Infiniti FX45 Infiniti FX35

psb1013 · May 2003

The whole purpose of the FX is for ON-Road dominance: 20" wheels, sports suspension, no low-range gear. The FX is really just a tall-wagon with all-wheel drive. (Even in the FX brochure, there is not one picture of a FX anywhere near dirt!) Even my dealer refuses to call it a SUV. The only Infiniti w/realistic off-road capability right now is the soon-to-be extinct QX4.

fxfan03 · May 2003

I just picked up my new FX35 AWD Premium Package last Friday. I love it! I have never gotten more looks in a car then I do in the FX35. Everyone that I have shown it to loves it. Nothing out there compares to the style and performance!

I drove a FX35 AWD Sports Package before deciding on the Premium Package, I couldn't tell much of a difference in the two.

I have been searching all over the internet for the 0-60 times on the FX35 AWD, anybody find anything?

stever · May 2003

All I've seen is a guess of "around 8 seconds" for the RWD drive version.

Congrats on the new ride!

Steve, Host

fxfan03 · May 2003

I found a bunch of info on the 0-60 times on www.freshalloy.com and all the numbers were in the low 7 seconds.

Here is one of the tests:
I put my G-tech Pro in my FX35 AWD Sport and got the following figures on 3 different runs:
Numbers are 0-60 (sec.), 1/4 mile time (sec.) @ speed (mph)
7.11, 15.55 @ 91.9
7.08, 15.34 @ 93.4
7.18, 15.60 @ 92.0
Pretty consistent numbers. So 0 - 60 averaged about 7.12 sec. ... a little faster than i expected.
This was done with a little bit of power-braking and leaving the trans. in auto so it shifted itself.
For those of you wondering "what is a G-Tech Pro?", see:
G-Tech Pro Website

dklanecky · May 2003

"This was done with a little bit of power-braking and leaving the trans. in auto so it shifted itself."

Nice times!

How many miles did these FX35's have when then did these obviously full throttle runs?

Is there no break in procedure for Infiniti's?

psb1013 · May 2003

I like to see what the G-Tech Pro would produce on a FX45 from 0-60. I know Car and Driver and Automobile magazine both rated it about 6.3 sec but it seems faster than that. I recently dragged-raced my friend's '02 540i Sport and I beat him by about a car length to about 100mph.

clpurnell · May 2003

It is also rumored that the FX35 RWD will challenge a FX45 0-60 and that is why the 35 has not been tested by any mags. They don't want people to just buy the 35 instead as there is more markup in the 45. Also on FA there is an article supposedly from nissan that the rwd will run 6.93 to 60 if so that is dang fast and will blow the doors off of a X5 4.4 or ML500. I wonder when a magazine will have the guts to test the 35 RWD and AWD to get published times. The 45 even if it is close is a very sweet machine and doesn't have to rev like the 35 does so there would still be a market even if the times are close.

toeknail · May 2003

The breakin period is 1200 miles... supposed to keep it below 4000 rpm until then.

doc64 · May 2003

Thanks fxfan03 for the link. As I wandered around it I saw the link about the possible supercharger for the GX 35. I never really thought about aftermarket stuff like that before but that could be really intriguing for an FX35.

psb1013 · May 2003

I highly doubt a FX35 will "challenge" a FX45 0-60. From all indications, the 35 will do 0-60 in the low 7 sec's and 45 will do that in the low 6's. I test drove both models before buying the 45. The 35 does have decent pick-up and from 0-30mph, both cars are about equal; however, above 30mph, the extra thrust and torque of the 45 makes it pull away much stronger. BTW, the BMW X5 4.4i is actually techically faster 0-60 than the FX35. Motor Trend/Car and Driver clocks it at about 6.5-6.7sec. I'm sure if Infiniti offered a manual for the FX, the 35 and 45 will be quite a bit quicker.

hootspa · May 2003

than the FX35 from 0 to 60. That's based on my seat-of-pants back-to-back test drives. Possibly the FX 45 will pull stronger to 100 but it isn't dramatically different. Remember, there is a weight and gas penalty for the V8. Also, I suspect that Z car performance upgrades (soon to hit the market)will be readily adaptible to the FX35 since it is the same engine. I'm sure Infiniti will increase the FX45 torque and HP soon to differentiate the two models.

clpurnell · May 2003

The x5 4.6 arrives at those times. The X5 3.0 runs 8.5 The 4.4 rons 7.2-7.5 Edmunds also has test data for these. A RWD FX should be close because it weighs about 300 lbs ligter and only gives up 25 hp. Given it gives up way more torque but the added weight of both the AWD and V8 minimizes that gain. I would bet the rwd is within .5 as stated before. The Murano is within .7 of the 45.

crikey · May 2003

I've seen this 0-60 discussion between the FX45 and the FX35 in most every FX forum that I visit. And frankly, it's getting old, to me, anyway. What difference does a few tenths of a second really do?

Just enjoy your rides, guys...

psb1013 · May 2003

Actually it's quite fun to discuss all this performance stuff after all, the FX is really about performance. If we were talking about a Lexus, things would be different. BTW, there is no question about the 45 specs......according to Car and Driver and Automobile mags, it does 0-60 in 6.3 secs. According to Motor Trend (not Edmunds), the BMW X5 4.4 does that in about 6.7 sec(having owned an X5, I can attest to that). From previous posts, fxfan03 timed the FX35 using a G-tech pro from 0-60 in about 7.12 sec. Motor Trend timed the Murano at 7.5 sec 0-60 (not even in the same league as the FX45).

psb1013 · May 2003

Just installed front and rear splash guards on my FX. Looks ok but it would've been better if it was built-in to part of the fender. My dealer wanted to charge me $75 to install it--ridiculous! It was fairly easy--tok about 20 min. But it does require some drilling (contrary to the Infiniti website). Also it costs $59 per pair, not $49 as in their website.

blckthree · May 2003

They have been made standard equipment on the FX now, as of April builds. Should have been all along.

trragtops · May 2003

Hello psb1013
My dealer quoted me $70 labor to install the splash guards because according to them the wheels need to be removed to install the splash guards?
did you need to remove the wheels to install the splash guards?
thanks

psb1013 · May 2003

The front ones are pretty easy to install although you need to drill a small hole near the bottom of the car. The rear ones can be a pain because the tires are in the way. If you don't want to remove the rear tires, you have to get a offset drill or an attachment which allows you to drill at a right angle (can get it at your local hardware store for about $20). You need to drill 3 small holes inside the fender to install the rear splash guards. Overall, it wasn't too bad....definately better than getting ripped-off at the dealer.

trragtops · May 2003

psb1013, thank you for the info. I need an offset drill for my toolbox anyhow, so this will be a good excuse to buy one
thanks

knockoff · May 2003

Thanks for the info. Maybe I'm trying to fit a round peg in a square hole :-)

clpurnell · May 2003

anyway to have the doors autolock at say 15mph on the fx35 tech?

dcroz · May 2003

I am taking a minute to say thank you for all the great information that I have been getting on the FX. I couldn't wait to get back from temporary duty overseas to take one for a spin.

The vehicle was outstanding, and I didn't think the vehicle's ride was too harsh at all. I felt like I should be driving it like a sports car. The sound of the FX 35 exhaust was really nice.

In the end though, it didn't have enough rear seat legroom and the hatch area was REALLY small. We went down the street to the Lexus dealer and when my wife saw the new RX330, that was it! Since the ride was for her, I agreed.

We ended up with a 330 with the performance package and my wife could not be more pleased. The ride was a whole lot more luxurious and it had more room in the back.

Thank you for all the info on the FX and all you guys enjoy your vehicles!

psb1013 · May 2003

Your's is a perfect example of car makers "designing for the sexes." The RX has always been marketed and designed to appeal to women (soft ride, cute styling, practicality) and something like the FX seems designed to appeal primarily to men (big engine, big sound, big tires, hard ride, etc).

bpraxis · May 2003

Hello everyone and thankyou very much for the information regarding Grubbs Infiniti in Texas. Their inventory is very impressive and they are advertising a FX now for $29,999. It must be a demo but they seem to be very liberal with discounting.

They also have approximately 50 coupes in stock now and my local dealer has zero.

clpurnell · May 2003

Is even more impressive to deal with. I intially contacted the General manager through another forum. I gave him the vin# of a car he had in inventory. He confirmed that it was still available and gave me a price of $434 over invoice. I also had a trade which i gave him a detailed description of. He put a price on it sight unseen. The next morning with this deal in hand I went to SW Infiniti in Houston which is my local dealer at 11 am. I asked them to come within 1k of this deal and they couldn't/wouldn't. Went back home and e-mailed that we had a deal. dowloaded credit app and faxed it over. Got approval for my lease and a quote based on numbers previously discussed in less than 1/2 hour. Said prep it and I'm coming to get it. Hit the road at 2pm made it to grubbs around 6:30pm everything was as discussed signed papers and was out of there within 45 minutes on a saturday. Stayed a night with a friend and drove back in my new FX the next day. These guys are the real deal, by far the easiest and best car buying experience I have ever had. You won't go wrong with these guys. If you want names of salesman and GM please e-mail me and I will be happy to oblige.

fx35 · May 2003

I have just purchased a RWD FX35 and I have some conserns regarding towing. This is my first SUV and I am in the market for a small boat (17 or 19 foot center console)however I am conserned that I will have problems towing without All wheel drive. Can anyone give me any advise.

psb1013 · May 2003

I believe the FX can tow up to 3500lbs. Pretty small for a SUV. But if you really want to tow, the FX is not for you.

alphamale · May 2003

Can't agree with the Battle of the Sexes view of the FX/RX. Don't see ANY women in the new RX ads. And the RX330's styling is pretty edgy. I think Lexus just wants to make a Super Luxury car with the shape of a SUV.

Obviosly the FX is more primal in it's aspirations, and more desperate to make an impact! It seems like it is built with wealthy men in mind (vs the X5).

I find the FX ads are more canted toward women than the Lexus RX ads!! Very....... romantic?

alphamale · May 2003

that the RX AND FX have raised the state of the art in luxury SUV's, attacking from differnt angles. The FX's cargo area is incredibly small, though. But the back seat is quite huge (I'm 6'4")!!
Kind of make Aviators and ML500's look tired and weak.

JBaumgart · May 2003

Your FX should not have any problem towing a small boat, assuming it doesn't weigh close to its rated capacity of 3500 lbs. My 17 1/2 foot fishing boat with 115 HP outboard (a 4 stroke that weighs 425 lbs) weighs considerably less at about 1800 lbs loaded, and I am expecting no problems. My previous car (Audi allroad) did just fine, and the FX is pretty similar as far as rated capacity (the Audi's is 3300 lbs). Anyway I'll find out this weekend as I'm leaving Thursday for a 300 mile roundtrip golf and fishing weekend. The hitch was installed Tuesday and I'm picking it up at noon on Wednesday, and I'll report back here next week.

P.S. The fact that you have a RWD FX should not make any difference for towing. If it was FWD (like a basic RX300) then it could be an issue. Also, just FYI, my dealer has already installed several of the hitches (which just became available) on other FX's, and he says the labor is taking about 3 hours to put them on, so he's raising the charge to $790 which includes the hitch, the wiring harness and the labor. Originally he was charging $590, then $690 and now $790. Glad I negotiated a charge of $500 when I bought the vehicle!

psb1013 · May 2003

According to the engineers at Lexus, the RX300 was built specifically to address special needs for women--i.e. storage areas for purses, softer ride, easy maneuvering; same goes for the new RX330, even though more details were put in this time to make it more "masculine" to attract more male buyers. Is it any wonder then why 9/10 RX's are driven by women? The FX is as "masculine" as you can get in a SUV--agresssive styling, loud, powerful engine, hard ride, small storage areas, etc. All of my female co-workers see it that way and can never imagine driving one themselves.

gazelle2 · May 2003

I've had my fx35 for a month now, the memory of my 99 audi a6 avant fading with each day, and the absence of the requisite German brake dust on the fx wheels much appreciated. A few thoughts:
--a good number of women, including my wife, do love the fx and think it's quite gorgeous
--the firm ride is an irritant at times. Had a 94 Montero with the same ride and, after slightly deflating the tires, it was much improved--only a few pounds of pressure less. I may try this with the fx, unless someone tells me that I'll ruin my tires
-- the radio reception is quite weak. The Audi Bose was much better and our 01" GTI VR6 Monsoon is much better as well. Is the short antenna the issue?
A question--does the hitch ruin the look of the rear end?

crikey · May 2003

First, there is a recall on the FX35 and FX45 which only affects 164 units combined. I believe that most of the units in the general population do not have this issue as it seemed to have been corrected before dealerships got the units. So, this may have been logged for compliance.

Second, which I think might be more of a concern, is that the black molding on the top of the rear hatch seems to warp/buckle in high temperatures. It seems that the adhesive that was used to secure the molding is not too tolerant of high temperatures. When the molding warps, it impedes the opening of the rear hatch. For the few cases reported, Infiniti is replacing the whole rear hatch, not just the molding.

So, as much as possible, try to park the FX under a shady area if your part of the world is experiencing high temperatures. It may prevent the issue.

blckthree · May 2003

I wonder how wide spread the molding issue is. My FX sits out in the sun all day, several days have seen temperatures in the 90's. I haven't noticed any problems and have looked for that since seeing one complaint a couple months ago. Almost makes you think it was a bad batch of adhesive, or the adhesive wasn't applied correctly, if they replace the whole thing. Wish there was a picture of what exactly is warping.

crikey · May 2003

I agree, blckthree. I wish there was a picture to show the exact problem. And I do hope it's a few isolated incidents. I don't really want to have my rear hatch replaced. My other concern is that should the rear hatch require replacement, would the part already be painted or would the dealer need to paint it? I would prefer the factory-baked painted part.

Our FX35 has been pretty trouble-free...no squeaky seats either.

laurasdada · May 2003

Does your FX have RWD or AWD? Sport pkg? How's your real-world MPG?

blckthree · May 2003

I have sat here for the past 10 minutes, trying to think of problems with my FX. I havent thought of any! Mine is a FX35 AWD Premium, black with graphite. It is 2 1/2 months old and has 5000 trouble free miles! I can't wait for the big road trip next month. I know it is going to be a pleasant experience, 750 miles, 11 hours. I have made several trips of 300 miles, but that just barely gets the tires warm!

For those who wonder about mileage, 85/15 hwy/city I get a consistant 19.5-20.5mpg.

JBaumgart · May 2003

Just picked up my FX with the hitch installed. Although you can see that it's there, it's not too prominant as it tucks in underneath the bumper and does not protude out from the back beyond the bumper like most hitches. It looks to be very well made and I'm very happy with it. The dealer did say that the first one took them 5 1/2 hours to install, but after doing about a half-dozen they now have it down to about 3 hours - it's a major job but the results appear to be worth it.

psb1013 · May 2003

Had my FX45 for about a month now. I have a couple issues. First, the driver's seat makes frequent "squealing/creeking" noises during lateral acceleration and the sunroof makes similar noises when it's closed (there's also quite a bit of wind noise when it's open--more so than my previous X5). Anyone else w/similar issues?

LanceL99 · May 2003

Hello all! I was going to get on tonight to talk about the flat tire indicator, but then some other items people have mentioned caught my eye.

I have the Tech Pkg., so my FX has the Tire Pressure indicator. This morning the "alarms" went off, and after scanning to that screen, it showed me that one tire had very, very low tire pressure (evil screw in the tire routine). You know, I never could figure out why it doesn't correspond what tire it is to the tire pressure on the screen. When they took the tire off of the wheel to patch it, I saw the pressure gauge on the inside of the wheel. It must send a signal with a reading, so then if you rotated tires suddenly it would be on the front vs. rear, or visa versa. So, they can't label it. Make sense?

My seat creaks TERRIBLY. I took it to the dealer and they told me "it's normal." Although, my dealer's service department has always sucked. All I have to say is that it's getting worse (it rocks in it's track, too) and it certainly didn't do it when new. I guess I'll have to go back. There is also some bizarre really loud creek noise by my left ear when I go through a bump that causes the vehicle to "flex." The open sunroof visor makes noises, too, so I just leave it closed mostly.

The transmission recall is interesting. I noticed when going over abrupt bumps (even at slow speeds) like a speed bump that the transmission shifter moves around quite a lot. I've never seen anything like that happen before on another car. Could that be related to the recall?

Otherwise, it's perfect! No problem with the hatch, but I park in a garage almost all of the time.

Someone had complained about the Bose stereo; my reception is excellent and the sound quality is fabulous.

JBaumgart · May 2003

My FX is about 3 weeks old and I don't have any squeaks or rattles. The front seat is very solid and the shifter does not move at all. About the only thing I've noticed is that when going over rough roads there is an occasional brief creaking noise - not a creak like there is any body flex or something loose, but more like it's from two interior pieces rubbing together. Probably leather against a plastic panel someplace. It's very sporadic and you can't hear it unless the radio/CD player is off. I'm not going to complain about it unless it gets noisier or I start to hear it more consistently.

Speaking of the Bose I agree that it sounds really good. Easily the best Bose system I've heard personally - much better than in either of my two Audi's. I think the center speaker up front helps give the soundstage added presence, and the subwoofers in the rear give it all the bass I need. This was a pleasant surprise after hearing the system was made by Bose. When testing it out I also took a couple of my homemade CD's that wouldn't play in my allroad Bose system, or in my main DVD player at home, and they played fine and sounded great on the FX Bose system.

peteri44 · May 2003

since it's my wife's car, I've only driven the FX35 Tech a couple of times. I noticed that the driver's seat does shift when I accelerate. My wife doesn't notice it. She's considerably lighter than me. I didn't notice it at all from the passenger seat.
Observations after 600 miles--ride is quite harsh from the BACK seat, whcih ususally will be unoccupied. Also, the back doors have restricted swings and the cut outs make entering and exiting inconvenient. Otherwise--car is perfect.

crikey · May 2003

ride is quite harsh from the BACK seat, whcih usually will be unoccupied.

Yeah, which is why we got the FX35 AWD with Premium Package only since our back seat has residents.

It'll be too hard for them.

Also, the back doors have restricted swings

I actually find that the doors open up quite nicely since it's almost perpendicular to the vehicle when full opened, i.e. opens 90 degrees.

and the cut outs make entering and exiting inconvenient.

Yeah, I agree. Try putting toddlers in car seats.

gazelle2 · May 2003

I recorded an even 20 on my first tank (much of that an Easter trip on highway) in my fx35 awd. Recent local driving keeps giving me just under 18. I suppose our radio observations can be very subjective. I did think the A6 Bose sounded more impressive, and both my wife and I independently noticed weaker reception when we drove. I have one concern re molding. The area around the wheels seems to be whitening, yet my fx is not in direct sunlight more that much of the day. Thanks for the hitch info, JBaumgart. That endorsement will get me into the dealer to put one on, though I grimace at the labor charges!

crikey · May 2003

I have one concern re molding. The area around the wheels seems to be whitening, yet my fx is not in direct sunlight more that much of the day.

Try Vinylex (from the makers of Lexol) for the black trim:

Ours look great after one application. For more info, see Vinylex. It's available at your local Pepboys.

stever · May 2003

I've been using 303 Protectant for years at around a US dollar an ounce. How much does this Lexol stuff cost?

Steve, Host

crikey · May 2003

IIRC, it was US$8.99 at Pepboys for the spray bottle.

I was looking for the 303 Protectant but could not find it without ordering online.

stever · May 2003

I'm running low on 303 so if I see some Vinylex, I'll do a little comparison test of my own.

Steve, Host

crikey · May 2003

Let us know how your comparo turns out.

crikey · May 2003

See if your FX is on the Recall VIN List

Infiniti FX45 Infiniti FX35

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