Cloth,
My dealer is Infiniti of Pleasanton, East Bay area of N.Cal/San Francisco metro zone. I had one of the best ever car buying experiences there in 25 years of vehicle ownership. So far, very happy with the service crew too.

happy driving

pfschim

ltnguye3

I seem to be having a problem with my heated seats. When I turn them on (I've tried both the High and Low setting), they don't seem to heat the seats. I read in the manual that the seats will turn off automatically based on the temperature that you have your thermostat set at, so I bumped up the temperature...but gave up after I sat in a muggy, hot car for 5 minutes wondering if my seats were ever going to get warm. Has anyone else tried their heated seats yet?

ltnguye3

The other problem I'm having with my car is that I can't program my garage door opener onto the Homelink device. I think it might be a problem with the garage door remote, because I don't think it delivers a constant signal during the "training" stage of the setup process. I tried to cycle the signal, pressing the button on the remote every 2 seconds (like the Homelink website recommended), but still no luck. Does anyone have any other ideas I can try?

shaunmathur

ltnguye3,
we had the same problem when we tried to program our avalon to the 'homelink' feature. it turned out that our garage door had a 'rolling code' feature for added security. we had to bring out the garage door manual, disable that feature, and then link it to the car. now everything works smoothly. i am pretty sure we were able to turn the 'rolling code' feature back on once the control was programmed.

ltnguye3

Shaun,
Thanks for the tip. I guess I will go find my garage door opener manual and see what I can do..

j_walker

ltnguye3,

I used the "HomeLink Instructions" card included with my G35 owner's manual to successfully program my two garage door openers with rolling code. The instructions on the card makes programming the HomeLink simpler than the owner's manual. If your garage doors have rolling code, you must use the "smart/learn" program button on the garage door opener.

John

ltnguye3

Well, I found out what the problem is with my Homelink issue. Turns out that the manufacturer of my garage door opener (Wayne Dalton) did not sign a contract with Homelink until this year, so my one-year old garage door opener cannot be programmed by Homelink! The folks at Homelink told us to buy a universal signal converter, which you attach to the garage door opener. I'm hoping to do this tonight with my husband, and we're crossing our fingers that this will fix the problem!

Linh

shbrlyge1

Just discovered this forum. I've had my G35 since April. Generally speaking I like the car, especially the power and handling. I have had a few problems/concerns but the one that really bothers me is a loud clunking noise. The noise occurs after the car has been parked for a period of time. Placing the car in reverse I back up, stop and then put the car into drive, after driving forward 10 to 20 feet there is a loud clunk. The car has been into the dealer on three occasion, according to the dealer they can't duplicate the sound and have suggested that it's probably the calipers adjusting. It sound as though something is dropping into place and is loud enough that people outside the car can clearly hear it. I've never heard the sound on any other vehicles I've owned. I also have the AC noise, lack of sound with the blinkers, compass problems and temperature gauge inaccuracies. Any others out there that have noticed this noise? I really do like the car but it seems to an awful lot of small problems.

stsurbrook

Interesting you should mention this as I just noticed our 9500 mile G35 making the same noise. It seems to be something that has just started. I only hear it once and cannot duplicate the sound. Also, I do not hear it all of the time.

I wonder if it could be when backing up for a distance, braking to a stop, then moving forward could be the cause?

Scott