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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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I purchased a 94Q45 after having a 91Q for a week when a buddy had to borrow my truck.Reason: 1. I loved the v8 power 2.Size, had to get my wife out of here little car.3. Safety and last 4.luxury. Like all of todays luxury sport sedans there comes a heffty price tag. Knowing what I wanted and what I could afford was two different things.It bothers me that of the cars in this catagory Lexus,Acura, BMW etc. all depreciate like a brick falling off a table as soon as you drive it off the lot. For the money and what I got in return you can't beat it. Purchased 94Q 35000miles.Have had it for two years My wife loves it. Now 66000 miles and a few trips to the shop later. Now the FACTS. for the lad thats thinking of fixing you active supension consult your mechanic at a few places.CD Player your lucky you got one. Out here the dealers takem out hoping you order a new one(Van Tile). Plugs, it won't be plugs, it will be the fuel injectors. Once one goes expect the other seven to follow.$$$$$ Here a list of a few problems: warped discs front only,gottem turned,water pump leak,replaced main computer chip($$$),Power steering went out, replaced, one fuel injector,replaced front and rear brake pads(did myself)Due to the weight of the Q expect to replace pads often. When it comes to high performance budget accordingly. SageQ |
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You know, it really kills me to hear so many people bashing Q's. Maybe its because I'm an engineer and I see things a little differently than some people, but all of the problems that have been spoken of are logical. Think about it. 1. Water Pump and cooling system failures- Obviously a result of poor cooling system maintenance. Not all coolants are designed for aluminum blocks/heads. Improper coolant and lack for flushing at given intervals will inevitably cause failures. Corrosion will cause overheating and lack of lubrication will cause pump failure. 2. Automatic X-missons. Flush the fluid at 60K! Everyone that I have spoken to who has flushed the tranny fluid at 60K miles has had no problems with their auto tranny. 3. Brakes- Brakes are a friction surface. They are designed to wear. If the cost of replacing a high performace brake pad scares you, then don't by a high perf sedan! 4. Active suspension- This is a big one. Just don't buy the car. I love the a models, I just wouldn't own one. The complexity of the system and the sheer number of load bearing components are mind-boggling, not to mention the sensors and electronics that go with it. Of course its gonna break! All in all, sceduled preventative maintenance is the cure to most high cost problems later in life. I'm not saying nothing is gonna break, I'm just saying a little $$ now will save a lot later. I mean c'mon, name one car that NEVER breaks! I love my current Q, and the past Q's that I've owned. They might be one of the best engineered cars out there. |
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I agree with you that maintenance is important. However many of the Q owners did state that they properly maintained their vehicles. It seems that the earlier models did have major problems that others cars typically don't have. My friend had a 90 Q45 for 18 months and never had a problem with it. I was reading him some of the problems last night over the phone and we began laughing uncontrollably because it just doesn't seem possible that these owners all experienced these major problems. At least they kept their sense of humor. However, it is very frustrating to pay big money for any product and not have it work right and then have to pay high repair bills. I checked this site because I was considering a used Q45. It seems 95 might be the best year, before it was downsized and still had a lot of power. Someone pointed out that apparently the 96 model had less hp and /or torque. |
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| I bought my 93 Q45a from a dealer in 97 (off lease car, 38K miles on it) I went for the extended warranty primarily because of the active suspension. It has been my favorite of all the cars I have owned. It's been reliable. I replaced tires, brakes, battery, one injector (under warranty). I change the oil frequently and have it serviced at the dealer (service is superior). It now has over 100K miles and I am trading it in for a 97 Q45t (also off lease, 60K miles). The 60K is higher than I would have liked, but the car is clean and the price reflected the mileage. The 97 is a little slower and softer riding, but I like the interior (feels larger) and there are a couple of features not in my 93 (traction, heated seats). I was tempted to keep the 93 longer (bigger motor, active suspension, reputation to be better handling), but I was not comfortable going without a warranty on an expensive car despite my good experience to date. | |
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I too loved the car - when it was working. We bought it used, (39,000miles), but in great shape. We even took it to the local Infiniti dealer for a full check up, which revealed a couple of problems, including slight compression loss in one cylinder. We had everything brought up to "as new", and split the cost with the seller. Unfortunately, one thing after another went wrong. A phantom front end clunk that no amount of strut replacement could fix, seat memory switches were hit or miss, the lighted vanity mirror gave up, the stereo started making horrible crackling noises when we changed the volume, then the entire dash lighting and headlights went out, ($500 please), various bits of interior trim just fell off. But the kicker was the brake warning light that came on and stayed on - I thought it was the dash acting up again, but no, it was the anti-lock brake control module leaking brake fluid. Very easy to replace, but a $2000 part! Could maybe find a used one for around $1000! And of course there were brake repairs, hideously expensive 60000 mile service etc. It was so unfortunate, since it was a killer car, but that amount of trouble in 31000 miles is just ridiculous. So we traded it in with just 70,000 miles on it for $5000 - I couldn't afford to keep it and eat too. Being a sucker for punishment, we got a 2 yr old '96 Taurus SHO - and, amazingly, no problems whatsoever. 31,000 trouble free miles, and this car rocks - I love it. Suppose I shouldn't tempt fate......... Jonty in Austin, TX |
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i'm currently looking at purchasing a 97 q45, but was surprised to hear all of the complaints about the older q's (pre-97). how has the reliabilty been in the more recent years? |
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Welcome to Town Hall. Have you been over to our Sedans conference yet? There are several topics underway discussing this vehicle, and they may have some very helpful information for you. I suggest you use the Topic Search feature on the left side of the page for Q45 and check out the topics listed under Sedans. The Smart Shopper conference is also a valuable resource for folks looking to purchase either a new or used vehicle - you might like to take a look at the topic list there to see what topics are underway that could be helpful to you. Good luck, and again welcome. Pat Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference |
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I have a question for you all. I've just purchased and picked my 2000 Q45ae, it has 100 miles on it, the question I have pertains to the heat that is generated by the engine or the car overall. I've notice that there is heat in the form of hot coming from under the car, even on ignition. In addition to that, I've notice that when driven with the AC off, I feel heat coming from the foot area, though the heat and AC functions are off. Is this heat generated by the Xeron headlights? Is this something that is usual for a new car? Any info. will be greatly appreciated. Thanks |
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| I picked up my 2000 Q45 AE on August 2. After having driven 600 miles, have noticed no problems that you describe. The car drives like a dream. Suggest you take it back to the dealer. | |
| I've had my Q45 for three years and will be turning it in shortly. It has never given me any problems and I've never really thought about it until now. But my feet do get hot.!? There have been lots of times when I've had to take my shoes off and turn the air on floor level. | |
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