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As far as rattles are concerned, i do not have too many but do have one that is very annoying. Seems to come from the sun roof, sounds like a marble rolling back and forth. need to run that by the dealership... Jon.
Thanks!
If you are a woman, buy the RX-330.
If you are a guy, buy the FX-35.
Granted the FX35/45 is not for everyone but to me the FX looks stunning with it's wide, squat stance, 20 inch massive wheels and awesome tapered rear pillar. I think it basically looks like a show car and am starting to see other companies copy the rear end look and the wide stance in their SUV's.
Steve, Host
I have an infiniti fx35 and 2x's in the past month it has been broken into. The perpetrators used what appeared to be a screw driver over the key hole on the driver's side door... when popping the silver cover off the handle they were able to get the window's of the FX to come down for easy access. Although nothing in the car was stolen or damaged, the damage to the door and handle was about $1100. Less than a week after I got my car fixed... BAM, it happened again!!! There has got to be something Infiniti can do or should do about this. I can't keep paying to get my car fixed! :sick:
RX330 - soft, comfortable ride; gorgeous, luxo interior; silent ride; nice front, terrible posterior (what's with those odd looking tail lights?); very expensive, no dealing.
FX35 - bad [non-permissible content removed] looks (I practically drool every time I approach an FX); awesome engine, incredible acceleration, great engine/exhaust sound; stiff ride (sometimes too stiff if the roads are bad), but also incredible handling; great NAV system; plenty of dealing room and got a great price for a very loaded car, significantly less than an RX330.
So, hope that helps a bit. You must test drive both and over bad roads!!! If you want a cushy, upper class ride, go with the RX330. If you want a sport wagon with an attitude that handles like a Porsche, well, you know what to do.
Bon chance! Jon.
It's an issue with really ANY cars that have the auto-down window via the door lock cylinder. I think some are having the wire that activates the auto-down feature cut to disable the system. :mad:
P.S. Both of ours have been incredibly reliable - no issues after a combined 75,000 miles.
I would disable the wiring, but even if I do that and get it fixed, a car thief would still break the door to try to get in... so I would still have the expense of fixing the door each time. I think for now I am leaving the door as is until I can get a parking lot for it or something.
Strangely enough, I have tried folding mine, and mine do indeed fold flat. Even more strangely, the backs of mine are carpeted just like the load area, so it actually makes a pretty useful load area. Keep in mind that with the seats up, there is a decent amount of floor space, but the slope of the seat backs and the slope of the back glass means there will be no bulky items hauled along with a full load of passengers.
I echo the approval for the cargo liner. (I've got the OEM liner that only covers the area behind the seats, so it doesn't help when the seats are folded flat.) I've always thought it was handy, but it elevated to near lifesaver status about three weeks ago. A gallon jug of milk apparently got punctured when it was tossed back in the cart after checkout, and I didn't catch it when I put it in the car. By the time I got home, there was probably a pint or two of milk roaming free. made a mess of the groceries and stroller, but I shudder to think of having all that milk soaking into the carpet and running down to the spare/subwoofer etc... I'll be looking into something similar for the wife's vehicle soon.
For the '06's I think I read somewhere that Infinity is delaying the launch a bit in order to more easily clear out the remaining '05's. I also think I read that the '07's will see a styling change, but I haven't yet seen any pictures.
This is a RWD car that transfers power to the front wheels when it feels the rear wheels slipping. What this means is that if you want AWD, you need to be applying power to the drivetrain.
I have Blizzaks on the car, but find it very easy to fishtale the car in a corner at normal speed in snow mode. In order to pull the tail in, it seems that you need to keep applying power so it will be distributed to the front wheels.
I can't say I like this system. Our other car is a Full Time AWD Yukon and do not have this problem at all.
I don't have a whole lot of confidence in the FX35 AWD system.
I understand that it reduces engine power on take-off, but does it or does it not lock AWD? Can anybody confirm with confidence?
Out of curiousity I checked my '03's owners manual on this. Yes it does lock the 2 axels, but only until you reach 19 mph and then it automatically goes into "Auto" mode. This is OK because it's mainly useful in very deep snow, where it truly does provide a big boost in traction. I've also used it on slippery boat ramps when pulling my boat out of the water.
The manual also gives several warning on its use, including not to engage the button when going around curves and using it on dry paved surfaces.
Perhaps the Infiniti ATTESA E-TS is similar to the VTM-4 in the MDX where the axles are fully locked till ~5 or 6MPH. Then, as speed increases, power is decreased proportionally till the vehicle goes back into AWD auto.
Of course, the Infiniti is a far higher performance AWD as the MDX goes back into auto at a lowly 18mph while the Infiniti waits to a screaming 19mph
Mountain passes are not a fun nor confident experience in this vehicle. No problems going up hills, but going on a down grade with corner is tricky.
Also, no mention whatsoever about the AWD system in the '05 owners manual.
Any AWD or 4WD, in essence, only provides power to the wheels while under acceleration.
Traction or "grip" really comes from the tires as related to the surface the vehicle is driving on. On ice and snow, likely a NEW dedicated winter tire (read about comments on Blizzak's when 50% worn) will be the best advantage as far as traction, grip, & cornering force is concerned.
"...A front-drive economy sedan on four top-quality snow tires will go more places than the best 4WD vehicle on all-season tires. An AWD- and stability control-equipped sport sedan on high-performance summer tires will get stuck on a snow cone spilled on an August highway. AWD and computer driver assists can only manage available traction, they can't increase grip...4WD equals go; not turn or stop. 4WD and AWD can only help you accelerate, they can't help you turn or stop..." http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=104125
"...A word of caution to those who drive SUVs. Just because you have four-wheel drive doesn't mean you can stop or turn any better than a two-wheel-drive car. Four-wheel drive allows better motive traction, but when you're off the gas (such as when you need to turn quickly or stop) it doesn't matter; the laws of physics still apply..." http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/tires/articles/100811/article.html
"...By conducting acceleration, braking and cornering tests on the ice we've confirmed the differences between various winter tires and the traction advantage they have over All-Season and All-Terrain light truck tires..."
http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=129
My biggest concern with the system is the so called "milliseconds." When taking a corner with a FT AWD car w/power, you typically will not have the tail fly out. This is true for my FT AWD Yukon XL Denali, which should have a higher chance of this due to it's length and light weight rear end. Being that the FX is a PT AWD, the system does not distribute the power to the front fast enough to ensure no back end slide out. This slide out can be controlled by continuing to apply power.
Were I live, they have elected to place traffic circles where a 4 way stop would normally be. You really can't take these at a high speed, 15 - 20 mph tops, however under icy conditions the tail of the car will slide out. When this happens, it is important to learn not to coast or brake, but apply power for the car to come under control.
The biggest concern about going down a curvy decline is that you are trying to control your momentum, however in order to implement the AWD system, you must apply power and have slippage to get the front activated. They say this takes milliseconds, but whatever the time is, it is enough for the car to loose rear end traction and slide out. You must keep the power going if you want to bring the rear end back in, but who wants to do this while going down hill and trying to control your momentum.
Sorry but I much prefer the FT AWD as you don't have to deal with this problem.
Thanks, Jon.
This is largely due to the fact that a Yukon XL understeers like the huge, heavy SUV that it is.
"Being that the FX is a PT AWD, the system does not distribute the power to the front fast enough to ensure no back end slide out."
Given the gentle nature of this forum, I will merely say that I believe you may have been introduced to lift-throttle oversteer, a phenomenon particularly prevalent in performance-oriented cars, and especially so in low-traction situations.
If your AWD system is responding so slowly that you are getting sideways before any torque is distributed to the front, I recommend you visit your friendly local dealer, as your car is clearly faulty.
My favorite proposal in discussions involving driving in snow: Rather than fret over dedicated snow tires or (even more to the point) fancy AWD systems, we could drive as if we were in a low-traction situation, using gentle control inputs, and leaving a large safety margin where speed is concerned. Hmmm.
I vote for dedicated snow tires + AWD + using the common sense approach that you describe. Winter driving would be so much safer if everyone practiced this.
In addition to the rear-drive bias in the FX, which I find very entertaining AND SAFE when driven correctly, I also appreciate the tremendous road feel you have, where you can feel the tires as they begin to lose traction and make adjustments before it's too late. Here in Minnesota when we occasionally do get treacherous driving conditions, I've see LOTS of Yukon's, Suburbans, Tahoes, Durango's, etc in the ditch - even more than regular sedans sometimes. Some of this is overconfidence on the part of the driver and going too fast ("My truck has four wheel drive and I am invincible"). But I suspect that much is also due to lack of roadfeel and they do not sense an impending loss of control until it's too late.
I am a huge proponent of safe driving during winter conditions. I just expected a better system when purchasing the vehicle. I really feel the manufacturer overstated the capabilities.
The FX uses the same platform as the G35 and exactly the same AWD system!
I had the unfortunate experience of meeting a sturdy tree on a snowy night in November of '04 driving my '99 Jeep GC with QuadraDrive. Impact was diagonal into the driver's door. Jeep was totaled but, other than a badly bruised side, I suffered no serious injuries.
I had no problems along most of my 30mi. trip home until the rear began to slide out on a gentle left-hand bend in the road. I did not apply the brakes and tried to keep an even throttle. Unfortunately I began to fishtail and eventually went off the road, into the trees.
QuadraDrive was a PT/AWD system, sending 100% to the rear until slippage occurs. (I believe the new QD II system is FT/AWD.)
From what has been said here perhaps had I given it some gentle throttle, power would have been sent forward and maybe averted the loss of control. Obviously this is speculative.
I will say my '92 Subaru SVX was the best I ever drove in snow with its front biased AWD system.
I do agree that we are often lulled into a false sense of confidence having a vehicle with 4- WD. Caution, no mater how good ones tires and how sophisticated the AWD, is paramount in snow.
The tires gripped when I hit the gas hard (but not all-out floored) and did not slip, it turned well adn braked well. The only caveat is this was day-old crunchy snow. I want to ceheck them out in falling wet 3" type snow to really be sure, but they absolutely beat the OEM's.
If you scroll back on this site there are now some 20" winter tires finally avaialble that would be better in the snow perhaps, but the Toyos are jsut as good in the dry adn rain as the OEM's -no noiser, no rougher, ec. so if they'll get me through moderate snow I'll be satisified. The other psots indicate teh winter tires are hard, noisy and not as good in teh dry (to be expected).
Bottom line: the FX with the Toyoy won't be a snow king like my wife's 4WD Blazer -that car goes in 8" of slop with ALl SEASON SUV tires and nothing stops it, but it is a truck -the FX 45 is a sports car so I am willing to accept a trade-off as long as it is not totally lame in the snow, as was the case with the OEM rubber. I live in NYC area so we only get a few real snow storms and as long as it can get me homw I'll be happy. If you live in Maine or Denver then I'd get winet tires adn swap them every Spring and WInter.
Hope this helps and I'll psot when I get them into some fresh deep snow.
Getting it repaired this week. What can I do to disable this feature? Why didn't the Car Alarm Horn sound??
I'm not happy with this situation.
Anyway the smell plus the 'ding' noise the car made after just moving away drove me nuts.
SPT
PS The ding noise I'm told is the ABS system check, had an A4 that did the same, me new Acura does NOT make the noise and is equipped with ABS !!!
CPP
The cost(parts + labor) is about $600. I was thinking about it, but haven't pulled the trigger. I wish my '05 FX-35 had it as an option when I bought it. That way it would have only cost me $400.