Infiniti M35/M45 2006+

youval

So I did it I am getting the m45 sport instead of he 2006 bmw 525i.
The only thing that I was concerned about was the color of the car. Millenium bronze. I haven't seen it in person and was wondering if anyone here has ever seen it or owns it. The color i hate the most on cars is a champagne color so I hope this color doesn't look champagne It looks nice in pictures but all cars and colors look nice in pictures.
Please if anybody can give me some opinions on this it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

msu79gt82

So I did it I am getting the m45 sport ...The only thing that I was concerned about was the color of the car. Millenium bronze....Please if anybody can give me some opinions on this it would be greatly appreciated.

:confuse: Uh what car are you talking about? You say you are getting an M45 and say you are interested in Millenium Bronze :confuse: The M does NOT come in that color

youval

Actually it does..That is the color i am getting it in. It's actullay a lease take over so I dont have the choice of choosing my color...
You can see that it is available at www.infiniti.ca or www.infiniti.com

s54

Anybody know if OEM 2005 FX 18" rims will fit the M? I am looking for winter rims. TIA

S

msu79gt82

Actually it does....You can see that it is available at www.infiniti.ca or www.infiniti.com

OK its a Canadian exclusive (you will NOT find it on www.infiniti.com however). It appears to be equivalent to the US Umbria Grey, but I can't be sure. I have seen the Umbria Grey in person and do not lilke it, however I would not call it a champagne (its too dark for that in my opinion).

carnaught

Umbria grey (which I own) is a kind of charcoal gray metallic with a slight golden hue. It changes slightly in different light conditions. (It's obvious) I like it.

rrob

I think the US color equivalent to your car color is Umbria Grey, and it is really much more of a charcoal metalic color to my eye. My dealer has a couple of these on the lot. I like the color - it looks good with the brushed aluminum interior, which most Sports have. The more 'golden' color is called Serengeti Sand, I think.
BTW - My 45 is black/black with rosewood, but I'm a dark kind of guy :shades:

youval

I think you guys are right. I looked at the US website and the Canadian website and it's the same color but for some reason has a different name.I wonder why they would do such a thing...
Anyhow I like the fact that it leans more towards a dark gray...That in a way puts my mind at ease...
I too am a black on black kind of guy. I love dark colors.
So tommorrow os the day. I hope I will like it when I see it in person. I'm sure i will just a bit nervous.

varix

I have had 3 CPA's (car parking attendants) come racing back asking how to start my M35x. You'd think the little dash cartoon of the foot and button that lights up would do it but apparently not. I guess there are just not enough M's or for that matter cars with keyless starts out there to get them all on track with this technology. I now give a bit of a lesson on how to start and stop it when I leave my M with them, but I rarely like leaving my car with any valet if I can avoid it. In downtown Chicago that's kinda tough though. BTW, the valet at the Peninsula Hotel (our classiest 5 star rack) stole my Mobil Speedpass from my key set, replaced it with one that was stolen and therefore deactivated and went on a gas buying spree. It was stupid to leave what is essentially a credit card hanging on my key chain but if you've got a Speedpass on your keys beware of this scam. I did get a 2 night stay comped by the hotel though!

msu79gt82

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2005-10-26-consumer-reports-usat_x.htm

lawdawgmi

I'm considering swapping out these noisy, lousy Goodyear RS-As hoping to alleviate the road noise issue. Looking at tirerack.com the best choices would seem to be the Avons and P-Zero-Neros. To those who have done this, will it make a big difference in road noise?

chrism124

I don't have any experience in using the Avons and/or P-Zero-Neros but if you are looking for a performance tire I would go with Michelin PS2. Great traction on dry and wet roads with very little (if any) road noise. You will need a different tire if you intend on using it in the winter time.

Regards,
Chris

chrism124

The M35/M45 is a new design and was released in February 2005. Cars were not really available until March 2005. My question is how, with only 7 months of data, can the M be rated as reliable or otherwise?

I would think that the average M has roughly 6k miles on the odometer. If so this does not allow enough time (March to present day) or mileage to make a fair judgment as to the car's reliability.

Msu79gt82, I know you are not making the claim but I just question how a publication can post information like that without some real historical data.

BTW, I do have a 2006 M45 sport that I purchased in June. My car has 5500 miles on the odometer and thus far has been reliable. But I do have notice two rattles that have occurred over the last two weeks, one from the headliner and the other from the front passenger door. This does not impact reliability but perhaps quality could improve.

Regards,
Chris

cdnpinhead

I'm with you 100%. For my money, reliability discussions don't even being until ~75K miles or 5 years. Up until then the issues are build quality and/or inherent design robustness.

However, we're in the minority. These boards are full of people raving about the stellar "reliability" of their 3-month old vehicles with 3800 miles (or less) on the clock.

That said, if your car leaves you immobile beside the road, the situation (beyond the fact that you're wishing you'd chosen a different vehicle) becomes a fairly irrelevant discussion of semantics.

creditman

I took delivery of my M35x on March 24Th. Left on the morning of 3/25 to florida. It wasn't fun leaving a new M in the garage with 20 miles on it and renting a Dodge Caravan for the kids with 12K on the clock. Spent the next 14 days reading the owners manual at the pool.

I started driving the car on 4-10, and as of today I have 12,500 miles on the car.

Only problem I have had is with the tire pressure waring light which came on yesterday. (For further details comments in problems & solutions page). The light came on and said low pressure, talked to dealer on phone & they say that they had other calls that morning about low pressure warning lights coming on. Outside temp in Detroit area was approx. 32 degrees. After the car sat in my office enclosed garage the light was still on when I left, but went out within 12 to 15 miles. That is the only problem I have had with my m in over 12k miles.

Mileage is approx. 18.2 to 22.4.

When I turned in my lexus to get the M. The lexus dealer wanted to sell me a GS300 AWD and I went to the M with no regrets. When I told the lexus dealer that I was going to get the M35, He laughed and said "You will be BACK".

I don't think so.

msu79gt82

...but I just question how a publication can post information like that without some real historical data.

Consumer Reports uses their annual surveys of both paper and online subscribers to make their determinations. This year they set a record with over 1 million particiapants. They will NOT rate vehicles if they do not have a statistically significant sample size. Note also that ALL first year models are annotated as such (so that the reader knows the report is based on a short chronology).

See: http://www.consumerreports.org/main/detailv4.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=754189&FOLDER%3C%3Efo- lder_id=113261&bmUID=1130506405853

msu79gt82

I'm considering swapping out these noisy, lousy Goodyear RS-As hoping to alleviate the road noise issue. Looking at tirerack.com the best choices would seem to be the Avons and P-Zero-Neros.

I am too. Through my research I found out that Discount Tire does not have a good price at all on this size PZero Nero. Also I found out that Cooper Tires is the US Distributor for Avon and that the Tech M550 is a tirerack.com exclusive. At a price of $146 the tirerack Avon may be the best buy out there.

aas5

Has anyone used 19 inch winter tires on M yet?

prophet

Purchased my M35 the end of March and have driven approx 14,800 miles. No problems & super on two recent trips to Chicago from Dallas. Matches my wife's LS 430 in quality & reliability. It replaced my 2003 BMW 530i.

chrism124

I understand that there will be 2006 M's out there with greater than 5k miles, perhaps even as high as 25k. However, in my opinion, there hasn’t been enough vehicles on the road and that ones that are, on average, don’t have enough miles on the odometer to determine reliability.

I think it’s fair to say that Lexus as had a very good history when it comes to reliability. The same can be said about some other brands. Will there be exceptions to the rule, absolutely. Perhaps in due time the M will be proven to be reliable. I sure hope so. But for now let’s just enjoy the car and hope our only visit to the service department is for normal maintenance.

Regards,
Chris

msu79gt82

However, in my opinion, there hasn’t been enough vehicles on the road and that ones that are, on average, don’t have enough miles on the odometer to determine reliability.

I think it’s fair to say that Lexus as had a very good history when it comes to reliability.

In my opinion what's good for Lexus is good for Infiniti. The GS is a brand new model introduced at the same time as the M. The Nissan Fuga (the Japanese verson of the M) has been around for a year and a half now by the way.

Not trying to beat a dead horse here, but CR uses a frequency of repair method normalized to problems per 100 vehicles. IF there is not a sufficient statistical sample THEN CR reports that vehicle as "Insufficient Data"

jusitn

I am an Infiniti Sales man in St. Louis MO, thanks for your positive words< the problem your haveing with your tires is related to the temp. outside some times the tires get bigger when it gets colder. Many of my customers have said the same thing. Although I have sold lesser quality cars with the same feature and the same thing happened.

jeffry

Hey, whats up w/ Infiniti? Almost all the west coast dealers are very low on stock and have been for the last month. Granted I'm looking for a specific color/equipment combination but on the entire west coast, acccording to my dealer, that unit won't be anywhere until mid Nov.....& I began looking mid Sept! I'd like to think they've just sold lots but I very rarely see one on the road (SF Bay area) but I do see losts of the GSs...~!:5 ratio.

Then there is the post here from the poor guy trying to get parts for 6 Weeks!! (a $10K wreck). Maybe I'm wrong, but I have a hard time imagining Lexus would be so slow w/ parts or in keeping dealers stocked w/ cars.

What experience have folks had w/ other Infiniti models, or w/ other manufacturers? Thanks, guess I just need a bit of encouragement...oughta be able to hold on another 2 wks! Jeff

sdiver68

Mostly, it is NOT because of changes in tire size :confuse: It is basic science....

Gases expand as they are heated up, contract when they cool down. The reason the warning turned off after 15 minutes is because you heated the tires up while driving, the gas expands, and voila...higher pressure. Check the tire pressure when you first start out versus after you have been driving for awhile, they ALWAYS go up a few psi. The problem is, the "cold tire" meaured 33psi when the temperature was 80 is now say 28 psi with the temperature 35, thus causing the warning to trigger. I always pump another 2-3 psi into my tires for the winter, or said another way, try and keep the cold tire pressure around 33 psi no matter what the ambient temperature is.

angels

Almost all the west coast dealers are very low on stock and have been for the last month.

rarely see one on the road (SF Bay area)

Agreed that there are few on the roads which I see as a bonus rather than a detraction. In the Bay Area, for some reason the M45 seems to be most popular, like mine . Otherwise the M35x seems to be the one to get elsewhere (esp the east coast, harsh winter area's). I guess we have Tahoe to justify the AWD but that's about it.

Not sure who you have been dealing with but I wanted to give you a heads up that when they "check inventory" they know that certain dealers in the area either wont trade (ie its one of their last in that config and they know it is going to sell soon) or (and this is what surprised me and I dont know if it is true) they dont even put it in the database (or classify it some how that it does not come up when the other dealer searches). This was my experience when I did the bay area rounds in locating the right car at the right price.

Bottom line if you have not already, you may want to call around to each dealer on a fairly regular basis and ask if they have your config avail. Also, you may want to give them a little flexibility in areas you are indifferent. For example, i did not really want the rear DVD entertainment system (nice but pricey). They had a car on the lot that was the right color/int. jny/tech plus the DVD system. I told him I had the DVD very low on my 'list' and was not going to pay much for it. ie, I got the price I wanted on the car plus some extra for the DVD (the purchase price was all a blend at the end of the day as I also had a circa 5,000 trade in - but I was happy non the less, $4,000 off MSRP and low-mid bluebook on the trade. Not bad considering the low inventory).

Some on this forum say the east coast dealers are flush with M inventory, especially the M45. I am not sure if this is true.

Hope this helps, the M's rocks BTW. You will find you take I280 more often so you can open up the throttle. If you have the budget, the V8 is worth the money IMHO, expect circa 16MPG though (my experience) in mixed driving.

As someone said earlier and it stuck in my mind. "I only wish I had the M45 when I was younger, what a looker! and the car is great too!"

blov8r

the valet at the Peninsula Hotel

My daughter lives across the street from the Peninsula ... in the Chicagoan. No one's stolen anything out of her 7 year old Honda Accord! Bart :shades:

blov8r

I have Bridgestone Potenza's on my Sport and they're quiet as church mice. Bart :shades:

blov8r

I would think that the average M has roughly 6k miles on the odometer. If so this does not allow enough time (March to present day) or mileage to make a fair judgment as to the car's reliability.

We're obviously looking at initial quality ... JD Powers rates cars on how many defects/issues owners have of new cars. From what's been posted here there have been almost NO quality issues posted. My M was delivered on April 6 and thus far I've had nothing to fix. And believe me, I'm about as picky as anyone here about perfection. If there's a squeak or a rattle, my cars go in ... because they weren't designed to squeak or rattle. Thus far, this car's been flawless. Bart :shades:

m_pilot

I'm with Bart. 7,000 miles, 6 months and never been in the shop for anything. (change my own oil.) But I'm thinking about taking in for those damn weak seat heaters/coolers.

jeffry

Is any one, besides me, wondering about the fuel consumption of the Ms? Though I plan to go w/ an M35, premium @ $3.15/gal, +/-, gives me pause to consider the TL or a GS. Only pause, mind you. But, over the 10 yrs. that I plan to keep the car, prices are likely to go no where but UP.

What is the mileage you guys w/ the M35 are getting? I've found the posted EAP numbers to be right on w/ my current cars, though CU has recently taken strong issue w/ those numbers.

jusitn

The M35 does not require premium gas. It is recommended for optimal performance, use premium. You don't have too! Won't hurt the car. I have very many happy M customers.

sdiver68

...except the computer senses non-premium gas and adjusts it's performance down. There are at least 2 actual tests I have seen where running non-premium gas in a recommended premium gas car reduces fuel economy...often more than the % spread in gas prices between reg and prem. We are not allowed to post links here but both of these tests are available on the web.

carfan6

Loving my M35X here in Boston and new to this site. Has there been a discussion about winter tires v original equipped tires? Just performance not concerned about the sound issue.

blov8r

Is any one, besides me, wondering about the fuel consumption of the Ms?

I don't think there's a quality car out there (right now) that has a sufficient edge on fuel consumption for that to be a deciding factor for me. My M35 Sport started w/ 16 mpg and around 4K (and after a road trip at 85 mph) started giving me 17.4. Admittedly I'm not the average driver; I drive 7K miles per year for the most part going to and from my offices. That's 400 gallons per year v. 280 gallons if my daily driver was giving me 25 mpg. That's a difference of 120 gallons which, at $3 per, amounts to $360 per year and if that matters I have no business driving a $53K car. If I were to save 25 cents per gallon by using one grade less than premium fuel I'd save another $30! Silly. (Want to save some money? I can make a parallel argument re: buying a new M v. a 1 year old Caddy Seville w/ 10K miles for half the price; now THAT would be a serious cost saving; > $9K per year for the three years I typically keep a car and totally ignores the cost of depreciation.) Bottom line to my simplistic way of thinking is how much you decide to pay for the car, not how much you pay for the fuel. :shades:

blov8r

Chris ... I've got to disagree with you on this point. It's not like Infiniti just started making cars this year; they've been around for a decade and a half and historically they've been every bit as reliable as the Lexus and Acura products. There's a new M this year, and Lexus has a new GS ... the difference is largely in the skin, not the guts of the cars -- so IMO there are plenty of high-milers out there to measure quality over time. Bart :shades:

dl8

I think it&#146;s fair to say that Lexus as had a very good history when it comes to reliability. The same can be said about some other brands. Will there be exceptions to the rule, absolutely. Perhaps in due time the M will be proven to be reliable. I sure hope so. But for now let&#146;s just enjoy the car and hope our only visit to the service department is for normal maintenance.

totally agree with your opinion.
I have a M45 sport with 1300 miles fron June, 05. So far so good. Have an annoy sound from the wind shield wiper.
dl

jshattner

Youval, I'm also in Canada (Montreal) and considering an M45 Sport (or BMW 550i) for end-Jan delivery. BTW, a friend has Millenium Bronze on his M35 and it is quite good-looking (not grey, though). I have a couple of questions:
1. Have you seen the car yet? I'm not sure I'll like the aluminum (tacky?).
2. Re the 19" Blizzaks, do you know what "landed" cost will be in Canada after ship / duties / taxes? Is that $US850 all-in? I assume they're 245x40's?
3. Have you priced additional 19" rims (infiniti or other) for the car as well? Any suggestions? My other thought for snows was to go 245x45x18 but I'd probably prefer the 19" as I'm often on dry USA roads in the winter anyhow.
Thanks for any information you can supply, and good luck with your purchase. Wish I could find that kind of deal!

jshattner

Has anybody had experience with Cingular's Treo 650 and the "M"? Any problems? What works and what doesn't?

ewl88

Actually a colleague of mine had an accident with the M35x as well. I don't know if he had as much problems finding parts to fix his. I am told there are few structural frame pieces in inventory and NONE in the US for the ones I need.
The body shop owner is ready to rip his hair out also because my disassembled car is taking up his lift (I confirmed this with my own eyes) for the past 7 weeks. The local Infinity dealer says the parts are ETA 11/11 which was enough for me to throw a fit. At the suggestion of my dealer (not the local one) I called infiniti national. They are looking in to getting parts flown in from Japan. (No guarantees though) Apparently these parts which were "priority" ordered were going to shipped via boat from Japan. (ANYONE know how long that takes?) Anyway if anyone gets in a jam, it's worth calling the national Infiniti rather than the dealers. (The local one ordering the parts on behalf of the body shop has absolutely no incentive to really work on my behalf)

hawk1eye

I have l5,000 on my 35x and not one single thing wrong so far. I drive most of the time at 75 MPH on the interstate and I get 21 MPG with regular gas. I love my car and I love learning about and using all of the High Tech toys I bought for it. I, for the first time in my life, am looking forward to winter to see how the AWD works out. I will say that I wish it had a higher gear to make it quieter or maybe an 8 cyl would suit me better. I like a quiet engine since I drive at 75 most of the time. I always wish the doors would lock automatically since I forget to lock them when I'm driving. They sure have to add this next time. Otherwise I am very happy with my car and expect to put on 60,000 in 2 years and hope to lease another Infiniti I will have to look close at the Lexus and see who has the most of what I want. I love the Navigation and sound system. Thanks for listening. I would love to hear other folks opinion. Hawkeye

pearl

While we are a ways off yet from the 07 M, it seems from reading this board that MANY people would like to see Infiniti: a) improve gas mileage, b) make the car quieter at highway speeds, c) reduce road noise in general, d) provide a fold-down rear seat option. Seems like a) and b) could be accomplished by providing a six speed automatic transmission with an overdrive sixth gear. c) might take some improved sound-proofing and a better job tuning the OEM tires to the car, and d) is a no-brainer that the Germans and Americans already have and should have at least been an option from the start. Since much of the competition is already at six speeds for their automatics, it would seem that Infiniti should have this high on their list and the others do not require dramatic efforts. How about it Infiniti - you would make a good car much friendlier for your customers!

docnukem

A fold-down seat is not a no-brainer. The lack of the fold down seat improves torsional rigidity--something the M designers purposefully did.

cdnpinhead

I've been following your saga with interest. I've avoided buying popular cars in their first year (or so) in the past (240-Z and Miata), mostly because it's harder to bargain for something that too many people want.

I've avoided buying other vehicles early in the production run because I feared failure of parts or systems that hadn't been fully wrung out. I ignored this concept on my most recent (2000) vehicle purchase, and have lived to regret it.

You've added a very significant additional reason we should all think (at least) twice before acquiring a first-year vehicle.

Ask me if the G35 looks better to me than the I250, given these constraints.

Thanks.

msu79gt82

Anyone with any experience with the Avon Tech M550?

I found out that Cooper Tires is the US Distributor for Avon and that the Tech M550 is a tirerack.com exclusive. The Avon Tech M550 is tirerack's highest rated Ultra High Performance All Season tire. At a price of $146 the tirerack Avon may be the best buy out there.

james27

In talking to the dealer, when the tires are rotated, unless you reset the computer, while the system will still report tire pressures, they will be for the tire's original position, not their new position. I assume that this requires the use of an OSB-II tool. Does anyone know if any of the tools available to the general public will do this, or if it is something only the dealer's computer can do? Did he give me good info?

blov8r

I will say that I wish it had a higher gear to make it quieter or maybe an 8 cyl would suit me better. I like a quiet engine since I drive at 75 most of the time.

Hawkeye: If you're right, you're making my wife's assertion that I'm deaf accurate. My M35 Sport is silent on the highway ... absolutely no engine sounds, no tire noise. Bart :shades:

youval

Hi,
Ok so I got the car thursday and I just love it!!!!
I drove down to Quebec City for the weekend and the drive was sensational.As for the 550i I think it's an awesome car as well but honestly now that I have the m45 i wouldn't trade it for anything else on the road. The aluminum I think is gorgeous and the color of the car is just awesome. I have recieved so many compliments on the color it's crazy. And it does actually look grey at night...
You see the thing is with this car, is that you don't see any on the roads I have seen a total of maybe 3 since it was introduced about 6months ago...
As for the 5 series you see them all over the place. Now let me tell you that in the past 4 days that i've had the car i've gotten soooo many looks it's crazy!!!
All the tech in the car just blows my mind and everyone who steps in it away.
I am truly happy that i got this car instead of the beemer( knock on wood) and don't get me wrong I love beemers and I always will but everyone's got a beemer, if you want to be original get this car.
Now for the tires it's 236$ a tire x 4 =944$ plus 75$ shipping so that's 1019$ US .
Sorry I made a mistake in the price and that's obviously + tax and about 6% duties.I'm actually going to call up tirerack tommorrow and find out the exact numbers.Figure about 1400$ Canadian landed at your house. That's for 245/40/19 Bridgestone Blizzak's which is actually a very very good price.
Now you could go with 18's but then you'll have to get rims...
I will probably get the 19's and keep the original mags....
And last but not least, THIS CAR IS A BEAST!!!! It is very very fast and handles like a dream.
This has been the best car I have to date in my life, I'm just loving it. Let's just hope it stays that way.

blov8r

In talking to the dealer, when the tires are rotated, unless you reset the computer, while the system will still report tire pressures, they will be for the tire's original position, not their new position.

That seems counter-intuitive to me, but I'm technologically challenged. My tires were rotated two weeks ago ... and in the process the tire pressure sensors apparently need to be reprogrammed to the new tire positions. Presently I'm getting NO pressure readings whatsoever. When I called service to complain the service manager seemed surprised that I had a problem. It's HIS problem now. For the first time since taking delivery seven months ago I have a reason to take the car in for service beyond oil changes.

Bart

kmg68

"My question is how, with only 7 months of data, can the M be rated as reliable or otherwise?"

FYI...the article states that this is "predicted reliability"......

creditman

Had a problem last week with my drivers rear tire monitor coming on, saying "low pressure". I check the info screen and it said that all of the tires were at 28psi. It was a very cold morning that day and the low pressure warning stayed on all day even as I watched the monitor raise the psi from 28 to 33psi. The warning light went out later that day and stayed off for the weekend. I took the car into the dealer this monday for an oil change and told them about the warning light. That said that they raised the cold psi to 30 and reset the sensors. they said that the light came on because it was a cold morning and when the tires were cold they must have read as lower than 27psi when I started out that day.

The question is: what is the the correct setting for the tires. I have the original goodyears on my M35X, with currently 12700 miles.