Thanks I may try that...but...I am hoping there is one available. I thought Infiniti would provide one...they do have one you can download from the web site for the G35.
Good idea, but why buy the original? Why not go to a dealership with a programmable remote and ask nicely if you could look at one of their original remotes. It shoud only take 5 minutes or so to program in the basic commands.
In the market for an m35. It got rave reviews and have only heard good things about it. Now what i really want to know is if the m35 sport is worth having over just the regular m35. THe sport costs quite a bit more and you are getting aluminum trim along with rear active steer which I don't know is a big deal. What am asking is will i stll get a great driving experience with the m35 regular model and not sport.
I have a m35x with the rear DVD. My 9 year old son has full control of the remote and stores it in the rear center console. The only problem I have with him using the remote, is if I don't play the music cd he likes, he just changed the disk & track with the rear remote. At least were both parrotheads and mostly listen to Jimmy Buffett.
Try taking the car out on the road and maintaining about 40mph for ten minutes or so. When my tires were rotated at the dealer, all I saw were ** for several minutes. I though they had forgotten to recalibrate. Then the pressures just appeared (not like the short period of time when you first start the car).
To see location, you could always purposefully (and temporarily) inflate one to a few PSI more than the others to confirm location.
Yes, he's only 9 years old but he's gone to over 12 Jimmy Buffett concerts since he's 3 years old. He know every song by heart, but his mom won't let him sing "Let's get Drunk & Screw. By the way, my m35x is now 9 months old with 17,000 miles and no problems other then me complaining about the cold seat warmers.
these are mostly two different cars, so you have to decide what really matters most to you. I have driven both and would just give you a couple of quick thoughts: The IS350 is faster. Period. It goes like stink and has the most technologically advanced motor and transmission. The M is not quite as fast but has MUCH more interior room (check the IS to see if you actually fit - it is that small). M gives you more for your $. Both should be very reliable and both will have excellent resale value. The IS is "boy racer" and the M is luxo sport touring. I can't easily fit in the IS, so the M is a no brainer for me. Also, the back seat in the IS is a joke, so forget it if you ever intend to seriously ride anyone back there for more than ten minutes. If stoplight drags and balls out acceleration are your turn-ons (and you fit and don't usually have passengers), buy the IS. If other than that, but you still want high sport and serious go, buy the M35.
In the market for an m35. It got rave reviews and have only heard good things about it. Now what i really want to know is if the m35 sport is worth having over just the regular m35. THe sport costs quite a bit more and you are getting aluminum trim along with rear active steer which I don't know is a big deal. What am asking is will i stll get a great driving experience with the m35 regular model and not sport.
Yes, Yes Yes. I have the M35X and the driving experience is exceptional. There are a few things I wish i could fix, but its that way on any vehicle you purchase. Its a personal choice but I happen to prefer the wood over the aluminum. My car has vewry low profile ties and I live in NY (LI). I would not want any lover profile tires. The car is very quick and handles well. You need to adjust the the way the power comes on, almost like turbo lag. Its not a big deal as long as you konmw about it and are not pulling into traffic!
If you have an specific questions, this board was very helpfull in helping me make a decision. At this point the only other vehicle I would look at is thew IS350. I have not driven it yet, but they do make a good product. I like the sportyness on the M over the GS.
Hey thanks, nice idea! It worked! Took a programable remote I had lying around the house and the dealer "lent" me one original for 10 minutes to reprogram. They agreed that 200 bucks for a replacement is ridiculous. So whether your 11 year is a bit disorganized and messy (show me an 11 year old who isn't and I show you a future OCD patient) or not it might be a good idea to program a cheap remote and keep the original as a backup in the glove compartment. Particularly if you have an average sub-teen using the remote and Draconian punishments are not an option.
I love driving this car. I traded in my 2004 TL for the M35 and LOVE IT. The only thing that I would suggest that they improve is engine sound. When accelerating you can hear the engine rumble but once you get to cruising speed it gets quiet. This car is awesome.
I chose an M45 premium over the sport, and I'm glad I did. The differences between sport and non sport are probably very similar for the M35's and M45's.
You really should test drive both extensively. I'd strongly recommend driving each on the same route, trying to cover twisty roads, to compare handling, and the roughest possible highways, to compare cruising.
A downside to the sport is a somewhat noisier and harsher ride, which becomes really apparent on rough roads. I believe all but the hardcore enthusiasts will find the non-sport to be the perfect balance between sporty handling and great highway cruising.
With good test drives your choice will probably be pretty clear. The dealers want your business and will be happy to oblige.
I am also getting rid of an '04 TL, and am close to either the new RL or M35. I was looking at the M35x with Tech and Journey since it matched pretty close with features of the base RL. Have you by chance driven your M35 in the snow as I live in Chicago and am curious if the regular M35 does fine in snow?.....the M35x's are in short supply here and at more of a premium.
I live in Minneapolis and so far the M35 without all wheel drive has handled just fine. The most snow we've had, though, at any one time so far this year is about five inches.
i didn't know you could get the premium options in the M45. When I got my m35X in May they said the M45 couldn't get he premium okg. I guess that was the sport version they were alluding to.
:confuse: Hello all, I just want to post an advisory to all people considering a 2006+ Infiniti M35/45. Please do your homework - I purchased one 11 months ago, and it has been the worst experience of my life! I have had unimaginable problems with the electronics and brakes. Neither the service department, nor Infiniti's customer relations are willing to assist me in rectifying these issues. Don't get me wrong, I do love this car - it is the best car on the market for the money, but Infiniti will not stand behind their product. I have tried to show them the numerous issues - as I have captured them on video and on film, but alas, no help! Please, please, please beware - don't make the same mistake that I and others have made!!!!! I am not the only one - other issues with these cars can be seen on the Edmunds website under M35/45 - Problems/Solutions - please read this before buying. :confuse:
Your car is still under warranty, including electronics and brakes. If they don't fix it, sue them. If you are right, you will win.
I've watched the Problems/Solutions board regularly, most experience very minor problems. I have had none on my M45 Sport. Very sorry for your situation, apparently a bad build.
You've had your car 11 mos.? (I got one of the first at the end of March.) Anyways, it sounds like you might have gotten a lemon. I have to say, not one problem with mine, electronics or otherwise.
We should probably pick this discussion up on the "problems and solutions" board. Keep us posted.
Wow! I haven't had a single problem with my M35X in 10K miles over 7 months. No electrical or brake problems whatsoever. I have 2 neighbors with Infiniti's (FX's) and my sister-in-law has a G35 and no problems with these vehicles either over 2-3 years. I did do my homework and that's exactly why I bought the Infiniti and NOT a BMW, MB, Volvo or Audi. "Bad build" must be right re: your vehicle but that must happen extraordinarily rarely with Infiniti's. You failed to mention which model M you own nor did your post provide specifics regarding the "unimaginable problems with the electronic and brakes" Since I agree that these sorts of problems are "unimaginable" on my M35x I am curious as to exactly what they are.
My experience is like essentially everyone else but guedo. My M45 sport is 9 months old and I have had absolutely no problems. The car rocks and has been reliable as all the Infiniti's Ive owned to date have been. My M45 was not the first by far but wasnt more than a month after they first were delivered in Houston. Guedo where do you live and what do you do for a living?
Guedo has certainly generated a number of responses on this board from concerned/sympathetic people who actually drive the car.
In the LPS (Luxury Performance Sedan) board, a very useful post included the following: "One of these has cut-and-pasted the same post on multiple boards (praising the car, d***ing the company--making my first impression one of a competitor's shill)"
I absolutely agree. I follow a number of these boards and Guedo's post seems totally at odds with everything else. I guess there's nothing to prevent a sales person who has lost one too many deals to the M from doing such a thing.
Any car manufacturer can produce a car that has more than its share of problems. There is absolutely NO reason to accuse someone who is experiencing more than his/her fair share of problems of being less than straightforward.
Those of you who have cars, Infiniti or otherwise, that aren't problematic should just be happy. And none of you, whatever your situation is, should attack someone who has issues.
In fact, none of you should attack another member for any reason whatsoever - see your Membership Agreement linked on the left side of the page.
My experience is similar. 6 months: no squeaks, no noise, no problems of any kind. Just perfection. Same with the 2003 Q45 that I sold after I got the M.
My wife OTOH has a 2003 Mercedes CLK. She's had one problem after another. Loose mechanicals under the car making a huge racket, convertible top stopped working numerous times, each requiring a trip to the dealer. Many other problems, and now she's got a faulty muffler that makes the car sound like a 56 junker. The part has been back ordered since October, and they don't know when it's coming. She's embarrassed to be seen and heard with it.
To answer your question, I am a real estate agent in southern CA. Contrary to popular belief I AM NOT a car salesman for another car make. I was simply trying to offer a genuine warning! To all of you who have had no problems, I envy you, but I have not been so lucky. I simply wanted others to know that Infiniti would rather ignore these problems - stating that certain technology is "too new, we do not know what to do with it". That is unacceptable - again, sorry to upset some of you, but it was just a warning. If you are interested in my specific issues, I will repeat them here. The following has been cut and pasted (and updated) from the Problems/Solutions blog.....
"My bluetooth sound is horrible as well. Callers on the other end cannot understand me, and all I hear is a muffled mess! I have spoken to my local dealership and to Infiniti "Customer Service" (and I use that term lightly), they have told me that Verizon wireless is to blame as their service is lacking. Now I am not an unreasonable person, but does the service of the phone have anything to do with the bluetooth linking up? My thoughts are no.....I have been to Lexus, Acura, and BMW and my phone sounds great in all of these other makes, my bluetooth headset also has great sound. My bluetooth link is active even if I am in the mountains and have no service. I am at a loss, Infiniti said that they got their "excuse" from JD Power and Assoc. - I cannot find that statement anywhere from JDP&A. I have been fighting with Infiniti since February 28, 2005 - the day I bought this nightmare, I mean car.
Some other problems I have experienced are:
*Sunroof not working - fixed by replacement *Sunroof rattle - dealer states "unable to duplicate" (still driving me crazy) *Bluetooth not working correctly - dealer states "due to customer phone" and the technology is "too new, we do not know what to do with it" *Reverse Camera Blinks (and turns off) intermittently - dealer states "unable to duplicate" or "working as designed" *Gas mileage extremely poor (less than 10mpg at times) - dealer states "operating normally" *Bluetooth Phone book and Navigation Address book wiped out and voice tags erased (multiple times) - dealer states due to possible customer error (as if I would erase each of them) or "unable to duplicate" *Brakes grinding - dealer states "normal operation" (AT 12,000 MILES!!!!!!!!!!!!!) - Found out is was my warped Rotors (I had to pay for new brakes as a result) *Loud pinging noise from under car when turned off - dealer states "unable to duplicate" *Right rear window would not roll up - repaired magically *Lane Departure Warning System will not shut up - dealer states "working as designed" (and gave me a lecture on how to use this option - including visual aides!!!!) *Car will not immediately recognize the key - dealer states "working properly".
I am going out of my mind. Infiniti will not do anything to help me, and my dealership is useless! Any ideas, or similar issues? I have obtained an attorney, so we will see if that gets the big "I's" attention!"
I'm certainly sorry you've had the misfortune of ending up in possession of what sounds like the worst Infiniti M that has ever been produced, compounded by a dealer that seems to be acting in an uncharacteristic fashion, at least in comparison to the others discussed here.
Since you bought your car 11 months ago, and the 28th of February was the first day the cars could be sold, part of your situation could be due to having a pre-production car. You appear to have come into possession of yours a month before most others even could have.
Guedo: First, have you tried taking the car to another dealer? It sounds like your dealer is as much of a lemon as your car.
There are TSB's for the moonroof rattle and the pinging. These should be easy to fix.
I have found that the LDW gets fooled on wet roads and when driving into the sun. Is this when it has bothered you? I usually just turn it off for that trip in these cases.
As to recognizing the fob, the car is a little quirky. To differentiate between the two fobs, I have to go through a lock/unlock cycle. The car only recognizes the new fob if that is the one that unlocks the car (whether from the button or the door).
The brake pads should have been replaced free of charge with the rotors.
Have you ever had "normal" mileage? My instantaneous readings are frequently below 10 mpg when accelerating. Are your numbers based on averaged MPG over normal driving? Most report 15-19 mpg in city driving and 21-25 on the highway.
My car was one of the first ordered and delivered and I didn't get it until the third week in March. Did you get one of the dealer's demos? It may have been abused during test drives in addition to the early-production problems (you will see from some of the TSBs that some problems only apply to early builds--Infiniti jumped on them pretty fast).
*The next closest dealer is 1.5 hours+ away and unfortunately I do not have the time to go that far.
*The moonroof was fixed, however the rattling has not stopped.
*The pinging has gotten quieter and less frequent, but none the less, the dealership has told me that there is no problem, and that is normal. Even after I told them about the TSB - go figure.
*I live in the Southern CA desert, we don't get much rain, but we sure get our fair share of sun. I have not noticed that the LDW system goes haywire in certain specific situations - I will keep my eyes open.
*I only use one fob, the other one is always at home. I showed the dealership the issue, and I was told that a "slight delay is normal". I of course do not believe that because more often than not there is no delay, it recognizes the key instantly.
*As for the brake pads, I was told that since there is nothing wrong with my car, all of the other times it has been in for (what I thought was warrantee) repairs have been "good will" repairs. Apparently, I used all of my "good will" repairs, so they would not cover them. I had to shell out $185.62.
*My average MPG is in the 13mpg range. This is an average of city and highway driving. I was told that this is normal, as I must "drive hard".
*I don't think that I got a dealer demo, as it only had 12 miles on it when I bought it. When I first test drove it, there was no sticker price for it. I don't know if that means anything, but when the dealership got the sticker in, they called me and told me I was the first person to own an M and that was 11 months ago on 2/28/05.
I'm looking to put snow tires on my M45 Sport. Any recommendations as to wheel size and tire model? I checked tirerack.com and they suggest either 17" or 18" wheels - any reason why I should pick one over the other? And there are several tires that would fit either wheel size. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Really surprised to hear that you are having many problems with your M. I have an M45 Sport which I picked up just before the July-05 holiday. No problems to report except one. The fromt cup holder lid sticks sometimes and the dealer (Infiniti of Willow grove PA) ordered a new one last July. The replacement still has not arrived. I consider this a minor issue since all the electronics work well and I am very pleased with the transmission & engine. My M45 is not as fast as my Yamaha R1 Motorcycle, but it is the faster and best handling car that I have owned. Everything seems to work very well including blue tooth with Verizon E815. Gas milage has been 18 to 20 mpg, however I drive mostly highway in Phila. suburbs.
Winter often supplies some nasty potholes, so the higher the profile of the tire, the less chance of wrecking the wheel. But, the higher the profile, you might (probably would) notice the handling isn't as good. I don't have the sport, (standard 18" wheels vs your 19") I opted for 17" snows. The other thing you'll notice, if it is a factor for you, is that the 17" tires and wheels will be less expensive than the 18" ones. The best snow tire I ever had was a Hakkapolita 2. I think they make it in the equivalent 18" size, but not in the 17". I tried the Michelin PA2's...they are quieter than the stock tires, handle nearly as well, but aren't as good as the Hakka as a snow tire (we haven't had that much snow, so I can't really tell you how well they would work).
I've had my M45 Sport for over 3 months now and I haven't had much problems besides the moonroof rattle, which was easily fixed by the dealer. But recently I've been noticing some rattle in the glove box and underneath the center speaker on the dash. Has anyone experienced any slight rattles/buzzing underneath the center speaker? I can only hear it when I turn off all the music in the car.
Guedo, your gas mileage seems very low. I drive in southern cal bumper to bumper traffic and get about 16-17 mpg.
Would you let me know if your dealer fixed the moonroof rattle using the existing TSB, or if they fixed it otherwise? I have had to take my M35 in seven times now to fix a number of issues, three times and counting for the confounded moonroof rattle.
Any thoughts/help would be appreciated while I escalate this to Infiniti, if that will do anything.
I live in New England and last fall I bought 4 Blizzak LM-22 V rated snow tires with 17" allow wheels. The car has a smooth and quiet ride on drive pavement and is excellent in the snow. I bought them at one of the national tire stores and they do a free tire swap and rotation. They advised getting the car realigned (they said you should when you go down in wheel size but not necessary when you go up in wheel size) but I didn't opt for that. Good luck!
lincj - I too had a problem with the cupholder lid; my dealer was able to get a replacement quickly, so maybe they are shipping those parts now.
It's pretty easy to check mpg on the highway as well as in mixed driving. Going into the settings section, and doing a reset on the mpg log, I've gotten several mpg readouts from long (600+) mile highway trips - my mpg is very close to 22.5 each time. My mixed, daily, MPG varies from 17-19. So, close to yours and the published #'s. Bluetooth also work well for me with and e815, incoming calls vary in sound quality, like with any other cell phone. For outgoing calls, my call recipients report the best sound quality when I speak in a very normal, not loud, tone. Easy to talk too loud when your are not speaking into a microphone and get no feedback on how loud you are talking.
The moonroof rattle that my car had was due to the separation of the sunshade and the railing. They told me they just put some felt cloth in the area to narrow the separation and muffle the rattle. They didn't mention anything about bending the sunshade as displayed in the bulletin. Hope this helps.
Hey Guedo, have you ever thought it might be you and how you deal with people? What you describe in terms of the dealer's responses and their "treatment" of you seems almost impossible. It all depends on how you ask for things....the more polite customer gets more polite service in return is my motto....
When things get sticky for me with a car repair I send in the wife to do battle. I know this sounds chauvinistic but it never seems to fail. Repairmen always seem to respond more readily and more compassionately to her whether it's cars, vacuum cleaners or audio equipment that needs repair. Are you married Guedo? Ya never know, the wife might help you out here!
I have 21,000 on my M35x. I replaced the original equipment tires with the Avons recommended by TireRack. They were a softer ride and quiet when new, but now, on concrete they are very noisy. Asphalt is better, but still noisier than I would like. I drive usually between 70 and 80 on Interstate. I must say that with this many miles on my car that I have had not a single problem with anything. I couldn't be happier with the car. I noticed in an earlier post that someone had gone to a smaller wheel and had good luck with noise even with Blizzaks on. Is it OK to go to a smaller wheel with the M35x and do you think this would help with the ride and the noise. Thanks for any suggestion anyone may have. Peace.
I put those 17" tires on my 35x...so far, so good. I've had Blizzak's way back when. I did not like the way they handled. The LM series should be better as it is not a square shouldered tire. NOte that the Blizzak tread compound only goes part way through the tire...after that, it becomes a normal all-season tire. Course, by the time it wears down to that depth, it probably isn't the greatest snow tire anyways...
I purchased my M35 on 3/30/05 so it was an early one like yours. I also had the moonroof rattle and exhaust system pinging. The pinging disappeared by itself and the dealer took care of the rattle on my first visit (before the TSB came out). No other problems and after more than 17,000 miles, I couldn't be more pleased with the car or the dealer. Electronics and performance are first class.
It sure sounds like you're having more than your fair share of problems. Are you sure you didn't buy a Mercedes by mistake? I haven't experienced anywhere near what you have, problem wise, but I CAN back you up to the hilt on the "Sunroof Rattle" and "Gas Mileage Extremely Poor" topics. I have repeatedly had my car in for sunroof/head liner/DVD rattles (see my earlier posts). The dealer fix, when they are "able to duplicate it" seems to only work temporarily. At one point a service tech told me that the DVD player is directly attached to the metal roof, so there was no place to shim or otherwise tinker with it, but "he would see what he could do". I asked him if he thought that Infiniti intended to sell a luxury product with built-in rattles being normal and acceptable. He didn't have a great comeback for that one.
Otherwise, beside the mileage, mine has been great. I live in the Chicago area and was pleasantly surprised by the handling in the 12" of snow we had in early/mid December. I still haven't put snow tires on the car yet. Maybe soon.
I always keep my cool, even when the service department get my goat! I refuse to lower myself to levels of inappropriate behavior - I take the high road. Then I get in my car and after driving away I vent. I have been thanked by all of the service personnel for being "so nice and patient" throughout this whole experience. I know that I have to deal with these people (on a regular basis it seems), so I do not want to alienate myself. I have called other dealerships within a 2 hour radius and spoken with them. When they ask what dealership I use - they all say the same thing: my service department is one of the worst in the region. Apparently, the other dealerships get quite a bit of business from dissatisfied Palm Springs Infiniti clients - so that leads me to believe that it is not just me.
Every car make has different suspension tuning so this might not work on the M35X; however, I have used Michelin MXV "Energy" tires on my BMW 528 for nearly 140K miles and the car is quieter than any of the new LPS cars that I have driven. In fact, I was amazed at how loud the road noise was (comparatively) in the LPS sedans were compared to my 528. The RL and M were the noisiest, but even the vaunted GS produced louder road noise than my 5. Some of this may be attributed to the lower aspect tires (or runflats), but none of these cars was especially quiet in my opinion.
Now what i really want to know is if the m35 sport is worth having over just the regular m35. THe sport costs quite a bit more and you are getting aluminum trim along with rear active steer which I don't know is a big deal. What am asking is will i stll get a great driving experience with the m35 regular model and not sport.
One of the reasons I traded an '04 FX35 Sport was due to the "harsh" ride. I chose the non-Sport over the Sport M due to ride, road noise, and replacement costs. I prefer All-Season radials for wet road traction and the M's 19s have very limited (high-priced) choices. I prefer the wood trim (but thats a cosmetic choice); with the cost savings I got the Full Aero Package.
Bottom line I do NOT regret passing on the Sport trim. :shades:
Comments
To see location, you could always purposefully (and temporarily) inflate one to a few PSI more than the others to confirm location.
I can see his future now. Sitting alone at a bar somewhere in Margaritaville, getting into a fight over a salt shaker... Just wasting away. It's sad.
Yes, Yes Yes. I have the M35X and the driving experience is exceptional. There are a few things I wish i could fix, but its that way on any vehicle you purchase. Its a personal choice but I happen to prefer the wood over the aluminum. My car has vewry low profile ties and I live in NY (LI). I would not want any lover profile tires. The car is very quick and handles well. You need to adjust the the way the power comes on, almost like turbo lag. Its not a big deal as long as you konmw about it and are not pulling into traffic!
If you have an specific questions, this board was very helpfull in helping me make a decision. At this point the only other vehicle I would look at is thew IS350. I have not driven it yet, but they do make a good product. I like the sportyness on the M over the GS.
Good Luck!
You really should test drive both extensively. I'd strongly recommend driving each on the same route, trying to cover twisty roads, to compare handling, and the roughest possible highways, to compare cruising.
A downside to the sport is a somewhat noisier and harsher ride, which becomes really apparent on rough roads. I believe all but the hardcore enthusiasts will find the non-sport to be the perfect balance between sporty handling and great highway cruising.
With good test drives your choice will probably be pretty clear. The dealers want your business and will be happy to oblige.
Pete
Pete
I've watched the Problems/Solutions board regularly, most experience very minor problems. I have had none on my M45 Sport. Very sorry for your situation, apparently a bad build.
We should probably pick this discussion up on the "problems and solutions" board. Keep us posted.
Guedo has certainly generated a number of responses on this board from concerned/sympathetic people who actually drive the car.
In the LPS (Luxury Performance Sedan) board, a very useful post included the following: "One of these has cut-and-pasted the same post on multiple boards (praising the car, d***ing the company--making my first impression one of a competitor's shill)"
I absolutely agree. I follow a number of these boards and Guedo's post seems totally at odds with everything else. I guess there's nothing to prevent a sales person who has lost one too many deals to the M from doing such a thing.
Those of you who have cars, Infiniti or otherwise, that aren't problematic should just be happy. And none of you, whatever your situation is, should attack someone who has issues.
In fact, none of you should attack another member for any reason whatsoever - see your Membership Agreement linked on the left side of the page.
Thank you for your cooperation.
My wife OTOH has a 2003 Mercedes CLK. She's had one problem after another. Loose mechanicals under the car making a huge racket, convertible top stopped working numerous times, each requiring a trip to the dealer. Many other problems, and now she's got a faulty muffler that makes the car sound like a 56 junker. The part has been back ordered since October, and they don't know when it's coming. She's embarrassed to be seen and heard with it.
Pete
"My bluetooth sound is horrible as well. Callers on the other end cannot understand me, and all I hear is a muffled mess! I have spoken to my local dealership and to Infiniti "Customer Service" (and I use that term lightly), they have told me that Verizon wireless is to blame as their service is lacking. Now I am not an unreasonable person, but does the service of the phone have anything to do with the bluetooth linking up? My thoughts are no.....I have been to Lexus, Acura, and BMW and my phone sounds great in all of these other makes, my bluetooth headset also has great sound. My bluetooth link is active even if I am in the mountains and have no service. I am at a loss, Infiniti said that they got their "excuse" from JD Power and Assoc. - I cannot find that statement anywhere from JDP&A. I have been fighting with Infiniti since February 28, 2005 - the day I bought this
nightmare, I mean car.Some other problems I have experienced are:
*Sunroof not working - fixed by replacement
*Sunroof rattle - dealer states "unable to duplicate" (still driving me crazy)
*Bluetooth not working correctly - dealer states "due to customer phone" and the technology is "too new, we do not know what to do with it"
*Reverse Camera Blinks (and turns off) intermittently - dealer states "unable to duplicate" or "working as designed"
*Gas mileage extremely poor (less than 10mpg at times) - dealer states "operating normally"
*Bluetooth Phone book and Navigation Address book wiped out and voice tags erased (multiple times) - dealer states due to possible customer error (as if I would erase each of them) or "unable to duplicate"
*Brakes grinding - dealer states "normal operation" (AT 12,000 MILES!!!!!!!!!!!!!) - Found out is was my warped Rotors (I had to pay for new brakes as a result)
*Loud pinging noise from under car when turned off - dealer states "unable to duplicate"
*Right rear window would not roll up - repaired magically
*Lane Departure Warning System will not shut up - dealer states "working as designed" (and gave me a lecture on how to use this option - including visual aides!!!!)
*Car will not immediately recognize the key - dealer states "working properly".
I am going out of my mind. Infiniti will not do anything to help me, and my dealership is useless! Any ideas, or similar issues? I have obtained an attorney, so we will see if that gets the big "I's" attention!"
Since you bought your car 11 months ago, and the 28th of February was the first day the cars could be sold, part of your situation could be due to having a pre-production car. You appear to have come into possession of yours a month before most others even could have.
Hang in there.
First, have you tried taking the car to another dealer? It sounds like your dealer is as much of a lemon as your car.
There are TSB's for the moonroof rattle and the pinging. These should be easy to fix.
I have found that the LDW gets fooled on wet roads and when driving into the sun. Is this when it has bothered you? I usually just turn it off for that trip in these cases.
As to recognizing the fob, the car is a little quirky. To differentiate between the two fobs, I have to go through a lock/unlock cycle. The car only recognizes the new fob if that is the one that unlocks the car (whether from the button or the door).
The brake pads should have been replaced free of charge with the rotors.
Have you ever had "normal" mileage? My instantaneous readings are frequently below 10 mpg when accelerating. Are your numbers based on averaged MPG over normal driving? Most report 15-19 mpg in city driving and 21-25 on the highway.
My car was one of the first ordered and delivered and I didn't get it until the third week in March. Did you get one of the dealer's demos? It may have been abused during test drives in addition to the early-production problems (you will see from some of the TSBs that some problems only apply to early builds--Infiniti jumped on them pretty fast).
*The next closest dealer is 1.5 hours+ away and unfortunately I do not have the time to go that far.
*The moonroof was fixed, however the rattling has not stopped.
*The pinging has gotten quieter and less frequent, but none the less, the dealership has told me that there is no problem, and that is normal. Even after I told them about the TSB - go figure.
*I live in the Southern CA desert, we don't get much rain, but we sure get our fair share of sun. I have not noticed that the LDW system goes haywire in certain specific situations - I will keep my eyes open.
*I only use one fob, the other one is always at home. I showed the dealership the issue, and I was told that a "slight delay is normal". I of course do not believe that because more often than not there is no delay, it recognizes the key instantly.
*As for the brake pads, I was told that since there is nothing wrong with my car, all of the other times it has been in for (what I thought was warrantee) repairs have been "good will" repairs. Apparently, I used all of my "good will" repairs, so they would not cover them. I had to shell out $185.62.
*My average MPG is in the 13mpg range. This is an average of city and highway driving. I was told that this is normal, as I must "drive hard".
*I don't think that I got a dealer demo, as it only had 12 miles on it when I bought it. When I first test drove it, there was no sticker price for it. I don't know if that means anything, but when the dealership got the sticker in, they called me and told me I was the first person to own an M and that was 11 months ago on 2/28/05.
Guedo, your gas mileage seems very low. I drive in southern cal bumper to bumper traffic and get about 16-17 mpg.
Any thoughts/help would be appreciated while I escalate this to Infiniti, if that will do anything.
S
Good luck!
It's pretty easy to check mpg on the highway as well as in mixed driving. Going into the settings section, and doing a reset on the mpg log, I've gotten several mpg readouts from long (600+) mile highway trips - my mpg is very close to 22.5 each time. My mixed, daily, MPG varies from 17-19. So, close to yours and the published #'s. Bluetooth also work well for me with and e815, incoming calls vary in sound quality, like with any other cell phone. For outgoing calls, my call recipients report the best sound quality when I speak in a very normal, not loud, tone. Easy to talk too loud when your are not speaking into a microphone and get no feedback on how loud you are talking.
rrob
I have 21,000 on my M35x. I replaced the original equipment tires with the Avons recommended by TireRack. They were a softer ride and quiet when new, but now, on concrete they are very noisy. Asphalt is better, but still noisier than I would like. I drive usually between 70 and 80 on Interstate. I must say that with this many miles on my car that I have had not a single problem with anything. I couldn't be happier with the car. I noticed in an earlier post that someone had gone to a smaller wheel and had good luck with noise even with Blizzaks on. Is it OK to go to a smaller wheel with the M35x and do you think this would help with the ride and the noise. Thanks for any suggestion anyone may have. Peace.
I haven't experienced anywhere near what you have, problem wise, but I CAN back you up to the hilt on the "Sunroof Rattle" and "Gas Mileage Extremely Poor" topics. I have repeatedly had my car in for sunroof/head liner/DVD rattles (see my earlier posts). The dealer fix, when they are "able to duplicate it" seems to only work temporarily. At one point a service tech told me that the DVD player is directly attached to the metal roof, so there was no place to shim or otherwise tinker with it, but "he would see what he could do". I asked him if he thought that Infiniti intended to sell a luxury product with built-in rattles being normal and acceptable. He didn't have a great comeback for that one.
Otherwise, beside the mileage, mine has been great. I live in the Chicago area and was pleasantly surprised by the handling in the 12" of snow we had in early/mid December. I still haven't put snow tires on the car yet. Maybe soon.
One of the reasons I traded an '04 FX35 Sport was due to the "harsh" ride. I chose the non-Sport over the Sport M due to ride, road noise, and replacement costs. I prefer All-Season radials for wet road traction and the M's 19s have very limited (high-priced) choices. I prefer the wood trim (but thats a cosmetic choice); with the cost savings I got the Full Aero Package.
Bottom line I do NOT regret passing on the Sport trim. :shades: