Hey everyone I'm new to the club and very excited to be part of this. I need help, i recently purchased a 2003 g35 coupe with 133xxx miles on it. The same day I bought it there was an issue. As I was driving(cruising speed) the car stalled and turned off on me. I restarted it again and kept driving. Then it happenes again a few minutes later and I proceeded to restart it and keep driving. All of a sudden the car starts shaking and smoke came out of the passenger side of the engine. At first I thought it was the brake rotors or something but it couldn't be that. So I let the car cool off and tryed restarting it but it just kept kicking and not starting. So I put coolant in an the car started >>BUT<< White smoke started comming out of the exhaust pipes. I don't know what to do. The guy who's is fixing it said it was the coil pack and spark plugs was the cause is that true please help.whats the best thing to do. I purchaseed the car with a after market intake in it already too.

If you know the problem please tell me and give me all possible solutions.
How much to fix?
Should I just get rid of the car?

 

Terry, I doubt you've provided enough facts for anyone to help. For example, it appears from what you wrote that you added coolant for no apparent reason. Was the temp gauge pegged or was that just a random act? Was the CEL on? What codes did you pull?

Do you not trust "the guy" who is fixing it? Is he some random shade tree mechanic or is he your local independant Nissan/Infiniti specialist? Did he pull a code that told him the coil was bad or is he just committing seemingly random acts of diagnosis?

I'm not sure why you'd be considering selling the car at this point. What do you think someone would pay for a non-running G? Certainly a lot less than you did.

Next time you buy a used car, get a pre-purchase inspection from your local Nissan/Infiniti specialist or a dealership before handing over your money. While no guarantee, it should reduce your risk. For example, the DPO could have reset the code for a failing coil knowing it would last long enough for you to hand over your cash and drive away. A PPI could have detected that. There an old saying along the lines of "Buying a used car is buying someone else's problems". Fortunately cars last a lot longer than they used to but you want to make sure the car you are buying is "used", not "used up".

Hope it works out well for you. Put the emotion and panic aside and be logical and methodical for the best chance of getting a positive outcome. Cars are rarely random or chaotic. Deliberate, systematic and quantitative analysis and diagnosis will get you to a well running car faster and cheaper.

Jim

 

Keep us posted on what you find out. There are some great DIY sections in this forum. Changing out spark plugs and coil packs is not a huge deal. Best of luck.

 

Hi Jim, I did not check the gauge while it was happening because I was such in shock that happened to me. I gave it back to the dealer so he can fix the problem, he gave the car to one of his mechanics. I'm not sure if they did a code reading or not but thats what they told me the issue was coil pack/sparks. From researching Im thinking gasket problems. I poured the coolant because I didn't see any in the reservoir. I should have brought a mechanic from the start but all well.

One thing I forgot to say was that when I poured the coolant in as I started the car the Coolant started bubbling like air was being blown in from under is that also an issue.

 

Sounds like a blown head gasket. If I were you I'd try to get out of the sale although that will probably be very tough to do since it's already registered to you. This thing has problems and probably will continue to do so. G's aren't known for blowing head gaskets and I bet it's seen a lot of hard driving.

You definitely want to be more aggressive with your pre-purchase check procedures in the future. Be on guard, because I bet the person selling you the car will do whatever he/she can to just get the thing to limp past the minimum purchase duration required to not be classified as a lemon in your state.

 

Yea I bought it already lowered and also had a after market long tube intake in it already.

Should I just ask for all the money back or switch it to another car on his lot. The dealer has another G35 coupe 2005 or 2004 with 96k miles.

 

This doesn't sound like a head gasket at all. It sounds like adding coolant didn't do anything either. I can tell you from years of drifting, these motors don't blow easily. So, "hard driving" alone won't cause any issues. Neglect will, though. For example, I've been sliding my car on a fairly regularly basis and I've had no issues. She still pulls strong and starts up like a top. I just recently got a CEL and that's for the camshaft position sensor (which will cause the EXACT thing you're talking about). It's been on about a week. Also, I have a 2003 that just crossed the 100k mark.

If you don't trust the dealer, you should stop dealing with them more than you have to. As for you "getting rid of your car", you might as well perish that thought. If your contract is already funded (i.e. the bank has sent a check to the dealership for your loan), they don't have to do ANYTHING. And I know Florida is very lackadaisical about those things. They might trade you out of it but you gon get beat in the head for that. If they're some stand up folks, just explain to them your discomfort. Don't go in spazzing out and acting all feminine like they owe you something. Remain calm and collected, like a man, and tell them what's going on. Hopefully you can move into something without issue. I wouldn't. But maybe you should.

 

Thanks for giving me slight hope lol. I'm just begging it's not the gasket. I seen it to the dealer few days ago and they never contacted me yet about my car so I guess they're still fixing it. If anything what I will do is let them fix it once then drive it to see if it's fixed but if a problem happens a second time with a few days I'm trading it back to the dealer. Idk if I can ask for all my cash back but we will see.

 

You should do some research into your state's lemon laws so that you are informed of the exact details. Also call the dealer up and ask them what the status is on thd repair and when it will be done. They could be just holding the car on their property as the days of yoyr ownership since purchase as well as your small window of opportunity pass so you can't try to get out of the deal. I'm not saying they are doing that but you should be proactive anyways to avoid it just in case. Plus, if you are too passive they might take you for a sap. The squaky wheel gets the grease.