Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Infiniti G35 Sedan 2006 and earlier
This discussion has been closed.
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
No one said, unless I scanned over it, anything about the underside guard that you have to remove to get to the oil filter. Anyone have any experience with that? Is it a pain?
As far as getting someone else to do the maintenance, I will admit I am a bit lazy. I look at it this way though. When I was young and poor, it seemed like I spent more time under the hood than in the driver's seat of my beat up old Datsuns and Colts. By the time I got the grease and oil out from under my figernails, it was time to go back under or in to fix something else. Now I can afford new cars and get rid of them about every 50,000 miles so I should have no problems. If I take my car somewhere for maintenance I always keep the receipt. Helps to have when reselling the car and if I have any problems, I have proof of the work/service performed. I know what you mean about not trusting people with your baby. I guess I'll take the chance with the babysitter though. Good thing I don;t have kids, huh? LOL
Scott
PS. I have no financial interest in any companies discussed.
Have you found a source for the oil analysis you referred to? I'm approaching 100k on my 2000 Maxima SE and would like to do an analysis of how the Mobil One has in fact been holding up, particularly after reading through the "Bobtheoilguys" information.
I'm hoping for some kind of kit including sample bottle that you fill and send in for the analysis by return mail. All the parts stores around here claim to have never heard of such a thing.
Thanks
Doug
The name of the guy who does them in on the "bobistheoilguy" web site. Here is the URL:
http://pub27.bravenet.com/classified/show.php?usernum=2240725418
The name of the guy is Terry Dyson and is the last classified ad. From re-reading the ad, it appears that the cost is $25 (analysis and explanation/interpretation). Elsewhere on the site is a sample oil analysis and they are fairly easy to understand. My understanding is that you need to save a "hot" (ie. run and well-mixed) sample in a container (don't remember how much) and send that to him. He will analyze and send back the results.
Also, on the page are some other ads for obtaining either Schaeffer or Amsoil products. An additional bit of information for the following products can be found at:
Schaeffer:
www.bobistheoilguy.com/Industrial.htm
www.schaefferoil.com/
Amsoil:
www.amsoil.com
Hope this helps!
Scott
PS. Again, I have no financial interest in any of the mentioned companies.
These others are excellent, but as noted above, harder to find. If you plan to go with a 5000-7500 mile interval, there is no reason to look too hard when there are easily obtained synthetics right on the shelf.
But it's better than just plain old Dino oil. I just won't pay Syn prices for non-Syn oil.
Amen to that. I've never owned a car, that I bought new, for less then 100K miles and several for 140K or more. I do my own oil changes. I've always used whatever oil I find on sale as long as it meets the API service classification and the SAE viscosity ratings my car requires. I follow the manufacturers reccomendations. I've NEVER had a problem.
Consumer Reports did a study some time ago... they found no reason to buy synthetic unless maybe you own a fleet of taxis. But, it's your money, and like everyone else, you can spend it anyway you choose.
BTW, I used to use ramps for oil changes but I've had to revert to using a hydraulic hand jack w/jack stands for several of my latest vehicles. It's because of the lower front air dams that many cars seem to have these days. I'm not sure how much clearance the G35 has in front of it's front wheels.
You can bet that the Chrysler dealerships do not use the highest quality oil (why else would they insist on 3000 mile oil changes these days?) and the car was developing problems (though it still performed great), one of the lesser reasons we got rid of the car. I have no doubt that a better oil and filter combination would have resulted in a lack of the valve seal wear.
If you want to see the effect of oils, go take a look at the Toyota engine sludge board (not sure if it is open for posting or not anymore). Toyota has been having so many problems with their newer V4 and V6's (not sure if it applies to the 2001 or later models as it is a new engine), but they have had so much of a problem that they are sending out ~2 million notices to owners to let them know about it.
My in-laws were also "religious" about 3K oil changes with occasional 4K changes. By 50K miles, their engine was so sludged up that the oil drains were plugged and the engine siezed. (Sludge is an accelerating process, due to heat.)
Their Toyota dealer was adamant that it was thier fault for not having the TOYOTA dealer do the changes. They blamed it on the Texaco station's oil and filters and would NOT cover it under their Toyota extended warranty. It cost them ~$2600 to have the engine rebuilt, by the dealer.
This is on a car that claims (like my Dodge Durango and the Infiniti G35) that you can go 7000 miles between oil changes, if you meet the "A" schedule driving requirements (they do). The Toyota dealer told them they needed to periodically do "engine flushes" with a cleaner to keep this from happening again... on a 3K oil change interval.
The good news is that, thanks to something I read on another web site (don't remember the URL), they called the Toyota 800 number for this problem and Toyota USA, after receiving their oil change records, reimbursed them for their out-of-pocket expenses. This is good, but only after they had received much criticism from the Toyota dealership (a typical story).
Anyway, this is NOT meant to be a tirade against Toyota or Chrysler. It is meant to illustrate the fact that better oils DO make a difference in today's higher performing engines... beyond the, IMO, relatively insignificant cost savings of less frequent oil changes.
My wife and I expect to have the G35 for another 75K miles (we just hit 6500 after 3 months) and, while we qualify for "A" schedule oil changes, based on driving, want to maximize the engine's life.
As for BMW running their oil to 10K to 15K, that is due to better filters and a better quality oil (better anti-oxidant and wear ADDITIVES) than your off-the-shelf $.99 specials. Castrol Syntec may be a very good oil, but I'll BET that no BMW dealership will recommend a customer take their oil to 15K miles, regardless of driving habits. I'll also bet that an oil analysis will support that.
Personally, I'm happy with my choice of Schaeffer's oil. Others are happy with other choices, such as Amsoil, Mobile One, $.99 special, etc. The point of my posts was not to start an "oil religion" debate, but provide information for those people who wanted to base their oil decisions on information, rather than marketing.
My wife and I LOVE our G35 and want to treat it well, especially after paying ~$35K for it. However, I'm going to base my oil change interval on the results of an oil analysis (that will tell me how well the oil is actually holding up, based on our driving habits) rather than a generic manufacturer recommendation.
Scott
I've used Amsoil 10-30 Turbo formulated 100% Synthetic since 1974. My last car went to the junkyard in April 2000, after being hit in the rear and totaled, or I would still be driving it. A rare 1983 Cressida with five speed manual. Had it 17 years since new, would still redline at over 160k on the clock, no blue smoke and no oil usage. And not driven lightly. Changed Amsoil every six months or about 5,000 miles with new Amsoil filter each time. And you could eat off the inside of the valve cover. The outside of the engine stayed cleaner also. And no drips on the floor so the seals never shrunk ( a great myth since the early days of synthetic oil).
Put what you want in your car, but the best is always least expensive when you talk about the price of engine work. Sludge is water in the oil and Dino oil has water in the can to begin with (also parafin and asphalt, depending on whether it's east or west coast and the parafin is easier to remove). I think the best Dino oil is Kendall GT-1 and I use that for break-in oil.
For those of you who are interested, here is an explanation of an oil analysis and a sample, at the bottom of the page.
theoildrop.server101.com/whatisoilanalysis.htm
Here is a good explanation of oil shear and the problems it causes. This is probably the main cause of the Toyota engine sludge problems.
www.bobistheoilguy.com/oilshear.htm
Here is some information about synthetics:
pub27.bravenet.com/faq/show.php?usernum=2240725418&password=&catid=1441&action=showcat
Hope you enjoy these references and that they assist you in babying your "G"!
Scott
PS. I have no financial interest in any of the companies/products listed above.
Scott
G35 Coupe Info.
Nissan priced the G35 $5,000 lower than the CTS, and a good $10,000 less than the BMW 330, Mercedes C-Class, etc. Their profit margins on this car must have been miniscule. With the recent 11% appreciation of the Japanese yen vs. the dollar (enough to wipe out a $3,000 profit margin), it's likely that Infiniti is losing money on these cars. Next year, you can count on prices being jacked up on the G35, which will cause sales to plummet even further.
I think the G35 will be remembered as a car that was popular with the import loving auto rags, but was a financial failure for Nissan/Renault.
In addition, Cadillac is already offering discounts off MSRP (TMV base discount of $800, up to $1600 with comparable options). Infiniti is not having to resort to large MSRP discounts (per TMV) to sell cars. The CTS has a 3% holdback vs. 1% for the G35, an indication of how long the manufacturer expects the car to stay on the lot/how much money they have to put in the dealers pockets vs. discounts at retail. The Cadillac is typically toward the bottom of Consumer Reports reliability statistics, whereas Infiniti is very close to the top. Personally, I expect that the resale of the G35 will be better than the CTS.
As for the Infiniti begin dramatically less than the CTS ("$5000"), according to Edmunds.com, it appears to sell for about the same base price, but comes with the less expensive manual. With comparable options (pretty well decked out), the CTS is only about $2000 more (MSRP).
Also, the Infiniti name is not as well known as Cadillac or others. This just highlights that, with the G35 you are getting more for what you pay and are not paying so much of a premium for a name.
The fact is that Nissan, due to its many new product releases, is in the black. This after many years of bleeding red. This could hardly happen if they were losing money on every sale...
Wish they had some SOLO II around here as I would just LOVE to see a Cadillac CTS competing against me...
Anyway, I guess you like your CTS. Congrats! Keep telling yourself that when the next G35 blows by you...
Scott
Phil
You have never autocrossed before have you? Why do I come up with this assumption? Because everybody I know who actually does autocross regularly knows that when you have two cars that are similarly performing, it WILL come down to driver skill. Also, everybody I know who does autocross knows that horsepower is about as important as who makes your shift knob.
So even with my minimal experience with SoloII, I can assure you that nobody gets frightened when they see your G35, and just the same, nobody gets frightened when they see a ferarri. AutoX is set up almost perfectly for any auto enthusiast...may the best DRIVER win. Not "May the best driver with the best gear win."
Salesman said change oil every 7,500 miles. What's all this discussion to change oil every 3k miles? I drive mostly in the city and only average 7,000 miles per year.
Turning radius seems a little high. Any comparisons with the E320 and other similar cars?
I doubt Nissan is losing money on its new Infiniti lineup, but I can't think that profit is very high either still.
Yep, HP doesn't mean much on a road track, torque to weight ratio (T2W), however, does. And the G35 just blows the CTS out of the water when it comes to torque and weight (G35=260/3336lbs, CTS=218/3568lbs, data from Cadillac comparison site).
You are correct in that running all of that torque through a torque converter will pose some problems, but given the G35's better T2W ratio, it will probably be a toss-up (assuming that the CTS I was talking about was a manual). Guess that just leaves the much superior handling of the G35 to leave the CTS behind. Or its far superior braking... Then again, you may want to check your assumptions.
First, you assume that the CTS is an equivalently performing car to the G35, something that isn't supported by the facts. With the exception of Popular Science (hardly what I would call a discriminating car review), the G35 has been rated as being notably better than the CTS in every performance category you care to discuss.
Second, you assume that I have not raced. As indicated above, while I haven't raced in almost 20 years, it doesn't mean that I haven't or that I wasn't very good at it when I did. However, I will admit to being a bit rusty, so I will concede that a practiced SOLO II driver may well be likely to beat me in the underperforming CTS...
Third, you indicate that you believe that, because the G35 has an automatic, the CTS would post 1-2 second faster times than the G35. While I haven't seen/heard any results, I don't believe that assumption would be supported by the track data of the major rags, in which the G35 beat the manual CTS in every performance category.
Fourth, if you really think that cars don't make a difference in racing, you need to go learn about the sport. The only way the car wouldn't make a difference is if all drivers drove the same car. Not the same make/model/year, but the SAME CAR.
Kind of reminds me about the classic karate argument, where people claim that size doesn't matter. Based on 10+ years in martial arts, I can say that is BS. A good big person can usually beat an as good or moderately better small person in a real fight. Guess what? The same DOES apply to cars.
Fifth, what is this stuff about "frightened"? Never indicated it. (Was that a "Freudian slip"?) I just indicated that I would love to match up against someone driving a (stock) CTS as I believe I could do well. 'nuff said...
However, you DO bring up a good point. I WOULD prefer to race like cars as I do prefer to let my skills shine. If I win, I would prefer it to be MOSTLY my skills and slightly, or not at all, my car. (Hey, I have pride in my car too. But you probably knew that as you were reading the *G35* board...)
Anyway, I'll stand by what I said in my previous post, "Wish they had some SOLO II around here as I would just LOVE to see a Cadillac CTS competing against me". The car picked DOES say something about the driver.
Rah, rah, G35!
Scott
However, regardless of miles driven (eg. your 7000 miles per year), ideally you should change your oil more often, probably every 6 months or so. This is because there are chemical interactions that are going on in the engine and time, in addition to miles, is an enemy.
IMO, the best way to tell how often is to do an oil analysis and see what that tells you about how your oil of choice is holding up. That should set the interval for changes.
The G35's turning radius is 36 feet. The mbusa.com site is just too slow to get the turning radius of the E320, but you might be able to get it from here (edmunds.com) for comparison.
Scott
Very likely, all the driveline parts will be changed with the exception of the differential. Should be fun getting replacement parts in a few years on a one-year model. Most likely the bellhousing, clutch, torque converter, and all the engine compartment stuff will be different.
Sell your CTS now and buy the all-new 2004 CTS.
Or better yet, buy something in the G family. Ther will be millions of common parts out there plus an entire aftermarket of parts to choose from. I don't think the aftermarket will get too juiced over the CTS. You'll be lucky to find one or two wheels unless they also fit a Camaro or other GM car. As far as chips and other engine parts go, have you seen much out there for a Catera?
Since he was in a big accident, he is worried that he can not find any crash results about the G35. Does anyone know where he can find this? He also lives in New York
Why would I need parts for my CTS? What do you think this is? A Nissan product? LOL!!!
The only thing they're changing next year is the engine, FYI. General Motors now ranks among the top 3 most reliable car makers, after Toyota and Honda. Cadillac's own reliablity is excellent as well.
For those just joining us, the Nissan brand (which includes Infiniti) tied Volkswagen as makers of America's most unreliable cars, according to the JD Power 2002 Initial Quality survey. Both of them came in dead last! Not only that, but Nissan was the only brand which got worse (vs. 2001), while everyone else's quality improved.
Carlos Ghosn's cost cutting is going to cost Nissan+Infiniti dearly, since most import buyers hail from the "JD Powers/Consumer Reports is the Bible" crowd!
I would like to see proof of this. You are confusing initial quality with reliability, which are two very different things.
http://carpoint.msn.com/advice/standardart.aspx?contentid=4019432&src=404
"The quality of new cars and trucks showed the most improvement in five years and General Motors Corp. crept into the top five major automakers in the annual J.D. Power and Associates initial quality study."
"Toyota was followed by American Honda Motor Co. (113 problems), BMW of North America (116 problems), Porsche Cars North America Inc. (122 problems) and GM (130 problems)."
"Toyota and GM showed the biggest gains in quality over the past five years, with improvements of 31 percent and 30 percent respectively."
"An 11 percent improvement over last year's performance allowed GM to vault past Nissan Motors Corp., which saw its quality decline by 5 percent."
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/classifieds/automotive/3367179.htm
"NISSAN SURPRISED BY HIGHER PROBLEMS
Nissan scored 152 problems, up from 145 last year, while Volkswagen had 152 problems, down from 159.
"The results were surprising and disappointing for us," said Emil Hassan, Nissan's senior vice president of North American manufacturing, quality, purchasing and logistics."
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
In my opinion, initial quality problems that are quickly addressed by the dealer are much more forgivable than drivetrain or electrical components that are designed to outlast the warranty period and then die.
http://www4.fosters.com/autos/articles/auto_0531b.asp
"'IQS is geared more to auto manufacturers than the consumer,' said David Champion, director of automobile testing at Consumer Reports, referring to the initial quality survey.
"'They get the initial quality right, but I don’t think the cars are robust enough to last over time,' he added. '"The consumer is looking at 1, 2 or 3 years of ownership.'
"David Healy, an analyst at Burnham Securities, said 'some cars do well on the 90-day survey and fall apart after 3 years.'
"'From my point of view,' he added, 'how it lasts over 7 years is more useful.'"
J.D. Power does a separate Vehicle Dependability Study, the 2001 edition of which is included in the link I posted. Obviously it's going to look at older cars; how do you measure reliability for 2002 cars, since practically no one has reliability problems with a brand new car?
http://www.osa.go.jp/anzen/html2002e/as125.html
I agree completely. Infiniti may not be at the top for initial quality, but it finished 2nd for long-term durability. Part of this may be consumer perception. When I buy a Ford, I don't expect it to be perfect, because it's a Ford. On the other hand, while I haven't purchased an Infiniti, when I do (I'm waiting for a 6-speed coupe), I'll go over it with a magnifying glass.
Both cars were bulletproof for reliability. And they had great warranties (which I didn't ever use) and ever better dealer loaner car policies (which I did use for routine service).
Only thing Infiniti should do is add "free" scheduled maintenance. (Yeah, I know, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. But at least it seems free since you pay for it up front in the purchase price). That would help maintain parity with BMW and MB. And if Lexus & Acura don't, then helps them compete with Lexus & Acura.
Car Number 1: 1995 Infiniti G20. Great car had some minor problems in my first few months of ownership viz. Delivered with misaligned wheel took dealer three attempts to get it right. Now after 7 years and 96000 miles the car still runs like new. I have not done any unscheduled work on the car. Tires (Twice), Front Brake pads (Twice), Rear break pads (Once) do not count.
Car Number 2: 2000 Infiniti I30. This was a first model year and had its own problems like TCM module, incorrectly aimed headlights...but after two years and 26000 miles I am happy with it. Not as nimble as G20 but a great highway cruiser.
And ofcourse the service is very good and I believe is more consistent from a dealer to dealer. My G20 was/is serviced by Motorcars Infiniti (Cleveland), Pepe Infiniti (White Plains NY), Pinnacle Infiniti (Scottsdale AZ), Midway Infiniti (Phoenix AZ) and Bennett (Allentown PA) and my experience with all of them was excellent.
Now if I can only get free schedule maintainence...Umm
And if you believe in consumer reports (I personally dont) Infinitis have always ranked on top.
Infinitis have historically been in the top three makes on the average in both JD Power Initial Quality (IQ), and Long Term dependability surveys. Unless JD Powers has a separate survey by brand (and they usually do) that only addresses Infiniti, there is no evidence that Infiniti IQ is anything other than what it has always been - excellent.
DB
If you want to be on the invite list and want followup details, email me at jvalenty@yahoo.com
Send your name, email addr, color/options, etc
We plan to caravan from the south and from the north as we head toward Encinitas (about 15 miles south of Oceanside).
But how this translates to the Infiniti brand and the G in particular loses me completely. Anybody who SERIOUSLY believes any GM car is going to be a better long-term proposition than this one should immediately put their money on the table and buy the Cadillac. Not me...
Okay fair enough.
"You are correct in that running all of that torque through a torque converter will pose some problems, but given the G35's better T2W ratio, it will probably be a toss-up (assuming that the CTS I was talking about was a manual). Guess that just leaves the much superior handling of the G35 to leave the CTS behind. Or its far superior braking... Then again, you may want to check your assumptions."
Why do you assume that the G35 "handles" better? Handling is very subjective. Handling is still important in drag racing, and it is important in autocross, however the types of handling are VERY different. Chances are, magazine tests are going to be running handling number and subjective tests on 100ft slaloms and back country roads...hardly the kind of conditions you would find in an AutoX course. In actuality, AutoX very strongly favors cars with shorter wheelbases, which actually does slightly favor the G35, but not too significantly. It also favors cars with bigger contact circles, which is talking tires and not cars. Also you might want to consider center of gravity, braking capability, and gear ratios(as well as speed and control of those gear ratios, severe advantage to manual transmission cars). "Performance" is VERY far from being represented by a few magazine numbers.
"Third, you indicate that you believe that, because the G35 has an automatic, the CTS would post 1-2 second faster times than the G35. While I haven't seen/heard any results, I don't believe that assumption would be supported by the track data of the major rags, in which the G35 beat the manual CTS in every performance category."
I didnt say that. I said that an automatic about a 1-2 second disadvantage over a manual car. This means a manual G35 with a competent drive would typically post 1-2 seconds faster times than an automatic G35.
"Fourth, if you really think that cars don't make a difference in racing, you need to go learn about the sport. The only way the car wouldn't make a difference is if all drivers drove the same car. Not the same make/model/year, but the SAME CAR."
I know a fair share about racing. I agree. HOWEVER we were talking very specifically about AutoX. In AutoX style racing, driver skill matters significantly much more than car choice. Ask anybody who races AutoX on a regular basis. You will find Miatas and Civics and Integras that post times that are quite a few seconds faster than Boxtsers, M3s, and Ferarris.
"Fifth, what is this stuff about "frightened"? Never indicated it. (Was that a "Freudian slip"?) I just indicated that I would love to match up against someone driving a (stock) CTS as I believe I could do well. 'nuff said... "
I brought up the frightened comment. Simply put, nobody is impressed, frightened, intimidated, etc when you pull up to the AutoX course with a nice car. Why? Because they know it is the driver that makes the difference. A good friend who rather-amaturely races AutoX with a first-gen MR2 in the Bay Area had a brief run in with a "racing-team" with a Lamborghini Diablo. Her best lap time was 4 seconds faster than the Diablos best lap.
It would take a lot more than someone quoting magazine performance specs of their car to convince me that they would beat ANYBODY in an AutoX race.
The car in front of her slammed into it broadside and she slammed on her brakes and the car stopped about 3 feet from making contact with the other cars, but you guessed it... she looks in her rear view mirror after hearing a loud long screech and *wham*
*sigh*
Well... she's ok, shaken but ok... now I have to go and give her a hug and see what damage is done...
Have a great 4th everyone... stay safe!
Faenor/Dane4
Thanks