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Maintenance & Repair Maintenance & Repair - Archived Discussions Q45 Troubles 
135 messages, Last post on Jul 28, 2001 at 10:10 AM
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nteresting article on the new Q not having as much power as Infiniti advertised. Car and Driver also noted a similar problem with the new Q45. Is Infiniti doing anything to address this?
Interesting article on the lack of advertised power in the new Q: |
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So I pass this great looking Champagne 1990 Q45 for a few weeks, see a "for sale" sign go up, and now I'm a (somewhat) proud owner. I've driven Mercedes, BMW and Jag's for years, and had very few problems (I am a stickler for frequent preventative maintenance). This thing drives better than any SDL Mercedes I've owned... and pretty close to past 740 BMW's. So... here's my situation: I've had the car two months, and now the brakes fade to (literally) nothing. Right from the get-go. You can't even pump them to "hard" with the engine off and parked. No leaks, plenty of fluid. It FEELS like the break booster failed, but I would think that there would still be brakes, just no power assist. The "brake shoes" indicator is on on the dash, has been since I bought it. The AS block does have a small leak (is there a rebuild kit I should know about? $1-2k seems like quite an investment for that feature... maybe not). Is there a work-around for that? What's the best self-test to diagnose this situation, prior to turning it over to an Infiniti mechanic? Then, about two weeks ago, a sudden ticking has shown up that appears to be coming from the left (from the rear) cylinder bank. It clatters like hell as the revs increase, then quiets down a bit at 3k PM. It's intermittent at idle and slightly above (will completely disappear about 60% of the time at idle). It also sometimes disappears after driving a bit... once it's completely warm. But cold, it sounds bad... I bought this car to take clients out to lunch, etc... it's roomy and sexy, and very nice leather, sound system, etc... It even has a "wood dash and center pod" kit installed... so it really has the look and feel of a great Euro sedan. I want to keep it (though it has nearly 150k on it, it's been very well maintained). But I don't want to sink my life savings into it. Any ideas are welcome. I'm a pretty good mechanic, but I'm not confident I want to wrestle with all I see under that hood. Also, if you're a local mechanic, please feel free to contact me if you feel you can do the fixes. I'll gladly pay to have a "personal mechanic". Thanks! |
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The only competent techs I know of in Orange Co are at MacPherson Infiniti which is in the Tustin Auto Center. I've heard from folks who have had their car serviced there and everyone's been happy. I assume you read Q45MAN's post # 126. You need to take this to heart. It is the absolute truth regarding the Q45. The last thing you want is some local yokel shadetree hack working on your car. It is wayyy too complex for anyone that does not have Infiniti experience. BTW, I don't run into too many Infiniti techs hanging out on the web looking to be some guy's "personal mechanic". Finally, you need to spend some quality time at the Infiniti Owners Club on Yahoo. There is not a better place on the web for Q45 owners - - and I belong to 3 online Infiniti clubs and/or groups. |
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As a lucky [purchased a factory extended warranty to 7 year and 100,000 miles in 1990] owner I was amazed at what didn't go wrong in the first 60,000 miles [many of the systems were replaced by dealer recalls: AC evaporator, ac compressor, alternator, ABS system, transmission, brake master cylinder, radio unit , speakers and amps, glove box, sunshades the extended warranty paid for $14,700 of replacements from 60,000 to 99,999 miles [until 6/97]. Had I been smarter I would have found another $4,000 worth! [that were bad but I didn't know it] During the next 4 years I ended up driving another 120,000 miles [vs the previous 7 years 100k]. The drive shaft, the differential [whine not failure], the rear subframe [vibration], transmission mounts, engine mounts, plenum hoses,engine chain guides, the sun roof, the ac system, the radiator, the alternator, thousands of dollars in suspension parts and bushings, fuel pumps, tires, brakes, speedometer, HVAC controller, etc. The first 100k ended up costing [ME $6,800] around around 7 cents per mile [if you add the extended warranty and warranty cost 23 cents per mile $23,100]. The second 120,000 miles cost ME $21,870 or 18.3 cents per mile.....almost $5500 per year average [$455 per month]was spent AT the Independent Facility I am now associated with [T3 Automotive LTD]. Please understand that money was not a consideration and the goal of making the car like new or later 'better than new' via upgraded factory parts was used - every vibration was corrected and rigorous standards were maintained [to the point of obsession with detail]. As a result of evaluating the failed parts and systems [every part replaced in the past 4 years was studied in detail and the root cause determined.] Wierd --thats the problem of being an engineer by trade. By the 1992-93 model almost all of the weak systems - parts were redesigned and the car was very reliable much of this carried over to the 1994 redesign [grill] but thousands of parts were changed to update the car again by 1995 most of these bugs were worked out. The more luxurious the car the more complicated system contained therein, but these are only designed to last a finite period....usually 100,000 miles or 7 years. Unless you have access to junk yard parts [wrecks which have not set outside too long and are a trained technican familiar with the model avoid the early model [90-91] unless spending $4-$5k per year doesn't scare you ....many decent deals are available for $4-$5-$6k purchase price. Engine replacement runs $6,000 for used, trans replace is $3,000 rebuilt, driveshaft $1000 new, diff is $3000 new $1000 used, AC rebuild $2500, knock sensors $1000, plenum hoses $1000. |
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